(1)
Wildlife Management Areas.
(a) Purpose: 321 CMR
3.00 governs the
administration of wildlife management areas and sets forth permissible and
prohibited activities on such areas. The provisions of 321 CMR
3.00 incorporate
the philosophy of the Division that conservation shall encompass the wise use
of wildlife resources, including, where appropriate, protection, utilization,
and management. Therefore, except as provided in
321 CMR
3.03, hunting, fishing, and trapping shall be
permitted on wildlife management areas in accordance with the provisions of 321
CMR
3.00 and other provisions of 321 CMR and of M.G.L. c. 131.
(b) Definitions:
Alcoholic Beverage shall be defined as
in M.G.L. 138, § 1.
Camping means the utilization of any
piece of equipment for sleeping in or upon, including, but not limited to, a
sleeping bag, hammock, tent, tarp, motor vehicle, recreational vehicle,
trailer, or watercraft, for the purpose of occupying a piece of land or water
for transient and temporary outdoor living.
Controlled Substance and
Counterfeit Substance shall be defined as in M.G.L. c.
94C, § 1.
Director means the Director of the
Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
Installation means fish hatcheries,
wildlife district offices, and the Westborough field headquarters.
Nature Preserve means those lands,
waters, shores and interests therein as defined and established pursuant to 321
CMR 11.00 and administered under provisions of M.GL. c. 131, §§ 10A
through 10D.
Wildlife Management Area means any
real property, except installations, nature preserves and wildlife sanctuaries,
owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts through the Division of Fisheries
and Wildlife and subject to the control and charge of said Division, or owned
by or subject to the control and charge of another agency of the Commonwealth
or political subdivision thereof or of the United States and operated or
managed by the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife under lease, easement, or
cooperative agreement as a wildlife management area. Additionally, the
Director, with the approval of the Fisheries and Wildlife Board, may, by lease,
easement, or cooperative agreement establish a wildlife management area with a
partnership, corporation, whether profit or non-profit, firm, business, or
other commercial or non-commercial entity, club, organization, or association
and such area shall be subject to provisions of 321 CMR 3.01(1). For the
purposes of 321 CMR 3.01(1), "wildlife management area" shall be construed as
inclusive of "public shooting ground".
Wildlife Sanctuary means those lands,
waters, shores, and interests therein as defined in
321 CMR 7.01(2)(e)
and administered under provisions of M.G.L.
c. 131, §§ 7 through 10, or any other lands designated by the
Director as subject to
321 CMR
7.01.
(c) No person shall illegally consume, use,
cultivate, or possess any controlled substance of any schedule or class or any
counterfeit substance within the bounds of any wildlife management
area.
(d) No person, except with
the written permission of the Director or his authorized agent, shall consume,
use, or possess any alcoholic beverage within the bounds of any wildlife
management area.
(e) No person
shall dump or discard, or cause to be dumped or discarded, any container,
papers, garbage, brush, stumps, leaves, solid or liquid wastes, tires, or other
material within the bounds of any wildlife management area.
(f) No person shall remove, damage, or
disturb vegetation, soil, or stones within any wildlife management area except
under permit from the Director or his authorized agent, provided that nothing
in 321 CMR
3.01(1)(f) shall be construed to prohibit the harvesting for
personal consumption of edible wild fruits, berries, fungi, or nuts.
(g) No person shall use excessive speed in
driving a vehicle on roads within any wildlife management area.
(h) No person, except under permit from the
Director or his authorized agent, and except governmental employees in the
performance of their duties, shall drive, operate, or possess within the bounds
of any wildlife management area any motor vehicle, snow vehicle, or
recreational vehicle, except on roads or trails maintained by a governmental
agency and designated for the express purpose of permitting public vehicular
traffic.
(i) No person shall
deface, damage, remove, or molest any sign, fence, gate, building, monument or
equipment within or on any wildlife management area.
(j) No person shall build or maintain, or
cause to be built or maintained, a fire within any wildlife management area
without written permission from the Director or his designated agent and the
city or town fire chief or the District Fire Warden.
(k) No person shall camp within any wildlife
management area without written permission from the Director or his designated
agent.
(l) No person shall engage
in target practicing or target shooting within any wildlife management area
without written permission from the Director or his designated agent. "Target
practicing" shall be construed to include the "sighting in" or testing of
firearms and bows-and-arrows.
(m)
No person, except for the hunting of raccoon and opossum in accordance with 321
CMR
3.01(1)(o) and except for the shooting of trapped fur-bearing mammals by
licensed trappers, shall use any weapon other than shotgun or bow-and-arrow
during the pheasant or quail seasons on any wildlife management area where
pheasant or quail are stocked. Stocked areas are listed in 321 CMR
3.01(1)(n).
(n) No person, except
in accordance with 321 CMR
3.01(1)(o), shall hunt before sunrise or after
sunset during the pheasant and quail seasons on any wildlife management area
where pheasant or quail are stocked. Stocked areas are as follows:
Central Wildlife District:
Barre Falls Wildlife Management Area (WMA)
Bennett WMA
Birch Hill WMA
Bolton Flats WMA
High Ridge WMA
Hubbardston WMA
Millers River WMA (Athol, Royalston, Phillipston)
Moose Hill WMA
Oakham WMA
Phillipston WMA
Quaboag River WMA
Richardson WMA
Ware River WMA
West Hill WMA
Westborough WMA
Winimusset WMA
Connecticut Valley Wildlife
District:
Bennett Meadows WMA
Great Swamp WMA
Herman J. Covey (Swift River) WMA
Leyden WMA
Montague Plains WMA
Pauchaug Brook WMA
Poland Brook WMA
Southampton WMA
Southwick WMA
Northeast Wildlife District:
Ashby WMA
Charles River WMA (Area C)
Crane Pond WMA
Harold Parker WMA
Martin H. Burns WMA
Squannacook River WMA
Southeast Wildlife District:
Erwin S. Wilder Section of Hockomock WMA
Fall River/Freetown WMA
Frances A. Crane WMA
Marconi WMA
Myles Standish WMA
Noquochoke WMA
Western Wildlife District:
Eugene D. Moran WMA
George L. Darey Housatonic Valley WMA
Hinsdale Flats WMA
Hop Brook WMA
Knightville Dam WMA
Stafford Hill WMA
(o) The night hunting of raccoon and opossum
by means of a pistol or revolver not larger than .38 caliber, or by means of a
rifle chambered to take ammunition not larger than .22 caliber long rifle shall
be permitted on the following wildlife management areas between ½ hour
after sunset and ½ hour before sunrise in accordance with the prescribed
seasons, bag limits, and other provisions of
321 CMR
3.02(5). During this night
hunting period, the wearing of a "hunter orange" cap or hat is not mandatory.
1.
Central Wildlife
District:
Breakneck Brook Wildlife Management Area (WMA)
Fish Brook WMA
Lawrence Brook WMA
Leadmine WMA
McKinstry Brook WMA
Merrill Pond WMA
Moose Brook WMA
Muddy Brook WMA
Poutwater WMA
Prince River WMA
Quisset WMA
Raccoon Hill WMA
Savage Hill WMA
Wolf Swamp WMA
Connecticut Valley Wildlife
District:
Catamount WMA
Coy Hill WMA
East Mountain WMA
Facing Rock WMA
Lake Warner WMA
Leadmine WMA
Ludlow WMA
Millers River WMA (Wendell)
Montague WMA
Mt. Toby WMA
Orange WMA
Palmer WMA
Satan's Kingdom WMA
Tully Mountain WMA
Wales WMA
Warwick WMA
Wendell WMA
Westfield WMA
Whately WMA
Williamsburg WMA
Northeast Wildlife District:
Boxborough Station WMA
Dunstable Brook WMA
Hunting Hills WMA
Mulpus Brook WMA
Nissitissit River WMA
Pantry Brook WMA
Salisbury Marsh WMA
William Forward WMA
Southeast Wildlife District:
Black Brook WMA
Burrage Pond WMA
Canoe River WMA
Church Homestead WMA
Copicut WMA
Dartmoor Farms WMA
English Salt Marsh WMA
Freetown Swamp WMA
Haskell Swamp WMA
Hockomock Swamp WMA
(exclusive of Erwin S. Wilder Section)
Hyannis Ponds WMA
Mashpee Pine Barrens WMA
Meetinghouse Swamp WMA
Peterson Swamp WMA
Purchade Brook WMA
Quashnet River WMA
Red Brook WMA
Rochester WMA
Rocky Gutter WMA
Sly Pond WMA
Taunton River WMA
West Meadows WMA
Western Wildlife District:
Becket WMA
Chalet WMA
Cummington WMA
Day Mountain WMA
Dolomite Ledges WMA
Fairfield Brook WMA
Farmington River WMA
Fisk Meadows WMA
Fox Den WMA
Green River WMA
Hancock WMA
Hiram H. Fox WMA
John J. Kelly Memorial Forest and WMA
Jug End State Reservation and WMA
Lily Pond WMA
Maple Hill WMA
Mount Tekoa WMA
Otis WMA
Peru WMA
Powell Brook WMA
Savoy WMA
Taconic Ridge WMA
Three Mile Pond WMA
Walnut Hill WMA
2. Night hunting of raccoon and opossum under
special conditions shall also be permitted on all other wildlife management
areas, except on the Delaney (Harvard, Bolton, and Stow) and Flint Pond
(Tyngsborough) Wildlife Management Areas. During the period from the first
Friday after Columbus Day through the Saturday following Thanksgiving, night
hunting of raccoon and opossum shall be permitted on these areas only between
the hours of 9:00 P.M. to 3:00 A.M. subject to the limitations pertaining to
firearms in
321 CMR
3.01(1) (o). During this
night hunting period, the wearing of a "hunter orange" color cap or hat is not
mandatory.
(p) No person
shall hunt during the pheasant or quail seasons on any wildlife management area
where pheasant or quail are stocked without wearing a "hunter orange" color cap
or hat, except for the hunting of raccoon or opossum in accordance with
321 CMR
3.01(1) (o) and except for
persons hunting waterfowl from within a blind or a boat. For the purposes of
321 CMR
3.01(1)(p), "hunter orange"
color shall be that color defined in
321 CMR
3.01(2).
(q) No person, except with the written
permission of the Director or his authorized agent, shall, within any wildlife
management area, dig, excavate, remove or disturb, or cause to be dug,
excavated, removed or disturbed, any archaeological or paleontological
artifacts, remains, ruins, sites, fossils, or other objects of unusual
historical or prehistorical antiquity.
(r)
Rules of Conduct on Wildlife
Management Areas for Dogs, Horses and Other Domesticated Animals.
1. No person may cause or permit any dog,
horse, or other domesticated animal listed in
321 CMR
9.02(3)
to be unattended or to roam or be at large
on any wildlife management area. No person may cause or permit any dog, horse,
or other domesticated animal listed in
321 CMR
9.02(3), owned by him or her
or in his or her custody or under his or her control, to be on any wildlife
management area unless such animal is restrained within a cage, or is bridled,
or is restrained on a physical tether or leash by the animal's owner or
handler.
2. In addition to the
requirements in
321 CMR
3.01(1)(r)1., any dog feces
shall be collected immediately by the person who has custody or control of the
dog(s) and disposed of properly by that person outside of the boundaries of the
wildlife management area.
3. The
provisions of
321 CMR
3.01(1)(r)1. and 2. shall
not apply to persons using dogs on any wildlife management area while in the
act of hunting in accordance with the Division's regulations, or training dogs
for hunting, including hunt tests and field trials by persons holding a valid
Massachusetts hunting or sporting license or by persons participating in a
Retriever or Bird Dog Trial event permitted by the Division pursuant to
321 CMR
2.01:
Retriever or Bird Dog Trials In
Massachusetts. For the purposes of
321 CMR
3.01(1)(r)3., the training
of dogs for the above purposes shall include, but not be limited to, obedience
training, pointing, retrieving, water handling, quartering, casting, marking
and trailing. Those persons using dogs pursuant to
321 CMR
3.01(1)(r)3. shall
immediately collect feces deposited by their dog within a designated parking
area, or within 100 feet of a designated parking area, and dispose of it
properly outside the boundaries of the wildlife management area.
4. Division personnel, an environmental
police officer or other law enforcement officer may direct that any dog, horse,
or other domesticated animal listed in
321 CMR
9.02(3):
Categorical
Non-exemptions be removed from a wildlife management area by the
animal's owner or handler for failure to comply with
321 CMR
3.01(1)(r).
5. If the Director deems it necessary to
fulfill the purpose of a wildlife management area as described in
321 CMR
3.01(1), he or she may, by
posting notice on the wildlife management area or on the Division's website,
prohibit from or restrict the access of any dog, horse, or other domesticated
animal listed in
321 CMR
9.02(3):
Categorical
Non-exemptions to any portion of a wildlife management area or for a
particular time period.
(s) The Director is authorized to declare
special regulations as deemed necessary by him for the purpose of dealing with
situations or conditions peculiar to specific wildlife management areas. Those
special regulations appearing in
321 CMR
3.03 shall be construed to be part of
321 CMR
3.01(1)(s).
(3)
Hunting with Bows and
Arrows.
(a) No person shall use
or have in his possession or under his control while hunting any poisoned arrow
or arrow with explosive tips.
(b)
No person shall use or have in his possession or under his control while
hunting any arrow gun or any firearm or other device which projects or propels
an arrow, dart or bolt by gunpowder, compressed air, or by any other means
except by the flexing and release of a bow string.
(c) No person shall use or have in his
possession or under his control while hunting any bow drawn or held by
mechanical means, except as provided in
321 CMR
3.01(3). Hand-held,
hand-operated bow string releases are permitted.
(d) A crossbow may be used for hunting by a
person who is permanently disabled such that the person cannot operate a
conventional bow and arrow, as certified by a licensed physician. Any costs
associated with obtaining the medical documentation, re-evaluation of the
information or a second medical opinion are the responsibility of the
applicant. A person who wishes to use a crossbow for hunting in accordance with
321 CMR
3.01(3)(d)
shall obtain a permit to do so from the
Director of the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, and such permit shall be
valid for life. Nothing in
321 CMR
3.01(3)
shall be construed to permit the use of a
crossbow by any other person, except on a skeet, trap, or target
range.
(e) Arrows used for hunting
deer, bear or wild turkey shall have well-sharpened steel broadhead blades not
less than % of an inch in width.
(f) No person shall hunt deer, bear or wild
turkey with a bow having a pull of less than 40 lbs. at 28" draw provided that
compound bows and recurved bows shall have a minimum pull of 40 lbs. at peak
draw.
(g) No person while hunting
shall release an arrow from a bow upon or within 150 feet of any State or hard
surfaced highway or within 500 feet of any dwelling in use, except as
authorized by the owner or occupant thereof.
(h) Any person found guilty of any violation
of
321 CMR
3.01
shall be punished as provided in M.G.L. c. 131, § 90.
