Monday, December 6, 2010

Being Out in Nature During Hunting Season

Yukon Gear Field Vest  Blaze Orange Polyester Cap

Now is the time to wear your orange blaze when you are out and about outdoors in some areas of New Jersey. It's hunting season and a hat, vest, or jacket, is a good idea - even one for your dog, especially if you let him off the leash.

The NJ Hiking blog has some good advice and reminders about Hiking in NJ During Hunting Season


The deer season runs September through February with bow season being early and then specific date ranges for shotguns. The new bear season was scheduled for today through the 11th. Small game season runs throughout the year - check http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/smgame_info.htm

There are some park areas that are closed on certain dates of shotgun season. For example, in Morris County, Pyramid Mountain, Black River, & Schooley's Mountain are closed on dates in December, January and February.

When I used to volunteer at the Pequest Education center, we got lots of questions about the confusing NJ hunting regulations.

Remington Orange and Yellow Large Safety Vests for Dogs
Don't forget your best friend!
One way to be safe is to remember that there is no hunting on Sunday in NJ except for certain Wildlife Management Areas and private lands. (Check WMAs at http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/wmaland.htm )

You can also try out some of the non-hunting park areas such as Cheesequake State Park, Watchung Reservation and South Mountain. More on that tomorrow.

1 comment:

JF Sobecki said...

I used to jog up winding country roads
with no homes in hunting season wearing orange and yellow. On one occasion two hunters decided to shoot up in the air as a jogged by them.They laughed as I stared but kept jogging as I was really frightened for the first time in my life.

I called the police when I got home (20 min later) The police later stopped by and said the hunters were not to be found.I have been told this is not unusual in Jersey!