News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
There have been some tensions this deer hunting season between those who live in the woods around Sisters and those who hunt there.
A hunter shot a buck near the entrance to the Toll- gate subdivision at about 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 7, prompting a Tollgate resident to call the sheriff's office. A deputy responded, only to watch the hunter tag his legally taken deer.
According to the Oregon State Police, the agency which handles game law enforcement, a hunter is not violating state game law as long as he is on public land and not shooting in an unsafe direction.
That's not much comfort to residents of forest subdivisions, who get nervous when hunters are out in the nearby National Forests.
"That's going to come with the territory living in a rural area adjacent to public land," said trooper Terry Miller. "They're not going to be able to control what people do on public land."
Federal statutes prohibit "Discharging a firearm... in or within 150 yards of a residence, building, campsite, developed recreation site or occupied area..."
Incidents occurred near other local subdivisions where many deer have established nearly year-round residence, browsing in gardens and eating food put out by residents.
Wildlife experts are adamant that feeding deer is a bad idea.
"Even though most people think they're helping big game by feeding them, in most cases they're not," Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Steven George told The Nugget. "What they are doing is creating an attractive nuisance."
Hunters go where the deer are and in Sisters that often means near homes.
One local hunter noted that, while there are ethical questions about taking a deer close to homes, there is no question of legality.
The hunter believes that those who move into homes in the woods should recognize that hunting is part of the world they have moved into.
"If they don't like people hunting out their door, they should move," he said.
Trooper Miller has a slightly different point of view.
"I can tell (hunters) that there are probably better areas to be running around hunting," he said. "I just wish people would make more sporting decisions in where they hunt,"
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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