subject: Keep it simple: Get the arrows, and hunters, away from people [print this page] Specifically, the annual bow-and-arrow deer hunting NFL jersey season, which began Sept. 11, is taking place too close to private homes and at least one school in the township for our liking.
Thanks to a new state law, bow hunters can hunt as close as 150 feet away from private residences in the state, but they must remain at least 450 away from schools.
In Franklin Township, four new parcels of open-space areas on DeMott Lane, Willow Road, Weston Road and Elizabeth Avenue were added to the area where hunting is permitted this season. Bow-hunting permits had been granted for several years at the Ten Mile Run Greenway, Negri-Nepote Native Grassland Preserve, and the Butler and Wilson Road areas.
The problem is that these new areas have homes in them.
Supporters of the expanded permitting explain that hunters have to shoot down from a perch or elevated land at the deer. "It's very different from hunting from a nonelevated position," said John Loos, the township's land preservation consultant. "You won't have the arrows flying a long distance."
Yes, but 150 feet isn't a long distance. It's about a throw from behind second base to home plate. And an arrow can do a lot more damage then a baseball mlb jerseys .
To complicate matters, the Community Baptist Church, which has a pre-school, is located on 211 DeMott Lane, inside the DeMott parcel.
"It's very much a concern to us," said Terri Taylor, director of the preschool at Community Baptist Church. "Our playground backs directly up to the woods where the hunting is going on. Our children are out there several times a day."
We support the right to hunt and we agree the deer population needs to be thinned. Groups of deer crossing a road in the twilight in front of drivers is a much too common and dangerous occurrence here in Central Jersey. Also, an overpopulation of deer helps spread Lyme disease.
That said, having arrows fly with deadly intent a mere 150 feet from a NFL jerseybackyard serves no meaningful purpose and makes no sense for the people of Franklin Township. It is an active suburban community, not a rural hunting ground. Supporters will likely cite the diminished buffer zones in Connecticut and Pennsylvania and the safety record there, but it is misleading to compare those two states and their big rural tracts of land to busy Central Jersey.
The issue will be discussed at the Tuesday, Sept. 28 Township Council meeting, Township Manager Ken Daly has said. We suggest getting the school kids out of the danger zone and removing the new parcels that contain residences from the approved list of hunting zones.
There are enough other areas to hunt.
Keep it simple: Get the arrows, and hunters, away from people
