WI: Hunters, Homeowners a "Tough Mix" (12/27/2001)

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Hunters, homeowners a tough mixSuburban sprawl is intruding on land used by sportsmenBy DON BEHM and JEFF COLEof the Journal Sentinel staffLast Updated: Dec. 23, 2001Hunters in southeastern Wisconsin are in increasing conflict with the growth of suburbia, and the increasing number of conflicts worries state conservation wardens.Quotable While hunting is a privilege, public safety is a right. - Karen Huffman,in a letter to Town of Cedarburg Chairman Jerry Voigt Homes and commercial development continue to sprout across former farm fields and woodlots, pushing out hunters who aren't staying far enough from new rural homeowners who are not accustomed to the sound of gunshots, the wardens say.Susan and George Uihlein replaced a kitchen window in their Grafton home in Ozaukee County after a pellet from a duck hunter's shotgun shell broke the pane on the morning of Nov. 9. The high-pitched ping of the impact startled George Uihlein, who was sitting at a table in the room. At the same time, a window washer at a neighbor's home scrambled for cover when he heard three shotgun blasts because he thought the gun had been discharged in his direction and at close range.The Uihleins and their neighbors subsequently asked Town of Cedarburg officials to prohibit hunting in a corridor along Cedar Creek that is west of their homes."While hunting is a privilege, public safety is a right," one neighbor, Karen Huffman, wrote in a letter to Town Chairman Jerry Voigt.On Nov. 19, Shari Nichol returned to her Town of Richfield home in southern Washington County to find a hole in the west wall of her living room. A large metal slug from a different type of shotgun shell used for deer hunting was on the floor, 15 feet from the wall.The frustration goes both ways.Jeff Engel, 47, of Delafield says he has seen the area he hunted as a child disappear to development. He says he can understand the frustration of hunters who find an area they hunted for years suddenly becoming off limits."Local hunters are looking for an area close to home where they can spend an hour or two and relax," says Engel, an avid hunter who hosts a cable television hunting show on the Outdoor Network. "But they cannot because of the closing of a lot of areas where people used to be able to hunt."As one who owns a home in a wooded area, Engel says, he understands the fears of former city residents who hear guns go off near their house."A lot of city people move out to rural areas and may not want to hear guns," Engel says. "Yet, they don't want the deer in their yards."Increased tensions"With development in agricultural areas, there have been increased tensions between homeowners and hunters, and even trappers," says Alan Dutkiewicz, a representative of the Waukesha, Racine and Kenosha district of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress."The growth in Kenosha County is skyrocketing along Highway 50. Every few weeks I'll be driving out in the county and see more new buildings. And then I say, 'Uh-oh, that area is gone now and can't be hunted.' "DNR wardens have watched a similar hunting land vanishing act in recent years in Waukesha County."There used to be all huntable land between Eagle and Mukwonago," says DNR warden Doug Zeihen. "Now it's all subdivisions along Highway NN, and there is no hunting in subdivisions.""There are only bits and pieces of land that you could hunt in the county" outside of the Vernon Marsh State Wildlife Area, he says.In his report on the fall deer season, Zeihen wrote to his superiors: "Areas of traditional gun deer hunting are being lost at an increasing rate due to urban sprawl. In the Eagle and Mukwonago area, the only place left to hunt other than state lands are on the borders with Racine, Walworth and Jefferson counties. Many of the local hunting parties that I saw year after year now head north to look for their deer."Concerns echoedHis concerns were echoed by other wardens."As more homes get built in the country, the numbers of conflicts are increasing," says Gus Ernst, a DNR warden supervisor for Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties. "I can't give you numbers year by year, but it is growing," Ernst has worked as a warden in the region since the late 1970s.Frequently, new rural homeowners are surprised to learn that someone lawfully can discharge a gun only 100 yards from their residence, he adds."There's definitely growing hunter conflicts with the people moving into the rural areas," says Bill Mitchell, a DNR warden in Washington County with 20 years of experience. "Each year, we hear an increasing number of complaints of hunters too close to houses."Ozaukee County DNR warden Rick Wolff says that most complaints do not result in a charge against someone for violating hunting regulations. The hunters usually are where they legally can be."But we get complaints that BBs from shotgun shells hit windows," Wolff says, "or someone will find BBs in a rain gutter."Their observations got the attention of Tom Harelson, the state's chief conservation warden."Every year, more and more 'huntable' acres of property are being occupied by homes," Harelson says in his statewide summary report of the 2001 deer gun season."In addition, local units of government are under pressure to restrict the use of firearms in some of these traditionally rural areas.""I expect to see a rising number of conflicts in the future," Harelson says in an interview. "Many of these people building homes in rural areas have no interest in being around guns and hunters."Municipalities can restrict the discharge of firearms only if the primary purpose is to protect public health and safety, says DNR attorney Mike Lutz. There can be no prohibition of hunting in an entire rural town, although cities do have such bans.State law requires that hunters discharging guns be at least 100 yards from a residence. Even so, towns and villages with rural areas generally are advised to identify sites where safety problems could occur.Some municipalities have opted to shut down hunting altogether in such corridors, while others have simply required hunters to be at a greater distance from homes when shooting a gun. http://www.jsonline.com/news/ozwash/dec01/7585.asp