kbgibby
Threebeards
After failing to show at any of the meetings were an urban hunt ordinance was discussed and passed, a group of Ames citizens suceeded in getting the Ames City Council to halt the hunt until further discussion can take place. People are apparently afraid for their children and pets in the parks. They should be more afraid of the deer, particularly when the rut is on.
The problem is so far is that the City has only issued one permit so they aren't affecting a large group by suspending it. However, it sets a bad precedent and paints bowhunters in a bad light if people are allowed to promote erroneous views of hunters shooting at anything that moves ... as if an urban bowhunter could possibly mistake a person or a dog for a doe at 20-25 yds. The city didn't help matters when they offered free blaze orange vests for people and pets.
I thought about writing a letter to the editor, but it might carry more weight coming from an IBA "official." I'm sure you guys have more facts and figures to support your claims.
Here's the story that appeared in last night's Ames Trib.
10/11/2006
Council suspends deer hunt
By: Jeff Raasch
Deer hunting in Ames has been suspended 10 days after the city's first-ever deer management program began.
By a 4-1 vote, the City Council voted Tuesday to make the move after receiving a petition signed by more than 500 residents protesting the idea, which allows bow hunting in city parks.
The exception is a Boone man who has already been issued a permit to bow hunt in parts of East River Valley Park. City Manager Steve Schainker said the rules do not authorize him to revoke issued permits.
The council decided to invite a previously established task force to the Oct. 24 council meeting to revisit the issue. Task force members included representatives from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa State University and residents who urged the council to initiate the program. Other residents will be allowed to provide public input.
Ideas expected to be discussed include: Limiting the bow hunting to the early morning hours, starting the season later in the year and removing Emma McCarthy Lee Park as a hunting zone.
A group called Ames Citizens for Non-Lethal Urban Deer Management started the petition. Group members said Tuesday that wildlife-vehicle crash data from the Department of Transportation shows most accidents occur along U.S. Highway 30 and U.S. Highway 69, away from the four hunting zones set by the city.
"There is a conflict between the data we got and the data emerging that needs to be addressed," Councilman Riad Mahayni said.
The group called for Emma McCarthy Lee Park and Moore Memorial Park to be removed as hunting zones.
Other areas that were eligible for hunting included: Inis Grove Park, parts of East River Valley Park, a wooded area near Squaw Creek south of South Fourth Street and a large area along the Skunk River in northeast Ames that includes Homewood Golf Course.
None of the hunting zones include any private property.
Councilman Matthew Goodman seemed supportive of revisiting the issue, even seconding the motion to do so, but voted against the idea.
"My feeling is that we've come to the conclusion with a great deal of rationale, in my mind," Goodman said. "I think the petition shows concern ... but I certainly don't want to make changes without talking to the DNR, without talking to the same people who were there when we first discussed this issue and devised this plan to correct this problem."
The group suggested fencing as one alternative to bow hunting. If bow hunting is allowed, the group asked that a long-term plan be in place for future stages of the program.
"While we were petitioning, we heard from children who were no longer able to go to Emma McCarthy Lee Park due to safety fears," member Erica Fuchs said.
Mahayni also voiced concern about youth soccer programs in the parks where bow hunting was allowed, including McCarthy Lee Park.
"I would be a concerned daddy," Mahayni said. "My kids played there when they were kids."
Advertisement
Click Here!
Jeff Raasch can be reached
at 232-2161, Ext. 343,
or jraasch@amestrib.com.
The problem is so far is that the City has only issued one permit so they aren't affecting a large group by suspending it. However, it sets a bad precedent and paints bowhunters in a bad light if people are allowed to promote erroneous views of hunters shooting at anything that moves ... as if an urban bowhunter could possibly mistake a person or a dog for a doe at 20-25 yds. The city didn't help matters when they offered free blaze orange vests for people and pets.
I thought about writing a letter to the editor, but it might carry more weight coming from an IBA "official." I'm sure you guys have more facts and figures to support your claims.
Here's the story that appeared in last night's Ames Trib.
10/11/2006
Council suspends deer hunt
By: Jeff Raasch
Deer hunting in Ames has been suspended 10 days after the city's first-ever deer management program began.
By a 4-1 vote, the City Council voted Tuesday to make the move after receiving a petition signed by more than 500 residents protesting the idea, which allows bow hunting in city parks.
The exception is a Boone man who has already been issued a permit to bow hunt in parts of East River Valley Park. City Manager Steve Schainker said the rules do not authorize him to revoke issued permits.
The council decided to invite a previously established task force to the Oct. 24 council meeting to revisit the issue. Task force members included representatives from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa State University and residents who urged the council to initiate the program. Other residents will be allowed to provide public input.
Ideas expected to be discussed include: Limiting the bow hunting to the early morning hours, starting the season later in the year and removing Emma McCarthy Lee Park as a hunting zone.
A group called Ames Citizens for Non-Lethal Urban Deer Management started the petition. Group members said Tuesday that wildlife-vehicle crash data from the Department of Transportation shows most accidents occur along U.S. Highway 30 and U.S. Highway 69, away from the four hunting zones set by the city.
"There is a conflict between the data we got and the data emerging that needs to be addressed," Councilman Riad Mahayni said.
The group called for Emma McCarthy Lee Park and Moore Memorial Park to be removed as hunting zones.
Other areas that were eligible for hunting included: Inis Grove Park, parts of East River Valley Park, a wooded area near Squaw Creek south of South Fourth Street and a large area along the Skunk River in northeast Ames that includes Homewood Golf Course.
None of the hunting zones include any private property.
Councilman Matthew Goodman seemed supportive of revisiting the issue, even seconding the motion to do so, but voted against the idea.
"My feeling is that we've come to the conclusion with a great deal of rationale, in my mind," Goodman said. "I think the petition shows concern ... but I certainly don't want to make changes without talking to the DNR, without talking to the same people who were there when we first discussed this issue and devised this plan to correct this problem."
The group suggested fencing as one alternative to bow hunting. If bow hunting is allowed, the group asked that a long-term plan be in place for future stages of the program.
"While we were petitioning, we heard from children who were no longer able to go to Emma McCarthy Lee Park due to safety fears," member Erica Fuchs said.
Mahayni also voiced concern about youth soccer programs in the parks where bow hunting was allowed, including McCarthy Lee Park.
"I would be a concerned daddy," Mahayni said. "My kids played there when they were kids."
Advertisement
Click Here!
Jeff Raasch can be reached
at 232-2161, Ext. 343,
or jraasch@amestrib.com.
