Courtesy Photo | The Fort Gregg-Adams Environmental Management Division asks personnel not to enter...... read more read more
By Jefferson Wolfe
Fort Gregg-Adams Command Information Officer
FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. — The hunting season began Oct. 7 and now is in full swing on the installation.
Archery season is underway across Virginia now, Muzzleloader season begins Nov. 4, and firearms season begins Nov. 18, according to the Fort Gregg-Adams Environmental Management Division.
“Deer hunting is a valuable management tool to keep deer populations in check and, therefore, protect habitat from degradation that comes from unsustainable deer population growth,” said Shannon Scully, a wildlife biologist with the EMD. “Deer management also reduces the amount of human-wildlife conflict in the form of road strikes and other issues.”
The safety of service members, civilians, contractors, and hunters is EMD's number one priority, according to Scully. So, the Division asks personnel not to enter wooded areas on post until after January 6, when deer season comes to an end.
Usually, the installation has about 100 active hunters throughout the season.
One of the perks to hunting at Fort Gregg-Adams include being a part of a Deer Management Assistance Program, Scully said. This program allows natural resource managers to give out additional antlerless deer tags to hunters who, then, do not have to use their own tags.
Other perks on Fort Gregg-Adams include access to a skinning shed and cooler, and reduced competition for hunting areas due to a smaller hunting community.
Access to wooded areas anywhere on post must be reserved through Range Control (training areas) or coordinated with EMD (outside of training areas).
Once reserved, hunters can check in on the isportsman website (https://ftlee.isportsman.net/area.aspx). This keeps a record of who is on the installation.
“The isportsman site is only for hunters checking into areas after the area has already been reserved for hunting,” Scully said. “For instance, I reserve any training areas that are not being used for training for hunting purposes every week. Any forested areas that are not used at all for training are automatically used as hunting areas during this time of year. Therefore, if someone needs a non-training area, for contracting work or maintenance for example, they need to call EMD so that we can shut the area down to hunting before work begins.”
For safety reasons, hunters are confined to elevated stands in the wooded areas on post. Even so, it is extremely dangerous to enter active hunting areas especially once the muzzleloader and firearms seasons begin, Scully stated.
Hunters also must contend with the normal safety hazards in the woods, including tripping and falling and dangerous animals like venomous snakes, said Kelly Hinnant, the Fort Gregg-Adams director of safety. When registered on isportsman, installation officials can keep track of who is where, making it easier to find someone in case of an emergency.
To protect people passing near the wooded areas, the hunting stands are elevated so hunters must shoot downward, and the fields of fire are directed away from populated areas, he said.
Parents should make sure kids don’t play in the woods and keep pets under control, so they don’t enter the woods, either, Hinnant said.
Walking through some of the training areas, Hinnant has seen some small forts that seem to have been made by kids, and bicycle tracks the indicate cyclists have been riding along trails in the woods.
“If you aren’t assigned to that training area, stay out of the woods during hunting season,” he added.
Instead of using wooded areas for exercise or walking pets, EMD recommends Petersburg National Battlefield as an alternative. The Battlefield is a nearby and dog-friendly park with access from Sustainment Avenue.
For more information about hunting on post, please visit: https://ftlee.isportsman.net/area.aspx or call EMD at (804) 734-5080.
Also, more information statewide is available here: https://dwr.virginia.gov/hunting/regulations/deer/
| Date Taken: | 10.18.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 10.18.2023 13:15 |
| Story ID: | 456036 |
| Location: | FORT GREGG-ADAMS, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 86 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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