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December 13, 2007

Fatal dog shooting alarms everyone

On Tuesday afternoon, I, along with two friends, were snowshoe running (don't ask) in the Dracut, Lowell, Tyngsboro State Forest and ran into an officer of the Environmental Police who stopped us and informed us about how we were in danger and should probably not be running in the state forest during hunting season. We were dressed in orange and other bright colors and, of course, looked completely silly in our running tights, orange safety garb and snowshoes. The chance of being mistaken for deer seemed unlikely, but he was concerned. I told him that I had run in the forest for the past 30 years, including hunting seasons, and never felt in danger. Once, some hunters did remark how we looked like Rudolph as we approached. We were wearing our headlamps (again, don't ask). The woods, he argued, should probably not be used by non-hunters during the short hunting season since it is so dangerous. Needless to say, we kept running/snowshoeing.

For many years, the forest was a wasteland, literally. Cars were burned and left in the

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forest. Local hooligans (nice, huh) drank beer and engaged in other promiscuous activities. In the last several years, the forest, thanks mostly to the wonderful mountain-bike people and other groups, has made a wonderful comeback. Bridges cross streams, new paths are everywhere, the cars are not burning and, well, it just kind of makes you proud. Skiers ski, couples walk, bikers bike, paint-ballers paint, the University of Massachusetts tracksters zip by and snowshoers -- you get the picture.
Lately, the DCR people have been showing up in the forest. They haven't been there in years. The guys who I talked to drove up from where they usually work in Townsend-Ashby. I have never seen, until Tuesday, an environmental police officer. I am sure he was sent there after Michelle Verville's dog was shot. I have always spoken to the hunters that I have run into in the forest. They are always nice people, who probably think we are slightly looney (the Rudolph thing). All groups in the forest co-exist in harmony. Runners, walkers, bikers, paint-ballers, hunters and even the illegal snowmobiles, dirt bikes and ATVs get along. The problem with the state forest today is that it is wonderful and people are coming back. The parking area is often standing room only. I don't have a death wish, but I believe that I should be able to run in the forest whenever I choose. Michelle should be able to walk her dog. The old, slightly bigger forest, which we have learned is also on private land, has shrunk due to houses being built closer and closer to its borders. Today, it seems almost impossible to be in the forest without being within 100 feet of a paved road or designated bike path. It has become almost impossible to be 500 feet from a house. I worry about the safety of all in the state forest. Once upon a time, there were DCR-type people in the forest, but budget cuts made them go away a long time ago. If the forest is to remain safe, DCR and the environmental police need funding so they can keep places like our state forest safe for all of us.

ROBERT DICK

Dracut

Posted by Admin at December 13, 2007 2:26 PM