Outdoors in RI: VOTE. Take a walk in the woods. Check your deer, no fires, hunt, waterfowl hunt…

Southern Rhode Island Conservation forestry walking tour in Richmond

The Southern Rhode Island Conservation District will be hosting a free Forestry Walking Tour at Hillsdale Preserve forestry research site in Richmond, RI on November 16 from 10 am – 12 pm to learn about enhancing forest resilience and addressing climate-related challenges. The preserve is located at 47 Old Mountain Road in Richmond.

Parking is available along long the side of rural Old Mountain Road at the entrance to forestry research site. This is a rain or shine event so participants should be prepared for weather and walking off trail on uneven terrain. If you’ve been reading our column on outdoors in this beautiful state, but don’t know how to do more of it, this is a great event to get started, ask questions, and learn about RI’s beautiful outdoor environment – and meet others!

To register, visit https://www.sricd.org/2024-11-16-register-for-the-forestry-walking-tour-at-hillsdale-preserve.

The Southern Rhode Island Conservation District (SRICD) promotes and achieves a healthy environment and sustainable use of natural resources for the people of Kent and Washington Counties and the State of Rhode Island, now and for the future, by coordinating partners to provide technical, educational and financial resources.

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FIRE BAN IN EFFECT

In response to the continued elevated risk of wildfires, the RI DEM has issued a fire ban at all State Parks, campgrounds, and management areas until further notice. The ban began on October 28th, and includes campfires in designated campfire areas, including charcoal fires and cooking fires. This preventative measure applies to all DEM-managed lands and aims to reduce the threat of human-caused wildfires. DEM will continue to monitor and evaluate conditions to determine when the ban can be lifted. 

Together we can protect our communities and keep first responders safe by reducing the risk of wildfires. Remember to call 911 if you spot a fire/smoke. Timely information is critical to contain fires before they spread. Any outdoor fire is a potential source for a wildfire. Be careful with cigarettes and ashes. When disposing of wood stove ashes, put the ashes in a metal bucket of water. Stay informed on the status of the fire ban, and to find resources at dem.ri.gov/wildfirestatus. 

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Bring Harvested Deer to Check Stations at Opening of Muzzleloader and Shotgun Seasons

Deer hunters are reminded that all deer harvested during the first two days of the muzzleloader deer season – Saturday, Nov. 2, and Sunday, Nov. 3 – and the first two days of shotgun deer season – Saturday, Dec. 7, and Sunday, Dec. 8 – must be physically checked at one of 6 state-operated biological check stations. This includes deer taken with archery equipment. Exempt from this requirement are deer taken on Patience Island, Prudence Island, and Block Island; these must be reported using DEM’s Rhode Island Outdoors (RIO) online licensing system. 

Hunters bringing their deer to a check station during these dates do not need to report their harvest online prior to going to the check station. Outside of these dates, hunters are required to report their deer harvest online within 24 hours of harvest. Deer must be tagged in the field, with a valid deer tag for the appropriate season, immediately upon taking. Those who do not have internet service or cellular data access may call DEM’s Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) at 401-789-0281 between 8:30 AM and 4 PM Monday through Friday to report their harvest. 

Check stations allow biologists and volunteers to collect samples and take data that provides insight into the overall health of Rhode Island’s deer herd. The Durfee Hill Management Area check station is closed for renovations, but a new check station will be open nearby at George Washington Management Area. To help reduce hunter wait and travel times to and from check stations, an additional new check station will be open at the Smithfield Sportsman Club for this year’s muzzleloader and shotgun deer check station period. 

Check Station Operating Hours:  November 2 and 3: 8 AM – 8 PM – and – December 7 and 8: 8 AM – 6 PM.

Check Station Locations:

• (NEW) George Washington Management Area: 2185 Putnam Pike, Chepachet, (41.919437, -71.759970)
• (NEW) Smithfield Sportsman Club: 14 Walter Carey Rd, Smithfield, (41.8786, -71.5346)
• Arcadia Management Area: Rt. 165, Ten Rod Road, at Wood River, Exeter, (41.57305, -71.72163)
• Carolina Management Area: Pine Hill Road, Richmond, (41.46618, -71.68860)
• Great Swamp Management Area: 277 Great Neck Road, West Kingston, (41.47374, -71.57533)
• Tiverton Rod and Gun Club: 1529 Fish Rd, Tiverton, (41.62681, -71.18825)  

Deer hunters are required to obtain written permission annually for all deer hunting on private lands. DFW has developed a courtesy card, available on DEM’s website, for hunters and landowners to sign that gives the dates for permissions and contains A Hunter’s Pledge regarding principles of conduct.

DEM encourages private landowners to allow hunters to hunt deer on their property, where feasible, during deer hunting seasons as this is a sound management technique that benefits deer habitats and regulates population growth. Regulated hunting has proven to be the most cost-effective, efficient, and successful method of controlling deer populations, which helps ensure that the population remains in balance with ecological and social factors.

Hunter education is offered as part of DFW’s Hunter Education Program. Safety training is required by law in Rhode Island for beginner hunters. To date, more than 40,000 people have completed a hunter safety course, helping to reduce accidents here and elsewhere. A complete schedule of hunter educational offerings is available here.

Need your hunting license?

To purchase a hunting license, or for more information about Rhode Island’s hunting and fishing licensing system, visit DEM’s RIO portal, which acts as a portal to help plan adventures that make the most of Rhode Island’s great outdoors. It links to information on hunting and fishing opportunities, trails, and natural areas through a variety of maps, as well as certification information for hunter safety and boating safety. For more information on seasons, bag limits, zones, and regulations, review the 2024-25 Hunting and Trapping Regulation Guide available online at www.eregulations.com/rhodeisland/hunting and at local sales agents.

Wearin’ the Orange – that means YOU!

DEM reminds hikers, bike riders, horseback riders, and all other visitors of state management areas and undeveloped state parks that, for safety reasons, they must wear solid, daylight fluorescent orange during hunting seasons. From the second Saturday in September to the last day of February and the third Saturday in April to the last day in May, except during the shotgun deer seasons in December when a minimum of 500 square inches is required, hunters and all other users of management areas and designated undeveloped state parks must wear a minimum of 200 square inches of fluorescent orange, such as a hat.

During the shotgun deer seasons in December, a minimum of 500 square inches of solid, daylight fluorescent orange clothing – a hat and vest – is required. Waterfowl hunters hunting from a boat or blind, over water or field, and when done in conjunction with decoys are exempt from the orange requirements. Archers are exempt from wearing orange in areas of the state that are limited to hunting by archery-only. For more details, please visit www.dem.ri.gov/orange.

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RI Youth Waterfowl Hunt

This past Saturday, an enthusiastic group of 12 young hunters set out with seasoned mentors for the much-anticipated 2024 Rhode Island Youth Waterfowl Hunt. It was a day filled with excitement, camaraderie, and the thrill of the outdoors, reports RI Fish & Wildlife.

Youth had an immersive experience, learning about waterfowl hunting and soaking in the beauty of nature. THANK YOUs go out to all the dedicated mentors, who invested countless hours in the days leading up to the hunt, scouting for birds and identifying prime hunting spots, and the parents who supported their children in this activity. The kids even had a “Paint Your Decoy” craft activity at the end of the day.

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Election

Do we have to say it? VOTE! Why is it that 2 key demographics in this country don’t vote? The religious community – AND – the Second Amendment community and gun advocates. C’mon, people. We need to change that.

Next week – hopefully – we will know who the President is for the next four years. Regardless of how it goes, this great country has a check-and-balance system in place, a Congress to do their jobs, and the people to stay involved. Some will choose this time to walk away, if votes don’t go as they would want to see. Others will dig in to get even more involved. Remember, that it is the family close to you – and your friends and co-workers that matter most in your day to day life. Try to watch media outlets with one eye closed, regardless of how the election goes, for the first 6 months or so. Regardless, it won’t be pretty. Change is tough. Here’s a suggestion: Discover the great outdoors of Rhode Island. Take a walk. Breathe in the air. Fish. Learn more about hunting. Or, if you’re not a hunter, how about taking the time to learn more about birding and be ready for spring.

Recently we watched an elementary school teacher comforting a 2 year old really out of control. Throwing his body backwards, crying with those big crocodile tears, unable to say what was the problem, and unable to stop or respond to efforts to help him stop. The teacher softly spoke, “it’s ok, you’re ok, you’re ok”. Eventually, the little one will learn how to self-soothe. Eventually, so will we all. Because – after Election Day – regardless of our knee-jerk reactions to it (and there will be) – we’re all going to be ok. Be responsible for making it so in your own family, and among your own friends.

Til next week!