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Outdoors in RI: Dear Deer, Size matters, Hunting 101, Nature art in our parks, 2A and the candidates
Photo, top, RIDEM & Vincent Simms (right)
It’s Deer Mating Season – Be Alert for Deer Crossing Roadways
With days growing shorter, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is cautioning motorists to be on high alert for deer crossing roadways, particularly at dawn and dusk. The deer mating season (known as the “rut”) begins in late October and continues until early December. Deer move around more frequently during this time, and November is typically the peak period for collisions with motor vehicles. Some tips for avoiding or mitigating auto collisions with deer include: Scan the shoulders of the road in front of you; deer may dash out from the shoulder or wooded areas adjacent to the road. If you see a deer while operating a motor vehicle, proceed with caution and expect more than just one deer. Follow the speed limit; keeping your speed down will give you more time to respond to unexpected wildlife movements.Always use seat belts, since most injuries occur to drivers who are not belted. If a collision is unavoidable, apply the brakes firmly and remain in your lane; swerving sharply can cause an even more serious crash.
Anyone who strikes a deer should exercise caution when approaching the deer, as it may only be stunned, and a person could become seriously injured by a wounded animal’s attempt to escape. Any deer-vehicle collision should be reported to DEM’s 24-hour dispatch office at 401-222-3070, in addition to local police and the driver’s insurance company. Motorists should also notify the dispatch office if they observe an injured or road killed deer as this is another way the DFW monitors the deer herd. Deer vehicle collisions (DVCs) are a public safety risk and can be costly, averaging around $6,717 per collision according to the Federal Highway Administration. Deer reproductive behavior is the main driver behind DVCs and there were 1,347 DVCs reported to DEM in 2023.
White-tailed deer are a common sight in Rhode Island and regulated hunting has proven to be the most cost-effective, efficient, and successful method of controlling deer populations, which in turn ensures that the population remains in balance with ecological and social factors. DEM biologists seek to balance deer hunting opportunities with maintaining a healthy deer population and reducing negative impacts associated with overpopulated deer, including agricultural crop losses, nuisance complaints from residents, and especially DVCs. In areas with overabundant deer issues, DEM’s Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) works with local landowners such as municipalities, lands trusts, NGOs, or private landowners to open lands to public hunting in hopes to increase harvest to reduce the negative impacts associated with too many deer.
In 2022, a deer hunting cooperative program with DEM was requested by the Town of Bristol and its constituents to manage its deer population, which has one of the highest rates of both DVCs and nuisance complaints from residents in Rhode Island. The Town Council voted unanimously in favor of the cooperative agreement with DEM opening four parcels of town-owned property to archery only deer hunting to reduce Bristol’s deer population. During the 2023 deer hunting season since the cooperative program began, Bristol’s deer harvest almost tripled that of 2022 and is four times higher than its five-year average. DVCs in Bristol had previously been increasing steadily since 2009, reaching a record high of 59 in 2022.
Since the creation of cooperative hunting program with DEM, Bristol saw a significant decrease in DVCs in 2023, with a 31% decrease from 59 to 41. DEM aims to continue expanding cooperative hunting agreements throughout Rhode Island to effectively manage the deer population and hopes to see a reduction in deer vehicle collisions across the state.
For more information on DEM programs and initiatives, visit www.dem.ri.gov. Follow DEM on Facebook, Twitter/X (@RhodeIslandDEM), or Instagram (@rhodeisland.dem) for timely updates. Follow DFW on Facebook and Instagram (@ri.fishandwildlife) to stay up to date on news, events and volunteer opportunities. You can also subscribe to DFW’s monthly newsletter here.
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Size Matters!
New Tautog State Record! Congratulations to Vincent Simms on your catch! See photo, top of page!
Tautog caught in Newport on October 21, 2024 – Weight: 22 lbs 5.28 oz – Length: 33 in Girth: 24.25 in
Vincent Simms, the angler said, “I was looking forward to this trip with the crew! Great weather on the boat with Captain Rob. The fight was intense!! The fish was extremely strong and heavy. I will remember that moment for ever. A fish of a lifetime thanks to captain Rob and my crew.”
Captain Rob Taylor is from Newport Sport Fishing Charters. Simms was on their charter vessel “REEL EZ” when he caught the Tautog, and he gives shoutouts to Captain Rob and the Crew of the Reel EZ. Their website is https://www.nsfcharters.com/
Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle certified the record. If you think you might have caught a state record by legal means and within the proper creel and size limits, take the fish to one of the official weigh stations for confirmation. Find a full list of records and weigh stations at https://dem.ri.gov/sportfish-records.
Rhode Island Freshwater and Saltwater Sportfish Records
To qualify for a Gamefish Award or State Record Award, anglers must catch a qualifying fish by rod and reel, tie-up or handline by legal means in Rhode Island waters. The Rhode Island waters must also be open to the public without charge, fee, special permission, or membership. Fish caught in private ponds with restricted access to use by club members or their guests, including those temporarily opened to the public for a fishing derby, are not considered open to the public, even if no fee is charged, and will not qualify for either award.
If you believe you’ve caught a new Rhode Island State Record, bring it to an official weigh-in station to be weighed and measured using a digital scale. State record catches are determined annually once all data are received for that year. Any new record catches are updated each Spring according to the catch records of the previous year. Call first to make sure that they are open and that you can be accommodated.
See standing records here: https://dem.ri.gov/natural-resources-bureau/fish-wildlife/reports-publications/sportfish-records
Your contact person at the RI DEM is: Kimberly Sullivan, Principal Biologist -FWF / Aquatic Resource Education Coordinator (401) 539-0019 or [email protected]
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Hunter or Gatherer be? Hunter!
The RI DEM offers many kinds of courses in fishing and hunting. Hunter education is key for safety – and success.
Online Hunter Education Courses & In-Person Testing
In order to complete the online Rhode Island hunter and bowhunter education requirements, you must pass both the online training and an In-Person Exam. Testing is only available to students who have completed Rhode Island’s online hunter education course or online bowhunter education course within the past one year. You must contact and schedule an appointment with one of the instructors from the In-Person Testing Schedule. Look into each type and schedule to see what is most convenient for you:
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The Art of Nature in our Parks:
How often we drive by new murals and see bright, bold images on outdoors walls that speak of indoor things – but now, one park in Providence has a whole “outdoorsy” look.
A stunning new mural now lines the western and northern perimeter of Brassil Park. Created by local artists Duane Slick and Martin Smick, the mural draws from indigenous storytelling traditions and features Old Man Coyote, a character who weaves through tales of land and water creatures native to Rhode Island.
The project resulted from a design competition funded by the Providence Parks Department in collaboration with Councilman John Goncalves, community partners, and Friends of Brassil Park. It’s a beautiful tribute to the Narragansett and indigenous cultures that honor the cycles of life.
Go check it out and explore this new vibrant addition to our community! Brassil Park is at 41 Arnold St on the East Side of Providence.
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Second Amendment – where the candidates stand
Politics have left Democrats trying to show that certain gun ownership and policies are all right with them, while Republicans tamper down any aggressive pro-gun positions. With many elections throughout the country in a near-tie, 2nd Amendment issues have taken, what might be viewed as somewhat surprising, back seat in these elections.
Below is a story from the Kansas City Star (https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article294439354.html) on a bizarre incident to show those alliances. What was a created shooting “range”, but more of a photo opp, with violations of safety protocols galore, the end result was a bystander reporter getting hit by shrapnel. The wound was to the reporter’s upper arm, but one can only imagine it could have been quite worse. In the “X” post, below, you can see how close the shooters were to steel plates, using high powered weapons. The orange container you can see in the photo (there were 2) are explosives – if they had been hit by shrapnel, well, one can only imagine.
This follows the now famous interview with Kamala Harris and Oprah Winfrey where she said she owned a gun and would shoot anyone breaking into her home. She later identified the firearm only as “a Glock”.
From our colleagues at The Rhode Island Current, and their States Newsroom reports on the major policy issues in the presidential race:
“Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump agree that gun violence is a major problem, but they offer strikingly different views on how to address it.
While at a campaign rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, shortly after the Apalachee [Georgia school] shooting, [VP Kamala] Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, renewed calls for an assault weapons ban, universal background checks and red flag laws.
Students should not have to be frightened of school shootings, she said. “They are sitting in a classroom where they should be fulfilling their God-given potential, yet some part of their big, beautiful minds is worried about a shooter breaking through the door,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be this way.”
[Former President Donald] Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, expressed his condolences [on the Apalachee shooting], and said, “Our hearts are with the victims and loved ones of those affected by the tragic event in Winder, [Georgia],” Trump wrote on his social media site Truth Social. “These cherished children were taken from us far too soon by a sick and deranged monster.”
Trump has survived two assassination attempts, one where he was injured in the ear, but has not changed his stance on guns. After the first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita said at the Republican National Convention that the party won’t back away from its support of Second Amendment rights.
“We have a Second Amendment and a right to bear arms,” Trump said. “I’m very strongly an advocate of that. I think that if you ever tried to get rid of it, you wouldn’t be able to do it. You wouldn’t be able to take away the guns, because people need that for security, they need it for entertainment and for sport, and other things. But they also, in many cases, need it for protection.”
For a third year in a row, in 2022 — the most recent year of finalized data — firearms were the leading cause of death for children and teens ages 1 to 17, according to a report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions.
Harris’ record
In the aftermath of two mass shootings in 2022, Congress passed the most comprehensive bipartisan gun safety legislation in decades. The package that Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed into law provided $11 billion in mental health funds and $750 million for states to enact red flag laws. It also closed loopholes and established a White House Office for Gun Violence Prevention, among other provisions. [Harris was tasked with leading] the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which helps local communities implement that 2022 bipartisan gun legislation and aids communities impacted by gun violence.
“I am in favor of the Second Amendment, and I believe we need to reinstate the assault weapons ban,” Harris said.
Trump’s record
During Trump’s first presidency, he had a mixed record on gun policy. After a mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Trump administration moved to ban bump stocks, which allow a semi-automatic rifle to quickly fire bullets. [However, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the ban, and Trump said he would veto legislation that would enhance background checks on guns].
[Donald] Trump promised to roll back all gun-related regulations that the Biden administration has implemented, saying, “Every single Biden attack on gun owners and manufacturers will be terminated on my very first week back in office, perhaps my first day,” Trump said. He said he would cancel the “zero-tolerance” policy which revokes federal licenses from gun dealers who violate firearm laws.
[Donald] Trump said that he was supportive of a tax credit for teachers who wanted to carry a firearm in schools [and] voiced his disapproval of schools being gun-free zones. […he argued that a gun-free zone does not allow people to protect themselves]. “As the age-old saying goes, the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” Trump said. “The existence of evil is one of the very best reasons to arm law-abiding citizens.” He argued that schools should have metal detectors, fencing and an armed police officer.