Paradis Bow Hunting on Rocky Hill Greenway.pdf10/28/21, 5:05 PM City of Northampton Mail - Written Testimony Re: Bow Hunting on Rocky Hill Greenway
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ik=fec0f72d97&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f%3A1713683206639342594%7Cmsg-f%3A17136832066393…1/2
Sarah LaValley <slavalley@northamptonma.gov>
Written Testimony Re: Bow Hunting on Rocky Hill Greenway
1 message
John Paradis <paradisjohn@yahoo.com>Fri, Oct 15, 2021 at 7:00 AM
To: "SLaValley@northamptonma.gov" <SLaValley@northamptonma.gov>
Dear Sarah,
Here is my written testimony to the Conservation Commission for the public hearing in regards to
allowing bow hunting on the Rocky Hill Greenway.
My name is John Paradis, I live at 55 Ice Pond Drive in Northampton, which is right around the
corner from the Rocky Hill Greenway off Old Wilson Road.
I am a trail runner, and I am probably on the greenway easily 3 to 5 times a week and it is an
exceptional resource and one that has been amazing for my physical and mental health. Our
conservation areas in Northampton are so important and so necessary and I can’t thank all of you
enough for the work you are doing in our great community. And I also want to publicly commend
Wayne Feiden and Tom Annese for all they do to preserve and protect our city’s most precious
natural resources – thank you.
This is the most beautiful time of the year. The bugs are starting to go away, the air is crisp, and
leaves on the ground are full of crunch. The more I fall in love with the trails near my house, the
more impossible it is for me to stay out of them. Even during hunting season. So do I want to be on
a trail knowing that there’s someone in the woods with a bow and arrow? Of course, not. The
experience will certainly be much different and very unnerving. The irony of all this is that I never
before went on the golf course area because it was private property so I didn't get to enjoy this
autumnal beauty and recreation before the city purchased the property.
I do not agree that any part of the Rocky Hill Greenway is appropriate for bow hunting. The trails
are used a lot. When I am out on the trails, I have seen walkers, many people with their dogs, and
even some young children. There has been some turnover in the nearby neighborhoods, and I’ve
seen kids on bikes on Old Wilson that I had not seen before and they are also enjoying nature by
getting out on the trails.
As was also mentioned during the public comment period of the Oct. 14 public hearing, the city will
have a difficult time enforcing hunting on the property. Yes, historically, hunters have used the
property even when hunting was not allowed, and when the city purchased the property, despite
"no hunting signs" posted along Old Wilson Road, hunters drove onto the walking trail to remove
what they had killed. Hunters frequently traverse around private property during hunting season
(and sometimes outside hunting season) in the areas surrounding where I live. They hunt along
the power lines that cross Rte 66 between Burts Pitt Road and the Northampton Trail through Rte
10. There also also ATV tracks deep into the woods on city-owned conservation areas. I know
because the power lines are behind my property and I have seen them with ATVs. ATVs have also
gone on the trail by the powerlines on the conservation area near the gas company house off Rte
66. It is very hard to enforce.
I think the greenway is just simply not suitable for hunting of any kind. It’s not rural enough. It’s
adjacent to residential neighborhoods and get lots of use. The paths created by the city are very
lovely and a perfect resource for walkers, hikers, trail runners, folks with mountain bikes. Hunters
will find a way to drive on to them if you start to allow them to go on the greenway, and the paths
that the city -- and, we, as volunteers, strive to maintain -- will not be the same. It will take more
work, more effort, on our part, to maintain them for the other 11 months of the year.
Finally, if you do allow bow hunting on this public property, my questions to you would be: 1) How
will this hunting be regulated? How will you enforce the regulations? 2) And how will you ensure
public safety for folks like me who use the area for recreation and want to continue to use the area
even during hunting season?
10/28/21, 5:05 PM City of Northampton Mail - Written Testimony Re: Bow Hunting on Rocky Hill Greenway
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ik=fec0f72d97&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f%3A1713683206639342594%7Cmsg-f%3A17136832066393…2/2
Sincerely,
John Paradis
55 Ice Pond Drive
Florence, MA 01062