‘It’s scary’: Bend hunter worried about shared hunting, recreational lands
(Update: adding video, comments from hunter)
Experienced hunter concerned with overlapping recreational areas
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Deer hunting season began on Saturday, and Dee Neff was out all weekend in the Deschutes National Forest, searching for bucks. Neff was born and raised in Bend, and says she relies on hunting to put food on the table.
While she enjoys hunting season, she worries about people who recreate in the same area.
"We know we all have to play in the same sandbox, but my concern is, we're carrying high-velocity powered rifles," Neff told NewsChannel 21 on Tuesday.
Neff and her family hunt in an area known as the Upper Deschutes Unit. That area stretches for hundreds of miles, from Sisters to Klamath County. Since that area is public land, it overlaps with recreational areas.
"I've seen how close those motorcyclists are, and how close those mountain bikers are, and it's scary -- it scares me," Neff said.
ODFW, the Forest Service and BLM all provide maps of public lands, but there isn't one that shows the overlap, something Neff believes could be a solution.
"We need to be able to look at our recreation and our hunt maps and mold those, and realize where we are overlapping into our same zones," She said.
There are hunting rules where a person cannot shoot within 150 yards of a developed recreational site. But the other areas are what scares Neff the most.
"Every hunter knows not to pull the trigger until you see the horns," she said. "But there are ricochets, there are missed shots. They just don't realize that they are a possible duck just passing by." Neff added.
It's up to each person to educate themselves about the areas in which they're either hunting or recreating.
Jean Nelson-Dean, public information officer for the Deschutes National Forest, says people should research the areas they're planning on visiting.
"To keep it simple, know before you go," she said.
Nelson-Dean says people should follow travel management rules and check fire restrictions and public land regulations.
