UPPER FREEHOLD — Residents who live near a year-old state wildlife management area are questioning the hunting practices of people who visit the location.
The Pleasant Run Wildlife Management Area was created at the site of the former Princeton Nurseries. The 500-acre tract lies in portions of Burlington, Monmouth and Mercer counties.
Residents who asked not to be identified said they are concerned about activities at the wildlife management area near their homes off Route 539 near Walnford Road and Waterbury Court.
The residents said they are worried about hunters who visit the location at odd hours, hunters who walk through residential properties in order to reach the area and litter being left by visitors.
Residents said they believe the wildlife management area is too close to some school bus stops and homes.
According to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), all wildlife management areas are regulated by the same hunting laws.
According to state regulations, “no firearm hunter may carry a loaded firearm or hunt within 450 feet of any building or any school playground, even if unoccupied, except with written permission of the owner or lessee.
“No bow hunter may carry a nocked arrow or hunt within 150 feet of a building or within 450 feet of any school playground, even if unoccupied, except the owner or lessee of a building and persons specifically authorized by him in writing.”
The DEP lists the hours of operation for all wildlife management areas as between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m., unless “engaged in lawful hunting, fishing or trapping activities.”
“New Jersey has very strict hunting regulations, and the state’s hunters have an excellent safety record,” DEP spokesman Larry Hajna said.
Hajna said he was unaware of any recent issues from residents specifically regarding the Pleasant Run Wildlife Management Area, but he said there have been complaints about hunters in the past at various locations.
“Officers have responded multiple times to complaints of early hunting or hunting within the safety zone. By the time they got there, the hunters were gone,” Hajna said.
In regard to the Pleasant Run Wildlife Management Area, Hajna said the DEP has received complaints about shots being fired during off hours that have turned out to be little more than a misunderstanding.
“On one occasion, we responded to a complaint of shots fired close to houses and arrived within minutes of the complaint,” he said. “There were no hunters in the area, but there was a farmer nearby who said he discharged his shotgun several times to scare geese off his sod fields.”
Anyone with questions or complaints regarding the DEP’s wildlife management area regulations or alleged violations may call the DEP’s Central Region Office Law Enforcement division at 609-259-2120.