Hunting Season Safety

Updated: October 2024

Hunting season is back upon us this fall in Massachusetts! Wildlands Trust has four properties that permit hunting during this time:

• Great River Preserve, Bridgewater

• South Triangle Pond Conservation Area, Plymouth

• Striar Conservancy, Halifax

• Barnes Rymut Preserve, Halifax

Hunting is prohibited on all other Wildlands Trust properties.

Still, boundaries can be confusing and hunters sometimes cross into prohibited areas unknowingly. Please be mindful when you are out in the woods this year, wherever it is that you like to hike, run, or ride. The best way to protect yourself is to wear blaze orange like our staff does!

While hunters are required to wear blaze orange during certain seasons, Mass Wildlife recommends that all outdoor users who are in the woods during hunting season wear blaze orange clothing as a precaution, and that pets wear an orange vest or bandana for visibility.

You can learn more at mass.gov/topics/hunting.

Have a great fall, and stay safe!

Wildlands’ Tips for Summer Trail Safety

Sylvester Field in Hanover. Photo by Jerry Monkman.

By Thomas Patti, Communications Coordinator

Summer is a beautiful time to explore Southeastern Massachusetts. It’s little wonder that birds and humans alike migrate thousands of miles each year to settle in our region during the warmest months. Flowers and their pollinators burst with color. Sunlight streams through shady forest canopies and over rolling, grassy fields. Cool water runs through coastal rivers, ponds, and streams, offering vital refuge to fish, reptiles, and people. 

But summer also presents health and safety risks to visitors to our region’s trails. Read on to learn how simple precautions can keep you and your loved ones hiking, paddling, and enjoying nature all summer long. 

Beat the Heat 

Tucker Preserve in Pembroke. Photo by Jerry Monkman.

Climate change has made summer heat waves longer, hotter, and more frequent—and models predict these trends will continue through much of the century. Hiking in high heat requires extra planning and attention to your body. 

• Pack water and drink it often. Water can feel cumbersome to bring along on a hike, but any inconvenience pales in comparison to an on-trail health emergency. Even short hikes can become dangerous without early-and-often water breaks. How much water should you expect to drink? Consult Camelbak’s Hydration Calculator to find out. Also make sure to stay hydrated in the days leading up to your excursion; otherwise, dehydration can set in sooner and more severely on the trail. 

  Prevent overhydration by keeping salt levels balanced with electrolyte-packed sports drinks, salty snacks, or salt tablets. 

• Monitor for symptoms of heat illness. Fatigue, weakness, nausea, dizziness, and muscle cramps can all signal heat exhaustion. Ignoring these signs can lead to heat stroke, which in turn can lead to loss of consciousness and even death. If something doesn’t feel right, turn around. The trail will be there next week. 

• Know your limits. Think twice about hitting the trails amid extreme heat. Check the forecast before you head out, as temperature and precipitation can change rapidly during the summer. Avoid hiking during the hottest part of the day, often in the afternoon. If you’re on the fence about heading out, err on the side of caution and plan for another day. 

Cortelli Preserve in Plymouth. Photo by Jerry Monkman.

Slay the Rays 

Protect your eyes and skin from sun damage by wearing UPF clothing, a wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses. Apply sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher before and during your hike. These precautions can save you from temporary afflictions like painful sunburns and eye irritation and chronic, severe, and even life-threatening conditions like vision loss and skin cancer. 

Ditch the Ticks 

Unusually warm winters in recent years have caused local tick populations to surge earlier in the season, with consequent increases in Lyme Disease and other tick-borne illnesses. Check yourself for ticks daily, as well as during and after outdoor excursions. Check your dogs, too, as ticks lodged in their fur can make them sick and take up residence inside your home. Remove any ticks on you or your loved ones with tweezers. Talk to your doctor if you develop a rash at the site of the bite. 

Minimize your chances of encountering ticks by staying on the center of the trail, away from overgrown vegetation, and by wearing long-sleeved clothing, with your pants tucked into your socks. Wearing light-colored clothes can make it easier to detect ticks. To repel ticks, apply DEET to exposed skin and permethrin to clothing. 

Leaves of Three, Let It Be 

Poison ivy. Photo by Jerry Monkman.

Poison ivy proliferates in the summer months, so keep an eye out for its glossy three leaves along trail edges and on vines up tree trunks. If you are visiting a trail with a known abundance of poison ivy, wear a long-sleeved shirt and pants to protect yourself from painful rashes. 

Share the Trail 

When trail visitation peaks during summer months, conflicts can arise among different user groups. Hikers should stay on the lookout for bikes, which can move at high rates of speed around tight corners with limited visibility.  

This is true for both mountain biking, an authorized use of many Wildlands trails, and dirt biking, which is prohibited on all Wildlands property. Dirt bikes create safety hazards and disturb sensitive ecosystems by causing erosion on trails. Enforcement is challenging, however, as some dirt bikers may ignore posted signage and physical barriers. So, hikers should maintain a watchful eye and listening ear. Even when you have the right of way, get out of the way of dirt bikers to avoid collisions and serious injury. Learn more about off-highway vehicle regulations and report violations here.  

Willow Brook Farm in Pembroke. Photo by Jerry Monkman.

Ready to get out there? Explore our trails across Southeastern Massachusetts at wildlandstrust.org/trails. Stay safe and have fun! 

Source: “7 Essential Tips to Hike Safely This Summer.”AAA. April 2024. 

Hiker Preparedness Guide

By Outreach and Education Manager Rachel Calderara

Here at Wildlands Trust, we lead many hikes throughout Southeastern Massachusetts. With our second OkTRAILberfest on the horizon offering hikes of up to 11 miles, we want to share our guide for hiker preparedness with you!

Hiking is a great way to engage with nature - the best way in this writer's opinion. It is good for the mind and body, and helps build a sense of adventure and independence. But, the activity does come with some inherent risks like dehydration, injury, and exposure. Being prepared with suitable clothing and gear is the best way to keep yourself safe so enjoy your time on the trail.

Must Haves:

• Appropriate Footwear. Not only is it important to take care of your feet to keep them from hurting, but it's important to support your foundation! If you're going to be hiking through strenuous terrain with steep inclines or rocky areas, we definitely recommend sturdy boots with good ankle support. Sneakers are okay for flat, short hikes. For guided hikes with Wildlands Trust, we require at least sneakers and prefer boots, and never accept flip flops!

• Water. Have you ever felt a headache coming on while hiking? You're probably experiencing the first signs of dehydration. Dehydration can lead to disorientation, nausea, dizziness, heat stroke, and/or hypothermia. Departing for your hike without carrying water is just a bad idea. We recommend carrying more than you think you'll need - plus, the extra weight in your pack will give you a better workout!

• Food. Keeping your energy level high is important for an enjoyable hike. Trail snacks with protein, sugar, and salt are great ways to keep your energy and electrolytes up! On especially hot days, drinking water isn't enough and you'll need to add some salt and sugar to your diet to avoid dehydration - of course, don't overdo it!

• Rain Shell. We find that people are reluctant to carry a rain shell or poncho, but it can save you from hypothermia and is a small, light-weight item in your pack. The weather in New England is unpredictable, and it rains all year long. Keeping yourself and your clothes dry in a surprise rain storm is essential for your well being. 

• Sun Protection. The importance of clothing or sunscreen that will keep your skin protected from UV rays can never be understated.

• First Aid Kit. A well-stocked first aid kit should live in your pack, always ready when you need it. If you're going on a guided hike with Wildlands Trust, your leader will have a kit as well!

We Recommend:

• Long Pants. Even in the heat of summer, lightweight pants can help protect you from ticks, poison ivy, scrapes and scratches, mosquitoes, and the sun!

• Hats/Sunglasses. Speaking of sun protection, keeping your face shaded and retinas protected form UV rays will help you stay cool and remain healthy in the long run. 

• Insect Repellent. New England has one of the highest rates of Lyme Disease and other tick-borne illnesses. Repellent can help make you hard to detect by ticks, mosquito, and other biting insects.

• Flashlight. Getting lost can happen, even to the most experienced hikers. If you find yourself out past dark by accident, a flashlight is a useful tool and lightweight in the pack.

• Navigation: maps, compass, and/or GPS. Trail maps for Wildlands Trust properties are available on our website for free. We don't recommend heading down a trail without a map!

• Matches. Lighters can die, but matches kept in a waterproof case will go the distance. Keep a small container of strike-anywhere matches in your pack if you need to light a fire in a pinch.

• Shelter. Carrying an emergency blanket, which folds up to about the size of a smart phone, can keep you warm in situations of unplanned overnight excursions or hypothermia. 

Our goal at Wildlands Trust is to get your outside and enjoying nature, and to keep you safe while doing so. Please know that if you show up unprepared for a guided hike, you may be turned away for your own safety and the safety of the group. 

For more information on how to be prepared, we recommend checking out REI's day hiking checklist and/or ten essentials list. Stay safe, and we'll see you on the trails!

Deer Ticks: One Bite Can Change Your Life

On Tuesday, May 23 Entomologist Larry Dapsis came to the Wildlands Trust Community Conservation Barn for a special presentation about ticks and tick-borne illnesses. Dapsis is the Entomologist for Barnstable County and Deer Tick Project Coordinator for Cape Cod Cooperative Extension. He works both to study tick populations and diseases and to educate the public. An engaged crowd of nearly 30 volunteers, members, and nonmembers made for an interactive program and lively discussion. If you missed it, or just want to review the information, you can download the PDF below.

Here at Wildlands Trust, we want to help inform and educate everyone who loves to get outside to enjoy nature in order to best protect themselves. Every time we're out on the trails with a group, without fail someone has a personal story about how tick-borne illnesses have effected their lives. Living in an area  where the rate of tick-borne illness is among the highest in the country, this information from Larry Dapsis is invaluable. We look forward to having him at Wildlands again next year!