Brewster ConCom Urges Town To Allow More Hunting

BREWSTER – The annual review of the hunting policy on town land took place Monday night at a joint meeting with the select board, water commission and conservation commission. While all boards approved the policy, some members of the conservation commission were in support of taking another look at the restrictions, specifically whether hunting dates should be expanded.

In 2022, voters approved a citizen petition at the annual town meeting to put restrictions on hunting in the Punkhorn Parklands. The restrictions included a specific range of dates (usually three weeks in December) and the use of bows only. 

According to the current 2025 policy, hunting is allowed between Dec. 2 and Dec. 21, not including Sundays. The areas are limited to specific sections of the Punkhorn Parklands, the Southeast Brewster aquifer protection area and the Mothers Bog aquifer protection area. 

 Town Manager Peter Lombardi said the number of hunting licenses issued by the town is usually in the single digits. This year, there have been six. 

 Gary Kaser, a member of the conservation commission, observed that the ever-growing deer population is putting a strain on the environment. 

 “In two years, two deer can become 50 deer,” he said. “So the deer population is really high, a lot higher than it was. The tick population is really high.” 

 Because of the increase in ticks, Kaser said he doesn’t frequent the Punkhorn area as much. According to his research, one deer can carry around 400,000 ticks in its lifetime, usually from a female tick producing thousands of offspring. 

 “I know you don’t want to open up more land,” he said. “But it really would be in the best interest of the town to allow more hunting.” 

 Kaser said he spoke with a deer biologist who said deer tend to gravitate toward native plants, which allows invasive species to take hold and removes bees from the area. 

 Ronald Slowek added that the current population size in the Punkhorn area is about 27 deer per square mile. In Nickerson State Park, the average is about 41 deer per square mile, he said. 

 Slowek said he wouldn’t go as far as to request the hunting area be expanded, but he would like further data collected to understand the range of available options. He said there are more than just opening the area, including added deer permits. 

 Kaser said the town had previously maintained that if there were no injuries or problems, they would be willing to expand the area every year, but that has not happened. 

 While overgrazing may be apparent, Slowek said he would like to see data from the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, which has previously agreed to come to the area and collect data. 

 Water Commission Chair Cynthia Baran requested that wells one and two be carved out on the map for consistency, so hunters know not to go in those areas. 

 No action was taken to change the hunting policy.