OWASA may open property for hunting

For the first time in the organization’s history, the Orange Water and Sewer Authority is moving closer to allowing hunting on some of its land.

OWASA and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will hold a public hearing March 8 to give county residents a chance to voice their opinions about permitting hunting on a 500-acre site near the Cane Creek watershed between Martin and Mount Willing roads in western Orange County.

Ed Holland, OWASA planning director, said the group bought the land in the early 1980s to recover from the loss of wildlife habitats after building the Cane Creek Reservoir.

“When we received a permit to build the reservoir, there were certain requirements we had to meet,” he said. “About two years ago, it was brought to our attention that we weren’t meeting one of the provisions of the permit.”

That provision, Holland said, was one that required OWASA to allow the public to hunt on the reservoir’s land.

But because OWASA didn’t want to allow hunting near the reservoir, it worked with the commission to propose that hunting be allowed on the mitigation property, he said.

“We can’t have bullets flying around the reservoir,” said Mark Marcoplos, OWASA board of directors chairman. “That’s just not good.”

He added that the other reason for opening the mitigation land for hunting was that a lot of illegal hunting already takes place on the property.

“Wildlife areas are shrinking,” Marcoplos said. “And a lot of people over the years have gotten used to hunting on these lands.”

He said that once the OWASA board approves the limited hunting proposal sometime this spring, he hopes that the commission will put a stop to illegal hunting.

“The Wildlife Resource Commission will be able to monitor the land and enforce hunting regulations,” Marcoplos said. “Then if someone goes out there and tries to hunt without a license, they can arrest them.”

There are a number of provisions in the proposal that the OWASA board must approve before it allows hunting on the land.

Some of the provisions, he said, include only allowing the hunting of deer with a bow during most of the hunting season — from September to November. For a short period, hunting with muzzle-loading firearms also will be permitted.

Marcoplos presented OWASA’s plans to the Orange County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 15 to get feedback and to discuss the possibility of using the mitigation land for passive park uses such as hiking.

Commissioners Vice Chairman Barry Jacobs said he isn’t convinced that the land should be used solely for hunting.

“I don’t know that there’s that big of a need for hunting,” he said. “It just doesn’t seem like there have been a lot of people clamoring for new places to hunt.”

But Jacobs added that he is not against using the land for hunting, as long as OWASA follows legal standards such as not permitting weapons within 1,000 feet of a school.

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