Monmouth County Parks

[fishy]

It seems the treehuggers won another one. Shark River Park was removed, because of a local resident.

[njdiver]

It seems the treehuggers won another one. Shark River Park was removed, because of a local resident.

Asbury Park Press
September 10, 2008

Wall abandons plan for gun, bow rules

By CHARLES WEBSTER
COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU

The Township Committee is abandoning its proposal to prohibit the carrying of any loaded weapons or nocked arrows within a 650-foot buffer zone from buildings after Monmouth County officials agreed to a compromise that will close two makeshift parking lots near Shark River Park and remove a 3.44-acre parcel of the park from the 2009 hunting plan.

"This is an example of the system working, and that only happens when the people involved truly care," Mayor John Devlin said.
Township residents living near the southern tip of Shark River Park have complained that hunters were parking in the makeshift lots and then trespassing into their yards with loaded shotguns and nocked arrows to get access to the county-owned hunting area.

Wall officials were in a showdown of sorts with the Monmouth County Park System for months over this year's deer hunt because of the hunting plan and a conflict with the township's firearms no-discharge ordinance. Township officials were concerned about the safety of residents near the Shark River Park hunting area off Gully and Remsen Mills roads.

Wall wanted its police patroling the Shark River Park area during hunting season to ensure that existing ordinances and any future ordinances were enforced. The county park system opposed Wall police enforcing any laws on county property and state officials wanted to stop township officials from moving forward on the proposed ordinance that would have prohibited the possession of a loaded firearm or nocked arrow within 650 feet of any building, school playground or municipal park within the township.

Devlin credited Deputy Mayor Michael Clayton with presenting the Monmouth County Board of Recreation Commissioners with the compromise plan that was adopted at a meeting Monday night.

"Mike carried the ball over the goal line for us," Devlin said. "Mike was our voice at the meeting and deserves the lion's share of the accolades."

Hunters showed up at the county recreation commission meeting to voice their concerns about the proposed ban.

Township officials say they battled a lot of misinformation about its proposed ordinance but declared the compromise is a win for everyone involved.

"We had no problem with hunting in Wall Township as a whole. We had one, very small problem area in the northeast section of town that posed safety and other issues for our residents. We were always focused on that one spot and never hunting in general or any hunting in any other portion of the town," Township Administrator Joseph Verruni said.

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080910/NEWS01/809100339/1004 (http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080910/NEWS01/809100339/1004)


Public Deer Hunting Land in New Jersey

51 Allaire SP, Manahawkin WMA, Manasquan River WMA, Monmouth County Park System - Shark River Park*, Rt. 33 Tract and Shark River Park - East of Remsen Mill Rd.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/huntland.htm (http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/huntland.htm)



2008/2009 - AREAS OPEN FOR DEER HUNTING

http://199.233.80.44/documents/127/MCPS_hunting_areas_0809.pdf



Download this document and scroll down to Shark River Park:

Monmouth County Park System
Deer Hunting Area

http://www.monmouthcountyparks.com/documents/132/deer_map_2008.pdf (http://www.monmouthcountyparks.com/documents/132/deer_map_2008.pdf)