The Washington Township Committee members will be voting on August 15th to determine if they will allow bow hunting behind many of our neighborhood homes in the Nestlingwood neighborhood.
It is not safe to bow hunt so close to residential properties and the trails. Bow hunting directly behind our neighbors’ backyards is an insane idea when a missed bow can travel 350 yards. That’s 1050 feet. Hunters only need to stay 400 feet away from your furthest structure on you property so if your house is your furthest structure they can literally hunt a foot off your property.

No one wants to see missed kills and maimed deer with arrows sticking out of their chest and ribs. It happens a lot. No one needs to see deer die on our properties. 
If a hunter guts the deer in the woods it’ll attract more bears and coyotes. 

Bow hunting season lasts September through February. Therefore you’re going to have these bow hunters on the trails and behind your backyards for all of these months.

There are 2 committee members (of 5) that seemed to care less about all of our  concerns.  
One of them  said that it’s bow hunting, not shot guns. Well, that’s great for the hunters that get to hang out and hunt for months on end rather than shot gun season that lasts one single week. Shot guns are also much safer than bows that can travel 3 lengths of a football field. He also said that they’re not making much money off of these permits and each hunter will be entitled to 15 acres of land. Well, if they’re not making much money off of this, you have to ask yourself what the motivation of the committee members are that are pushing this personal agenda. They are affecting so many of us residents and trail users yet these hunters who don’t pay taxes are imposing on our neighborhood and now we can’t even safely walk the trails anymore? How are these committee members putting the residents’ best interests in mind? They’re not. They are prioritizing the hunters that are obstructing our trails over the residents.

There is a Township Committee meeting on Monday 18 July.  Residents can address the committee during the public session like last night on any topic. These are the properties in the Nestlingwood development that border the hunting area.          

Winay 70,72
Sparrow 9,10
Eagle Nest 10,11,12
Ann 48,50,52,58,60,62,64,66,68,70
Ashwood 4,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17
 
Pheasant 29,31,33,35
Quail 43,45,47,49,51,53

We don’t think it’s right or fair for my neighbors and for this neighborhood.  We don’t think it’s fair for the young kids. We don’t think it’s fair for the trail walkers. 

Please sign this petition and let Mayor Murello and the township committee members that we are the tax payers and we want to keep or neighborhood safe and free of hunters in our backyards and near our trails.