WISCASSET, Maine — It’s convenient to hunt ducks in the middle of this midcoast town. They are plentiful in the coves along the Sheepscot River, and hunters don’t need to go out of their way to launch a canoe.
But some Wiscasset residents are concerned that the hunting is too close to where they spend time outdoors. Local officials are now considering an ordinance that would ban the use of firearms in two coves where people hunt — one below the Castle Tucker historic property, and another behind the elementary school.
The areas stand out because they are so close to the center of town and nearby homes. Since municipalities cannot restrict hunting — a power that lies solely with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife — all they can do is restrict where people can fire guns.
Other Maine towns have similar ordinances. For example, Boothbay Harbor restricts the discharge of firearms except for shotguns in some parts of town and small handguns that may be used to legally hunt raccoons. Gardiner restricts the discharge of firearms in two sections of the town as well, except for cases of self-defense, trapping or certain events.
Wiscasset resident Leslie Roberts brought the issue before the select board at its Jan. 16 meeting. Roberts said the spot near Castle Tucker, which is off the Pleasant Street extension, is popular with the same few hunters.
She brought the issue to selectmen after a tense encounter in December in which she confronted one of the hunters and explained that many people and children walk on the nearby paths.
Maine law restricts the use of guns within 100 yards of residential buildings, and in an interview, Roberts said that hunters always respect that law. However, since people walk nearby and use the cove for swimming and kayaking, she would feel safer if guns weren’t being fired so close to that area.
“I think everybody feels quite a bit safer to not have guns going off on weekend days while they’re out walking,” Roberts said.
Dennis Simmons, Wiscasset’s town manager, said he’s received complaints about hunting in the area in the past. Local Police Chief Lawrence Hesseltine said at the Jan. 16 meeting that he was surprised the town didn’t already have an ordinance prohibiting the firing of guns in town, but he added that a game warden has said it’s legal to hunt in the cove.
The select board referred the firearms discharge ordinance to the town’s ordinance review committee at its Jan. 16 meeting. If the committee comes up with an ordinance that’s approved by the select board, it would go up to public vote in June, Simmons said.
One member of the select board, James Andretta, voted against pushing the ordinance through to the committee. He said he was worried that the ordinance would actually cause more safety issues if it goes through.
“Discharging from the shoreline away from houses is the safest scenario when hunting,” Andretta said in an email. “If a new ordinance creates a setback from the shoreline, it could create a situation where hunters are allowed to discharge at the setback line towards the village.”
Andretta added that he may consider restricting firearms in the area under Castle Tucker, near the Pleasant Street extension, if that’s what residents prefer.
If the ordinance eventually passes, anyone who is caught violating it would be fined, Simmons said.
