Code of Massachusetts Regulations
321 CMR - DIVISION OF FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE
Title 321 CMR 3.00 - Hunting
Section 3.01(1) - Public Shooting Grounds and Wildlife Management Areas

(a) Purpose: 321 CMR 3.00 governs the administration of wildlife management areas and sets forth permissible and prohibited activities on such areas. The provisions of 321 CMR 3.00 incorporate the philosophy of the Division that conservation shall encompass the wise use of wildlife resources, including, where appropriate, protection, utilization, and management. Therefore, except as provided in 321 CMR 3.03, hunting, fishing, and trapping shall be permitted on wildlife management areas in accordance with the provisions of 321 CMR 3.00 and other provisions of 321 CMR and of M.G.L. c. 131.

(b) Definitions:

Alcoholic Beverage shall be defined as in M.G.L. 138, § 1.

Camping means the utilization of any piece of equipment for sleeping in or upon, including, but not limited to, a sleeping bag, hammock, tent, tarp, motor vehicle, recreational vehicle, trailer, or watercraft, for the purpose of occupying a piece of land or water for transient and temporary outdoor living.

Controlled Substance and Counterfeit Substance shall be defined as in M.G.L. c. 94C, § 1.

Director means the Director of the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.

Installation means fish hatcheries, wildlife district offices, and the Westborough field headquarters.

Nature Preserve means those lands, waters, shores and interests therein as defined and established pursuant to 321 CMR 11.00 and administered under provisions of M.G.L. c. 131, §§ 10A through 10D.

Wildlife Management Area means any real property, except installations, nature preserves and wildlife sanctuaries, owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts through the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and subject to the control and charge of said Division, or owned by or subject to the control and charge of another agency of the Commonwealth or political subdivision thereof or of the United States and operated or managed by the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife under lease, easement, or cooperative agreement as a wildlife management area. Additionally, the Director, with the approval of the Fisheries and Wildlife Board, may, by lease, easement, or cooperative agreement establish a wildlife management area with a partnership, corporation, whether profit or non-profit, firm, business, or other commercial or non-commercial entity, club, organization, or association and such area shall be subject to provisions of 321 CMR 3.01(1). For the purposes of 321 CMR 3.01(1), "wildlife management area" shall be construed as inclusive of "public shooting ground".

Wildlife Sanctuary means those lands, waters, shores, and interests therein as defined in 321 CMR 7.01(2)(e) and administered under provisions of M.G.L. c. 131, §§ 7 through 10, or any other lands designated by the Director as subject to 321 CMR 7.01.

(c) No person shall illegally consume, use, cultivate, or possess any controlled substance of any schedule or class or any counterfeit substance within the bounds of any wildlife management area.

(d) No person, except with the written permission of the Director or his authorized agent, shall consume, use, or possess any alcoholic beverage within the bounds of any wildlife management area.

(e) No person shall dump or discard, or cause to be dumped or discarded, any container, papers, garbage, brush, stumps, leaves, solid or liquid wastes, tires, or other material within the bounds of any wildlife management area.

(f) No person shall remove, damage, or disturb vegetation, soil, or stones within any wildlife management area except under permit from the Director or his authorized agent, provided that nothing in 321 CMR 3.01(1)(f) shall be construed to prohibit the harvesting for personal consumption of edible wild fruits, berries, fungi, or nuts.

(g) No person shall use excessive speed in driving a vehicle on roads within any wildlife management area.

(h) No person, except under permit from the Director or his authorized agent, and except governmental employees in the performance of their duties, shall drive, operate, or possess within the bounds of any wildlife management area any motor vehicle, snow vehicle, or recreational vehicle, except on roads or trails maintained by a governmental agency and designated for the express purpose of permitting public vehicular traffic.

(i) No person shall deface, damage, remove, or molest any sign, fence, gate, building, monument or equipment within or on any wildlife management area.

(j) No person shall build or maintain, or cause to be built or maintained, a fire within any wildlife management area without written permission from the Director or his designated agent and the city or town fire chief or the District Fire Warden.

(k) No person shall camp within any wildlife management area without written permission from the Director or his designated agent.

(l) No person shall engage in target practicing or target shooting within any wildlife management area without written permission from the Director or his designated agent. "Target practicing" shall be construed to include the "sighting in" or testing of firearms and bows-and-arrows.

(m) The night hunting of raccoon and opossum by means of a pistol or revolver not larger than .38 caliber, or by means of a rifle chambered to take ammunition not larger than .22 caliber long rifle shall be permitted on the following wildlife management areas between 1/2 hour after sunset and 1/2 hour before sunrise in accordance with the prescribed seasons, bag limits, and other provisions of 321 CMR 3.02(5). During this night hunting period, the wearing of a "hunter orange" cap or hat is not mandatory.

(n) No person shall hunt during the pheasant or quail seasons on any wildlife management area where pheasant or quail are stocked without wearing a "hunter orange" color cap or hat, except for the hunting of raccoon or opossum in accordance with 321 CMR 3.01(1)(m) and except for persons hunting waterfowl from within a blind or a boat. For the purposes of 321 CMR 3.01(1)(n), "hunter orange" color shall be that color defined in 321 CMR 3.01(2).

(o) No person, except with the written permission of the Director or his authorized agent, shall, within any wildlife management area, dig, excavate, remove or disturb, or cause to be dug, excavated, removed or disturbed, any archaeological or paleontological artifacts, remains, ruins, sites, fossils, or other objects of unusual historical or prehistorical antiquity.

(p)Rules of Conduct on Wildlife Management Areas for Dogs, Horses and Other Domesticated Animals

(q) The Director is authorized to declare special regulations as deemed necessary by him for the purpose of dealing with situations or conditions peculiar to specific wildlife management areas. Those special regulations appearing in 321 CMR 3.03 shall be construed to be part of 321 CMR 3.01(1)(q).