CORNWALL, Ontario – At their meeting on Oct. 17, the United Counties of SD&G agreed to a staff recommendation to keep guns off of the Summerstown Trail from Dec. 15 to March 15.
The move comes from concerns over people firing guns on the trails during peak visitor season.
“It has been a worrying problem,” said Friends of the Summerstown Trails (FOTST) President Paul Couture. “Our biggest issue hasn’t been with hunters per se, but with people bringing rifles into the trails. Unfortunately, hunters got caught up in the net to restrict firearms on the trails.”
Couture said that there had been a few incidents with firearms over the years. He said that the police were once called in 2011 over people firing their guns in the Trail’s parking lot near the opening of ski season.
He said that more recently that one of their trail groomers stumbled upon people shooting for target practice at the quarry. This incident raised concerns because the groomer, being on a skidoo and wearing a helmet, could not hear the shooting.
Couture emphasized though that he felt hunters were important partners in the trails because hunters, like the FOTST, understand and value conservation.
