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Shooting preserve in Culpeper receives permit Date published: 11/6/2009
BY DONNIE JOHNSTON The hamlet of Stevensburg in eastern Culpeper County is getting a new business--a licensed shooting preserve. Cousins John A. Covington and Donald C. Wells received a use permit from the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors last week and hope to begin taking clients on guided hunts by the end of the month. While most supervisors were in favor of the new enterprise, some wondered how neighbors would feel about shotguns going off. In particular, Supervisor Sue Hansohn was concerned that the noise might interrupt services at a neighborhood church on Sunday mornings. Covington explained that the actual hunting will take place on only about 100 acres at the rear of the 210-acre parcel, the land adjacent to a large commercial rock quarry. "Hunting will be so far from the church that the sound will not be noticed," Covington said. And Wells added, "There will be more noise from the trucks and motorcycles on [state] Route 3 than from the shooting." Supervisors Chairman Bill Chase agreed, saying he had walked over the property and that there were sufficient buffers to protect neighbors from noise. No one from the neighborhood raised concerns--or even spoke--at a public hearing on the matter. Chase also said that he was impressed with the layout of the preserve, which is in his magisterial district. Covington and Wells will have a "put and shoot" operation where farm-raised quail, pheasants and chukar are released an hour or so before hunters--who pay a fee--take to the field. He added that by eliminating fescue and returning the farm his family has owned for generations to native grasses, wild quail--a rarity in Culpeper County these days--have returned. "We have three nice coveys on the property right now," Covington said. Hansohn mainly objected to the shooting preserve's Sunday morning hours because of church services, but Covington stated that since this will be mainly a weekend operation, it was imperative that two hunts a day (morning and afternoon) be allowed both Saturday and Sunday. In the end, the board granted the use permit (6-1, with Hansohn voting against) with several conditions. Commercial hunting (not state-protected hunting rights) may not take place within 300 feet of a property line only without that neighbor's permission; Covington and Wells must have $1 million in liability insurance at all times; and no shot larger than No. 5 (which carries only about 100 yards) may be used. The use permit will initially be granted for 90 days but, through administrative channels, will extend to 10 years if no major complaints are filed during the trial period. If complaints arise, the enterprise will be allowed to continue but Sunday morning hunts (legal for commercial preserves) must be discontinued. The preserve will be licensed through the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and, Covington said, has the blessing of the National Wildlife Federation. Waterfowl and deer hunting (with rifles) are permitted on the property during established seasons on a noncommercial basis. Donnie Johnston:
I've never understood the allure of a hunting preserve or the people who pay money to go on a "guided hunt."
that headline is not correct.
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