# Pine Lake residents want no hunting



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Lake residents want no hunting
Waterfront now too developed, they say

THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION April 05, 2006
By Bob Wheaton [email protected] 810.766.6375

FENTON TWP. - People who want to ban waterfowl hunting on Pine Lake are getting support from an unlikely source - hunters. 

Sportsmen who live on the lake are among those who are asking the state Department of Natural Resources to make it illegal to hunt on the small lake off Owen Road just west of Fenton. 

"I am an avid hunter, a member of Ducks Unlimited and a member of the Linden Sportsman Club," said John Vitovsky, president of the Pine Lake Association and a resident for 18 years. "I'm not against hunting. I firmly believe that people have the right, and I would fight to protect it. ... But now that our lake is basically completely developed, it is not safe here to hunt." 

At the request of Pine Lake residents, the Fenton Township Board will ask the DNR to hold public hearings on whether to prohibit hunting on the lake. 

No dates have been set, but a DNR official said the residents could have a tough road. 

"We're very reluctant ... to ban hunting in most areas because we feel that people should have access to hunting unless, of course, there are serious safety concerns that can be documented, either through complaints to police departments or conservation officers," said Mary Dettloff, spokeswoman for the DNR. 

Hunting is banned on nearby Byram, Marl and Silver lakes, she said. 

People who were hunting ducks from a boat on the lake last fall created a stir among residents and started the talks about a ban, Vitovsky said. The Genesee County Sheriff's Department was called, he said, but the hunters appeared to be following a state law that says hunting must occur at least 150 yards from any dwelling. 

Nonetheless, the presence of the hunters prevented other residents from kayaking on the lake and worried residents, he said. 

Mike Smith, a resident of the lake for 16 years and another hunter who favors a ban, said hunting wasn't such a problem when the lake was less populated. 

"With development comes change," said Smith. 

Another Pine Lake resident, Mike Fedio, said he doesn't think hunting should be prohibited, saying it's safe as long as hunters follow the law. 

The lake association sent survey forms to all residents, Vitovsky said, and 55 of the 56 households that responded supported a ban. There are about 121 homes on the lake, he said.


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## lang49 (Aug 1, 2005)

I'm not familiar with this particular lake. However, layout hunting is a perfectly legal sport. Provided that the boat is positioned properly, residents of the lake have nothing to fear.

-Andrew


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## joefsu (Jan 9, 2005)

If this guy is the hunter he claims he is, why would he be trying to ban hunting? Maybe he should take a step back and really think about what he is doing!!!:rant:

As a duck hunter I see development of lakes our biggest threat not PETA!! This is why I won't live within a 100 yards of a lake.

Joe


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## WOODS (Feb 9, 2006)

> joefsuIf this guy is the hunter he claims he is, why would he be trying to ban hunting? Maybe he should take a step back and really think about what he is doing!!!:rant:


I have to agree some what agree with the guy. And yes I'm a dck hunter. If the lake is small a completly surrounded by houses then maybe it should be banned from hunting. The promblem is if you give an inch to anti hunting they try to take a mile!:rant: No Pine Lake turns to no lake in this township to no Lake in this county.


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## dinoday (Feb 22, 2004)

WOODS said:


> No Pine Lake turns to no lake in this township to no Lake in this county.


 I've seen it happen. The lake I live on is right by Pontiac Lake and when you can't find birds on Pontiac Lake,drive by my place and you'll see where they all are...and you can't hunt them there.


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## daddyduck (Nov 2, 2001)

Dang, if i knew you could hunt that lake, i would've been out there last year.
The lake has alot of $200,000-$300,000 houses on it.


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## Loincloth (Nov 13, 2005)

joefsu said:


> If this guy is the hunter he claims he is, why would he be trying to ban hunting? Maybe he should take a step back and really think about what he is doing!!!


Exactly. Odds are good though, that he is not what he claims he is. He might be a part timer, but serious waterfowlers would never stick their neck out that far.


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## bullcan (May 18, 2004)

No way the guy hunts, I would never support a ban or try to restrict access in any way. 

I do not know this lake, does it have state land bordering it?


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## wavie (Feb 2, 2004)

Another Pine Lake resident, Mike Fedio, said *he doesn't think hunting should be prohibited, saying it's safe as long as hunters follow the law. *


Couldnt agree with this more!


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## Splitshot (Nov 30, 2000)

John Vitovsky is a hypocrite and his neighbor is correct. Should be okay if hunters are following the rules.


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## kbhunter (Dec 1, 2005)

It seems that if the lake was that developed then the DNR would have been giving tickets out for the safety rule and complaints about hunters being on their bottom lands. Don't know anything about the area though.


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## cupped-n-locked (Jan 5, 2006)

Isn't there already a law in effect to address this sort of thing, ( 450 ft from a dwelling). But as ussuall people will think the law needs to be changed just because they have to enforce it once in a while.

One other thing - Ya great! A guy that attended a DU dinner 3 years ago and probably hunted once in high school is standing up at meetings and calling himself an "Avid Hunter". This is so typical - why doesn't he go to his closest DU Dinner, stand up in the middle of it and vioce that opinion - see what happens.


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

typical.....its ok to do it, just not in my backyard......great philosophy. Development in this state is so overdone its retarded. DNR has already sold us out so it doesn't really matter. It's like the guy that runs a cattle farm 5miles from town for 50 years....then the town developes and surrounds him and they tell him he has to stop raising cattle because they are stinking up their town.


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## Bd7 (Jan 26, 2004)

THIS IS ALSO THE KIND OF THING THAT HAPPENS WHEN HUNTERS DON'T USE THEIR HEADS. IF YOU DON'T RESPECT OTHERS RIGHTS AND PUSH THE RULES. you just might lose yours .I saw this a lot last year. If we use our heads and give others the respect they want we will all be better off too..not every one likes to see ducks killed at 7 am.for breakfast entertainment. Just because you can ,don't mean you should ...all the time..
I don't want to lose my hunting rights on the lakes I hunt ,but there seems to be a lot more trash hunters these days making it bad for us all.... USE YOUR HEADS GUYS !
THIS may not be the case, in this case, but it may too...


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## GRUNDY (Jun 18, 2005)

I'm not advocating this guy, but if the lake is developed and is not considered a "navigable waterway" of which there are very little. I thought the property owners owned to the middle of the lake in a pie shape, this would extend their reparian right to the middle of the lake and in turn the hunters would need permission. Hunting has been deemed a privilege of the reparian landowner. Fishing however is done on the water which is technically public.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, because if I am there are alot more hunting spots out there for me to try.

Brian


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## lang49 (Aug 1, 2005)

bullcan said:


> No way the guy hunts, I would never support a ban or try to restrict access in any way.
> 
> I do not know this lake, does it have state land bordering it?


I don't really care if the lake has state land or not...The way I see it is- provided I can launch a boat there, and provided that the lake isn't so small that I'm in constant violation of the 450ft rule, I should be able to hunt.


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## TNL (Jan 6, 2005)

lang49 said:


> I don't really care if the lake has state land or not...The way I see it is- provided I can launch a boat there, and provided that the lake isn't so small that I'm in constant violation of the 450ft rule, I should be able to hunt.


Yep, if you can legally get on the lake, you can hunt it to my understanding. A private lake is another matter, but if there is public launch facilities, I believe it's huntable. Otherwise, law enforcement wouldn't say that the hunters are legal if they are observing the 450' rule.

What pisses me offf is that the landowners think if they live on the lake, then they own it. The NIMBYs come out and want a ban so they can kayak. Well, last I knew the State owned the lakes with public access and they were meant to be enjoyed by all --including hunters and kayakers.


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## Randle (Nov 6, 2000)

I agree with Grundy, Everything I have heard is that you must either own or have permission to hunt in that pie shaped piece of water and then you must still also be 450 feet away from any residences. That is why I never goose hunt on our lake even though there are a lot of them.


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

Bd7 said:


> THIS IS ALSO THE KIND OF THING THAT HAPPENS WHEN HUNTERS DON'T USE THEIR HEADS. IF YOU DON'T RESPECT OTHERS RIGHTS AND PUSH THE RULES. you just might lose yours .I saw this a lot last year. If we use our heads and give others the respect they want we will all be better off too..not every one likes to see ducks killed at 7 am.for breakfast entertainment. Just because you can ,don't mean you should ...all the time..
> I don't want to lose my hunting rights on the lakes I hunt ,but there seems to be a lot more trash hunters these days making it bad for us all.... USE YOUR HEADS GUYS !
> THIS may not be the case, in this case, but it may too...


Bd7 - 
Seems like we had this same discussion last fall about the guy who was hunting Tawas Bay right off the beach from the Holiday Inn, didn't we? I agree with what you said completely. Using your head and not purposely pissing off the "subdivision types" will go a long way towards protecting our sport. Sometimes you just can't help but piss them off, which appears to be the case with this Pine Lake thing. But on Tawas Bay, there's a lot of room out there to get "outta their picture windows" so to speak when you're hunting. Still can't get that Tawas Bay image out of my mind...I picture someone waking up in the Holiday Inn, going out on their balcony for an early morning stretch with a cup of coffee, and this guy's blasting away at the ducks. Again, even if he was legal, which I truly believe he was, doesn't mean that it's the right thing to do. Just ain't worth the bad PR we duck hunters get. As you said, we need to use our heads.


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## Loincloth (Nov 13, 2005)

lang49 said:


> I don't really care if the lake has state land or not...The way I see it is- provided I can launch a boat there, and provided that the lake isn't so small that I'm in constant violation of the 450ft rule, I should be able to hunt.


I used to believe that also. And on the Great lakes it is just as you describe. 

However, on inland lakes the situation changes. Even if there is a public launch, all the property owners own the hunting rights out to the center of the lake. Granted most landowners don't even know this, but more and more seem to have fiqured it out each year. So, unless there is public owned property onlong the shoreline, you risk breaking the law if you leave the tiny little slice of the pie the DNR owns that the launch is on, or do not have landowner permission. No different than on a river, where the landowners along the river own the hunting rights to the center of the river. The laws that leave us in this situation are about as old as Michigan, and they stink in my book. I'm certainly not going to take the side of the issue that leads anyone to believe I'm for such nonsense. I'll hunt the center of a lake, trying my best to determine the actual center of the lake and hunt there. If the landwoners want to pay the bucks to have the bottom of the lake surveyed to prove I am NOT on the piece of the pie that goes with the launch, more power to them. Or I get permission and hunt the edge of the lake there. The fact is though, if you know the law and follow it in this situation, well, most inland lake duck hunters would be outa luck. This is the whole reason we now primarily hunt ducks in fields or on the big water.


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