Our mission is to work collaboratively with all interested and invested parties to ensure the Hoople Creek / Hoople Bay Fishery remains healthy, well managed and available to all stakeholders for recreational purposes.
- Nature Trails Around North Side of Hoople Bay
- Shooting Noise on Hoople Bay
- Controlled Hunting Zones
- Enforcement Issues Relative to the Controlled Hunt
- Annual General Meeting – Oct 19, 2023
Nature Trails Around North Side of Hoople Bay
Our efforts continue on this front. On July 19th, 2023, John Sliter ventured out with several Wildlife Technicians from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests (‘MNRF’) to try and establish some precise GPS coordinates for the trails and the viewing station. It was a case of very hot weather, dense foliage, and numerous ticks! We did not find the trails and the MNRF represents ventured out again a week later to try and find them with no success.
On that first trip we were accompanied by Keith Fowler of Canucks Wildlife Services, and we did manage to find the locations of the Controlled Hunting Good stakes #7, #8 and believe we know where #9 should be. Keith will be helping to establish some trails to allow the hunters better access to these stakes.
We participated in a meeting recently as outlined below where Gary Rupert, the local Wildlife Enforcement Officer recalled how there were boardwalks, well groomed nature trails and viewing stations on the north side of the Bay. He will help the Wildlife Technicians from MNRF map them out soon for purposes of allowing us to begin work restoring these trails to their original state. Meanwhile, Keith Fowler indicated he would be pleased to assist in setting up some ‘hen boxes’ to encourage waterfowl to nest in the area.
Shooting Noise on Hoople Bay
A thank you to the people who turned up for the meeting at the South Stormont Township Hall on July 27, 2023, to discuss the Nature Trails and specifically the noise issue caused by the shooting. We collectively made it very clear to the MNRF representatives present that the area sounded like a war zone each as the hunting season commences. It was a good constructive meeting as both the representatives and MNRF and John Sliter promised to bring the issue up on a pending meeting with various stakeholders to discuss blind location. The ‘Controlled Hunt’ in Hoople Bay commences each fall and is administrated by MNRF as a means to allow hunters to harvest geese in a safe area having consideration for the nearby residences. Hunters must shoot within three (3) meters of each of the stakes #7, #8 and #9 as indicated in the map below. There must be a maximum of two hunters per stake and they are permitted to harvest six geese each. Many residents were able to attest to the level of the noise and how it is quite disturbing at first light each morning. Moreover, some residents reported being able to see the hunters within a short distance of their homes, presumably not near the designated areas.
Controlled Hunting Zone – Stakes #7, #8, #9
On August 9th, 2023, we participated in a meeting at the St. Lawrence Parks Commission office to make a final determination for blind locations. There were representatives from several waterfowl groups, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, MNRF and the Parks Commission. We had a lot of discussion about where the Stakes should go to accommodate stakeholders from all groups. There was agreement to move blind #7 further west along the north side of the bay in the hopes to alleviate some of the noise. There was suggestion made that perhaps the noise was coming from legal hunters on private land in the farm fields nearby, or alternatively from illegal hunters away from the controlled zone sites. There was agreement to revisit these Stake sites again once the Friends of Hoople Creek provides some further information as we monitor the hunting this coming fall season.
Enforcement Issues Relative to the Controlled Hunt
Mr. Gary Rupert promised to keep a diligent eye on the Hoople Bay Hunt this year and encouraged everyone to report any potential violations to 1-877-847-7667. He also noted that much of the noise might not be coming from the Controlled Hunt area and rather to some private farmers fields adjacent to the MNRF land. John Sliter promised to alert all residents around the bay on the importance of reporting any noise complaints if we believe hunters are not shooting from the designated MNRF stakes or any other potential violations.
Next General Meeting – Save the Date – Thursday, October 19, 2023
Our Fall annual general meeting will be held on Thursday October 19th and hope to be positioned to report on the above activities in more detail at that time. We also hope to have an election of officers and to formalize several key executive positions.
John Sliter, President
Friends of Hoople Creek Society
Friends of Hoople Creek 
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