MCCSA Special Announcements

Special Announcements

1. NEW – GROUND BLIND AVAILABLE for Less Mobile Hunters for Preserve Hunts

For ANY Preserve Hunt (including 6-day and the Oct 25 Special Archery hunt) – MCR does have a large, covered wildlife blind in the preserve that overlooks a meadow that is flanked by forest. This blind can fit three (3) hunters very comfortably each day (so you may be hunting with 2 other people in the blind together) – it can be used for any hunter that is less mobile than others as this blind is easily reachable via vehicle. All the hunter would need is to bring a chair and his/hers weapon. If needed, other club members or John Parke can assist with helping retrieve the deer and get it to their vehicle. MCR plans on baiting the area outside the blind prior to any preserve area hunt at no cost to the club. HOWEVER, MCR will accept any donation of bait (corn, apples, etc.), salt block, etc. from the club to use at this location prior to any Preserve hunts. The use of this blind during Preserve Area hunts will be on a first come first serve basis and you must register with MCR know ahead of time if you plan on using this (i.e. what date). THIS IS ONLY FOR USE DURING ANY HUNT ASSOCIATED WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVE.

2. NEW – Special Archery Hunt -Saturday Oct 25th (Associates and Members)

Parke has gotten the Owners Group to approve ONE Saturday during Archery Season closing down the entire facility all areas of the MCR property, including the preserve PROVIDED we have sentries that help out from the club and a commitment of at least 20 bow hunters that they will be here hunting on the property, that means you all have unlimited access with vehicles within the gates to get to your stands, haul deer out,. The date was chosen by the Deer Committee as Saturday October 25. MCR NEEDS 6 guys for the day to be sentries at the gates (2 shifts -a morning (6:20 am to 12:20 pm and afternoon 12:20 pm to 6:30 PM). Sentries can get points for doing this (see Club leadership for how many points you get). Anyone planning to hunt this special archery day must email John Parke to let him know so he can log it to show to the owners group. The Preserve will be open to hunting that day and is available to BOTH Associates and Members – but only ground blinds and climber stands are allowed in the Preserve that day and must be removed at the end of the day from the Preserve since it’s only one day. ALL GATES will be manned to open at 6:20 AM (Sunrise is 7:23 AM for that week) and all gates will be unmanned by 6:30 PM (Sunset is 6:00 PM for that week).

NOTE: Drives MUST be organized and notification that a drive will be occurring and when it is occurring (time on Oct 25) and where on property prior to drive taking place must go out to the club and cc John Parke at least 2 days prior to the day of the drive as a courtesy to other club hunters and for safety purposes. Failure to notify the club and john parke at least 2 days prior to the organized drive will result in cancellation of the all access special archery hunt for future years.  As a courtesy for other clubmakers that may be hunting in an area that a drive is proposed – no drive is to take place from daylight to 10 Am and 3:30 Pm till dark.  NOTE: MCR staff will still be doing work during the day ANYWHERE on the property – so be mindful of that and please try to stay aways from the trails, dikes and dams that are associated with the perimeter trail.

PRESERVE PORTION OF PROPERTY during Special Archery Day Oct 25:
ONLY DEER can be harvested in the Preserve Area during Special Archery Day -NO other Game species in the Preserve area can be harvested.
BAITING IN PRESERVE AREA: Placing agricultural products (example: corn, apples, grains, etc), salt, mineral supplements, or other edible lures at your stand to attract a game animal to approach closer to a hunter is permissible at MCR in the Preserve Area ONLY when a Preserve Area Hunt is scheduled. This includes Special Preserve Hunts scheduled by MCR, Six-Day Shotgun deer season, and the one Special Archery Hunt day that occurs on a Saturday in the Fall season, but only under the following conditions: NO FEEDERS are allowed in the Preserve Area; Baiting is permitted in Preserve area with limits of a 5-gallon pail or up to 50 lb. bag of agricultural product and/or one mineral block every 3 days for two weeks prior to the scheduled Preserve hunt date and ONLY at the location you plan on hunting at in the Preserve.

For Drives in the Preserve Portion of the Property ONLY during the special Archery Day Hunt will follow these rules:
• Drivers (i.e. people walking doing the drive) will not carry weapons in the Preserve;
• no drive is to take place from daylight to 10 Am and 3:30 Pm till dark.

3. Preserve hunts in Nov for bow and Dec for shotgun/muzzleloader for Members -Nov 14th and Dec. 19th

BOW: The annual Preserve Hunt for Archery will take place Nov.14 2025.  First come first serve -you must register with john parke prior to the hunt.  Ground blind or stands are permissible, and you must send john parke your stand/blind location prior to the hunt.  you may put up your stand one week in advance and then must be taken down within 2 weeks after the hunt. You can only hunt from your blind/stand location – no walking around to hunt.  MCR NEEDS 6 guys for the day to be sentries at the gates (2 shifts -a morning (6:20 am to 12:20 pm and afternoon 12:20 pm to 6:30 PM). Sentries can get points for doing this (see Club leadership for how many points you get).

SHOTGUN/MUZZLELOADER: The annual Preserve Hunt for shotgun/muzzleloader will take place Dec 19, 2025.  First come first serve -you must register with john parke prior to the hunt.  Ground blind or stands are permissible, and you must send john parke your stand/blind location prior to the hunt.  you may put up your stand one week in advance and then must be taken down within 2 weeks after the hunt. You can only hunt from your blind/stand location.  MCR NEEDS 6 guys for the day to be sentries at the gates (2 shifts -a morning (7:00 am to 12 pm and afternoon 12 pm to 5:00 PM). Sentries can get points for doing this (see Club leadership for how many points you get).

If MCR has a Preserve hunt in January will depend on total deer harvest numbers up to Dec 31.

4. NEW – SIX-DAY Shotgun – MEMBERS ONLY

Parke has gotten the Owners Group to approve closing down the entire facility in all areas of the MCR property, including the preserve, for 6-day shotgun season, including the Saturday (this is NOT open to Associates). PROVIDED we have sentries that help out from the club, to man gates. That means club members will have unlimited access with your vehicles (not ATVs) to get to your stands, haul deer out, park along the roadsides on site within the gates, the entire 6-day shotgun week, including that Saturday. YOU CANNOT BLOCK ROADS or Gates with vehicles – pull off to the side as MCR staff will need to pass through these roads and gates throughout the day.

WE NEED 6 guys a day to be sentries at the gates (2 shifts -a morning (6 am to 11:30 am and afternoon 11:30 am to 5:00 PM). Sentries can get points for doing this (see the club leadership on sentry points). MCR also need commitments from hunters that they will be here that week – Parke has to be able to show a large number of hunters that participated that week especially the Saturday to keep this as an option moving forward with the Owners group – therefore please email John Parke (jparke@merrillcreek.com) which days you will be at MCR to hunt BEFORE the 6-day shotgun season starts.

ALL GATES will be manned to open at 6:15 AM (Sunrise is 7:12 for that week) and all gates will be unmanned by 5:00 PM (Sunset is 4:30 for that week) –
NOTE: Drives MUST be organized and notification that a drive will be occurring and when it is occurring (time and what day) and where on property prior to drive taking place must go out to the club and cc John Parke at least 2 days prior to the day of the drive – as a courtesy to other club hunters and for safety purposes. Failure to notify the club and john parke at least 2 days prior to the organized drive will result in cancellation of the all access 6-day shotgun hunt for future years.  No drive is to take place from daylight to 10 Am and 3:30 Pm till dark.
NOTE: MCR staff will still be doing work during the day ANYWHERE on the property – so be mindful of that and please try to stay aways from the trails, dikes and dams that are associated with the perimeter trail

PRESERVE PORTION OF PROPERTY during 6-Day shotgun season:
ONLY DEER can be harvested in the Preserve Area during 6-Day Shotgun -NO other Game species in the Preserve area can be harvested.

If you intend to hunt the Preserve Area during 6-day shotgun you must inform John Parke where you will be on the preserve (i.e. lat long of a stand or blind location) at lest 2 days prior to the beginning of the hunt.
BAITING IN PRESERVE AREA: Placing agricultural products (example: corn, apples, grains, etc), salt, mineral supplements, or other edible lures at your stand to attract a game animal to approach closer to a hunter is permissible at MCR in the Preserve Area ONLY when a Preserve Area Hunt is scheduled. This includes Special Preserve Hunts scheduled by MCR, Six-Day Shotgun deer season, and the one Special Archery Hunt day that occurs on a Saturday in the Fall season, but only under the following conditions: NO FEEDERS are allowed in the Preserve Area; Baiting is permitted in the Preserve area with limits of a 5-gallon pail or up to 50 lb. bag of agricultural product and/or one mineral block every 3 days for two weeks prior to the scheduled Preserve hunt date and ONLY at the location you plan on hunting at in the Preserve.

For Drives in the Preserve Portion of the Property ONLY during Six-day Shotgun will follow these rules:
• Drivers (i.e. people walking doing the drive) will not carry weapons in the Preserve;
• no drive is to take place from daylight to 10 Am and 3:30 Pm till dark.

5. NEW Mandatory Hunter Sign in and Out when Hunting at MCR – Is to be implemented this 2025/2026 hunting season
All club hunters are required to Sign In and Sign Out via text while hunting at MCR by using the dedicated MCR Hunter Phone number (908-674-1988). The ONLY exception to signing in or out via text is for members who do not have texting capabilities on their phone. In that case, that individual can call the dedicated MCR Hunter Phone number from their phone and leave a message (voicemail) to sign in and sign out while hunting the MCR property. All Hunters (Members and Associates) must sign in and sign out using the phone method every time they are here to hunt. You do not have to sign in or out if you are not hunting, meaning tree stand work, baiting, workdays, etc. you are not required to sign in or out. This is for hunting only.

Information needed when texting or calling that number:
SIGN IN: Give Your Name, Club Number, Day and time here, and what season you are hunting (i.e. Deer, Pheasant, Turkey, Bear).
SIGN OUT: Give Your Name, club number, time you left.
OPTIONAL Info on Call Out: If you feel so inclined – on the Sign Out you can let MCR know what game animals you see during the day – such as # of does, bucks, fawns, bear, turkey (only these 3 game species) NOTE: This optional information does help MCR by having more eyes out in the field to understand where game is being seen and in what numbers and this method of “opportunistic reporting observations” after a hunt is one of the things recommended to clubs by National Deer Association regarding good game management. But again, its optional to report this game information.

How Sign In/Sign out will be used and checking:
MCR will be tracking sign in and sign out information in a logbook so MCR can determine who and how many times a hunter is on the property hunting. This also ties in with a hunter participation requirement that will be part of the new lease.
MCR will also be doing random field checks, meaning if you say you are here, MCR staff may be going out to check if you’re actually here.
IMPORTANT NOTE about Hunting Club Sign in/ sign out phone: this dedicated hunting club “sign in/sign out” phone and procedure cannot be relied upon for safety purposes, and therefore the phone is to used ONLY for data collection regarding the hunter’s presence on the property while hunting. Hunters should always call 911 in an emergency.

6. NEW – FEEDERS/BAITING at the Property – NOT INCLUDING the Preserve Area:    Is to be implemented this 2025/2026 hunting season
Placing agricultural products (example: corn, apples, grains, etc.), salt, mineral supplements or other edible legal lures at a stand to attract a game animal to approach closer to a hunter is permissible at MCR, as well as use of a feeder, as long as it is in accordance with New Jersey Hunting Regulations and only under the stipulations as specifically outlined by MCR.

MCR Stipulations associated with Feeders and Baiting:
Club members/associates may start baiting and/or use of a feeder 30 days before opening day Fall Bow and it must stop when the deer season ends according to the NJDFW Hunting regulations (typically for our Zone 7 the season ends sometime in February).
THERE IS NO YEAR-ROUND FEEDING/BAITING. You may leave your feeder at your stand year-round – but NO YEAR-ROUND FEEDING/BAITING. If year-round feeding/baiting is discovered, MCR reserves the right to request that the person involved be removed from the club and/or the privilege of allowing feeders will be removed entirely from the club. Baiting and/or Feeder use is a privilege accorded to MCCSA; it is not a right accorded under the lease; and it can be revoked at any time for any reason by MCR.

7. NEW – Current Tree Stand Sharing
MCR and the Club recognize that some members do not want someone they are unfamiliar with using their stand and that is the stand’s owners prerogative.
However, some members have been and/or currently allowing members or associates that they are comfortable with to use their stand under a “gentleman’s’ agreement”. For safety and data collection purposes that stand sharing is occurring, it will now be mandatory for the member that has the permanent stand to send in writing, (email or letter for those who don’t have email), the name of the person or persons allowed to use their stand, to the Club’s Tree Stand Committee Chairperson and MCR (John Parke) before the start of Fall bow season each year -starting this hunting season 2025/2026.

If the provided information does not change for that member each proceeding year that their list was submitted, they are not required to provide another list until there is a change in that list. If a member does not share his/hers stand with anyone – no notification is necessary. If a member needs to add someone or remove someone during the season, inform the Tree Stand Committee Chairperson and MCR in writing (email or letter) with your name, club number and the new information immediately. Failure to provide this information will result in club point reduction.
Please note that your contact info and names of those allowed to use your stand will not be posted anywhere or distributed. It will, however, be logged in by MCR for tracking and data collection purposes.

EXAMPLE of what needs to sent into the chairperson and MCR by the owner of the permanent stand:
Stand Owner: Joe Hunter #800
Allowed to use stand: joe hunter Jr. #801, mike sureshot #902
VERY IMPORTANT: it is understood and recognized by MCCSA and MCR that sharing your stand is a USE AT YOUR OWN RISK situation which means anyone using someone else’s stand agrees by way of receiving permission from the stand owner to release and forever discharge and hold harmless the stand owner, MCCSA and Merrill Creek Reservoir2 from and with respect to any and all liability, claims, demands, actions, or causes of actions of whatever kinds or nature(collectively “Claims”), for any and all harm, damages, and losses (collectively “Damages”) including, but not limited to, Claims for personal injury, property damage or wrongful death, either in law or in equity, which arise or may here after arise or be alleged from their use of said tree stand on the Site property.

8. NEW – MCR will give permission for club members to cut vegetation but only under the following stipulations:
Club members may cut limited vegetation on the leased portion of the property at their permanent stand location only for shooting lanes or access to their stand, but only under the stipulations as specifically outlined by MCR as follows:
• NO CUTTING OF WOODY VEGETATION that is 6-inch in diameter or greater. A six-inch diameter tree trunk is approximately 18.8 inches in circumference. This is roughly the size of a standard tree at a young age, often found in nurseries. To visualize it, imagine a tree with a trunk that would comfortably fit a little more than the span of a large hand. A 4-inch diameter tree is basically the circumference of a baseball bat.

• THERE WILL BE NO CLEARING of VEGETATION for the planting of FOOD PLOTS by the CLUB, CLUB MEMBERS, or ASSOCIATES.

• NO CUT TREE SPECIES: NO CUTTING DOWN OF OAKS, HICKORY, WALNUT or CHESTNUT any size (Aside from Chestnut, you may cut/prune branches of these other species to provide shooting lanes from your stand – see below) for help identifying trees see: https://www.arborday.org/tree-identification

• No use of Herbicide to clear vegetation

• Cutting Vegetation for shooting lanes can only be a maximum of 20 yards (60 feet)

• Cutting of vegetation at a tree stand location: Clear only what’s necessary for clear shooting lanes (max 20 yards) and safe entry/exit. Aside from Chestnut, branches of “NO CUT TREE SPECIES” (see above) may be cut to provide shooting lanes. NOTE: Over-clearing can negatively impact wildlife habitat and potentially raise suspicion with deer. SUGGESTIONS: USE a long pruning pole for reaching distant branches – do not try to clear branches while in your stand. Consider leaving some vegetation for concealment. When clearing vegetation, think about the future impact on the area’s ecosystem. Selective cutting and prioritizing the removal of undesirable species like invasives / non-native vegetation can be beneficial for habitat improvement in the long run. Remember, patience and a gradual approach to vegetation management can be more effective than drastic clearing. Start with minimal clearing and adjust as needed in subsequent seasons.

• Cutting Trails to your stand: Vegetation cutting to provide walking trails to your stand is acceptable, but only under the following rules:

•The trail to your stand can only be as wide to allow for a single person to walk on and drag a deer out, meaning it CANNOT be wide enough for an ATV to get through (the typical ATV is 40-50 inches wide -so a trail must be less than 35 inches wide -no exceptions).

• You cannot start cutting your trail from the road – meaning MCR does not want other people, dirt bikes, mt bikes, etc. to be able to recognize a trail from the road as we do not want the public accessing other areas of the property or coming in to steal your stand or cameras. Thus, begin your trail cutting at least 10-15 feet into the woods from the potential access point that the public could enter. EXAMPLE: if you are parked along Fox Farm Road, go into the woods at least 10-15 feet from tree line at the road to start your “trail” there inside the woodline.

• Do not make your walking trail obvious to the public – DO NOT HANG FLAGGING or TAPE or USE PAINT. Reflector pins are fine.

• Lastly – maintaining your shooting lanes and stand access trail are the responsibly of the club member NOT MCR, however MCR will routinely check the stand and trails to ensure that the vegetation management stipulations are being followed. If it is not being followed – MCR reserves the right to request that the person involve be removed from the club and/or the privilege of allowing vegetation cutting will be removed entirely from the club. Limited cutting of vegetation for stands/shooting lanes and stand access is a privilege accorded to MCCSA; it is not a right accorded under the lease; and it can be revoked at any time for any reason by MCR.

9. NEW – Deer Drives on the Property (EXCLUDING the Preserve Area and the Areas currently designated as No Drive areas)
Any drive that occurs anywhere on the property must be an organized drive and someone in that drive must be designated to inform in writing (email) the club members and MCR, at least 2 days prior to the drive. This is a courtesy to other club members who may be hunting in that area as well as a safety measure to alert hunters of a drive that may be coming through.
As a courtesy for other club members that may be hunting in an area that a drive is proposed – no drive is to take place from daylight to 10 Am and 3:30 Pm till dark.

For any drive that takes place on the west side of Fox Farm Road (that is the hunting only part of the property), that the drive MUST start at the ROW and head out away from the ROW.  However, if a drive is starting at the southwest edge of the Fox Farm Road forestry cut it too must also head away from the direction of the ROW, heading to the north is acceptable.

The mandatory information that is needed to be provided to the club and John Parke of MCR prior to the drive in writing (email) is:
• Who is participating in the drive (names of members/associates),
• when it is occurring (time and what day)
• where on property prior to drive taking place.

NOTE: Any drive that takes place on the west side of Fox Farm Road (that is the hunting only part of the property), that the drive MUST start at the ROW and head out away from the ROW. However, if a drive is starting at the southwest edge of the Fox Farm Road forestry cut it too must head away from the direction of the ROW, thus heading to the north is acceptable.

Drivers cannot carry weapons in any area that is Multiuse – which is East side of Fox Farm Road to West side of Montana road

MCR staff can be working during the day ANYWHERE on the property – so be mindful of that and please try to stay aways from the trails, dikes and dams that are associated with the perimeter trail when driving.