State Department of Environmental Management (DEM) investigators earlier this week removed four deer carcasses dumped by poachers at a Narrows Road nature preserve, after several callers and workers from the Bristol Department of Public Works alerted them of the discovery.
The deer had been gutted, cleaned and dumped about 100 yards into the Waypoyset Preserve just north of lower Narrows Road. It is unclear whether the deer were shot at the preserve, or brought from elsewhere. Deer season is over and hunting is currently not allowed in Rhode Island.
The discovery came just prior to the town’s installation of a half dozen large boulders blocking vehicular access into the preserve from two separate dirt access roads. The town was in the process of installing them after receiving neighborhood complaints about illegal dumping of construction debris in the preserve.
Bristol DPW Director Kevin McBride said his workers were cleaning the property and preparing to install the boulders Tuesday morning when they noticed a man in a truck close to one of the access roads into the woods, who reported finding the carcassess while out on a walk. DPW officials called law enforcement at DEM and learned the agency had received a few other calls.
DEM spokesperson Gail Mastrati confirmed that the four carcasses were later removed.
The preserve, a roughly 30-acre tract rich in Native American history, is governed by a trust comprised of town, neighborhood and Pokanoket Wampanoag members.