MIDDLEBORO – The “No Hunting’’ signs will remain at the Frederick Weston Memorial Forest.

A proposal to allow hunting at the 33-acre Weston Forest on Purchase Street was shot down by the committee charged with overseeing the property.

The Weston Forest Committee agreed in a consensus vote at their March 5 meeting that hunting should remain prohibited at the site. That discussion followed a suggestion from Select Board member Brian Giovanoni at the March 4 Select Board meeting that the issue be decided by Town Meeting voters.

Giovanoni said that residents had expressed interest to him about hunting being permitted at the site. But after hearing the discussion from the forest committee, he agreed at the March 11 Select Board meeting to withdraw the request for a Town Meeting vote.

Select board member Neil Rosenthal said at that select board meeting that he wanted to hear the wishes of the forest committee, since they have the most direct connection with the site.

At the forest committee’s meeting, a significant portion of the discussion concerned the wording of Weston’s will, which stated the land should be used “for park and playground purposes, for a bird and animal refuge sanctuary, for a town forest, or for work in connection with forestry by the Middleboro schools and direct the town to make use of the area for any or all of said purposes as they may from time to time deem best.’’

The mention of a “bird and animal refuge sanctuary,’’ would rule out hunting, town resident Louise Dery-Wells noted.

But others have countered that the words “direct the town to make use of the area for any and all of said purposes as they may … deem best’’ would give the town more latitude to decide the potential uses of the site, including hunting.

Forest committee chair Frank Dunphy, who is also the president of the Middleboro Sportsmen’s Club said the wording was open to interpretation. 

He also said that hunters are very conscientious about safety and would not endanger residents.

Town resident Susan Ripley-Young, a relative of Weston, said the family’s understanding is that her great-great uncle was very clear in expressing his wishes and was “meticulous’’ in his approach. 

“If he wanted hunting, he would have said hunting,’’ she said. The issue, she said, isn’t about hunting, she said, but about following Weston’s wishes for the property.

A resident who said he lives near the forest said that he can’t grow tulips because “deer are destroying everything’’ and that hunting is the best way to manage deer overpopulation.

Dunphy noted that Middleboro leads the state in deer strikes from vehicles and noted that more deer can result in more cases of Lyme Disease, which can cause people to become seriously ill. 

Resident Nate Demers said he questioned whether the amount of deer taken in such a small area would “move the needle’’ on the issue of deer population numbers. 

Forest Committee member Mac Sprague questioned whether there could be some sort of compromise such allowing hunting only in deer season, for example.

His colleague Donna Johnson said the land was “too small’’ to accommodate hunting.

Dunphy noted that other areas in town that allow hunting are considerably smaller than the forest. But in the end, he agreed with his fellow committee members to keep the regulations as they are.