Swakane wildlife area

[Rainier10]

Big changes at the swakane wildlife area this year.

They cleaned up the shooting pit just past the orchard, installed berms and parking area. They posted all kinds of signs about no target shooting in other less used areas and a ton of no unauthorized vehicles beyond this sign where people would drive off road.

Hopefully people use the shooting area and keep the other areas clean. I’m also hopeful people quit driving off road creating hill climbs and causing erosion.

Unfortunately people are not following the e-bike on motorized vehicle roads only.

[Rainier10]

Entry signage to the wildlife area

[Rainier10]

Gate at what we call the “hay barn road”

[Rainier10]

Guys unloaded e-bikes everyday and road right up the road. 90 minutes into your hike a guy on an ebike comes by 15 minutes after he left his truck.

[Rainier10]

They said “class one” e-bikes aren’t included in the e-bike ban.

[jstone]

That’s why I don’t like them. Gets the lazy back to where you had to work for it.

[Harbor_hunter]

That’s why I don’t like them. Gets the lazy back to where you had to work for it.

Agreed!

[Rainier10]

Close up of sign and screenshot of the code.

[Skyvalhunter]

Good luck with some enforcement on that

[Boss .300 winmag]

They said “class one” e-bikes aren’t included in the e-bike ban.

I didn’t know they had different classes.

Class 1: eBikes that are pedal-assist only, with no throttle, and have a maximum assisted speed of 20 mph. Class 2: eBikes that also have a maximum speed of 20 mph, but are throttle-assisted. Class 3: eBikes that are pedal-assist only, with no throttle, and a maximum assisted speed of 28 mph.


https://wsd-pfb-sparkinfluence.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/05/E-Bike-Law-Handouts_WA_2020.pdf

[vandeman17]

We saw all of that last month when we went up there to shoot before the season. Every turn out had no shooting signs. The new area to shoot is nice but it was filled with people so we left. Be interesting to see how many people actually follow the rules

[huntnnw]

wish those bikes would be considered just like a dirtbike

[Rainier10]

This is what the WAC code defines the motorized vehicle as

WAC 220-500-020 (17) defines motorized vehicle.

17) "Motorized vehicle," as defined in RCW 46.09.020 and 46.04.320, means a vehicle that derives motive power from an internal combustion engine or is propelled by electric power. For purposes of this chapter, it does not mean motorized wheel chairs used by persons with disabilities.

[Rainier10]

We saw all of that last month when we went up there to shoot before the season. Every turn out had no shooting signs. The new area to shoot is nice but it was filled with people so we left. Be interesting to see how many people actually follow the rules

every time we go in there people were using the old pit and all of the pull offs that are now marked no target practice.  We only saw people at the range this time so hopefully they continue to just use that area.

[ThurstonCokid]

Gate at what we call the “hay barn road”

This is a fun one on the legs


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[85yota]

The ebike  debacle really chaps my ass.. 2 years ago about 7 miles behind a gate up hill in the dark 2hrs away i hear a wierd noise and 2 ebikes cruising up hill with miniscule effort..they waved and road by..my dnr calls research etc all seems that there illegal but how would dnr know and who's really checking is what I got out of it, depends on the officer one told me.. every year usage gets worse and worse as bikes get cheaper and better..the amount of ground and ease inwhich they cover  is annoying when I'm trying to follow the rules..its peddle assist its different they always tell me, after trying one I dassagree..

[Rainier10]

Gate at what we call the “hay barn road”

This is a fun one on the legs


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Yes it is.  Apparently the formal name is "Rattlesnake Road".  Back in the day you could drive that road then somebody found a rare plant or something growing in the road and they shut it down.

[Rainier10]

Sign at the top gate explaining the closure due to vegetation damage.

[Rainier10]

The ebike  debacle really chaps my ass.. 2 years ago about 7 miles behind a gate up hill in the dark 2hrs away i hear a wierd noise and 2 ebikes cruising up hill with miniscule effort..they waved and road by..my dnr calls research etc all seems that there illegal but how would dnr know and who's really checking is what I got out of it, depends on the officer one told me.. every year usage gets worse and worse as bikes get cheaper and better..the amount of ground and ease inwhich they cover  is annoying when I'm trying to follow the rules..its peddle assist its different they always tell me, after trying one I dassagree..

My research is teaching me they are in the process of regulating them more.

Enforcing those new regulations will be the issue. I feel like there may be some self enforcement going on at some point.

[ThurstonCokid]

Gate at what we call the “hay barn road”

This is a fun one on the legs


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes it is.  Apparently the formal name is "Rattlesnake Road".  Back in the day you could drive that road then somebody found a rare plant or something growing in the road and they shut it down.

Interesting.. thanks for the background


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[bearhunter99]

When I was a kid I loaded up that hay barn with hay, more times than I want to count.....  My grandfather grew alfalfa in all of those fields on a lease from the game dept.  I think I still have pieces of the seat of that old F-250 lodged somewhere from my grandfather coming down that road in a blizzard.  My great uncle lived in the house up there.  Killed more rattlesnakes in a summer up there than I could even count, mason jars full of rattles that I wish I still had.

The country up there has changed a lot, we hardly saw a soul up there back then, nothing like the pumpkin patch it is now - especially with the puffy jacket and skinny jean crowd running around up there now.