i wana cry

[let.it.fly]

yesterday galpster and i went in to one of the spots we hunt to hang trail cams. we go to where we park and a kid on a bmx heads up the trail right before us. i'm thinking that kids are building a bmx track in there. pretty bummed out. well we get up towards the top and find the kids bike laying in the trail, kid is nowhere to be found(i'm assuming he is trying to grow weed) well we get to poking around and noticed all these trees painted and signed, leave this tree, cut this one. i have a sinking feeling this place is going to be developed. its just outside of issaquah, this place was magical. bears in there every day. tons of rubs from last year, losta deer, and close to home. galpster actualy got his first washington deer here. it breaks my heart and i want to cry...

[Hillbilly270]

let it go buddy.  thats why god invented whiskey.  everything will be okay. 

[singleshot12]

I hope you find another close to home magical spot soon, it's hard to see areas like that disappear

[let.it.fly]

it is hard. yesterday i counted over 30 rubs in an hour,

[jackelope]

logging operation coming in? it may not be all bad.

[bobcat]

Who is the landowner?

[Buckmark]

Heck you think it's bad now or going to be bad, you should have lived in that area back in the 70's up till the late 90's, You would not and could not believe how different that area is, my parents still live out there and it just kills me everytime i go out there (Issaquah/Sammamish/cougar/tiger mnt/high point area.

[Skyvalhunter]

Sounds to me like your are is going to be thinned out, so the ones left behind can grow faster.

[let.it.fly]

its is the high point area. i'm hoping that is only going to be thinned. the trees that were marked are big, you know the type of tree people would like to have in there yard.

[bobcat]

Who is the landowner?

[saylean]

Maybe it will just be that much better in some more years,  after it gets thinned out...more brush...


I know how ya feel....I've had a few spots like that too that vanished.

[carpsniperg2]

i am sure you will find some new spots

[Galpster]

The signs on the trees said King County Natural Resources. I believe the land is owned by King County.

It is a really cool spot. I was fortunate to kill my first BT deer there. It has alot of game and will be sad if it goes away.

By the way, the kid on the mountain bike was pretty weird. Found the bike but no kid. Not exactly sure where he went and what he was doing but really strange.

[Buckmark]

Ken bering (?) used to own that or most of that area, bought it around the time he bought the chickens (seahawks) and had plans to develop it into a large housing/golf community, not sure if he still owns it or not?? I think the microsftie type housing community above the pit was part of what he owned and sold it to the developer who built that..
It is very sad what happed to that whole area.

[bobcat]

If it's owned by King County it won't be developed. Maybe they're going to thin it out a bit. That would be a good thing for wildlife. But if King County owns it I doubt if it is legal to hunt there.

[let.it.fly]

i have talked to a few people and it is legal, though it is restricted to bow/shotgun only.

[bobcat]

That's good. I'm surprised, I thought King County was anti-hunting.

[Buckmark]

i have talked to a few people and it is legal, though it is restricted to bow/shotgun only.

You better not shoot a shotgun there  , everything south of hwy 203, raging river and hwy 18 is no firearms in King county...

[Dirty Mike]

i thought your story was my buddy talking, eveything you talked about sounds like ours, but ours is outside of shelton, we have taken 4 deer in 4 yrs from out of it

[let.it.fly]

i have talked to a few people and it is legal, though it is restricted to bow/shotgun only.

You better not shoot a shotgun there  , everything south of hwy 203, raging river and hwy 18 is no firearms in King county...

 good info, everything that i have heard was shotgun/bow only but being a bow hunter i shouldnt have to worry. thanks for the info though. galpster now has to get a bow

[bigtex]

If it's owned by King County it won't be developed. Maybe they're going to thin it out a bit. That would be a good thing for wildlife. But if King County owns it I doubt if it is legal to hunt there.

You need to figure out if the area you hunt is a "King County Natural Area". There is land owned by King County which you can hunt, but there are also areas designated as "Natural Areas" that are closed to hunting, basically a little county owned wildlife refuge. The county is drastically adding to it's natural areas so you need to check every season before you go out. For example, a lot of the land out by Ravensdale, Black Diamond, and Maple Valley is now a "Natural Area", even though just a couple years ago it was open to hunting. The King County Sheriffs Office enforces the natural area hunting restrictions heavily each season. Last opening day (for elk I believe) there were three sheriff deputies parked at one of the natural areas waiting for hunters to hike out.

You need to know your hunting area!!

[bigtex]

Here are the rules for King County Natural Areas:

http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/waterandland/natural-lands/natural-area-rules.aspx

[bigtex]

i have talked to a few people and it is legal, though it is restricted to bow/shotgun only.

You better not shoot a shotgun there  , everything south of hwy 203, raging river and hwy 18 is no firearms in King county...

Thats incorrect! Read page 67 of the big game regs.
Firearm Restriction Areas
The firearm restriction areas listed on this page have been established by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission. Centerfire and rimfire rifles are not legal for hunting in these areas.

In firearm restriction areas, hunters may hunt only during the season allowed by their tag.

Archery tag holders may hunt during archery seasons with archery equipment.

Muzzleloader tag holders may hunt during muzzleloader seasons with muzzleloader equipment except in the GMU 652 restriction area outlined for King County.

Modern firearm tag holders may hunt during modern firearm seasons with bows and arrows, crossbows, muzzleloaders, or revolver-type handguns meeting equipment restrictions, or legal shotguns firing slugs or buckshot.

[WonkyWapiti]

Bigtex is right if it's a King County Natural Area.  The natural areas fall under the Parks department rules and hunting is a BIG no no.  It is a bunch of crap but it's true.  The actual King County code goes as far as prohibiting the harming of an animals or shooting any projectiles on natural area property.  I've lost a bunch of property in the last five years that has been bought up by King County and turned into "natural areas."

[Caretaker]

let it go, mght go to a community land developer meeting or write a letter, bascally not much you can do except look for other spots.

[Bearhunter]

Are you talking about a spot north East of Issaquah, if so it may be the same spot I used to hunt, and it is owned by Plum creek timber co.