The largest area of public land on Vashon Island will not be open for rifle deer season starting this weekend. Those of you who plan to hunt Vashon should be aware of this. This is a popular area for those who receive the Vashon Island Second Deer Permit since most come from off the island to hunt it
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Island Center Forest deer hunt on hold so King County can hear from residents, hunters
Vashon meeting will be scheduled to gather opinion about uses on popular land
Effective Oct. 15, King County is temporarily suspending its authorization allowing the discharge of weapons in Vashon Island’s Island Center Forest, while County officials assess past and current uses on the land, and collect citizen input about future uses.
The effect of the County's action is to suspend deer hunting in Island Center Forest.
The King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) will schedule a meeting on Vashon within the next month so that citizens can share their opinions on hunting and other recreational uses within the forest.
In 2005, when King County took over management of the former Washington State Department of Natural Resources lands, now known as Island Center Forest, the Vashon community requested that all historic uses of the site be allowed to continue. These uses included hiking, biking and horseback riding, forest management and deer hunting.
With much input and collaboration from Vashon citizens, King County developed long-term site management guidelines for Island Center Forest. One of the recommendations that came out of that planning process was to continue to allow deer hunting on a trial basis, and to work with the Vashon community to evaluate the feasibility of continued deer hunting in the future.
However, this fall the Vashon community raised concerns about increased year-round use of the land by non-hunters that could create unsafe conditions in the woods during the roughly four-month-long hunt, which includes separate seasons for archery, muzzleloaders and modern firearms (shotguns and handguns). Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) regulations prohibit hunting with rifles on Vashon and Maury Islands.
WDFW is the agency responsible for setting hunting seasons and equipment requirements statewide. King County Parks and Recreation Division rules prohibit the discharge of weapons on its lands, except where authorized.
Island Center Forest is a 369-acre complex of working forest and ecological lands that is managed to protect the ecological values of the site, to demonstrate ecologically sustainable forest management and to provide opportunities for low-impact recreation.
King County manages the property in collaboration with the Vashon-Maury Island community. Information is available at
http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/waterandland/natural-lands/working-resource-lands/island-center-forest.aspx. http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/dnrp/newsroom/newsreleases/2010/october/1008-island-center-forest-hunting.aspx
