Thurston County no shooting zone

[goober]

Eld Inlet No Shooting email

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Hey guys,
Here is something taking place that needs your attention. This legislation will affect all shoreline hunting in Wa, from the Puget sound all the way to Gray's Harbor. Some wealthy homeowners are trying to stop the hunting on the shoreline because they don't want to hear the gunshots coming from the bayfront
Brief Recent History as I know it:

1. At the last public meeting I was aware of and attended on August 10, 2010, your Sheriff [then deputy sheriff] John Snaza, argued for a 200 FOOT buffer for ease of enforcement with the limited resources of his office. His reasoning was that the current no wake zone with buoy markers was set at 200 FEET, and it would be relatively easy for his enforcement officers to look down the buoy line to observe whether a hunter was inside or outside of the buoy line.

2. At that meeting interested waterfowlers indicated that as a group we could accept up to a 300 FOOT buffer reasoning that most people can estimate the length of a football field [i.e., 100 yards = 300 feet], and that waterfowl hunters would be better able to police themselves as to how far from shore they were when shooting.

3. In a follow-up 10/8/2010 email, Danielle Westbrook, assistant to Commissioner Valenzuela, indicated that the draft ordinance was considering two proposed marine buffers – one 200 FEET, the other 300 FEET, along with some boundary closures in the southern and more narrow parts of both Eld and Henderson Inlets. The email included as an attachment , a map that accurately reflected the two alternate marine buffers – 200 FEET and 300 FEET.

4. In a follow-up 11/8/2010 email from Ms. Westbrook, she indicated that the probable marine buffer would be 300 FEET, along with the same referenced boundary closures, and again the email included as an attachment a map accurately reflecting the 300 FOOT marine buffer.

5. On 2/10/2011 Ms. Westbrook sent out what she referred to as “the first draft” of the proposed ordinance that set the marine buffer at 300 YARDS. However the map accompanying the proposed ordinance and entitled “THURSTON COUNTY Controlled Shooting Zones Current & Proposed – February 2011” still shows and indexes the marine buffers county wide as being 300 FEET.

There is a nationwide effort by Wa hunters to prevent this from taking place. We are asking all hunters to send an email opposing its passage. This affects many hunters on this site.
Please take a minute to send and email to

Smithr@cothurston.wa.us

to voice your oposition to the Thurston county no shooting zone. It does not matter if you don't hunt there or if you don't even live here.

Further info can be found on 'the duck hunters refuge'.

[bobcat]

Not only did they change it to read 300 "yards" but they extended the no shooting zone along the puget sound shoreline all the way over to include the Nisqually Delta area. That's a big difference from what the original proposal was. It started out as being only a no shooting zone for Eld Inlet. Now they want to pretty much shut down all duck hunting on the Nisqually delta.

[Curly]

That email address above for Robert Smith didn't work for me.  Maybe he's getting too many emails, or something.  But you can also try this Link

Or just email the commissioners.  If you go Here and click on the link that says to send email to all commissioners at once it will take you here and you can send your email.

edit - Goober needed to add a dot in the email address for Robert Smith.  It should be:  smithr@co.thurston.wa.us

[bobcat]

It didn't work because there needs to be a period after "co". 

Like this:  smithr@co.thurston.wa.us

[PolarBear]

I've kinda been following this from the beginning.  The folks who started the ball rolling are tree huggers who are new to the area.

[boots]

Is this the same proposal that was on the table a year or so ago?

[Curly]

Is this the same proposal that was on the table a year or so ago?

No.  Way, way worse.

[Curly]

Check out the Map

[boots]

 

[1morebuck]

This is what happens when nobody stands up to the hippies and brainless politicians. I was there at the first of the meetings. Only a handful of duck hunters were there. When chit like this comes up, make it a priority. Other wise this will continue.

[ICEMAN]

My kids and I were at the meeting out on Steamboat a year and half ago. I hate these things cause I cannot afford to attend each and every single meeting about issues like this. We need more guys to buck up and attend these meetings for all of us. 

[goober]

Thanks for your interest guys. There are a couple of guys who are pushing this all over the state right now.

Even if you can't get to a meeting, just sending an email will be a tremendous help. There were around 175 signatures on the petition for this and we want to provide ten times that number of "NO" responses via emails.

Thanks again.

[WSU]

Email sent.  Everyone here needs to send an email.  Get your friends and family to send emails.  It is hard enough to gain access to public hunting areas.

[sakoshooter]

Email sent.

[boots]

What should we include in the emails? "I do not support the proposed Thurston County no shooting zone?"