No Shooting Ordinance – Protect Your Hunting Privileges! – Please Read

[huntrights]

No Shooting Ordinance – Protect Your Hunting Privileges! – Please read this and take action to protect your rights!

The operators of the Hunting-Washington web site have been very gracious in recognizing the need for a place to present timely information regarding legislation and restrictions that may have dire effects on our hunting privileges.  I would like to thank them for creating this forum.  If used correctly, this forum can be very beneficial to all hunters in Washington State.

This notice affects all Washington State hunters.  When issues like this arise, we all need to “step up to the plate” to protect our rights and privileges.  Please don’t think someone else will protect your hunting privileges for you; Washington hunters must stand together in a united front to protect our hunting heritage.  Ill-conceived hunting and shooting restrictions in one locality can and do affect all Washington hunters; anti-hunting and anti-gun legislation/restrictions can spread from one locality to the entire state very quickly once the precedence has been set.  Please stand together to protect our hunting privileges whether you live in the affected locality or not.

THURSTON COUNTY NO SHOOTING ZONE ORDINANCE – Proposed changes.

The Thurston County Board of County Commissioners has been busily at work composing proposed changes to the Thurston County No Shooting Zone Ordinance.  The proposed changes currently being reviewed are very restrictive and appear to be modeled after other no shooting zone ordinances that have been imposed in other Washington counties.

I have removed the details of the “in-work” proposed changes that were originally in this post.  When the final proposed changes are ready to be presented by the Commissioners; those changes should be posted for all to see.

Please write the Thurston County Board of County Commissioners expressing your opposition to any changes that are not addressing real safety issues per RCW 9.41.300.

Web site: http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/bocc/

Also copy their focal point on this topic: smithr@co.thurston.wa.us

Please forward a copy of your correspondence to Cedarville Farms Waterfowl Club; they are attempting to track how many people have contacted the Commissioners in opposition to the proposed changes to the ordinance.  cedarvillefarms@aol.com

When you write the Commissioners, ask them if you can join the work group that is discussing/debating the proposed changes.  Tell them you would like to join as a concerned citizen and hunter.

Show up at the next public meeting that the Commissioners set up on this topic.  I will post the meeting times in this forum when I get information on the date, time, and place.  Past public notification may have been out there, but most hunters in Thurston County and the rest of the state knew nothing about the last public meeting.

This is very serious!  Your county could be next unless all hunters in this state stand together to protect our rights and privileges.
 
For example:

 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING KITSAP COUNTY CODE CONCERNING SHOOTING RANGES
Check it out for yourself: http://www.kitsapgov.com/boc/agenda_attachments/2011/Work%20Study/07132011/Shooting%20Ordinance%20Revision%20070711.pdf

Thank you for taking the time to read this.  I hope all of you realize how important it is for each and every one of you to take a stand and become part of a united group of Washington State hunters.  Protect your hunting privileges.

[ICEMAN]

When was this last meeting you refer to? I have written, attended the meetings, everything in my power and they still seem hellbent on ignoring the hunters.

[huntrights]

Hello Iceman,

The last work group meeting was on July 13, 2011.  The last public meeting was March 1, 2011.  The workgroup consists of 10 members selected by the Commisioners.  There is 1 hunter and 1 farmer that oppose the proposed changes to the ordinance; at this time, 7 members (some of whom are the shoreline property owners who pushed for this over 2 years ago) are are pushing for the changes.  One other member, just added to the work group by the Commissioners, did not show up at the last work group meeting, so his position is not known.

What needs to continue to happen is a continuous flow of ordinance change opposition sent to the Commissioners from the 250,000 hunters in this state.  The problem is getting accurate information out to all of these people and getting them motivated to stand up for their hunting privileges.  If we, as hunters and sportsmen, do not unite on this and similar issues we will see our privilege to hunt gradually vaporize.  This is real and it's happening now.

You can be of great help by getting the word out to your friends and family and asking them to do the same, and so on.  What needs to be made very clear to all is the need to act by writing, calling, and showing up at the meetings.  Simply complaining about the loss of our hunting privileges does absolutley nothing.  Believe me, a large number of hunters and sportsmen opposing what the Commissioners are trying to do will have an effect.

I must also add that as populations densities change in specific areas, changes to no shooting regulations can be expected.  However, in my opinion and many others, the current proposed changes are unjustified, excessive, and are not based on real safety issues; the Commissioners are going way too far with this and do not appear to be listening to hunters and the WDFW.

When I get information on future meetings regarding this subject, I will post that information in this forum.  Hopefully Washington State hunters will get the message.

Thanks for reading and responding to the original post.  I hope other hunters will also take note.

[ICEMAN]

I am sure they will.
 
With ample notice of upcoming meetings, I am sure that we can get a few interested members attending again.

[huntrights]

Hello Iceman,

As soon as I hear of a time and place for the next public meeting, I will place a notice in this forum.  Hopefully the word will get out quickly enough giving Washington hunters enough time to plan to attend.  I would also suggest going to the Commissioner's web site ( http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/bocc/ ) and viewing their Master Schedule ( http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/bocc/mtgsch.htm ) to watch for upcoming public meetings.  Although the Commissioner's may be fulfilling the public notice requirements (not sure) for their public meetings; it seems only a few of the hunting public heard about the last public meeting regarding the Thurston County No Shooting Zone Ordinance changes.  Many hunters that attended the last public No Shooting Zone meeting heard about it through the "Grapevine" at the last minute.  We can't let that happen again on this issue or any other issues that affect our privileges and rights.  We must always have a large representative showing at these meetings.  It is extremely important to go to these meetings whether the person chooses to say a few words or not.  One of our representatives told me that large turnouts of people at these public meetings have a significant effect on how the subject matter will proceed; after all, they are our representatives.

[bearpaw]

jshunt thanks for your information, please continue to keep us informed with issues that could affect our members.   

[huntrights]

bearpaw,
I will definitely keep everyone informed as information comes my way.  I was at the wolf meeting in Olympia today, but arrived too late to speak.  I'll place a post in the wolf section.