San Juan Islands National Conservation Area / National Monument

[bigtex]

There has been some rumbling in the San Juans over the past couple years regarding the lands owned by BLM. BLM owns only a little over 1,000 acres in western WA, almost all of it in the San Juans. There has been a push to further protect these BLM owned lands in the islands. A recent proposal by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is to establish the first BLM National Conservation Area in WA, it would be called the "San Juan Islands National Conservation Area". So what makes a BLM NCA different then regular BLM lands?

NCA's get more management, more money, and more attention from the agency as they are more of a tourist attraction. Things like mining and OHV riding are typically not allowed (however it is currently not allowed in this area already). NCA's essentially protect BLM lands more then "regular" BLM lands. Activities such as hunting, fishing, etc can be still be allowed. In order for the San Juan Islands National Conservation Area to be established a bill MUST pass through congress, and this can take YEARS.

HOWEVER recently the San Juan County Council sent a letter to the president asking for him to designate these lands not as a NCA but a National Monument. Whats the main difference? A president can create this National Monument with a simple signing of his name, no legislation needs to be passed. In fact he created a new BLM National Monument this week in California.

Here is some info on the proposed San Juan Islands National Conservation Area / National Monument:

http://www.sanjuanislandsnca.org/

http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/wo/Communications_Directorate/2012_congressional.Par.72935.File.dat/S%201559%20San%20Juan%20Islands%20NCA%20Act.pdf

http://www.sanjuanislander.com/island-newshome/environment/1351-cantwell-larsen-hail-interior-secretarys-crown-jewel-designation-for-san-juan-islands

http://www.sanjuanislander.com/island-newshome/government-news/us-government/3656-one-giant-step-closer-to-permanent-protection-for-blm-land-in-sjc

[Special T]

Arn't most National Monuments not open for hunting?

[bigtex]

Arn't most National Monuments not open for hunting?

Nope. About the only ones that are closed to hunting are those under the ownership of the National Park Service. National Monuments may have some additional restrictions, but those under BLM ownership tend to have the same regs for hunting as non-monument BLM lands.

[jeepster]

i live here in the islands, and yes, there is alot of buzz about it. heres my  about hunting here...

its not like there is vast expanses of forrest where you can roam for days on end chasing big game (except cypress island). most of the island hunting is fields and thickets. lots of private property, but most of the time, the people with the property are more than generous about letting you hunt on thier land becuase the deer do damage to thier gardens/crops/orchards. so, would it affect hunting private lands?

Cypress Island is 90% DNR, and the only island you can use a rifle on.

most of the little islands are either privately owned, or are state parks already, and the larger islands dont really have any public access to hunting areas anyway, there are a few spots, but, they are very hard to come by. 

they cant just make the entire islands a conservation area, i can understand the untouched smaller islands, but how would making orcas island, or san juan, or even lopez work? most of the land on those islands is farmland, with the exception of orcas, but even that is mainly private property. how would that affect fishing?

is it going to come down to "no shooting the kings deer, or eating the kings fish?"

when i origionally heard of this, i was excited, because i really dont want to see big tall buildings, endless condos, and yuppy urbanism spreading to the san juans. ill stick with pot farmers and hippies.  but, i didnt realize this would also possibly effect hunting and fishing

[bigtex]

they cant just make the entire islands a conservation area, i can understand the untouched smaller islands, but how would making orcas island, or san juan, or even lopez work? most of the land on those islands is farmland, with the exception of orcas, but even that is mainly private property. how would that affect fishing?

when i origionally heard of this, i was excited, because i really dont want to see big tall buildings, endless condos, and yuppy urbanism spreading to the san juans. ill stick with pot farmers and hippies.  but, i didnt realize this would also possibly effect hunting and fishing

The proposed monument/conservation area are ONLY those areas owned by BLM (less then 1k acres). Lands owned by state, county, and other federal agencies would NOT be included.

BLM monuments and conservation areas DO NOT effect hunting/fishing.