Following community feedback, King County OKs brief Island Center Forest deer hunt

Oct. 15-31 hunt dramatically reduced from traditional 4-month-long hunt; Forest will be closed to all other recreational access to enhance public safety

In a plan created through a community dialogue and with public safety in mind, a 17-day-long deer hunting season in Island Center Forest on Vashon Island will be allowed this year, while all other recreational access to the King County-managed land will be restricted.

The hunt will run from Oct. 15-31. Hunters can use modern shotguns, black powder firearms, archery equipment and revolver-type handguns during the 17-day hunt. The Island Center Forest Natural Area, adjacent Island Center Forest, will remain closed to hunting.

The pilot project increases recreation user safety by reducing the hunting season from four months to 17 days, and by closing the site to non-hunters during the limited hunting season. King County staff will post this information at all formal entrances to Island Center Forest, and are asking for the public to comply with the decision.

This one-year pilot program will be reviewed and evaluated at the end of the hunting season, when King County will decide to allow or discontinue future hunting seasons.

The pilot project grew out of an ongoing dialogue between King County Parks and the Vashon community over appropriate activities in Island Center Forest, 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.

In October 2010, King County temporarily suspended its authorization allowing the discharge of firearms in Island Center Forest, effectively suspending deer hunting in order to conduct further assessments and solicit public input. The suspension was a response to a number of citizens’ concerns about recreation use safety during hunting periods.

King County had a meeting in mid-September to discuss its proposal for a dramatically reduced hunting season, including the exclusion of non-hunters from Island Center Forest during the proposed hunt as a way to increase public safety.

Deer hunting is one of the traditional activities noted in the 2006 Island Center Forest Site Management Guidelines document, which was prepared by King County in partnership with the community based Friends of Island Center Forest.

More information about Island Center Forest is available at http://www.kingcounty.gov/recreation/parks/about/notices/islandcenterforest.aspx.

.

# # #

King County Parks - Your Big Backyard - offers more than 200 parks and 26,000 acres of parks and natural lands, including such regional treasures as Marymoor Park and Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park, 175 miles of regional trails and a world-class aquatic center. By cultivating strong relationships with non-profit, corporate and community partners, King County Parks enhances park amenities while reducing costs. Learn more at http://www.kingcounty.gov/parks/.