Hunting

Hunting on Lopez Hill 2014

/ Adrienne Rice Adams / 2 Comments

There has been hunting on Lopez Hill for many generations. Ever since the major predators of deer (wolves and mountain lions*) were removed from the islands, the deer population has grown unsustainably. Today hunting is the best current hope for keeping the deer population down. The hunting season on Lopez Hill extends for half of the time for the rest of the state, in a compromise between safety and deer population control.

The hunting seasons for Lopez Hill are:

Archery: September 1 – 27
Muzzleloader: September 28 – October 6
Modern Firearms: October 11 – 31

Other areas will have a longer hunting season, with a late season for modern firearms from November 14- 17, archery November 27 – December 31, and muzzleloaders November 28 – December 15. These areas include Chadwick Hill, Point Colville, Iceberg Point, and private property. No hunting is allowed at Odlin South this year.

Wearing ‘hunter orange’ is a good idea during the next couple of months in the woods. As always, please respect others and what they do. We all love the Hill, for various reasons, and we all work to improve it in various ways. We can’t burn bridges on an island.

Thanks to those who work on, use, and just enjoy our more wild areas. We may all be needed to save these places.

—Tim Clark, Lopez Land Bank Steward

* We were informed by Madrona Murphy at Kwiáht that “we’ve never seen reliable reports of mountain lions in the islands in the past. Good records for wolves though.”

Firearm Restrictions

Firearms restrictions are in effect in all of San Juan County. From the Washington State Big Game Hunting Pamphlet:

It is unlawful to hunt wildlife in the following firearm restriction areas with centerfire or rimfire rifles, or to fail to comply with additional firearm restrictions, except as established below.

In firearm restriction areas, hunters may hunt only during the season allowed by their tag.

  • Archery tag holders may only hunt during archery seasons with archery equipment.
  • Muzzleloader tag holders may only hunt during muzzleloader seasons with muzzleloader equipment as defined by department rule.
  • Modern firearm tag holders may hunt during established modern firearm seasons with bows and arrows; crossbows; muzzleloaders; revolver-type handguns; or shotguns, so long as the equipment and ammunition complies with department rules.