Hunters and those favoring hunting restrictions battled it out in a lively meeting Tuesday night in Coupeville.

The Island County Commissioners reigned over a public hearing on proposals to regulate hunting on county-owned properties only. Any decisions would not affect state, federal or private property.

Proposed ordinances address the hunting situation on the Kettles Trails near Coupeville, part of the Greenbank Farm property, Deer Lagoon in the Useless Bay area of South Whidbey, and Camano Ridge on Camano Island.

Approximately 150 people attended the three-hour meeting at the Coupeville High School Performing Arts Centers. Hunters arrived early and staked out the middle aisles while they were flanked on either side by opponents of various hunting proposals. A show of hands indicated the crowd was about evenly split.

Nobody arrived armed, except for Sheriff Mike Hawley and Town Marshal Lenny Marlborough. Standing side-by-side, they kept an eye on the crowd all night long.

The county’s plan for its Greenbank property was least controversial. One portion of the land, which lies between Highway 525 and Smugglers Cove Road, would be set aside exclusively for hunters. The north property, across the highway and adjacent to the farm, would be off-limits to hunters.

The proposal to allow hunting on the Camano Ridge Trails drew a few comments for and against, but most concerns about that area will likely be aired Oct. 6 at a public hearing on Camano Island.

Trails views differ

The proposals that produced the most heat centered around the popular Kettles Trails hiking, biking and equestrian paths between Highway 20 and Fort Ebey State Park, and the Deer Lagoon property, which is now county-owned but is partly surrounded by high-priced homes and properties in the Useless Bay Colony and Shore Avenue waterfront areas. It is popular with birders and hikers as well as duck hunters.

Tempers were on edge even before the hearing began. One man peppered the usually mild mannered Mike Shelton with questions about Deer Lagoon and the commissioner heatedly replied, “You’re out of order – that’s it!,” slicing his hand through the air like a knife for emphasis.

Commissioner comments were minimal. Bill Byrd noted he hit a deer with his car and suggested hunting may help keep the population down. “If we don’t control the herds we’ll see more of that,” he said. The county distributed a list of road-killed deer over the years. This year 20 have been killed in the Oak Harbor area, 48 in the Bayview area, 13 in the Coupeville area and 21 on Camano Island.

Commissioner Mac McDowell wondered why people can’t get along. “Why do you think it’s unfair to share the property part of the year?” he asked, alluding to the proposed hunting season.

Hearing testimony was limited to three minutes, but the buzzer was frequently ignored, prompting noisy protests from members of the audience opposed to the views of whatever speaker was going into overtime.

At present, hunting is technically legal in a few spots in the Kettles Trails area. But present county code precludes hunting within 150 yards on either side of a designated trail, so that rules out the vast majority of the parcel. Hunters want to regain full access.

Dave Hollett, representing the Central Whidbey Sportsmen’s Association, speaking to the question of safety, said there have been no gun-related incidents at Kettles in 25 years or more, while bicyclists often suffer injuries. “Bikers pose a greater danger than hunters do,” he said, as some cheered and others moaned their disagreement.

Hunters held to several main themes, that they are trained to be careful with weapons and obey game laws, that most complaints about hunters are prompted by poachers hunting illegally, and that they too have a right to recreate on county-owned property.

Chris Kinkel, a hunter from Oak Harbor, said, “Allow us equal time. We are tax-paying and license-paying citizens.” Like other hunters, he said keeping the deer population down will make the roads safer to drive.

Stan Reed, president of the North Whidbey Sportsmen’s Association, said he started hunting the Kettles area in 1971. He said he was very disappointed to see hunting there virtually outlawed. Now, he would like to allow hunting during the season proposed by the county, which is Sept. 15 to Nov. 30. He and other hunters said the trails should be posted to keep out other users during the hunting period.

Such ideas prompted outrage from non-hunters who use the Kettles Trails. Kettles area homeowner Paul Neumiller said the trails are heavily used all year, even during hunting season, by joggers, bicyclist and horse riders. “”We’re using it constantly,” he said of his family and friends. Adding a dig at hunters he concluded, “I have no problem sharing the trails with anybody who’s not participating in a life-threatening activity.”

Another trail user, Lee Roof, called the county’s Kettles hunting proposal “foolhardy and inappropriate.” As a physician, he said he was advocating safety rather than opposing hunting. He also noted the trails adjoin a state park, and park users could wandering onto the trails during hunting season.

Several people expressed dismay that the county would change the status quo at Kettles to allow more hunting. Bill Oakes, Public Works director, explained, “The rationale is hunters are users, we tried to strike a balance. Now, there’s very, very limited access. It’s very difficult for someone to hunt Kettles legally.”

Still other hunters complained about the proposed hunting season in the Kettles area, saying it’s too short to allow popular bow hunting dates in December. This would further keep the deer population down, they said.

On Whidbey Island, hunters can use only shotguns, bows, black powder rifles and handguns. High-powered rifles are not allowed.

Bill Hawkins, former county prosecutor, told the commissioners the issue is safety, not equity for different users of county property. He said the Kettles issue should have been settled in 1996-97 when the stringent rules that virtually outlawed hunting were adopted. “It would simply be absurd to bring hunting back,” he said.

Another man said the Kettles area should be open year-around to non-hunters for health reasons, as regular exercise helps combat heart disease, diabetes and other ills.

Deer Lagoon stirs emotions

Emotions were ramped up several notches when talk turned to Deer Lagoon. Surrounding property owners blasted the commissioners for even considering allowing hunting in the area. They complained that for years it was a no-hunting area when it was privately owned, but since the county purchased the property a couple of years ago hunting has increased dramatically.

Dave Haworth told the commissioners that hunting is outlawed on other lakes in Island County, and Deer Lagoon, which has deep water in the middle, shouldn’t be any different. “Don’t provide any new hunting grounds for a few,” he said.

Petitions were handed over suggesting the vast majority of property owners around Deer Lagoon are against hunting. “One hundred percent of the people are against hunting,” Pat Halligan told the commissioners. “The homeowners are not very happy.”

Paulette Becker took the commissioners personally to task for even considering allowing hunting at Deer Lagoon. “Shame on you, shame on all three of you,” she said. “There seems to be a good old boys’ network going here – it’s not your right to put the citizens at risk . . . you have to have the guts and integrity to say no.”

Several speakers described being annoyed by shotgun blasts. One man said he counted more than 200 before 7 a.m. one morning. A woman said she couldn’t prepare holiday meals for guests without them being intimidated by the sound of gunfire.

“I hear the same gunshots as everyone else,” said Ray Gabelein, who hunts and owns property in the area. “But it’s very few weekends.” He said most shooting occurs on those few weekends when the ducks and geese are in and the weather is conducive to good hunting.

“Hunting has been handed down through the generations in that area,” Gabelein said, adding that access to the lagoon should be kept open to everyone, including walkers and kayakers.

“Hunting is part of the rural character,” he told critics. “You moved here for the rural character.”

Kristine Marshall, a Sunlight Beach resident, countered that “there has been no public hunting in the lagoon for 47 years.” She agreed a private hunting club once operated there, but said that was closed 25 years ago to protect property owners. Hunting has continued sporadically through the years, sometimes illegally and sometimes, apparently, with permission of the land owner.

Sharon Drew said she can’t walk in her backyard during hunting season for fear of falling birdshot. “I’d be a fool to walk in my backyard,” she said.

Langley resident Jimmy Berto countered, “Deer Lagoon was paid for by everybody, it’s the right of everybody to enjoy this property.” Even a majority can’t take away his rights, he said. He called for a compromise limiting hunting times. “The landowners aren’t giving up anything,” he said.

The county is proposing that hunting be allowed in Deer Lagoon, but there would be a 150-foot setback from other properties. Several speakers said that’s not far enough, as bird shot is still dangerous at that distance.

Commissioner Shelton said hunting is “a very divisive public issue, with extremes at both sides, but we will make a decision about this.”

He described the proposed rules as “attempts to reasonably satisfy both groups of people.”