No reason for Santa Ynez hunting ban - San Bernardino County Sun

Hunting was banned in the Santa Ynez Recreation Area of the Los Padres National Forest on June 21 after the federal agency received a petition signed by 114 people requesting that the recreation area be closed for public safety. The agency didn't provide any documentation on incidents in which the public safety was threatened, or data on the number of hunters who were violating state laws, before closing the area.

Doug Dodge, Santa Barbara District Ranger with the Los Padres National Forest, said the order was primarily aimed at bowhunters, since this high-use recreation area has been closed to firearms discharge and hunting since 1985.

"The intent was not to close the forest to hunting," Dodge said. "And bowhunters are welcome to do what rifle hunters have done for years. They can walk through the area to hunt in open areas."

The problem, according to Dodge, was that bowhunters were hunting through the campgrounds, picnic areas and residential areas, primarily for turkeys, deer and feral hogs. If they shot an arrow within 150 yards of a developed recreational facility (campground or picnic ground) or residence, they would have been in violation of state law.

Dodge, however, had no documentation of such violations. He said some bowhunters tried to chase turkeys out of Forest Service employee residence areas across a road into an open hunting area, but none was cited for harassing wildlife.

Now all hunting is banned and a

hunter could be fined $5,000 or more under the new order. While Dodge insists that a legal hunter walking through the area with a bow or firearm not loaded would not be cited, there's no guarantee that would be the case, especially since the exact area of the closure is ill-defined.

Dodge said public safety was a real concern because the area is used by 2,000 or more people on many weekend days, and by "several hundred" on weekdays, and there are seven developed campground and picnic areas, more than a hundred residences, a boys camp, and a private campground along the 4 1/2-mile stretch of area affected by the closure. But again, there was no evidence of a single hunter-caused injury.

While no maps of the areas closed by the order were available at press time, Dodge insisted it didn't include the whole recreation area, just the heavily-used corridor right along the lower Santa Ynez River and Oso Canyon. Yet the forest order said the whole recreation area was closed, which Dodge said extends all the way to Gabraltar Reservoir and well into surrounding areas where bowhunting is currently allowed. The Los Padres National Forest map shows that the recreation area is a vast region with many wild areas not in the heavily-used corridor.

Bowhunting season for deer opened July 9 in the A zone, which includes this portion of the Los Padres National Forest, and it's still open. The rifle season for deer opens Aug.13 in this zone.

Beginner's bird-hunting seminar

I'm conducting a seminar 1-4 p.m. Saturday at Bass Pro Shops that's designed just for beginning bird hunters. The seminar includes a package of dove hunting maps, a two-issue trial subscription to my Western Birds hunting newsletter, and the background you'll need to get into quail and chukar this fall. Cost is $40 per person (and all family members in the same household).

To register, or for more info, call my office at 909-887-3444.

Source: http://www.sbsun.com/sports/ci_18572578?source=rss

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