County deer hunters seeking places close to home to stalk their quarry when the general modern firearms season opens Saturday, Oct. 15, will find the array of access opportunities they have grown accustomed to in recent years.
Hunters will continue to encounter gated roads entering private timberlands in many locales, but the 'vehicle-less' access (on foot, horseback or by bike) does provide a degree of exclusivity not normally obtained on driveable logging roads.
Public lands here will largely stay accessible by motorized forms of transportation, though rules now require a $30 vehicle permit to enter state timberlands and prohibit the operating of unlicensed off-road vehicles on the national forest.
PRIVATE FOREST TRACTS
Sierra Pacific Industries is the major private timberland owner in Whatcom County with holdings in the Bald Mountain, Coal Mountain, northeast Sumas Mountain, Canyon Lake and Stewart Mountain areas.
In addition, Sierra owns large forested tracts in the upper South Fork Nooksack and on Wickersham Mountain (Lyman Hill), Mount Josephine, and Grandy Creek areas, together with its timber acreage on the east side of Lake Shannon and holdings east of Rockport, all in Skagit County.
Hamilton District Manager Tom Nelson said the company allows public entry on foot or horseback and by mountain bike to hunt its properties.
However, under SPI policies, access by motor vehicle of any kind is not permitted, even if gates on company roads are open during the week for industrial traffic. Also, Sierra does not allow overnight camping or fires of any kind on its holdings.
When parking vehicles, operators should use care not to block gates or the driven portion of the roadway.
Longview Timber, LLC also has major holdings in Whatcom County in the Bowman and Blue Mountain areas, together with significant forested tracts in Skagit County in the Finney Block south of the Skagit River centering on Day Creek and the Cultus, Haystack and Bald mountain areas.
In recent times, Longview and other major forest owners such as Bloedel Timberlands and Trillium Corporation have set policies, similar to Sierra Pacific's, that ban overnight camping, fires and vehicular entry but do allow day-use access via non-motorized conveyances.
Bloedel owns timber tracts in the north Blanchard Mountain and Lake Samish areas, while Trillium controls foothills black-tailed deer habitat in the North Fork Nooksack Valley and south county areas.
STATE FORESTS
The Washington Department of Natural Resources manages non-federal public forest lands throughout the state including significant holdings here in Whatcom County on Sumas, Red and Slide mountains as well as in the Van Zandt Dike and Middle Fork Nooksack Valley.
Hunters will find many state forest roads providing access directly onto state-owned lands open and 'driveable' for the general deer season. However, some roads will remain gated because the route crosses intervening privately owned lands for which DNR does not have authority to allow public access.
In several other state timberland locales such as south Blanchard and Alger mountains, roads have been gated and closed to vehicular access because of past abuses such as garbage dumping, forest products theft and indiscriminate shooting.
Persons who venture by car, truck or RV onto state lands also must now buy and display a Discover Pass on their vehicle.
Camping and fires are subject to WDNR public recreation rules found online in the Washington Administrative Code at apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=332-52
All Washington State Parks and Recreation lands (state parks) are permanently closed to hunting.
FEDERAL LANDS
Northwest Washington deer hunters will find forest roads on the Mount Baker Ranger District of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest traffic-ready for the general season deer hunt.
The only exception is Canyon Creek Road (FSR 31 near Glacier), which currently is closed due to a washout.
Any street-legal vehicle may be driven on currently open forest roads, but unlicensed recreation machines are not permitted either on main and secondary roads nor anywhere off-road (including in-active logging spurs).
Some district roads including the Dillard Ridge and Sandy Creek routes are off-limits to vehicles entirely and are gated year-round.
It is advisable to contact the local National Forest Ranger District or Bureau of Land Management office for detailed information about travel restrictions in the area you intend to hunt.
If hunters park their vehicles at trailheads, they must display a $30 Northwest Forest Pass in it. Overnight camping and fires are allowed in most areas of the forest
Hunting, in conformity with state regulations, is by law allowed in many national recreation areas under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service including the Ross Lake National Recreation Area.
It is unlawful to hunt inside the boundaries of any national park.
Doug Huddle, The Bellingham Herald's outdoors correspondent, is retired from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and has, since 1983, wrote a weekly fishing and hunting column that appears Fridays. Read his blog and contact him at pblogs.bellinghamherald.com/outdoors/.
