Access for deer hunt mixed on forest roads

DOUG HUDDLE - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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Hunters will find access to Northwest Washington timberlands for the Saturday, Oct. 11's, opening of the modern firearm deer season much the same as it's been for the past decade or more.

Most roads on federal and state holdings in Whatcom and Skagit counties will be open to street-licensed motor vehicles, while major private timber holdings here will be closed to public vehicular traffic.

Here's a rundown of access information by major forestland owners.

? U.S. Forest Service Mount Baker Ranger District: Most roads currently maintained for vehicle traffic on the district will be open for the hunt. Exceptions include the Loomis Nooksack Road (FR 12) and Schrieber's Meadow Road (FR13) for culvert replacement (hourly closures) and the Mount Baker Highway at Mount Baker Ski Area parking lot (gated for season). Road closures to the south on the neighboring Darrington Ranger District include the Suiattle Road at MP 12 due to flood damage. Tenas Creek, Circle Creek, Green Mountain and Rattrap Pass roads also are not accessible due to past flood damage that has not been repaired.

Off-road vehicles (ATVs and non-street licensed motorcycles) are not permitted on forest service roads or lands. Campfire restrictions have been relaxed on federal lands.

? Washington Department of Natural Resources: State-owned right-of-ways on most DNR managed forest lands will be open for motor vehicle traffic Saturday, but hunters can expect some gated accesses because some state-held easements across private lands do not permit public traffic.

Hunters encountering such barriers should check for no trespassing signs before venturing past the gates to hunt any state land beyond them. Some roads may be closed due to logging activities.

WDNR manages state holdings in the Sumas Mountain, Racehorse Creek, Canyon Creek and Van Zandt Dike areas of Whatcom County and the Harry Osborne State Forest, Walker Valley and Frailey Mountain areas of Skagit County. Maps and brochures showing state lands are available on line at www.wa.gov/wdnr.

For the three-week long Western Washington center-fire rifle and handgun deer season, private timberland roads here will be accessible, without exception, only on foot, horseback or mountain bike, and not by motor vehicle.

? Sierra Pacific Industries, Hamilton Tree Farm: Roads throughout Sierra's holdings will be closed to vehicular traffic for the modern rifle deer hunting season. The public may hunt SPI property accessible by foot, horseback or bicycle on a day-use basis only. This includes holdings in Whatcom County on Stewart Mountain (Sultan Hill), Black Mountain, Glacier, South Bald, Canyon Creek and Porter Creek areas. In Skagit County, Sierra also owns land on Lyman Hill (Wickersham Mountain), Grandy Hill, Bear Creek (West Lake Shannon), Jordan and Boulder creeks (Marblemount) and the East Lake Shannon area.

? Hampton Tree Farm properties in Northwest Washington have been closed in past years to public motor vehicle traffic during the deer hunting season. Hampton's timber holdings currently are in the process of being sold. Hunters may enter Hampton lands on foot, bicycles or on horseback for the day only, though they are cautioned to watch for heavy equipment traffic and not to drive behind gates that are open for log truck access.

Previous company policy has banned overnight stays on its lands and no open burning (warming fires) is permitted.

Hampton has major holdings in the Blue Mountain and Bowman Mountain areas of Whatcom County and in Pilchuck-Deer Creek area of Skagit and Snohomish counties.

? Trillium Corporation: Roads entering Trillium forest properties also have been gated during the deer season in past years. The company's timberlands are generally open to non-motorized access (foot, mountain bike, and horseback) for day hunts, but no overnight camping.

Trillium owns several blocks of managed forestland throughout Whatcom and Skagit counties.

? Bloedel Timberlands: The company's holdings in Whatcom and Skagit counties usually remain gated during the deer season.

Hunters have been allowed to walk into the company's Chuckanut block southwest of Lake Samish in past years. But there is no parking near the gated road entrance. Bloedel also owns forestlands in the South Fork Nooksack valley.

A good rule of thumb by which to abide when you encounter an opened forest road gate is to not drive past its location, but park off the road outside it.

Doug Huddle, the Herald's outdoors correspondent, works in the Wildlife Program of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and has written a weekly hunting and fishing column for the Herald since 1983 that appears Saturdays. E-mail him at doug.huddle@bellinghamherald.com.