||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS |||
The public is invited to join the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank (Land Bank), the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and representatives of area treaty tribes on March 23, 2026, to learn about a collaborative proposal for allowing limited opportunities to hunt deer on two Orcas Island preserves: Turtleback Mountain and North Shore.
“We welcome the opportunity to work with WDFW and the tribes to find ways to bring deer populations into better balance and maintain an important cultural connection to the land,” said Lincoln Bormann, Land Bank Director.
At the meeting, managers will share details about this proposal and be available to answer questions. “Research in the San Juan Islands shows that when deer populations get too dense, they can over-browse native plants and negatively impact habitat many birds and other species depend on,” said Kurt Licence, WDFW wildlife biologist for San Juan County. “Carefully managed hunting is one of the most effective tools wildlife managers have to keep deer at healthy levels for the ecosystem as well as reducing disease risk and improving long-term health for deer themselves.”
The current hunting proposal includes opening a select area of Turtleback Mountain to state hunters during early-modern season and offering roughly a two-week period on either preserve for tribal hunting.
“Partnerships like this not only honor our commitment to co-management and conservation but also provide an opportunity to reconnect with a landscape our people have stewarded for thousands of years,” said Valentino Villaluz, wildlife program manager for the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.
Public scoping meetings are intended to help area residents and other stakeholders learn more about specific Land Bank management proposals and to help identify potential issues or concerns. This meeting will be held in-person at the Orcas Island Fire Hall from 5pm to 7pm. Community members may also join virtually via Zoom.
Please register here to join the March 23 Public Scoping Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.
A recording of the meeting will be made available for those who can’t attend. Written comments will be accepted until 5pm on Monday, April 6, by emailing erinh@sjclandbank.org.
More information and background resources on hunting in the San Juan Islands is available from WDFW as well as in the Washington hunting regulations.
About San Juan County’s Land Bank
San Juan County’s Land Bank, funded by a 1% real estate excise tax paid by purchasers of property at closing, acquires and preserves areas in the county that have environmental, agricultural, aesthetic, cultural, scientific, historic, scenic, or low-intensity recreational value. The department offices are located at 328 Caines Street, Friday Harbor, WA 98250. For more information about San Juan County’s Land Bank, visit www.sjclandbank.org.
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How ’bout make this for locals only????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Based upon involvement in other CLB preserve policies for limited deer hunting, there is a constitutional issue with only locals participating. That is that the State owns the wildlife on all lands and where sanctioned hunting or harvest is allowed by land owners all licensed state residents must be considered eligible.
As a hunter of deer and waterfowl on island lands I support the limited hunts – from sociological, cultural and especially ecological perspectives – but I will be interested in the legal argument as to how tribal members could have an exclusive short season opportunity to harvest deer on public lands, if that is intended.
Deer on Turtleback? We’ve been hiking there for 14 years and North Shore since it opened. Never saw one either place. Doesn’t mean they’re not there but they sure must be more stealthy than the deer on our property!
Please, not on the publicly accessible preserves. It would destroy why many of us go there … to be among nature in a peaceful, quiet setting. Let it be.
Enthusiastic support for this!! As we’ve seen in so many landscapes, when herbivires exist with no pressure from predators, the entire ecosystem suffers. This is a progressive and forward thinking approach that connects to forest health, wildfire risk, and a host of other vital issues facing the islands. Kudos to the Land Bank for their proactive thinking.