Shoreline residences squeezing on hunters

The real estate boom on Lake Coeur d’Alene is gradually silencing the boom of waterfowler’s guns.

Hunters in recent years have gone to bays only to find new homes in areas where they used to build their duck blinds.

Most sportsmen have adjusted by relocating their decoy spreads or finding new areas. But a few waterfowlers have used poor judgment by hunting unethically or illegally close to developed private property, said Chip Corsi, Idaho Fish and Game Department regional manager in Coeur d’Alene.

Now the pressure is gaining steam.

George Watters, who said he’s lived in Rockford Bay for nine years, appealed to the Kootenai County Commission last week for an ordinance that would prohibit shooting on parcels of less than 10 acres. A similar ordinance already exists to restrict shooting ranges, he said.

Watters called his proposal a short-term legal answer to the muddy waters between public and private shoreline ownership.

The commission promised to research the options.

Watters said he witnessed three incidents of illegal hunting involving three different waterfowling groups this winter.

In one case, he said a hunter set up on a legally permitted walkway Watters built across a wetland portion of his property. When Watters approached, he said the hunter grew irate and rudely fired his gun as though he were still hunting while being confronted.

In another case, Watters said hunters were shooting from a dock and walkway at the Woodland Shores development.

Watters said pellets from their shot shells were raining down on an occupied travel trailer.

“That’s illegal when the shot comes down on somebody’s property,” said Watters.

Fish and Game officials confirmed that observation. “Your shot shouldn’t land on private property where you don’t have permission to hunt,” Corsi said.

Even though Watters’ neighbor is Kootenai County Sheriff Rocky Watson, sheriff’s deputies did not respond to Watters’ calls when the hunters were trespassing on his property.

Watson told Watters as well as a North Idaho reporter that the Sheriff’s Department often can’t make solid cases on trespassing incidents involving hunters on shorelines.

Corsi said Fish and Game enforcement agents have had similar trouble interpreting the law. “But in a couple of these cases it seems pretty clear the hunters were in the wrong,” he said. “If somebody has somebody trespassing and hunting on their property, we’ll respond to the calls.

“In some cases we’ve received complaints that weren’t necessarily warranted. In this case, we didn’t get the call.”

“The Sheriff told me he thinks it’s a civil issue, but I contend it’s a safety issue first,” Watters said.

Kootenai County has set a precedent for declaring no shooting areas, such as the one along the Spokane River between Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls. But Watters said there doesn’t appear to be a clear process for addressing no-shooting zones.

Watters said he sympathizes with the squeeze waterfowl hunters are in. On the other hand, he said he’s doing his part for waterfowl by protecting the wetlands on his property.

“I have eight parcels here and I’ve built on only one,” he said. “That’s my intent.

“Hunters are going to have to adjust with how they hunt in a high development zone. In my immediate area there are 15 homes, and then there’s Black Rock with a couple hundred and another development going in with a hundred.

“With all that development, it should be notable when somebody’s actually trying to preserve something around here.”

Idaho Fish and Game officials said they are concerned about any movement toward more no-shooting zones around the lake.

“It’s a problem, not just in Kootenai County, but in Bonner County, too, particularly around the Pend Oreille River where there’s growing populations in waterfowl areas,” Corsi said.

“We have about a dozen rules already on the books that speak to trespass and careless shooting and other citable offenses. The safety component is already in place. Hunters still need to use good judgment, but there are behaviors we can enforce.”

Corsi said the hunting regulations books would become even more confusing if they had to start listing lake by lake which bays are open to hunting and which ones are not.

He said the department routinely comments on shoreline subdivision proposals and recommends building setbacks that protect the wildlife habitat and public recreational opportunities.

“We try to get counties to set up no development or no vegetation disturbance zones for these subdivisions,” he said.

Hunters firing short-range shotguns don’t’ need a lot of area to be safe, he said, adding that it would be a shame to see more areas go the way of the Spokane River no-shooting zone.

“Even there, a good hunter could find a lot of bays where he could safely shoot and we believe they should be able to,” he said.

“But this is an indicator of the time, and the population growth we’re experiencing.

“Even if you’re shooting safely, people sleeping in on a Saturday morning can get a little wound up when they hear shotguns at 6 a.m.”