The second day of bear-hunting season ended in tragedy Aug. 2 on a marked trail in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. A 14-year-old hunter who shot and killed a hiker only 120 yards away says he thought she was a bear.
Now the state Department of Fish and Wildlife is taking a welcome look at state laws with an eye to preventing a similar tragedy from happening again.
One obvious place to start is to do more to separate hikers from hunters. The death of 54-year-old Pamela Aimli of Snohomish County was an aberration – the first time in at least 25 years that a nonhunter was killed by a hunter in this state, although there have been many close calls. But given the growing popularity of hiking and the fact that some of the state’s most popular hiking trails and hunting territory often overlap, it probably was only a matter of time before something like this happened.
The department should look at whether some of the more popular hiking areas should be off-limits to hunters, or at least better signed to warn hunters and hikers that they share the area. Hunting is currently allowed in season on most of the state’s public lands and many federally owned lands, including the area where Aimli was killed.
The fact that a 14-year-old was hunting without adult supervision is a concern. Amazingly, there is no minimum age for hunters in Washington. The Legislature should set a minimum age limit for unsupervised hunting – 18 perhaps – in addition to the existing requirement that first-time hunters born after Jan. 1, 1972, successfully complete a hunter-education course, pass a written test and show they can safely handle a firearm.
Hikers can do their part, too, by educating themselves on when hunting season is and where hunting is allowed (see box) and by wearing bright colors – the “not-found-in-nature” kind, like fluorescent orange. There’s a reason school buses are painted that color and highway flaggers wear orange vests: They’re easily seen, and it’s hard to mistake them for anything but what they are. Bears come in a couple different colors, but blindingly bright orange isn’t one of them.
Washington’s a big state, with a lot of land for hiking and hunting. State officials – and hunters and hikers themselves – need to find more ways for all recreational users to enjoy the land safely.
On the Web Find out when and where hunting takes place in Washington on the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Web site: www.wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/hunter/hunter.
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