"Craziness" Continues on Rapjohn Lake
Will No One Respond to Residents' Pleas?

                                                                                                                       (photo by Bob Walter)

     by Bob Walter
     October 14, 2006

     Shotgun blasts again pierced the silence, and the fog, at Rapjohn Lake this morning, on opening  day of duck hunting season. At least two residents reported hunters trespassing on their posted property. 
     Resident Pete Steel said the trespasser on his property was the same hunter who had done so on opening day last year. When politely asked to leave, the hunter refused to do so. As instructed earlier by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Steel called the Washington State Patrol (WSP) requesting the department be contacted.  
    The WSP dispatcher refused to forward the call. When Steel demanded she do so, the woman placed him on hold and did not return, so he called a wildlife agent directly by cell phone. The agent was in the process of making an arrest elsewhere, and said his sergeant would respond. As far as Steel could determine, no agent came out.
    The Fish and Wildlife Department had also informed residents they would try to patrol the lake this morning, but if any agents came out, it was not apparent to Steel. Once again, as the hunting season of nearly one hundred days in length begins, Rapjohn Lake residents are frustrated with the lack of response, and concerned for their safety. 

"This is craziness"
~ Rapjohn Lake Resident...

                                                                                                                   (photo by Bob Walter)

     This bucolic scene becomes a place of real danger and fright during hunting season. Hunters are never supposed to shoot in a direction they cannot see clearly. Even though the tall growth along the shore often obscures hunters’ sightlines from what lies beyond, the couple who live on this property once had to hit the ground when a hunter fired a shotgun from just beyond the trees in the middle distance, directly over their heads and in the direction of their house. 

     by Bob Walter
     My Viewpoint
     October 13, 2006

    Over the past few weeks, ENN has been in contact with residents around Rapjohn Lake near Eatonville, who are bracing for the opening of duck hunting season on Saturday, October 14. At least four residents have been hit by bird shot. They hear shotgun pellets hitting their windows, their roofs and their decks. They have collected pellets in their their yards, and presented them to officials.  Eight years ago, before it got this bad, the residents successfully petitioned the Pierce County Council to restrict the use of firearms before 8:30 a.m. on alternating days, to reduce the noise level in the early morning.
     In the years since then, public safety has become the pressing issue. Rapjohn Lake is just fifty-six acres in size - a very small site for hunting. No more than two or three duck-hunting parties can motor out onto the lake from the single public access, and still hunt safely.
     Last February 9 several residents attended a meeting of the Pierce County Council's Firearms Advisory Commission, which is charged with gathering testimony and advising the council on firearms issues. There, they presented their case. 
     Not only do some hunters shoot in the direction of homes, they also shoot at each other. Resident Pete Steel is a sportsmans' club member and avid target shooter, Said Steel to the Commission, "In one instance this guy comes around and he's doing about thirty miles an hour in his boat, tries to scare ducks up towards the guy on the beach. The guy - he does scare one up, he shoots, the guy in the boat has to hit the deck, the boat lands on the beach. He shot right at his buddy...We're watching this stuff, we get it on video tape. It's - this is craziness...we're pleading with the committee to help us with the issue. This is serious stuff."
    Bruce and Ann Lachney operate a cranberry farm on their property. (Bruce Lachney is a member of the Pierce County Planning Commission) When Mr. Lachney was hit by a falling pellet, he moved his workers out of the hunters' range for their safety.  Residents are concerned for their pets as well. Some hunters have discharged their guns from moving boats, which is illegal, and fired randomly in heavy fog to scare up birds, when they could not be certain what was in the line of fire. 

Trespassers...Firing in Every Direction...

    Others have trespassed clearly posted land along the shore to hunt, firing in every direction, not just out across the water. One couple walking on their lawn heard a gun shot fired toward their home, so close they laid on the ground to avoid being hit. Another resident, Phil Richards, was told by the Commission to wear bright-colored clothing and call out to the hunters alerting them of his presence in his own yard. 
     The residents have also contacted the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife numerous times with concerns about their safety. They are still waiting for Pierce County Councilman Roger Bush to respond to their request to intercede on their behalf. They've called local law enforcement when violations have occurred, but have found there is little the Pierce County Sheriff's Department can do without actually witnessing the violations. Often the hunters have left the lake by the time they arrive. 
     A plan was discussed to anchor buoys toward the center of the lake.  Ann Lachney met with a representative of the Washington Waterfowl Association to discuss another proposal, to install duck blinds, but this was considered unworkable since the hunters would have to be relied upon to monitor their own behavior. The blinds were considered unlikely to make a real difference, given the incidences of unlawful hunting that have occurred in that area. In August the residents petitioned the Pierce County Council, "to make waterfowl hunting illegal on Rapjohn Lake due to safety concerns."  
     But after reviewing the situation, the Firearms Commission determined there was not enough evidence to prove public safety is being threatened. They also determined that hunting cannot be restricted for noise reasons, thus scrapping the 1998 ordinance. It is apparent to lake residents the Commission is more concerned with protecting the rights of hunters to shoot on Rapjohn Lake, than it is with protecting the residents from irresponsible hunters.
     So, even though the residents have sought compromise, and were willing to discuss ways of controlling the numbers and the position of hunters on the lake at any one time, they again find themselves bracing for a daily onslaught of shotgun blasts for the next four months. 
     Even though the lake provides hunting opportunities for only a very small number of hunters, the authorities continue to resist any effort at closure. It is obvious that hunting enthusiasts overall, and their dedicated, but understaffed, enforcement arm, have failed to curtail the foolhardy and dangerous behavior of a good number of hunters on Rapjohn Lake, to the continued peril of its residents. 

Pets are Also Threatened...

                                                                                                                                                       (photo by Bob Walter)

     The quiet, peaceful shore of Rapjohn Lake, which is the edge of the back yard for these two dogs, will once again become the scene of often chaotic activity Saturday, October 14, as duck hunting season begins. Hunting on Rapjohn Lake had, for eight years, been restricted by county ordinance to only within the hours of 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. on alternate days, to allow residents some respite from the noise. 
   Some hunters were known to mark the start of the day's hunting with a fusillade of blasts from their shotguns at the moment they could legally begin. The bottom of the stream channel at the outlet of the lake was found caked with spent shells. 
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