Take Action! Sportsmen are encouraged to participate in this workshop, which will be held at the department’s Region 4 Headquarters, located at 16018 Mill Creek Blvd., in Mill Creek, Washington. The meeting will be held from 6-8 p.m. Those who cannot attend can still let WDFW know the importance Cherry Valley hold for hunters across the state by submitting written comments to [email protected].
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will hold a public workshop on April 11 to discuss a new management plan for nearly 2,800 acres of public recreation land. The new plan will determine access and allowable recreational opportunities on the Snoqualmie Wildlife Area, which is made up of six separate units in King and Snohomish counties in the greater Seattle area.
Five of the six units are open to hunting currently, with waterfowl and pheasant hunting available on the Cherry Valley, Crescent Lake, Ebey Island and Stillwater units; while the Spencer Island unit provides waterfowl hunting opportunities. The Cherry Valley unit is also very popular for sporting dog training and field trials, which are vital to the development of quality hunting dogs.
The location of the Snoqualmie Wildlife Area makes the planning process even more important. The area includes six units near the greater Seattle metropolitan area. Public land, open to hunting and related dog training activities near large population centers are critical to recruitment of new hunters, and retention of current users. It is important that Washington sportsmen and women be heard as the planning process occurs.
“Easily accessible wildlands near urban areas are critical not just to the recruitment and retention of outdoorsmen, but in the training of their dogs, which are critical to conservation and ethical hunting,” said Brian Lynn, vice president of marketing and communications for the Sportsmen’s Alliance, a Washington state resident and former gun dogs editor for Outdoor Life magazine. “If hunting and recreational shooting are to remain primary uses on the Snoqualmie Wildlife Area, as they should, then it’s vitally important that all aspects of those endeavors, including the use and training of canines, are allowed to continue.”
More information about the wildlife management plan development process can be found at http://wdfw.wa.gov/lands/wildlife_areas/management_plans/ .
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance:The Sportsmen’s Alliance is a 501 (c) 4 organization that protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is a 501 (c) 3 organization that supports the same mission through public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.