Subject: Dogs & policing Spencer Island
Date: Sep 23 19:08:41 1997
From: Ted Becker - ted1191 at gte.net


I hope this isn't too far off topic for Tweeters.

What agency(s) is responsible for enforcing the regulations at Spencer
Island? What agency(s) set the regulations? What are the specific rules
for having dogs on various parts of the island?

There was an incident at Spencer Island Monday evening that has me
wondering about the "No dogs" regulation and how it is enforced. My friend
and I were walking along the trail on the Fish & Wildlife Department
portion of the island and a couple was approaching with a dog on a leash.
When I asked the man about the dog he informed me that it was a hunting dog
and since this area is open to hunting he is allowed to bring the dog into
the area. Is this true? Does having a hunting dog and maybe a hunting
license give license to walk a dog anywhere on the island? There is no way
to walk a dog to the hunting areas without passing through the dog
restricted area. These people were clearly not on the island to hunt. I
also believe there is no season open.

I could almost be convinced to allow hunters to walk their dogs on a leash
through the park area to the hunting area for the purpose of hunting but
only for that purpose. My preference would be to ban hunting on the island
altogether. Where does "preservation" or "conservation" come into the
picture when we provide these areas to attract wildlife only to be killed
for the pleasure of some & at #.