DUNGENESS — Clallam County soon may tell the state Department of Fish and Wildlife that hunters won’t be welcome much longer at the Dungeness Recreation Area.
The county, however, may have to accommodate members of the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe under a federal treaty right to hunt in their “usual and accustomed places.”
Clallam County commissioners found themselves in the dilemma Monday as they considered a master plan for the 216-acre park.
The state’s lease of deer-, duck- and pheasant-hunting areas expires in 2010, and the plan calls for extending the lease three years while Fish and Wildlife finds another area.
“We need to start the discussion and at least try to reach consensus,” said Commissioner Mike Chapman, R-Port Angeles, who added that he felt hunting should continue at the park.
“I’m not willing to say there can be no co-management,” he said, referring to supervision by both the county and Fish and Wildlife.
