A hunting zone in an area southwest of Sunriver, along the upper Deschutes River, continues to worry residents who live in the nearby neighborhoods. The group, Big River Safety Corridor, has been working with city and county officials since before 2019 to get the hunting area closed, citing safety issues due to the close proximity to houses. Today, as more people move to the area, residents are becoming increasingly worried.
Sue Abilein, a resident in the neighborhood, has lived in the area full-time since 2017. "I was home one day and I heard shots. I looked out and there was a guy, a hunter, right across from our house. He was out of bounds," said Abilein. When she went out to tell him he was out of bounds, he fired again, right in front of her. "That's how this whole thing started."
The hunting zone, from Maxwell Bridge to Forest Acres, is a popular waterfowl hunting spot right along the river. The hunting boundaries, according to several residents, are very small, making it very easy for hunters to go out of bounds and closer to their homes.
I found a BB [last] Saturday on my deck. They are hitting our homes, they've hit our homes for years," said Karyl Gothe, a resident and member of BRSC.
The group brought the issue to Deschutes County Commissioners in 2019. Commissioners told BRSC that the hunting zone fell under the U.S. Forest Services jurisdiction. BRSC sent the USFS a 50-page report, stating their issues, including images and testimonies from neighbors.
Since then, the Forest Service visited the site several times, according to Gothe, and put signs up, alerting hunters to be aware of nearby homes.
"There are a couple of bends in the Deschutes River that are open to waterfowl hunting," said Kevin Larkin, the deputy forest supervisor of the Deschutes National Forest who has worked with BRSC members. "A number of homes have gone up in that area over the years that are close, so what we've done is gone out to make sure that we have proper signage posted," said Larkin.
USFS regulations allow for shooting no closer than 150 yards from any structure. The signs act as a caution to hunters, letting them know the boundaries, and that they are approaching homes. The signs are posted throughout the boundaries of that zone.
Abilein mentioned, since the hunting zone is small, there are several people who end up going out of bounds, illegally hunting in areas too close to homes.
"I don't dispute that there have been either accidents or bad actors," said Larkin, adding that the USFS, along with its partners, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, have a regular presence there.
However, to close the area, Larkin said they would need to see a large community support toward restricting hunting. "It's still a place that hunting can be done safely," said Larkin. "We don't want to punish the people who are following the rules and are doing things safely."
Abilein noted the growth in the neighborhood and in the surrounding population, bringing more people living and recreating near the hunting zone.
"We still see people in kayaks going up and down the river and if they don't know there a hunting area, they could be injured very easily," said Abilein.
A law passed in 2019, the Dingle Act, encouraging the expansion and continuation of hunting and recreational shooting. "There are clauses for how to go about doing shooting closures; they are extraordinarily complicated," said Larkin. These clauses are designed to make sure that an area is only closed if there is a broad community consensus. Larkin said it almost requires unanimity, making putting in those closures a very difficult process to work through.
"We will continue to stay open to those conversations, but we just haven't found that level of community support that would cause us to think it's time to really move a more formal proposal forward," said Larkin.
While the process may be difficult, BRSC members plan to continue to fight to close this hunting zone. "It's not about the right to bear arms, it's about being responsible and doing the right thing, which is to go a little bit further away," said Gothe. "Like I said back in 2019, it's truly an accident waiting to happen. Why are we waiting?"
