Shooting in Skagit Provincial Park

[heatherdaddy]

Can anyone tell if it is legal to hunt or shoot in Skagit Provincial Park. I saw the sign that said you have to be 400m off the center of the main road, but the park Ranger told me different.
I ran into the Park Ranger while checking my trailcam in there last night and he was very confrontational accusing us of poaching bears and telling us there is no shooting in the Park at all. We told him we were checking our trailcam and had the guns just in case we ran into a Bear but we werent poaching as we only had a 22 and a 410 shotgun. He said he didnt care he wanted to get out of his park, we told him it a government park and he got even more confrontational with us even though all we did was target shoot in the bushes.
All was good in the end as we just left and ignored him.

[olympia]

Did you get his name? My buddy had a similar experience at cat lake I. Squamish, it seems our rangers are making up their own rules, they need to be outed.

[quarterman]

If you go on the parks b.c. web site it will tell you which parks you can hunt in in b.c.

[quarterman]

I looked on the web site and it says its legal to hunt in skagit valley, Check the regs for any restrictions there might be in the park. Next time some park ranger tells you otherwise tell them to pound sand.

[Iron Glove]

Hard to justify a 22 or .410 as "bear defence." :D
The Skagit is heavily hunted, as others have said, read up on the various web sites and regs.

[heatherdaddy]

It was more for Bear scare if we saw one while checking the cam.
I should have gotten his name and reported him as being unfriendly.

[Silent But Deadly]

I think you can only discharge a firearm in that park between sept 10- june 15.
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/hunting/regulations/docs/PARKS_HUNT.pdf

[4pointer]

You can hunt and shoot in skagit park, but only during hunting season that falls within Sept - June. Now being August...not so sure even though there is a hare season but the way I interpret it is that the park does not open for hunting until Sept no matter what. This includes discharge of firearms. Might wanna ask a CO for clarification.

[caddisguy]

Yep... within the park, the season is Sep 10 to June 15. There's no early bow season either. The park attendant is right, but sounds like a bit of a jerk. If it's the guy I'm thinking of, he really loves his bears... hunters not so much.

No person shall possess a firearm, bow or crossbow in a park, conservancy or recreation area except

(a) a firearm, bow or crossbow that is carried in a vehicle,

(b) during an open season specified under the Wildlife Act in those parks, conservancies and recreation areas listed in Schedule B,

(c) in Columbia Lake Park between September 10 and June 15 of the following year, or

[caddisguy]

Another FYI for everyone about trailcams in parks... they aren't supposed to have any sort of attractant (salt, peanut butter etc) as the Parks Act act does not permit using attractants as part of a lawful hunt like the Wildlife Act does. I usually only run 1 cam in the park and I put it on game trails. It sees a bit of action but no-where near as much as the ones outside the park where I put salt.

[digger dogger]

Another FYI for everyone about trailcams in parks... they aren't supposed to have any sort of attractant (salt, peanut butter etc) as the Parks Act act does not permit using attractants as part of a lawful hunt like the Wildlife Act does. I usually only run 1 cam in the park and I put it on game trails. It sees a bit of action but no-where near as much as the ones outside the park where I put salt.

Thanks for the info, on attractants in a park. (I didn't know)
I learned me somethin today. :-)

[caddisguy]

Thanks for the info, on attractants in a park. (I didn't know)
I learned me somethin today. :-)

Actually I just double checked (which I suppose I should have done before posting) and it says you can't "feed" wildlife so it might be ok to use doe urine or other non-edible attractants.

I could have swore it mentioned attractants as well, but all I can find is:

Feeding of wildlife30 No person shall feed wildlife in a park, conservancy or recreation area.
[am. B.C. Reg. 215/2006, Sch. s. 8.]