Duck hunters become targets for homeowners in suburbs downstream from Washington, D.C.

Tension is mounting between hunters and waterfront landowners in Fairfax County, Va., two months before duck season, Ben Hubbard writes for The Washington Post. Extensive residential growth along the Potomac River downstream from Washington has increased tensions by bringing residents and hunters closer together, says Gerald W. Hyland, a Fairfax County supervisor. "In terms of sheer numbers, I get more complaints about duck hunting in suburban back yards than any other single thing," says state Delegate Kristen J. Amundson. "Suburban swing sets and duck hunters are incompatible neighbors." (Photo by Hubbard)

Hunters claim duck hunting is a Virginia tradition and rally when talk of rule changes arises. More than 100 attended a July 9 hearing at which officials from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries detailed duck-hunting rules. Environmentalists claim hunting disturbs other wildlife, and homeowners say gunshots disturb sleep, increase stress, startle pets and frighten children. "This is a conflict between two types of activity: between the right to have quiet in one's home and the right of others to hunt on the river," Hyland says. The matter is complicated by jurisdictional issues because Maryland controls most of the river, meaning Virginians might hear hunters licensed in Maryland, and Virginia only oversees particular embayments.

Fairfax County must ultimately "strike a balance between its ordinance banning gunfire 'in areas of the county which are so heavily populated as to make such conduct dangerous' and those places where the state allows hunting," Hubbard writes. Hyland says he does not "find it reasonable to have someone ... awakened at 6:15 in the morning to the sound of gunfire in populous Fairfax County," a jurisdiction that is home to more than 1 million people. "You don't hunt around the farmhouse," even in rural areas, he says.

Duck season is Oct. 4 to Jan 26. Virgina waterfront landowners can get licenses for duck blinds in the water that extends from their property in July and August, but if they fail to do so the spots become available to others through September. Blinds can be built without homeowner consultation as long as they are 100 yards from homes. Hubbard writes that this is how neighborhoods "with multimillion-dollar homes scattered in the woods between the George Washington Memorial Parkway and the river, ended up with duck blinds so close to their homes. Most residents moved to the area for its serene nature--and paid dearly for it." Residents are also concerned about safety issues that arise from the close proximity of guns to their homes. "Anytime anyone has a weapon of any kind, there's always a chance of an incident," says Katherine Ward of the Mount Vernon Council of Citizens' Associations. "The whole environment has changed from rural to urban over the years, so how do we accommodate?"

Hunters say the complaints are exaggerated. Robert Bowe, a hunter who built a new blind after finagling rights from an absentee property owner, argues that duck season coincides with the time of year when windows are closed, and that airplanes and motorboats cause greater disturbances to serenity. "Are you hearing shots, or does it bother you that someone is out there hunting?" he asks. As for safety concerns, Bowe says, "I'm not going to pick up my gun and shoot at you. I know the difference between a kayak and a duck. The duck tastes better." Read more here.