Coal Canyon Better Off Without Hunting : Naming Ecological Reserve Is Praiseworthy; Allowing Shotguns, Bows and Arrows Isn’t

The state Fish and Game Commission made an unfortunate choice in keeping the 952 acres it owns in Coal Canyon open to hunters, a decision in stark contrast to its praiseworthy designation of the same property as an ecological reserve.

The property is right off the Riverside Freeway, ignored by most people and accessible only through two gates, which are usually locked. Those entering on foot get the chance to escape urban clamor and envision Orange County as it used to be, covered more with trees, bushes and flowers than tile-roofed homes.

The commission’s designation of its Coal Canyon acreage as an ecological reserve this month was intended to protect the Tecate cypress forest, a rare phenomenon this far north, and other rare plant species. Such preservation is one of the worthwhile mandates of the state Fish and Game Department, which wisely purchased the canyon site in 1991 with funds from a bond issue.

Another function of the Fish and Game Department is to preserve the interests of hunters, a valid objective. Coal Canyon and the adjacent Cleveland National Forest are the only two Orange County public properties where hunting is allowed, so it is understandable that the commission would be reluctant to pare the territory. But in this case it should have.

Although hunting has been allowed on the property under private ownership and even after the state bought it, few people knew that. Environmentalists complained with reason that listing it as an ecological reserve where hunting was permitted would bring it to the attention of more hunters, perhaps jeopardizing the plant life and increasing the potential for conflicts with hikers and nature study groups.

The commission was wise to scrap hunting with rifles, which is allowed now, and to limit weapons to bows and arrows and shotguns, which have less range. That decreases the chance of harm to others.