Bill would set 14 as minimum age to hunt without supervision

OLYMPIA — In the months since a 14-year-old hunter fatally shot a hiker, mistaking her for a bear, lawmakers and wildlife groups have agreed that the law allowing anybody to hunt alone, regardless of age, needs to change.

The question is, what's the appropriate age for a child with a firearm to head out into the woods without adult supervision?

On Thursday, the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee heard testimony on a bill that would set 14 as the minimum age someone can hunt without an adult nearby. That age requirement had been in place until 1994, when it apparently was inadvertently deleted from state law.

Now, anyone can hunt without adult supervision as long as he is licensed and has completed a hunting-safety course.

The bill, HB-1114, was introduced by Rep. Brian Blake, D-Aberdeen.

A member of a hunting-advocacy group, Hunters Heritage Council, testified that many in the hunting community support Blake's proposal. State Fish and Wildlife Deputy Chief Mike Cenci said the minimum age should be 16, while a representative from the Washington Trails Association said any hunter younger than 18 should be supervised by an adult.

"Fourteen is very young. We call it adolescence for a reason," said Jonathan Guzzo, advocacy director for the Trails Association, which advocates for hikers. "Setting the minimum age at 14 would not have prevented the incident that happened at Sauk Mountain this summer."

The Skagit County boy accused of killing Pamela Almli, 54, is charged with first-degree manslaughter and slated to be tried in April. Almli was hiking with a friend on Aug. 2 when she was killed by a single shot to the head fired from the boy's rifle, court charging documents said.

The boy and his 16-year-old brother were bear hunting at the time.

Cenci said the state Department of Fish and Wildlife wouldn't fight the move to make 14 the minimum age but would rather see it set at 16.

"It boils down to maturity," Cenci said. "There are some individuals who are adults who I am concerned with handling a firearm."

The majority of hunting accidents the department sees involve people between the ages of 18 and 29, he said.

Blake, an avid hunter, said 14 was a suitable age to hunt without an adult when he was growing up and should be suitable now. But requiring children under 14 to hunt alongside adults would better prepare those young hunters for what to expect in the woods, he said.

Guzzo said the Washington Trails Association reviewed studies on teenage brain development before recommending 18 as the minimum age requirement. "Generally speaking, as people get out of their late teens they start to develop a sense of consequence for their actions," he said.

But Guzzo said the association would be willing to compromise — by accepting 16 as the minimum age.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com