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Commission hears Department of Fish and Wildlife on local trapping ban, considers aligning code with state law
Summary
The Planning Commission discussed complaints about beaver and bear damage and whether to amend Ocean Shores’ long‑standing municipal prohibition on trapping to better match Revised Code of Washington allowances for property damage or danger to humans. State wildlife staff urged city oversight, permitting and coordination with animal control.
Ocean Shores Planning Commission members and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife staff discussed revising the city’s decades‑old municipal prohibition on trapping during the commission’s April 8, 2025 meeting at the Ocean Shores Library.
Scott Harris of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife told the commission that the city’s municipal code currently reads as a total prohibition: “the code says, trapping is prohibited, period,” he said, and that the last update to that local ordinance dated from 1976. Harris and a Department colleague, Dan, explained that state rules (the Revised Code of Washington) allow trapping in cases of property damage or threats to human safety, but that a total city ban can prevent state officers or licensed wildlife control operators from responding or obtaining permits in a timely way.
Harris and Dan described practical constraints around trapping and relocation: live trapping can unintentionally capture non‑target animals, euthanasia must meet veterinary guidelines, relocation requires licensed operators and approved release sites and a disease‑free holding period, and there are few operators in the region licensed to relocate beavers. Dan cautioned that relocation is complicated and sometimes lethal removal is the only practical option. He urged city oversight and coordination with the police department and animal control when permits or removals occur.
Multiple commissioners and members of the public described recent, localized property damage from beavers — uprooted plants, chewed posts, and damage to docks and fencing. One resident said the cost of damaged pots and plants alone was “about $600” and reported repeated losses. Commissioners noted the community impact and asked whether changing the municipal code to mirror the RCW would allow more timely responses.
Harris offered several policy suggestions that commissioners and staff nodded to: require professional licensing or city authorization to trap larger wildlife, require operators to coordinate with the city’s animal control and police, and improve public information on “living with wildlife” mitigation measures (tree wraps, fencing, secure garbage storage). He also suggested the commission consider limited city oversight rather than a wholesale lifting of the prohibition: “some type of oversight by the city consistent with what the city senses their values,” he said.
Next steps: commissioners directed staff to draft code language that would move the city closer to state law while building procedural safeguards — licensing/notification requirements, limits on relocation, and coordination with public safety — and to present that draft at a future meeting for possible referral to city council. Harris said Department of Fish and Wildlife staff would be available to consult and to participate if the commission takes the draft to council.
