Council loses bid to limit duck hunters Council loses bid to limit duck hunters (August 12, 2005)

By Jon Wiener

Duck hunters angry with the city council's plans to restrict their access to South Bay hunting grounds may wind up having the last laugh.

The federal Fish and Wildlife Service refused the city's request to prohibit vehicular traffic on a 1.5-mile access path from Crittenden Lane to five salt ponds north of Moffett Field. The proposed route crosses a section of Stevens Creek Trail in Shoreline Park, and would be one of only two places where trail users meet motor vehicles (the other is at Moffett Boulevard).

The council moved to prevent that last December, announcing in a letter to the Fish and Wildlife Service that it did not want to allow vehicles to cross the trail. Several hunters who spoke at the meeting said the alternative -- carrying guns, dogs and perhaps dead ducks in the open -- would be less convenient and less acceptable to trail users.

Clyde Morris, manager of the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge, will detail the Fish and Wildlife Service's position in a 10-minute presentation to the council at its Aug. 16 study session. Morris did not immediately return phone calls for this story.

City environmental coordinator Kevin Woodhouse said it is not clear who would have legal authority over the access point if the two sides could not reach an agreement. Both the Fish and Wildlife Service and the city have easements from the Santa Clara Valley Water District, because of the proximity of the creek.

The ponds became federal property as part of a huge restoration effort on land once owned by Cargill Salt. Thousands of acres of salt ponds are being turned back into wetlands, but a select group that includes the Moffett ponds will remain untouched, providing habitat for the migratory birds that have come to rely on them. Two ponds north of Shoreline Park will continue to be off-limits to hunters.

E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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