San Juan County joins a statewide push to stop wildlife feeding — One sign at a time

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, May 20, 2026

When Tillery Williams, San Juan County’s deputy County manager, stood before the County Council earlier this month to present a draft wildlife protection ordinance, he was careful to frame it as the beginning of a conversation. “We continue through our community to educate and inform them,” Williams told the Council. The ordinance — which would prohibit intentionally feeding or supplying food to foxes, deer, raccoons and otters — is still working its way toward passage, with a public hearing scheduled for June 9. But even before a single citation is issued, the focus is already on the harder work: getting the word out.

“The people that are showing up and interacting and not following the rules are not following the rules because we don’t have anybody that says what the rules are,” Council Chair Justin Paulsen said. “This is at least a step in making sure that the rules are clear.”

The problem driving the ordinance is one that locals on San Juan Island have watched unfold gradually and painfully. Residents raised concerns about people approaching wildlife too closely and leaving food out — often while taking photographs. Foxes, drawn toward food sources near roadsides, have been struck and killed by cars. Animals that once kept a natural distance from humans have become socialized, losing the instincts that keep them alive in the wild.

“What happens is that they lose their fear of humans and things like cars, and it brings them out of their natural state,” Williams told the Council. “What this behavior has led to is deaths, especially with the foxes being hit, crossing the road to try to get food.”

Signs as a first line of defense

One of the most concrete tools county officials are counting on is signage. “I think there does need to be a budget consideration for some official signage that we can put up,” Paulsen said.

For the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office — which currently responds to wildlife complaints with no official ordinance to reference — that changes everything. Paulsen described the likely approach for deputies: “I envision them driving through the space so that if they see something, they can say, hey, we have an ordinance and here’s what it says.” Effective enforcement, he suggested, might often mean simply handing someone a flyer and saying, “Here’s what the ordinance says. Make sure you’re following the rules. Move on.”

A volunteer group already at work

San Juan County is not starting from scratch. A volunteer stakeholder group has been shaping the draft ordinance from the beginning, drawing on wildlife advocates, land managers and conservation organizations. Williams noted the group has already thought beyond the ordinance text itself. “The group has put together a list of recommendations, and has thought through what this will look like for implementation,” he said.

The Council suggested other possible partners in getting the word out to the public. Council member Kari McVeigh suggested Salish Wildlife Rescue (formerly Wolf Hollow), the island’s wildlife rehabilitation organization. Paulsen pointed to the Land Bank, the Preservation Trust and the Conservation District as natural outreach partners.

“These are all folks out doing work on the land. They’re interacting with people,” Paulsen said. Council member Jane Fuller stressed that partnerships with the San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau and county communications channels would be key for reaching tourists as well as residents.

Williams was candid that the ordinance is not the final word. “Maybe in a year or two, we’ll find out what we can improve,” he said.

McVeigh raised a key question about the ordinance’s reach. “Because this is a restriction that would cross public and private property rights,” she said, “so basically it’s saying people shouldn’t be doing that activity, even on private property.”

McVeigh’s question generated one of the more detailed exchanges of the evening. McVeigh zeroed in on a potential gap in the draft language. “[Point] a. says no person shall intentionally feed or supply food to any fox, deer, raccoon, or otter,” she said. “a. doesn’t reference public property, but c. does. So if I’m reading [point] a. and I’m a 90-year-old lady who thinks the foxes are all my personal pets and I’m keeping them on my property, am I in violation of this ordinance?” Williams pointed to an exemption further in the document for those who place food out for domestic livestock, pets or wild birds, but McVeigh pressed further, noting that foxes, deer, raccoons and otters are not domestic animals. Paulsen framed the broader principle at stake: “This is a restriction that would cross public and private property rights — basically it’s saying people shouldn’t be doing that activity, even on private property.” Paulsen suggested a simple fix: an insertion in Section a. clarifying that the prohibition applies to both public and private property.

The draft also includes exemptions for authorized land managers and federal or state wildlife officials.

A regional trend

San Juan County’s effort joins a growing statewide movement. The City of Anacortes passed Ordinance 5026 in April 2026, prohibiting the feeding of wild animals, including deer, raccoons, seagulls, pigeons and squirrels, with an exemption for bird feeders. Like San Juan County, Anacortes emphasized education first, with the police department stating it would “initially focus on education” when the ordinance took effect on May 4.

At the state level, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife enacted rules in May 2025 prohibiting the feeding of deer, elk and moose statewide, driven by the spread of chronic wasting disease — an always-fatal illness detected in Washington for the first time in 2024.

Fuller left little doubt about where the County is headed. “I think we are clearly moving in the direction of passing this,” she said. Fuller praised the volunteer effort. “I think it’s amazing that those volunteers are being so actively involved with you to help develop this.” And on the question of signage, she was direct about its power: “If you have a local county code on the signage that says violation is based on the existence of this code, I think it absolutely is a powerful tool.”