It's now illegal to use a TV as a target or camp over 21 straight days on state Department of Fish and Wildlife lands.
Reacting to increased use of the 806,701 acres of land it manages statewide, the agency has enacted new regulations and lumped existing laws into a package of "public conduct" rules.
The changes, which recently went into effect, were the result of a five-year process to bring rules for use of fish and wildlife lands more in line with regulations for use of other public lands, said Madonna Luers, a fish and wildlife public information officer.
Growing use and littering, dumping and vandalism have posed a threat in some areas to the preservation, protection and management of fish and wildlife and their habitats, officials said.
"The rules are especially needed because of the expanded use of our lands,'' said Bob Dice, who oversees management of the department's Blue Mountains Wildlife Area complex, which includes the popular W.T. Wooten Wildlife Area near Pomeroy.
"Our traditional users were hunters and fishermen. But now, a lot of the people who use our lands don't hunt or fish. They just camp," Dice said.
The new regulations:
-- Limit camping stays to 21 days in a 30-day period. And "residence camps," or squatting on department lands, is forbidden.
Vehicles or trailers also cannot be left unattended for more than 21 days, or block access to roads, boat ramps or gates.
-- Forbid cutting down trees or attaching artificial fasteners to trees -- such as staples or nails -- to create a camp, blind or tree stand. Digging pits for a waterfowl blind also now is illegal.
"We've actually had people who cut down trees to make a blind," Luers said.
-- Ban use of appliances, mattresses, televisions, furniture, glass or exploding items as targets. Shooters also cannot use tracer or incendiary ammunition because of the risk of starting fires, officials said.
"People have hauled out old computers, beds or TVs to department lands, and then just shoot them up and leave them there," Luers said. "It's amazing what's been hauled out to these lands."
Shooters also must clean up shell casings, packaging or other debris from practice sessions, excluding clay pigeons.
And target shooting now is prohibited within 500 feet of a designated campground on fish and wildlife land. There are 21 such campgrounds statewide, and many typically draw large numbers of campers.
The 17,000-acre Wooten area has campground sites, which are filled during holidays and on some summer weekends. The Memorial Day weekend typically draws from 3,000 to 4,000 visitors, many to fish the Tucannon lakes, Dice said.
Existing regulations already ban dumping and littering of state lands or shooting off fireworks.
Dogs also cannot be let off-leash on department-owned lands from April 1 through July 31, unless otherwise posted, in part to protect nesting birds, Luers said.
Violations of the various public conduct rules range from a simple infraction up to a gross misdemeanor. Wildlife officers, however, likely will focus more on giving warnings to violators this year instead of citations, Luers said.
"It's an educational year with a lot of this for people who use department lands," she said. "The state has a whole lot more people now, and we're just trying to protect the resource."
The rule package can be viewed on the department's website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/lands/wac232/