Fairfax Duck Hunters Target Of Neighborhood's Anger

Robert Bowe's duck blind on the Potomac is squeezed between a multimillion-dollar home and, shown across the river, the 485-acre Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve. (By Ben Hubbard -- The Washington Post)
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Bowe's blind near the south end of the Dyke Marsh preserve rankles environmental groups.

"I think it's inappropriate," said Glenda Booth, president of Friends of Dyke Marsh. "I think it's incompatible with the purpose for which Dyke Marsh was created." Dyke Marsh, a 485-acre site run by the National Park Service, is a wetlands habitat prized by birdwatchers and other animal lovers.

But hunters say they're not anti-environment. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries spends $100,000 a year from license fees on wetlands projects, said Jerry Sims, regional wildlife manager. And all hunters must buy a $10 duck stamp, which brings in an additional $140,000 a year for waterfowl-related projects.

The proximity of guns to homes also raises safety concerns.

"Anytime anyone has a weapon of any kind, there's always a chance of an incident," said Katherine Ward of the Mount Vernon Council of Citizens' Associations. "The whole environment has changed from rural to urban over the years, so how do we accommodate?"

Bowe scoffs at such worries.

"I'm not going to pick up my gun and shoot at you," he said. "I know the difference between a kayak and a duck. The duck tastes better."

Since 1960, the Virginia Game and Inland Fisheries Department has recorded 28 waterfowl hunting incidents, none in Fairfax, Sims said. Seven were fatal. All but four of the incidents took place within 50 yards, Sims added, in most cases meaning the hunter shot someone in his own party.

"No one has ever misidentified an orange or a yellow kayak as a duck," he said. "Folks just need to get along and share the resources."

Hirsh has resigned himself to Bowe's blind. A contractor, he has built four large houses on the block; the most recent is listed at $3.6 million, he said. All look out on the blind. He doesn't oppose hunting, he said, and keeps a loaded 9mm pistol near his bed.

"I just wish there was a little more consideration given," he said. He has no intention of trying to oust Bowe again.

"These days, I spend more and more of my time in the winter in the Caribbean," he said, "so it doesn't bother me that much."