GMU 422 - Vashon - Maury, Washington

Low-relief island terrain entirely below 500 ft elevation. Vashon Island is roughly 13 miles long and 8 miles wide; Maury Island attaches to the southeast via a narrow isthmus at Portage. Maximum elevation is approximately 450 ft on Maury Island bluffs; most of the landscape sits between 100–300 ft. Topography is gently rolling glacial till with steep coastal bluffs dropping to Puget Sound. Slope angles are predominantly 22 degrees or less across about 80% of the unit. Forest is second-growth Douglas-fir and western red cedar with bigleaf maple and red alder in riparian corridors; coastal madrone lines the drier bluff faces. Dense brush, blackberry thickets, and sword fern understory limit visibility to 30–60 yards in most stands. Small clearings, apple orchards, and residential gardens provide high-value deer forage and edge habitat.

Public land is scarce and heavily recreation-pressured. The three meaningful tracts are: (1) Island Center Forest — 440 acres of King County DNR-managed working forest in central Vashon; 220 of those acres are designated open for deer hunting October 17–November 1 and closed to other visitors during that window; four trailheads (188th St, Cemetery, Mukai, Westside); (2) Dockton Forest and Maury Island Natural Area — 426 combined acres of King County Parks on Maury Island; Douglas-fir and madrona with 10+ miles of trail, max 450 ft elevation gain, coastal bluff access; access via Dockton Road SW to SW 260th St (21-vehicle gravel lot); (3) Maury Island Marine Park — King County Parks shoreline park on east Maury, 3 miles of trail, accessed off SW 244th St. No USFS, BLM, or WDFW Wildlife Area lands exist on the islands. Total public land is estimated at approximately 5–8% of the unit. The vast majority of huntable ground is private, and landowner permission is the primary limiting factor for non-resident hunters.

Second-growth Douglas-fir and western red cedar dominate upland forest. Bigleaf maple, red alder, and willow fill riparian drainages. Coastal bluffs support Pacific madrone and Garry oak pockets. Understory is dense: sword fern, salal, osoberry, and invasive Himalayan blackberry create thick thermal cover and bedding areas. Wetland pockets (Mukai Pond, Meadowlake) in Island Center Forest provide water and edge. Residential gardens and abandoned orchards scattered across both islands offer high-calorie foraging throughout fall.

Deer move predictably between forested cover and residential/agricultural edges, especially at dawn and dusk. The island's suburban density means deer have habituated to human presence and are less pressure-sensitive than mainland animals. Rut activity begins late October and can extend through late December — later than many mainland units — making November the most productive firearms window. Deer concentrate near gardens, apple orchards, and brushy fence lines year-round. No elk, bear, or mountain lion populations exist on the islands; coyote is the only predator.

Vashon-Maury is one of Washington's most unusual hunting units — an urban-fringe, ferry-access island where deer overpopulation is the primary management challenge, not harvest pressure. WDFW has issued 200 antlerless Special Hunt Second Deer permits annually with an Aug 1–Dec 31 season to supplement the general season harvest. Even with this effort, access to private land remains the binding constraint: most of both islands is subdivided residential parcels. Hunters who invest in building landowner relationships or who focus on Island Center Forest during October report strong success. No rifles permitted anywhere in the unit. Ferry service runs from Fauntleroy (West Seattle) to Vashon year-round and from Point Defiance (Tacoma) to Tahlequah on south Vashon. Hunters should note that Island Center Forest hunting is limited to the Oct 17–Nov 1 window; outside that period all hunting on county land is prohibited.