It’s surprising King County officials didn’t know some of their own codes would appear to put Island Center Forest off-limits to hunting. But county codes are complex and sometimes arcane, and one could argue that in a jurisdiction as big and multi-layered as King County it’s understandable that those who work in natural resource management did not know the details of the county’s public safety law.

The issue is not one of blame. The question is what they should do now.

Thanks to the diligence of a couple of Islanders, those who oversee management at Island Center Forest now know that a public safety code prohibiting the use of a firearm within 500 feet of a trail or building very likely means hunting can’t happen anywhere in the 363-acre, county-owned forest. A warren of trails meanders through this popular woodland. There may be a place or two where a hunter could shoot his or her gun safe in the knowledge that no houses or trails were within 500 feet. But at first glance, it appears such places are few and far between.

The county could, in typical government fashion, take its time, consult with its overworked lawyers in the prosecutor’s office and issue a decision in two or three or six months. It could, in other words, err on the side of hunting.

Or it could decide that an issue such as this one — where public safety is front and center — argues for a different kind of response. County officials could post no hunting signs immediately while they carefully consider the impact of this code on the county-owned forest. They could err on the side of public safety.

And why wouldn’t they?

Based on anecdotal evidence collected by both the county and Island Center Forest users, few if any Island residents hunt in the densely wooded swath. There aren’t many who choose to hunt there; the forest doesn’t lend itself to deer-hunting. But those who do, it appears, largely come from elsewhere and likely don’t know the forest well.

Ironically, while one branch of county government is trying to decide how its laws apply to hunting in Island Center Forest, another branch is considering the proliferation of sandwich board signs on the town’s sidewalks, another violation of county code. A county road supervisor recently told Island business owners that those signs pose safety risks; a pedestrian could trip or fall over one, exposing the county to a potential lawsuit.

The same could be said for the situation in Island Center Forest — except that the stakes are much higher. People get killed from stray bullets; it’s hard to imagine someone dying from an encounter with a sandwich board.

Though government agencies are not known for decisive action, we urge the county’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks to do just that. Post no hunting signs — then analyze the maps to figure out if anyplace in Island Center Forest is truly safe for hunting.