State game departments may start to figure it out

[bearpaw]

The only way WDFW will be accountable to the hunters and to wildlife management is if they get off the hind teet of the general fund and must perform to the satisfaction of hunters and fishers so that we buy their licenses and write their paycheck.

Currently hunters and fishers are only 27% (or whatever the budget percentage is from licenses) of importance to WDFW.

[bobcat]

I think that's a great point Dale. It would be to our advantage if the WDFW were 100% funded by fishing and hunting licenses. I just don't know how much more we'd end up having to pay. If license and tags go up even more than they already have, there could be a significant decrease in sales of those licenses.

[bigtex]

You guys can make all the excuses for WDFW that you want, but if there were going to be 25% layoffs due to lack of welfare (general fund money), I bet WDFW could find a way to make this state's ungulate herds and other species far more productive.

Not with the crop damage payout system the state has.

And there is a bill cruising through the legislature to add bighorn sheep to deer and elk as the species that people can claim crop damage on. However the bill does not increase funding to WDFW to pay out for these claims even though they are adding another species to the list

Each year WDFW is capped at paying $150k in damage claims, 120k from wildlife fund, 30k from general fund.

[bearpaw]

I think that's a great point Dale. It would be to our advantage if the WDFW were 100% funded by fishing and hunting licenses. I just don't know how much more we'd end up having to pay. If license and tags go up even more than they already have, there could be a significant decrease in sales of those licenses.

I understand, the realities of a free market system might prevail. If they increase prices too much people will quit buying.

[mkcj]

Populations:
Wash. 6.724 MILLION people (55K) number of elk in each state, Our deer herd is less than half of all 3 states also.
Idaho, 1.56 Mil (103K)
Mont. 989K (150K)
Wyo. 563K (130K)

So with Wyoming having about 8% of the population of washington you can see why they depend on OOS license sales. (Did you see where WDFW wants to add $10 to the deer, elk and bear license plates that will go directly to a wolf fund )

[bearpaw]

Populations:
Wash. 6.724 MILLION people (55K) number of elk in each state, Our deer herd is less than half of all 3 states also.
Idaho, 1.56 Mil (103K)
Mont. 989K (150K)
Wyo. 563K (130K)

So with Wyoming having about 8% of the population of washington you can see why they depend on OOS license sales. (Did you see where WDFW wants to add $10 to the deer, elk and bear license plates that will go directly to a wolf fund )

I don't have the exact numbers at hand, but I think we have smaller numbers of hunters after big game? We have a lot more fishers, but we also have more water resources. 

According to WDFW we have as much or more habitat than other states!  (it's in their wolf plan)

[bigtex]

(Did you see where WDFW wants to add $10 to the deer, elk and bear license plates that will go directly to a wolf fund )

Hold it! That is partly false!

In the original bills that WDFW signed off on your $10 statement was not included.

In the House bill the $10 is not directed to wolves. This bill did not advance past committee.

HOWEVER the bill that passed the Senate included an amendment which does divert $10 to the wolf account.

Both of the original bills said to create a new Wolf Plate. The House Bill still says this. The Senate Bill was changed by the Ways and Means Committee and they said don't create a new plate, but increase the new plate and renewal fee for the wildlife plates by $10 and have it go to wolves!

But this is NOT WDFW's idea but rather SENATORS!

The Senate Bill passed the Senate and is in the house.

[mkcj]

All I know is what Dave Ware said the other day in Olympia

"The agency wants legislators to pass a bill, ESSB 5193, which will help fund management activities. Part of it raises the cost of a wildlife plate from $40 to $50. The extra $10 will go straight to wolf management, whether you buy an endangered species plate, wildlife viewing plate or deer and elk plate."

[bigtex]

All I know is what Dave Ware said the other day in Olympia

"The agency wants legislators to pass a bill, ESSB 5193, which will help fund management activities. Part of it raises the cost of a wildlife plate from $40 to $50. The extra $10 will go straight to wolf management, whether you buy an endangered species plate, wildlife viewing plate or deer and elk plate."

Ya WDFW wants to pass the bill. Because the license plate is just one component of a bill which is essentially WDFW's Wolf management bill. But like I said, the original bill that WDFW moved on to legislators did not include the $10, but rather an entire new plate. The Senate did not want another wildlife plate but would rather just raise the fee on the current plates. WDFW simply can't afford to have this bill die because it provides funding to landowners who lose animals to wolves as well as other funding sources.

Do you want WDFW to try and kill this bill simply because of the $10 component and go another year of poor laws between landowners and WDFW?

[bearpaw]

(Did you see where WDFW wants to add $10 to the deer, elk and bear license plates that will go directly to a wolf fund )

Hold it! That is partly false!

In the original bills that WDFW signed off on your $10 statement was not included.

In the House bill the $10 is not directed to wolves. This bill did not advance past committee.

HOWEVER the bill that passed the Senate included an amendment which does divert $10 to the wolf account.

Both of the original bills said to create a new Wolf Plate. The House Bill still says this. The Senate Bill was changed by the Ways and Means Committee and they said don't create a new plate, but increase the new plate and renewal fee for the wildlife plates by $10 and have it go to wolves!

But this is NOT WDFW's idea but rather SENATORS!

The Senate Bill passed the Senate and is in the house.

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2013-14/Pdf/Bill%20Reports/House/5193-S2.E%20HBA%20AGNR%2013.pdf

E2SSB 5193
Brief Description: Concerning gray wolf conflict management.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Smith, Roach, Honeyford and Delvin; by request of Department of Fish and Wildlife).

Brief Summary of Engrossed Second Substitute Bill

Allows the State Wildlife Account to be used for compensating the owners of livestock for damage caused by wolves.

Creates a new account to be used for the mitigation, assessment, and payment of claims for livestock losses due to wolf predation.

Removes the condition that a livestock owner must raise livestock for sale in order to qualify for wildlife damage compensation.

Removes the specific compensation dollar amounts available for lost livestock and replaces them with current market value.

Removes the limitation relating to only offering non-cash compensation to the owners of wildlife-damaged property other than crops or livestock.

Increases the cost of the existing wildlife-themed special license plates from $40 to $50 and designates the additional revenue for wolf management and livestock compensation.

Hearing Date: 3/20/13
Staff: Jason Callahan (786-7117).
Background:
Wildlife Damage Compensation.
––––––––––––––––––––––

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

House Bill Analysis - 1 - E2SSB 5193

The Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is directed to, subject to funding limits, monetarily compensate the owners of commercial crops damaged by deer or elk and the owners of commercial livestock that are killed or significantly injured by bears, cougars, or wolves.

Each individual claim by a crop or livestock owner is eligible to be paid the value of the lost crop less any payments received by a nonprofit organization up to a maximum of $10,000. For livestock, the compensation is $200 for each lost sheep and $1,500 for each lost head of cattle or
horse.

Total compensation for the owners of commercial crops generally may not exceed $150,000 per year, and total compensation for the owners of commercial livestock may not exceed the amounts specifically appropriated for the purpose. To date, no funding has been provided for compensation to the owners of commercial livestock.

Landowners who experience damage to property other than commercial crops or livestock as a result of the activity of avian or mammalian species may receive non-cash compensation from the WDFW directed to offset the damage. Non-cash support is considered on a case-by-case basis.

Property owners may not receive compensation from the WDFW if they have insurance that provides compensation for the crop loss. Also, they must first exhaust any available compensation offers from nonprofit organizations and utilize all applicable legal and practicable self-help preventative measures. Self-help measures include nonlethal methods of damage prevention and materials and services provided by the WDFW.

Wildlife License Plates.

The Department of Licensing offers a number of wildlife-themed license plates. These include a license plate to recognize endangered species featuring an orca, a three-plate wildlife collection series (featuring a bear, elk, and deer), and a "Wild on Washington" plate featuring the state's species of watchable wildlife. Each of these license plates may be chosen by a Washington motorist in lieu of the standard license plate featuring Mount Rainier.

Motorists choosing this option must pay an additional $40 each year for the use of the special plate. Proceeds are used by the WDFW for specified purposes generally relating to the subject of the license plate.

Summary of Bill:

Wildlife Damage Compensation.

The WDFW is authorized to spend up to $50,000 per fiscal year from the State Wildlife Account to pay claims and assessment costs for injuries and losses to commercial livestock from wolves.

This authority is additive to the WDFW's authority to use State Wildlife Account funding for ungulate damage to crops. Any portions of the authorized $50,000 that are unspent at the end of any biennium must be transferred to the newly created Wolf-Livestock Conflict Account (Account).

The Account is created as an unappropriated account. In addition to the transfer of any unspent State Wildlife Account money that was appropriated for paying wolf predation claims, the Account may also receive grants, gifts, or donations.

House Bill Analysis - 2 - E2SSB 5193

Expenditures from the Account are to be used for the mitigation, assessment, and payment of claims for livestock losses due to wolf predation. The WDFW must pay wolf compensation claims in the chronological order they were confirmed. Confirmed claims in one fiscal biennium may be paid from the Account in a future biennium.

The animal-specific compensation limits are removed for livestock killed by wolves, bears, or cougars. Instead of a fixed amount of compensation, compensation is available in an amount that equals the market value of the animal that was lost. Related to this, the condition that a livestock owner must raise livestock for sale in order to qualify for wildlife damage compensation is removed. Any owner of cattle, sheep, or horses may qualify for compensation from losses caused by bears, cougars, or wolves.

The limitation on the WDFW relating to only offering non-cash compensation to the owners of wildlife-damaged property other than crops or livestock is removed. This allows the WDFW to offer cash, and well as non-cash, compensation to these property owners. The Fish and Wildlife Commission is provided with specific rulemaking authority that allows it to set limits and conditions for expenditures on claims and assessments for all wildlife damage to crops, livestock, other property, and mitigating actions.

Special License Plates.

The cost of the existing wildlife-themed special license plates is increased, as of the start of 2014, from $40 to $50. The price increase applies to the endangered species plate, the bear/deer/ elk wildlife collection, and the Wild on Washington plate. The additional $10 is to be used by the WDFW for wolf management efforts and to compensation livestock owners for losses due to wolves.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Requested on March 14, 2013.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed, except for sections 7 and 8, relating to the price increase in wildlife-themed license plates, which takes effect on January 1, 2014.

[bigtex]

Thats the bill Bearpaw.

If you look at the original Senate bill it was to create a new Wolf Plate. But the Ways and Means Committee eliminated that section and just increased the fee for new and current wildlife plates.

[mkcj]

What will it change between landowner and WDFW besides me paying $10 more? I all ready pay well over $700 a year for my 2 boys and I to fish and hunt. They want an animal here that NO other state knows now they cannot control with Hunting alone and their solution is for me to pay more?

Let me get this straight, They want me to pay more for a plate that is suppose to help the intended wildlife on said plate and now charge more so they can help build a population of wolves destine to eat the animals I'm trying to help?

[bearpaw]

People are suffering losses and this is a solution to pay for the losses.

Wait till wolves multiply several more years before the WDFW gets around to confirming enough BP's to delist. It's going to get ugly.

[bobcat]

I don't see anything wrong with the ten dollar increase on the wildlife plates. The money for wolf damage has to come from somewhere. I'd rather it come from there than from my hunting license.

[bigtex]

What will it change between landowner and WDFW besides me paying $10 more?

You're not getting my point. There are 6 components of this bill, 5 have to do with damage done to landowner property, the other has to do with the license plate.

WDFW did not want the current bill as it passed the Senate. WDFW wanted a completely new wolf plate, not simply increase the fee for the current plates. But they are not going to try and kill it simply because one of the 6 components were modified.