SB 6287 Cougar Control Pilot Program (Hound Hunting)

[bigtex]

Senate Bill 6287 sponsored by Senator Dansel will be introduced this week. The bill, would allow WDFW to permit the use of dogs to pursue or kill cougars in Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Chelan, Okanogan, and Klickitat counties with the approval of the county for 5 years.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.
(1)(a) The department, in cooperation and collaboration with the county legislative authorities of Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Chelan, Okanogan, and Klickitat counties, shall recommend rules to establish a five-year pilot program within select game management units of these counties, to pursue or kill cougars with the aid of dogs.
(b) Dangerous wildlife task teams must be developed in each county comprised of representatives from the county and the department. A pursuit season and a kill season with the aid of dogs must be established through the commission's rule-making process, utilizing local dangerous wildlife task teams. The dangerous wildlife task teams shall also develop a more effective and accurate dangerous wildlife reporting system to ensure a timely response.
(c) The pilot program's primary goals are to provide for public safety, to protect property, and to assess, conserve, and manage cougar populations.
(2) Rules adopted by the commission to establish a pilot project allowing for the pursuit or hunting of cougars with the aid of dogs under this section must ensure that all pursuits or hunts are:
(a) Designed to protect public safety or property;
(b) Reflective of the most current cougar population data;
(c) Designed to generate data that is necessary for the department to satisfy the reporting requirements of section 3 of this act; and
(d) Consistent with any applicable recommendations emerging from research on cougar population dynamics in a multiprey environment funded in whole or in part by the department.
(3) The department may authorize five seasons in which cougars may be pursued or killed with dogs, subject to the other conditions of the pilot program. The seasons are authorized to aid the department in the gathering of information necessary to formulate a recommendation to the legislature regarding whether a permanent program is warranted and, if so, what constraints, goals, and objectives should be included in a permanent program.
(4) This section expires July 1, 2019.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.
(1) A county legislative authority may request inclusion in the pilot project authorized by section 1 of this act after taking the following actions:
(a) Adopting a resolution that requests inclusion in the pilot project;
(b) Documenting the need to participate in the pilot program by identifying the number of cougar/human encounters and livestock and pet depredations;
(c) Developing and agreeing to the implementation of an education program designed to disseminate to landowners and other citizens information about predator exclusion techniques and devices and other nonlethal methods of cougar management; and
(d) Demonstrating that existing cougar depredation permits, public safety cougar hunts, or other existing wildlife management tools have not been sufficient to deal with cougar incidents in the county.
(2) This section expires July 1, 2019.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) By September 1, 2018, the department must deliver to the legislature, consistent with RCW 43.01.036, a progress report summarizing the pilot program authorized in section 1 of this act. The report must include information relating to how the program has been used to assess cougar population levels and protect public safety and property. The report may also include any recommendations as to how cougar management policies may be changed in the future to achieve more effective or efficient management.
(2) This section expires July 1, 2019.

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=6287&year=2013

[aer212]

Any chance of it passing? What can we do to help it pass?

[bearpaw]

Glad to see Dansel working on this, I think it has a chance of passing given the context of the language.

[Houndhunter]

I hope they only allow permits for houndsman this time, else the guides will eventually get it shut down again and the actual guys with dogs still won't be able to hunt

[bearpaw]

I hope they only allow permits for houndsman this time, else the guides will eventually get it shut down again and the actual guys with dogs still won't be able to hunt

Since you are not a guide I can understand your thoughts, after all you simply want to run your dogs. However, what about the guy who buys licenses every year and is a continual supporter of wildlife in this state but doesn't own hounds, someone who simply wants a chance to go cougar hound hunting?

I think the end desire should be to control the cougar population and reduce problems. While accomplishing this goal I think every hunter in the state should get a chance to participate, perhaps an applicant should be required to know someone with hounds or hire a guide, but either way hounds will get a chance to be hunted. I actually wouldn't care if it was illegal to pay a guide, but I still think any hunter should be able to apply, provided he has a hound hunter willing to participate in the hunt.

[CAMPMEAT]

Didn't we just have a PILOT Program ( DNA Study ) that ran out of steam a couple years ago ? And, wasn't this program supposed to be a step to get hound hunting back ?

I'm all for it because it might, maybe, possibly turn into bringing back hound hunting.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

This would be awesome!!! 

[Special T]

Great law! I think its great because it creats the opportunity for OTHER counties to become involved. 

[BOWHUNTER45]

I think the pilot program has always been for those who own hounds ...you had to get an affidavit signed from a vet stating the dogs were your dogs if you were the one shooting the cat ....you could still have your friends participate in the chase but only the permit holder could do the shooting ....some correct me if I am wrong ...

[snowpack]

I think the pilot program has always been for those who own hounds ...you had to get an affidavit signed from a vet stating the dogs were your dogs if you were the one shooting the cat ....you could still have your friends participate in the chase but only the permit holder could do the shooting ....some correct me if I am wrong ...

The last one they had was a drawing for a special permit.  You just had to apply hounds or not.  I was talking to one of the guys on the peninsula that said that one year the permit went to one lady that it was her first draw app for hunting and she didn't even have dogs yet.  The winners are on standby and if a cougar causes a problem, WDFW calls the permit winner to come chase the cat.

[BOWHUNTER45]

actually your correct ...I had the one before the last one ....I had to have the affidavit to get the permit ...

[CementFinisher]

Hope this picks up steem. 

[KFhunter]

I been considering running some beagles for hare,  but if something like this went through I'd maybe get something a little bigger 


Got Cougars chriping outside the bedroom window while back,  every 3-4 weeks they come down and check things out.  I can't even hunt them now 

[huntnphool]

I hope they only allow permits for houndsman this time, else the guides will eventually get it shut down again and the actual guys with dogs still won't be able to hunt

Since you are not a guide I can understand your thoughts, after all you simply want to run your dogs. However, what about the guy who buys licenses every year and is a continual supporter of wildlife in this state but doesn't own hounds, someone who simply wants a chance to go cougar hound hunting?

I think the end desire should be to control the cougar population and reduce problems. While accomplishing this goal I think every hunter in the state should get a chance to participate, perhaps an applicant should be required to know someone with hounds or hire a guide, but either way hounds will get a chance to be hunted. I actually wouldn't care if it was illegal to pay a guide, but I still think any hunter should be able to apply, provided he has a hound hunter willing to participate in the hunt.

+1, if hound owners simply want to "run their hounds" than offer them up to those that draw, win/win for all involved.

[Houndhunter]

Ok i'll bite, if I remember right didn't you huntnphool draw a tag? How many times did you go out? And bearpaw if you were not a guide and just a avg guy that can't hunt out of state would your opinion be a bit different?

I struggled my entire life in WA trying to own dogs that can catch game, the only thing guys got our coons. With that pilot program a guy could justify owning hounds, tree a half dozen coons and a handful of lion in a year and it was still worth it for guys with a passion for hounds. But when the public was allowed to draw the permits, me and my family with hounds never drew another permit. When the pilot program changed houndsman got screwed. Unless you worked with the wdfw, in with the logging companies, or born with privileged hunting rights than you really couldn't hunt hounds.

The biggest thing here is that if this is a public sport hunt, should the bill pass, than it will get shut down just like last time. If we want this to happen it needs to be a public safety hunt, keep it low key and to hound owners only. If guys without dogs want to join in on the fun than find a houndsman and ask to go along. Or maybe put in the hours upon hours of work and get your own hounds if you want. To say "offer up your hounds" is a joke and clearly you've never owned hounds.

Honestly this bill doesn't even apply to me anymore as im not a WA resident and living in a place where one can run lion all winter. However for the hound hunters back home, this bill is for them. This isn't a free for all hunt, its a public safety issue. I honestly would not let a one and done hunter kill a lion under my hounds, because he doesn't deserve it. Infact every guy I know with dogs will not let just anyone kill a decent tom under there dogs for the same reason. You want a lion under dogs, than go get some hounds and earn it.