Cherry Valley, Stillwater, Cresent Lake and Ebey Island

[Happy Gilmore]

Please go use our public areas and make sure we are seen dog training. Based upon my public information act information I gathered, WDFW is planning on closing as much land to recreational opportunities as possible. They made claims that dogs were the source of many reports of problems and it justified closures. Well, I used the public information act to find all reports, citations and written documentation of problems. There were no reported problems like the managers claimed. None reported through 911/dispatch, none in emails. All there was were negative comments such as, "let the place get grown over so the people won't use it" and misstatements of the WAC laws from enforcement to the manager to justify closures. I'll gladly share it with anyone who would like to see it.

Get out and train your dogs on the open spaces. Enjoy the outdoors. Pick up some trash. Be seen with your animals enjoying nature. Be a responsible user. Make sure to have your parking passes and follow the rules. We need to be seen. I'm sure the Big(tex)Brother is watching here too so, lets go be seen.

Region 4 Master Hunter
Our Snoqualmie Wildlife Area manager Brian Boehm is in need of some volunteers to assist him in a project on several units of the Snoqualmie Wildlife Area. Basically what is needed is a group of volunteers who would be available to do a visual survey of certain types of use of the Stillwater unit, the Cherry Valley unit, the Crescent Lake unit and the Ebey Island unit. The visual survey would consist of sitting in the parking lot of the unit and observing based on a form provided the # of people using the unit for several different activities. Mostly dealing with dogs on or off leash and/or if they are training the dogs. Since three of the units have 2 parking lots this survey would cover 7 parking areas. The shifts would be for four hours either 10 am to 2pm or 2 pm to 6pm preferably on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays. The survey needs to cover 6 weeks of data and needs to be completed by May. All of the hours spent in the lots would count towards your 40 hours needed to recertify. If you would be available to assist please contact Brian brian.boehm@dfw.wa.gov . This is a great way to knock out part of your required 40 hours of service to recertify and the help is greatly needed at these release sites to determine usage.
Thanks
 
 
Steven Dazey
Hunter Education & Volunteer coordinator
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
425-775-1311 ext.#106
Steven.dazey@dfw.wa.gov

[Stickerbush]

Tag

[constructeur]

Paul, is this part of the 'changes that are coming to this area' that's been posted for the past several months at these sites?

[Carl]

I Volunteered.

Carl

[Happy Gilmore]

We have no ideas what the changes are including. WDFW is keeping this all close to the chest so there is little to no chances to respond or comment. I'm on the committee for the valley and we've had one meeting in a year. No discussion or talk of the closures before they happened. Just a bunch of statements saying how problematic dogs are on the areas. However, there is ZERO documentation of issues. The only documented problems were the pheasant hunters and duck hunters having conflicts and not respecting the seasons or, being confused about it. And one lady who had a mean dog and walked nearly every night. All other accounts have been non substantiated and gathered by one or two people with a bone to pick about how everything is run.

Then excuse #2 or 3 or whatever....  Dogs chase off nesting birds. Ok, do tractors plowing up 60+ acres help nesting birds? Dogs run on the grass. Birds nest in thickets and marshes. Doesn't take a biologist to see the real answer. There is a special interest driving policy. The special interest is not in public access and use. The special interest wants the areas where they invested money closed to public access and use. I had my Facebook sent out. It was shared by a ton of people who are in turn posting it on additional pages and dog club pages. Also have it out to about 300 people in email on top of the FaceBook sharing. Another person has started a Facebook page for the Valley areas and a fund me page for legal is following shortly. I believe I have a great lobbiest on board who is close with the former director and staff.

[AspenBud]

Are these quiet season closures (April through July) they are planning?

[Happy Gilmore]

Yes partially. There has always been nesting season closures. Please obey these and stay in designated areas. If you look on my Facebook page there are pictures of the signs which state because of soo many dog problems rule changes are coming. These are lies by the manager and enforcement. They had ONE lady who was just a dog walker. The other issues are perceived and complaints by a couple people who simply don't like certain things which happen during pheasant release. They are making broad stroke policy based upon a couple people during hunting season.

I've given up in some ways because the WDFW says one thing then, does another thing. Its been repeated over and over. There is no system of resolution and I am now working over the local heads to try and get some things changed. A manager making policy based upon peoples feelings during a short window during hunting season makes zero management sense. Furthermore, making policy with no documented issues as they claim is a disservice to the general public user. But, that's how our government is operated and apparently these WDFW managers feel they should follow suit. Much of the current actions and 2014 policies have been based upon the feelings of an outdated and widely disliked enforcement officer who spreads rumors about the public and lies to area managers within the department to influence how the policy is made. I didn't believe it until I saw his email exchanges. He even talked negatively about another enforcement officer who had taken some time off for maternity leave. Can't believe they would do it on public email. Shows the lack of care.

[Happy Gilmore]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/833527733383942/

We started a group on facebook to start getting organized.

[luvmystang67]

We had a discussion about the greatness of WDFW/State land a while back.  This is the kind of thing I was talking about, where it isn't always rainbows and butterflies.  I doubt anyone that was on that thread will see this one, but once gov takes it away its unlikely to return.  At least when a private landowner takes stuff away it isn't gone forever.

I do love state land, but this is one of the many shortcomings.

[AspenBud]

We had a discussion about the greatness of WDFW/State land a while back.  This is the kind of thing I was talking about, where it isn't always rainbows and butterflies.  I doubt anyone that was on that thread will see this one, but once gov takes it away its unlikely to return.  At least when a private landowner takes stuff away it isn't gone forever.

I do love state land, but this is one of the many shortcomings.

That's actually not true. There's a lot of concern these days about more and more farm and ranch land being locked up by private land owners, land that hunters used to frequent but is now leased to the highest bidder. A land owner can make money leasing to an outfitter and have game managed on their property through them in much the same way that common hunters just asking permission to hunt did.

Think very carefully about changing who owns the land. Hunting in much of Europe is a private land affair and insanely expensive.

The problem with public land is it has to make everyone happy, not just one group, and as such it can be a victim of politics.

[AspenBud]

Yes partially. There has always been nesting season closures. Please obey these and stay in designated areas. If you look on my Facebook page there are pictures of the signs which state because of soo many dog problems rule changes are coming. These are lies by the manager and enforcement. They had ONE lady who was just a dog walker. The other issues are perceived and complaints by a couple people who simply don't like certain things which happen during pheasant release. They are making broad stroke policy based upon a couple people during hunting season.

I've given up in some ways because the WDFW says one thing then, does another thing. Its been repeated over and over. There is no system of resolution and I am now working over the local heads to try and get some things changed. A manager making policy based upon peoples feelings during a short window during hunting season makes zero management sense. Furthermore, making policy with no documented issues as they claim is a disservice to the general public user. But, that's how our government is operated and apparently these WDFW managers feel they should follow suit. Much of the current actions and 2014 policies have been based upon the feelings of an outdated and widely disliked enforcement officer who spreads rumors about the public and lies to area managers within the department to influence how the policy is made. I didn't believe it until I saw his email exchanges. He even talked negatively about another enforcement officer who had taken some time off for maternity leave. Can't believe they would do it on public email. Shows the lack of care.

It seems like it might be time to try and establish some official areas for training and field trial use with the state. Or maybe these are just that and now they are changing their mind?   

I'll check out your Facebook group when I get a chance.

[Happy Gilmore]

The biggest issue is eliminating access, closing more and more land, planting more harvested crops(zero wildlife benefit to stubble and bare land) and allowing it to become completely overgrown following the "natural area" concept.

That is the goal which has been proven by management practices. The more overgrowth, less people.

[Happy Gilmore]

Yes partially. There has always been nesting season closures. Please obey these and stay in designated areas. If you look on my Facebook page there are pictures of the signs which state because of soo many dog problems rule changes are coming. These are lies by the manager and enforcement. They had ONE lady who was just a dog walker. The other issues are perceived and complaints by a couple people who simply don't like certain things which happen during pheasant release. They are making broad stroke policy based upon a couple people during hunting season.

I've given up in some ways because the WDFW says one thing then, does another thing. Its been repeated over and over. There is no system of resolution and I am now working over the local heads to try and get some things changed. A manager making policy based upon peoples feelings during a short window during hunting season makes zero management sense. Furthermore, making policy with no documented issues as they claim is a disservice to the general public user. But, that's how our government is operated and apparently these WDFW managers feel they should follow suit. Much of the current actions and 2014 policies have been based upon the feelings of an outdated and widely disliked enforcement officer who spreads rumors about the public and lies to area managers within the department to influence how the policy is made. I didn't believe it until I saw his email exchanges. He even talked negatively about another enforcement officer who had taken some time off for maternity leave. Can't believe they would do it on public email. Shows the lack of care.

It seems like it might be time to try and establish some official areas for training and field trial use with the state. Or maybe these are just that and now they are changing their mind?   

I'll check out your Facebook group when I get a chance.

That is trending. However, the idea of a training area is many a couple acres so it doesn't impact habitat. Now, go and think, how much habitat during nesting season does a field being plowed with a tractor provide? Why allow sharecropping for $1,300 revenue when it destroys the ability of a bird to nest? It certainly provides little to no feed or cover. Yet, we only give a guy wanting to train a dog a couple acres in open space for fear of chasing nesting birds then, plow under 60 acres and act proud about having it farmed? where is the logic?

[AspenBud]

Yes partially. There has always been nesting season closures. Please obey these and stay in designated areas. If you look on my Facebook page there are pictures of the signs which state because of soo many dog problems rule changes are coming. These are lies by the manager and enforcement. They had ONE lady who was just a dog walker. The other issues are perceived and complaints by a couple people who simply don't like certain things which happen during pheasant release. They are making broad stroke policy based upon a couple people during hunting season.

I've given up in some ways because the WDFW says one thing then, does another thing. Its been repeated over and over. There is no system of resolution and I am now working over the local heads to try and get some things changed. A manager making policy based upon peoples feelings during a short window during hunting season makes zero management sense. Furthermore, making policy with no documented issues as they claim is a disservice to the general public user. But, that's how our government is operated and apparently these WDFW managers feel they should follow suit. Much of the current actions and 2014 policies have been based upon the feelings of an outdated and widely disliked enforcement officer who spreads rumors about the public and lies to area managers within the department to influence how the policy is made. I didn't believe it until I saw his email exchanges. He even talked negatively about another enforcement officer who had taken some time off for maternity leave. Can't believe they would do it on public email. Shows the lack of care.

It seems like it might be time to try and establish some official areas for training and field trial use with the state. Or maybe these are just that and now they are changing their mind?   

I'll check out your Facebook group when I get a chance.

That is trending. However, the idea of a training area is many a couple acres so it doesn't impact habitat. Now, go and think, how much habitat during nesting season does a field being plowed with a tractor provide? Why allow sharecropping for $1,300 revenue when it destroys the ability of a bird to nest? It certainly provides little to no feed or cover. Yet, we only give a guy wanting to train a dog a couple acres in open space for fear of chasing nesting birds then, plow under 60 acres and act proud about having it farmed? where is the logic?

I agree

[Special T]

I have a friend that sits on the WAG and these pieces of property have been neglected on purpose for quite some time until the recent manager (that happy worked with) started. There have always been BS reasons why the land could not be mowed, share cropped etc. I know for a fact that a bunch of small trees were planted on the still water unit as a salmon habitat improvement project that filled up a bunch of the open pockets that made great duck hunting when the river flooded.