They do the same in Idaho and a lot of it seems to do with hunting pressure. units close too town-easier access have shorter seasons. Upper joe and other harder to access area bear seasons almost never close. I Think it also(in Idaho) does have to do with elk/deer populations relative to overall predators and to a lesser extent the overall bear population. My experience is Washington has a bewildering amount of hunting units and often very different regulations for ones that border each other. (this has been deer hunting with my son not bear hunting). I have to think this has something to do with writing tickets! keep washington green!
