Season changes: It is Crunch Time

[Snapshot]

I got an email this morning saying that the March Commission meeting will be at the Quality Inn on Canyon Road; I’ve not been able to confirm this. I suggest you do so by checking the WDFW website from time to time, or by calling the Commission at 360.902.2207.


At the February 11 Resource Allocation Sub-Committee meeting the Washington Archery Coalition representative, Rick Liebel, arrived and found that the WDFW had their 2009-11 season recommendations in a bound book ready for delivery to the Commission. “The deck really seems to me stacked against us,” he reported. He said that they didn’t agree with our analysis of their own harvest data, nor our stance regarding unbalanced changes, or our fear of potential over-harvest that the gains for modern firearms may bring. The manager of the big game department also claimed that our previous representative had agreed to the changes as a good way to resolve an imbalance in buck and bull harvest. Some of us suspect that they are taking advantage of Steve’s injury, because we don’t think he ever would have agreed to such a thing.


The so-called imbalance that is being used as the basis for the proposed changes to archery hunting seasons is in the percentage of MATURE bulls and bucks that each user-group takes relative to the user group sizes. Our TOTAL HARVEST of deer and elk is perfectly in line with the equity goals of Resource Allocation; the department’s own data proves this; I ran the figures and Dean Cook ran them, too. We are 19.07% of the elk hunters and take 19.23% of the elk; we are 12.75% of the deer hunters and take 11.38% of the deer. Perfect!


Here are the percentages for the elk MATURE bull harvest: Modern firearms; 66.49% of hunters took 60.35%, muzzleloader; 14.44% of hunters took 14.51%, and archery; 19.07% of hunters took 25.14%. NOTE: The WDFW is including any bull with a least five tines on one side as mature, regardless of age class. I will argue against this because, 1) I’ve read plenty of opinions by qualified people who state that bulls as young as 3-1/2 years (and occasionally even 2-1/2 years) can have five (albeit spindly) points on one side, and 2) the departments’ own 2009-2015 Game Management Plan defines a mature bull as having at least six points per side (pages 35-37)! I suspect that if they take out the raghorns we might find equity in the mature bull harvest, too.


Modern firearms are taking more than their percentage of mature bucks yet they are looking at gains while archers are faced with season reductions: Modern firearms; 80.35% of hunters took 87.26%, muzzleloaders; 6.9% of hunters took 4.51%, and archery; 12.75% of hunters took 8.23% of the mature bucks.


The archery season proposals that are going to the Commission (unless the GMAC changes them on the 21st of February) are as follows: Early deer Sept. 1-25, early elk starts the day after Labor Day for thirteen days, late deer and elk starts the day before Thanksgiving and lasts until the same dates as last year (depends on whether east side or west side). One gain made at the Feb. 11 meeting was that archers will not entirely lose the Sherman GMU 101, but it won’t open until Nov. 20; and we’ll still have it before other user-groups get in there. Bottom line is that we are faced with losing a multitude of hunter days while the other user-groups are being given additional opportunity.


Rick says he is still going to fight for the deer to remain as per the Status Quo but he thinks the elk changes are locked-in and that we’ll have to wait until the next three-year package to correct them. Maybe I’m an optimist but I’d like to think that if we can show that they’ve skewed the mature bull data by including raghorn bulls the commission might make a floor change at the March 7 meeting.


All available archery hunters need to be at the meeting on March 7 in Ellensburg. The sign-in for public testimony begins at 8:00 AM and you will have up to three minutes to speak. If you can’t be there write a letter to the Commission immediately (more on that below). But please make every attempt to be there and bring a carload of your hunting buddies with you! As Glenn St. C. would say, we need bowhunters “swinging from the rafters”!


The message needs to be that you support the Status Quo. It is an important fact that whenever biological reasons for change had been presented to archers in past years, we supported those changes for the good of the resources. But changes for political reasons are unacceptable and the current recommendations seem politically motivated because the changes being proposed are not impacting all three user groups equitably; our seasons would suffer while the other groups’ opportunities would grow.

 
To prepare for the meeting, write out less than a page, direct and to the main point or points you want to make. They get glassy-eyed if too much information comes at them from one source. Coordinate with your friends, divide up the messages that you feel are important and then hammer the points home. Be polite and respectful; because remember that you are representing all of bowhunting when you write your letter or speak to the Commission! If you have written documentation, bring thirteen copies and give them to Brenda when you sign in at 8:00 AM. Don’t just read the documents; use the documents to back up your spoken points.

 
So I might focus on wanting to keep the elk season dates right where they are because, 1) the harvest stats show that we are taking exactly the right proportion of elk, and 2) the so-called imbalance that is being cited as a reason for changing our season is contrary to the department’s own Game Management Plan which defines a mature bull has having at least six points on one side and 3) if modern firearms need to take more bulls, then increase the number of bull permits they get and, if truly warranted, simply reduce our permit numbers.

 
And you might write about the recommended loss of the Swakane general season and how, 1) that is going to drive hundreds of hunters into the few remaining GMU's and so overcrowding will occur, 2) taking away recreational opportunity from hundreds and giving us a handful of permits in return is going to tip the balance away from the perfect harvest proportion that has been achieved through Resource Allocation, and 3) the recent post-season buck counts were conducted in an area that the deer were not in at the time due to the weather. Archer George R. lives near there and saw lots of bucks but in places other than the flyover zone!

 
And another person might go into how much we appreciate not losing the Sherman GMU 101 for the November whitetail hunt because that, 1) would have cost us our only peak whitetail rut hunt, 2) would have taken recreational opportunity away from hundreds of hunters and give it to a select few and 3) would have severely impact the local economies that depend on hundreds of bowhunters coming to the area and patronizing motels and restaurants. [Yes, this is an example of commending them for doing something right! They need to hear an “Atta boy” when they deserve it.]

 
Bottom line is, it is better to have each person pick one point (the one most important to them) and drive that point home, rather than moving around from topic to topic and risk putting everyone to sleep. Be sure to use your own words. Commissioner Gutwiler told me during at the February 6 Commission meeting, “Equitable harvest is something we want to maintain.” Let’s ask them to prove it.


Even if you will attend the meeting, also write a letter to the Commission! This should be IN ADDITION to your comments that you sent to “Hunting Season Comments” or to wildthing@dfw.wa.gov (which are due Feb 20).


Address your letter to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission and send COPIES of it to Phil Anderson, Dave Brittell and Dave Ware. Here are the addresses:


Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA 98501-1091; email: commission@dfw.wa.gov


Phil Anderson, Interim Director, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way N, Olympia, WA 98501-1091; email: director@dfw.wa.gov


Dave Brittell, Wildlife Program Assistant Director, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way N, Olympia, WA 98501-1091; email: dave.brittell@dfw.wa.gov


Dave Ware, Game Division Manager, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife 600 Capitol Way N, Olympia, WA 98501-1091: email: david.ware@dfw.wa.gov

[hunt4]

Thank you for that information

but it won’t open until Nov. 20; and we’ll still have it before other user-groups get in there.

Like to add i think this should say the rifle hunters will be in there 2 weeks before us?

I was thinking of trying to get charter buses together but they seem to be running around $2,100 for a fifty person bus from the wet side.
What do you think, can we get organized enough to get 4 or 5 buses loaded up?

[hunt4]

Thank you for that information

Like to add i think this should say the rifle hunters will be in there 2 weeks before us?

..


I guess not...... hopefuly some more of the cnages go back to status quo.


Under Modern Firearm, Late General Season, Eastern Washington White-tailed Deer,
delete GMU 101 from the late modern season. With the change, the line should read 105-124,
any white-tailed buck. This change is in response to public input from archery hunters and
returns the late general modern firearm season in GMUs 105-124 back to status quo.

[Snapshot]

IMPORTANT: I was just informed that the hearing room at the Quality Inn will only 100 people and that the sign-in starts at 7:30 AM not 8:00. IF you want to testify, I suggest you arrive early.

DS

[Snapshot]

It should not be misconstrued that we are to be deterred by the prospect of a large crowd and standing room only. On the contrary! We need to fill up the room and then some! There is some talk about bringing some awnings and a barbecue for the parking lot so we can have some hot dogs and get the ducks in a row before the important agenda item rolls around at 12:30 PM.

DS