Loophole allows "illegal" bear hunt with dogs--King 5 Story

[Humptulips]

I really don't blame the timber companies. Bears can easily damage 3% of the trees in a stand. add that up over 30 years and there is nothing left. Especially bad for a small land owner if a bear camps out on his land.
A guy I worked for at one time has 160 acres that abut FS land. Just off his land there is a big stump that bears den under. Every year a sow spends the winter there and when she comes out with cubs she pretty much lives off his trees. The damage has really taken a toll. He tried hound hunters but they would chase the bear back far enough to where they were required to quit it and the bear would practically beat them back after they rounded the dogs up. He killed one bear in 5 years.
Finally hired USDA to snare his land and they killed I think 5 the first year.
You can complain about the hound guys if you want but if they don't thin the bear out USDA is going to come in. I know most bear damage complaints in OR are taken care of by snaring. I know the guy that does a large percentage of it.

IMO the problem is not the hound guys or the land owners or WDFW for that matter. It is the law. Change the law and the problem gets fixed. The way it is WDFWs hands are tied.

[dogfish]

It isn't a loophole, as it is specifically written into the law. I am one of the hunters that targets these bears.  I don't use hounds, but I do spend hundreds of hours a year in the woods from April until the end of June. Also, I am acting as an agent of the state when I am out there.   The properties I assist with do not belong to large companies like WEYCO, Green Diamond, or Intl. Paper.  The properties I protect belong to small forest landowners, usually around 150-250 acres.  We also work very closely with WDFW conflict management specialists, as well as enforcement.  It isn't a willy nilly operation like Alison Morrow makes it out to be.  There is no pay for me for my time.  The landowners do not get reimbursed for damage like other AG producers, so it is all on us.

We are very good at what we do, it is all volunteer, and it is a *censored* ton of work.  I found damage on May 14th this year, and the next day we had that bear on the ground, 450 yards from the damage site.  When WDFW bios came to the kill site we opened the stomach and found cambium in its gut.

On one tree farm in May 2015 I found 45 trees damaged in a single day.  Left unchecked, the damage can be catastrophic to small forest land owners.  How much would 45 mature doug fir trees be worth?  How many board feet of timber is that?  Multiply that times 30-45 days of the peeling season, and the impact gets bigger, quickly.

Also remember that depredation hunting, taking out problem animals, is not meant to be a fair chase situation.  Do you want a problem cougar to be left to roam after picking off pets and livestock, or do you want it dealt with as immediately as possible?  It is a very targeted type of hunting meant to mitigate current or future damage.  Nothing more, nothing less.   

As to the bloodlust comments, well, I have an active bear on a property that has had significant damage in the past.  The thing is there has been no damage this year on this property.  In talking with the landowner the other day they asked about progress with the bear.  I told them that while there is a bear on the property, it is eating grass and other foods, and not peeling trees, so I didn't see a need to drop him.  They agreed.  If I run into him, it may be a bad day for him, but in the mean time I'll continue to check the property every other day, without pay, and see what my trail cameras reveal, and hope for no damage.

[h20hunter]

Pretty interesting stuff there fish. Nice to have you and thanks for the input

[Rainier10]

Pretty interesting stuff there fish. Nice to have you and thanks for the input

[dogfish]

In addition to dealing with the depredation issues on these properties, we also act as gillies, watching over the properties while the landowner isn't there.  Over the Memorial Day weekend I had a pop-up blind, a set of shooting sticks, and a tripod chair stolen.  Did a little more exploring and found a lot of cascara trees that had been peeled.  Probably two separate issues, that just happened on the same day.  I had my cameras set for animals, not people, so I didn't get them on camera.  Added 6 more cameras, and guess what?  Caught someone up past three no trespassing signs and a gate, where they shouldn't be. 

Any ideas who this jeep belongs to? 
 

If you do, I, and WDFW enforcement, and the GHSO would like to talk to them.

[h20hunter]

Not good.

Please share some fatty bear pics if you got 'em!

[JimmyHoffa]

If WDFW and the sheriff want to talk to that guy, why not just run the plate on that jeep?

[dogfish]

If WDFW and the sheriff want to talk to that guy, why not just run the plate on that jeep?

They are going to do that at some time, but they have limited time and manpower to go after property crimes.  If I had access to do so, I'd have done it already.  Property crimes are the lowest priority, and I don't blame them for prioritizing as such.  Also the picture isn't 100% clear, so there are at least 4 possibilities for the plate.  This would be someone who regularly travels in the Malone area, along the Mox-Chehalis Rd. 

 

[dogfish]

Not good.

Please share some fatty bear pics if you got 'em!

I'll share some trail camera pics of the bears later.  Pics of harvested depredation bears are not shared.

[h20hunter]

 

[bearpaw]

Thanks for the input dogfish!

[lord grizzly]

You guys have "journalists" over there that spent a year of there life covering what we call spring bear season LOL

[dreamunelk]

You guys have "journalists" over there that spent a year of there life covering what we call spring bear season LOL

Careful - the disease can spread to other states.  Spent a week in Idaho recently for work.  Kind of surprising the number of libs I met.

[lord grizzly]

You guys have "journalists" over there that spent a year of there life covering what we call spring bear season LOL

Careful - the disease can spread to other states.  Spent a week in Idaho recently for work.  Kind of surprising the number of libs I met.

I'm not real worried

[dreamunelk]

You guys have "journalists" over there that spent a year of there life covering what we call spring bear season LOL

Careful - the disease can spread to other states.  Spent a week in Idaho recently for work.  Kind of surprising the number of libs I met.

I'm not real worried

Neither were we!