Wild Pigs in Gifford Pinchot NF

[Antlershed]

The $6.5 billion was taken from the Economic Impact Study that was completed in January 2017, and is the total value of all crops and livestock in WA State that would be at-risk if Feral Swine were to become established here. I agree, not a great comparison by the author.

That is true, but there are some who would like to see that change.

Exactly the problem, sounds like a great way/reason for them to leverage things and start selling tags to soak hunters for more $, inflate the number because WA always has to be #1 in everything.

What needs to happen is educate everyone on the problem, declare them open season without licensing(maaaaaaybe just need license at the very most, but no tag like Coyotes) and eradicate them with extreme prejudice before they can take root.  Feral swine is a very significant threat to the agriculture industry in this state if they are allowed to establish themselves.  I have friends in TX and other southern states and Hogs are a serious problem, and so prevalent that they are often able to bag on on the way to/from work each day without going out of their way.  Habitat is bad enough for our resident game, last thing we need is pigs tearing up and consuming the limited resources.

That’s not the change I was implying. There are some who are afraid people will start introducing pigs in order to have a huntable population. Therefore, those same thinkers would like to make pig hunting illegal today.

I agree with your statement on education, because there are hunters who want to see pigs here, and I don’t think they understand the magnitude of the problem we would be faced with.

[Antlershed]

The $6.5 billion was taken from the Economic Impact Study that was completed in January 2017, and is the total value of all crops and livestock in WA State that would be at-risk if Feral Swine were to become established here. The article says “could cause”. Could have provided more details for what they were trying to convey.

I believe it was a typo and meant to be $6.5M.

Not a typo, it came from here, but this puts some more context around it.

https://invasivespecies.wa.gov/council_projects/economic_impact/Invasive%20Species%20Economic%20Impacts%20Report%20Jan2017.pdf

[pianoman9701]

I think you get my point. If damage was $1.5B nationwide, the potential damage in WA is nowhere near that, never mind 5 times as much. It would be devastating, I get it. Let's get the alarm bells going.

[Antlershed]

I think you get my point. If damage was $1.5B nationwide, the potential damage in WA is nowhere near that, never mind 5 times as much. It would be devastating, I get it. Let's get the alarm bells going.

I do. It was poor writing on behalf of the Chronicle author. Obviously nobody thinks that Feral Swine would wipe out 100% of our states crops.

[257 Wby Mag]

They’ve been up there for a while, know guys that have killed em.a buddy killed several up above butts road raintree nursery in the little Rockies about 15 years ago.  Guess they were planted

[jackelope]

Earlier this year, I was told by some folks who are "in the know", who also may or may not have been there when it happened, that there were 2 pigs killed by WSP troopers on I-90 in North Bend. Those same folks said that WDFW biologist was called to the scene. They went on to say that the people who were there in the know said that they thought they looked a lot like wild pigs. Said there were trails in the woods that the pigs had made. I can't confirm or deny any of this, but the people I heard it from that may have seen it actually all go down would know what they were talking about.
 
https://patch.com/washington/sammamish/pigs-along-i-90-may-cause-morning-delays

[slowhand]

I like Bacon 

[Alchase]

Wild hogs do over a billion dollars a year in crop damage in Oklahoma alone.
Hunting alone can not keep them in control. You have to takeout 70% every year to stay even. You definitely do not want them in Washington. Though the rate they are spreading it won’t take long before you have them whether you want them or not.

http://m.newson6.com/story.aspx?story=31988137&catId=112042

[jackelope]

Wild hogs do over a billion dollars a year in crop damage in Oklahoma alone.
Hunting alone can not keep them in control. You have to takeout 70% every year to stay even. You definitely do not want them in Washington. Though the rate they are spreading it won’t take long before you have them whether you want them or not.

http://m.newson6.com/story.aspx?story=31988137&catId=112042

Anyone who says they "want" pigs here needs to do their homework before they continue flapping their gums.

[pianoman9701]

  Although, once the ungulates are gone, we might need another species to hunt.

[jackelope]

Although, once the ungulates are gone, we might need another species to hunt.

We don't need pigs.

[pianoman9701]

Tongue-in-cheek, my friend. We don't need wolves, either, and they'll probably end up costing us as much as pigs do in other states. That doesn't seem to matter.

[ipkus]

Based on WDFW’s track record the best thing they could do is declare wild pigs a salmon or a game animal and start managing them as such.  The pigs would disappear in no time!

[DaveMonti]

Earlier this year, I was told by some folks who are "in the know", who also may or may not have been there when it happened, that there were 2 pigs killed by WSP troopers on I-90 in North Bend. Those same folks said that WDFW biologist was called to the scene. They went on to say that the people who were there in the know said that they thought they looked a lot like wild pigs. Said there were trails in the woods that the pigs had made. I can't confirm or deny any of this, but the people I heard it from that may have seen it actually all go down would know what they were talking about.
 
https://patch.com/washington/sammamish/pigs-along-i-90-may-cause-morning-delays

First of all, the photo in that article of the pigs in the median was clearly doctored with. 
Secondly, anyone who ever spent time in North Bend knows the "trails" are all made by the huge homeless population around the town. 

[JimmyHoffa]

I'm just hoping if there are pigs on the loose, then they are either Berkshires or Mangalistas.