Cougar Attack Highlights Shortage of WDFW Officers

[bigtex]

For reference, 10 years ago there were 7 WDFW Officers and 1 Sergeant to cover inland King County (everything except the saltwater). Now there are 3 officers and 1 Sergeant.

Yakima County is down to 1 of 3 positions filled.

The Tri-Cities has 2 of 4 positions filled.

----------------------------
Myers said the attack highlights one of the fundamental tensions in wild life management: Wild animals aren’t easily managed.

“It’s a difficult task, if not impossible,” he said.

That means one of WDFW’s primary responsibilities is to educate people about how to coexist with wildlife.

“We all have a vested stake in this,” he said. “We’re all part of this ecosystem.”

With more people heading into the side and back countries, especially on the western side of the state, conflicts between humans and wild animals will only increase.

“There are things that we can control and things we can’t,” Myers said.

King County, the state’s most populous county, unsurprisingly has the highest number of conflicts between humans and wild animals. Yet Myers said he has only three enforcement officers covering the entirety of inland King County.

“That’s insane,” he said.

A shrinking budget has left full-time positions unfilled and remaining agency staff stretched thin, Myers said. For WDFW’s enforcement officers, who handle everything from interstate poaching rings to littering, that means mistakes can happen.

WDFW’s 2007-09 biennial operating capital budget was $348.5 million. By the 2009-11 biennium, the budget had dropped 6.1 percent to $326.8 million. The trend continued into 2015, forcing agency-wide layoffs and program reductions.

Unless new revenue sources are found or approved by the Legislature, agency staff predict that during the 2019-21 biennium the department will have an estimated “shortfall north of $30 million.” In 2017, WDFW asked the Legislature to increase hunting and fishing fees. Lawmakers did not pass the bill, leaving the department with a $25 million deficit.

That’s taken a toll on the work that Myers can do. On Saturday, as he rushed to respond to the deadly cougar attack, he pulled officers from three marine enforcement detachments. Those enforcement officers weren’t trained to work with big land animals.

Although everything went OK, Myers said it could have gone differently.

“I’m running on a skeleton crew,” he said.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/may/24/deadly-cougar-attack-on-mountain-bikers-highlights/

[buglebrush]

Animals are impossible to manage?  Uhhh...  No WDFW is simply stupid.  Other states do just fine.  I call BS

[bearpaw]

We could fund all the officers we need with the money being wasted on wolves! 

[Fl0und3rz]

Animals are impossible to manage?  Uhhh...  No WDFW is simply stupid.  Other states do just fine.  I call BS

Tired of hearing we're short staffed, have budget shortfalls, etc. after getting only apparent lip service about wildlife management concerns.

[bigtex]

Animals are impossible to manage?  Uhhh...  No WDFW is simply stupid.  Other states do just fine.  I call BS

Only one state to my knowledge has a team of game wardens who are assigned as human-wildlife conflict investigators. Essentially, these are the wardens that are called when wildlife attack humans. The reason for this is the high number of wildlife attacks in the state. The state??

Montana

[olyguy79]

Animals are impossible to manage?  Uhhh...  No WDFW is simply stupid.  Other states do just fine.  I call BS

Only one state to my knowledge has a team of game wardens who are assigned as human-wildlife conflict investigators. Essentially, these are the wardens that are called when wildlife attack humans. The reason for this is the high number of wildlife attacks in the state. The state??

Montana

Glad you mentioned this BT.

Montana has a very high wildlife-human attack incident count. I had the privilege of meeting the warden in charge of the unit. The lack of the press in Montana means that a lot of non-fatal attacks are not reported to the public.

[KFhunter]

.....and soon Grizz are coming to WA through the relocation program,  we're getting Montana's problem bears.

[bigtex]

.....and soon Grizz are coming to WA through the relocation program,  we're getting Montana's problem bears.

Courtesy of Ryan Zinke

[bigtex]

For reference, 10 years ago there were 7 WDFW Officers and 1 Sergeant to cover inland King County (everything except the saltwater). Now there are 3 officers and 1 Sergeant.

Yakima County is down to 1 of 3 positions filled.

The Tri-Cities has 2 of 4 positions filled.

What most people don't realize is that through the bad budget years of the "Great Recession" all WDFW programs had their funding cut, except the enforcement program. In fact several new positions were added to the enforcement program. This current funding shortage and the one the agency is facing in the coming years will have the biggest impact to the enforcement program since the funding cuts of the late 90s when wardens were laid off.

[idahohuntr]

WDFW doesn't need more officers to more effectively manage predators.  Officers are only going to help AFTER someone has been chewed on. 

Frankly, if they don't start focusing on issues important to hunters and anglers they are going to find out what real budget problems look like. 

[bigtex]

WDFW doesn't need more officers to more effectively manage predators. 

I don't think anybody is saying that's the case..

[olyguy79]

WDFW doesn't need more officers to more effectively manage predators. 

I don't think anybody is saying that's the case..

The article is more about lack of resources to respond to wildlife incidents/poaching.

[idahohuntr]

WDFW doesn't need more officers to more effectively manage predators. 

I don't think anybody is saying that's the case..

The article is more about lack of resources to respond to wildlife incidents/poaching.

Seems like it was implied given the story was about cougar attacks, then included discussion of officer shortages and budget woes...but I only skimmed the article. 

[CAMPMEAT]

Forbid the enviro groups to stick their noses in and control the WDFW. That would be a start for wildlife management.

[Bob33]

"Yet Myers said he has only three enforcement officers covering the entirety of inland King County." With Seattle the fastest growing city in the country.  Probably takes a good hour minimum to respond to a call with traffic.