The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife Game Commission has failed in its oversight of the Department. The March 1st and 2nd Game Commission meeting at the Ramada Inn at the Airport, Spokane, had 60 plus citizens testify, all addressing the same issues, primarily in Northeast Washington; the overabundance of predators, the drastic reduction in our ungulates and public safety. There were a number of women testifying this year. Their prominent concern was the safety of the children. Some of the men mentioned public safety also, and the fact that it is no longer a matter of “if someone gets hurt or killed” but “when.”
If the Game Commission and the Department do not address these facts, and do so now, they will be responsible for the demise of our whitetails, and maybe our elk and moose. Sad to say but the mule deer are about gone already.
The Game Commission in their role as overseer of the Department must be held accountable for the loss of a loved one; be it a child, grandchild or an adult. With the loss of the prey base, when hunger dictates, this will happen; and it may happen sooner than one would think.