STATEWIDE bear reg proposal 🤞

[ctwiggs1]

ctwiggs1, nice write up, were you writing as they were talking?    I did find the comments about spring bear interesting. We are really going to need to rally around that one.

Yep I was sitting at my desk typing a little bit as they went between work stuff LOL.  I figured that people who couldn't hear it would want the details.

I think if we get on here and get everyone active in September, we should be able to offer a lot of support for this.  Overall, I only heard Baker offer any real resistance.  The commission leaned heavily toward the proposal and public opinion.  It was very clear that they got our letters and were seeing the public support.  Kind of cool to hear that.

@Bushcraft - you usually have a lot more info on this stuff.  Is Baker the typical Olympia anti-hunting nutcase?

[Karl Blanchard]

Thank you for the info my man! Much appreciated

[BDildine]

appreciate that detailed write up. been super busy lately with work/kiddos so fell out of the loop on when/how this was being decided, glad to hear it was approved

[WildlifeAssassin]

I was disappointed with commissioner Baker. She brought up a valid concern about populations however when that concern was addressed by the Game Division Manager letting her know the population density is higher on the east side and that there won’t be any new info on this front coming for several years she still voted no. It was clear that she was just using that as an excuse to vote against increasing hunting opportunities.

[Bango skank]

Awesome, thanks for the report! Ill be hunting bear in the northeast august 1st, with 2 tags in my pocket! 

[Bango skank]

Ctwiggs, who was the guy that brought the proposal, that was shutting down bakers arguments?

[X-Force]

Awesome news. Looking forward to the 2 bear opportunity

[BreezyBear]

Outstanding!! Nice work everyone 

[autodink13]

Does this mean we will have the 2 bear limit statewide starting aug 1 this year?


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[WildlifeAssassin]

Two more things from the call:

They decide wether to increase or decrease hunting opportunity by this metric.
If less than 35% of harvested bears are sows they INCREASE hunting opportunities.
If more than 39% of harvested bears are female they REDUCE hunting opportunities.

So please try to target boars. The department has a video on determining sex that they really need to make available to everyone. If you don’t know the difference here are some things to note.

Boars (males)- Have large bulky shoulders. Their back is level or higher in the front. Their snouts are big and blocky.

Sows (females)- Have large asses. Their back end is usually higher than their front end. They have narrower and slightly pointed snouts.

 second thing is: this is approved for this season. It will be reviewed and the results will effect future seasons. So to everyone excited to fill their new 2nd tag: if at all possible get someone else their first bear before you get your 2nd. The numbers they gave were last year 400 second bear tags were sold of which 31 people harvested second bears. If that number explodes they may pull back on the reigns. So buy that second tag to give them the financial incentive and fill it if you get a chance but if you can get someone else to fill their 1st tag instead of you filling a second tag, that would probably look better. Not a huge issue but we have to play the game however we can.

[WildlifeAssassin]

Does this mean we will have the 2 bear limit statewide starting aug 1 this year?


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Yes, except some units aren’t open to bear hunting so check the regs.

[jasnt]

 

[bowhunterforever]

 

[ctwiggs1]

Two more things from the call:

They decide wether to increase or decrease hunting opportunity by this metric.
If less than 35% of harvested bears are sows they INCREASE hunting opportunities.
If more than 39% of harvested bears are female they REDUCE hunting opportunities.

So please try to target boars. The department has a video on determining sex that they really need to make available to everyone. If you don’t know the difference here are some things to note.

Boars (makes)- Have large bulky shoulders. Their back is level or higher in the front. Their snouts are big and blocky.

Sows (females)- Have large asses. Their back end is usually higher than their front end. They have narrower and slightly pointed snouts.

 second thing is: this is approved for this season. It will be reviewed and the results will effect future seasons. So to everyone excited to fill their new 2nd tag: if at all possible get someone else their first bear before you get your 2nd. The numbers they gave were last year 400 second bear tags were sold of which 31 people harvested second bears. If that number explodes they may pull back on the reigns. So buy that second tag to give them the financial incentive and fill it if you get a chance but if you can get someone else to fill their 1st tag instead of you filling a second tag, that would probably look better. Not a huge issue but we have to play the game however we can.

It's worth noting that nowhere in the state of Washington has a >39% harvest stat on sows, but one area did have a one year ~39% stat.   Bears aren't a high-harvest animal so it really doesn't take many to slide that scale though

[WildlifeAssassin]

Two more things from the call:

They decide wether to increase or decrease hunting opportunity by this metric.
If less than 35% of harvested bears are sows they INCREASE hunting opportunities.
If more than 39% of harvested bears are female they REDUCE hunting opportunities.

So please try to target boars. The department has a video on determining sex that they really need to make available to everyone. If you don’t know the difference here are some things to note.

Boars (makes)- Have large bulky shoulders. Their back is level or higher in the front. Their snouts are big and blocky.

Sows (females)- Have large asses. Their back end is usually higher than their front end. They have narrower and slightly pointed snouts.

 second thing is: this is approved for this season. It will be reviewed and the results will effect future seasons. So to everyone excited to fill their new 2nd tag: if at all possible get someone else their first bear before you get your 2nd. The numbers they gave were last year 400 second bear tags were sold of which 31 people harvested second bears. If that number explodes they may pull back on the reigns. So buy that second tag to give them the financial incentive and fill it if you get a chance but if you can get someone else to fill their 1st tag instead of you filling a second tag, that would probably look better. Not a huge issue but we have to play the game however we can.

It's worth noting that nowhere in the state of Washington has a >39% harvest stat on sows, but one area did have a one year ~39% stat.   Bears aren't a high-harvest animal so it really doesn't take many to slide that scale though

Agreed. They said the entire state has been <35% for the last 5 years. Not huge issues but if you’re serious about bear hunting, things to keep in mind.