WDFW Virtual Open House TONIGHT 7pm

[jackelope]

Putting this out there as I was asked to share it. Looks like a great opportunity to get lots of people to comment who wouldn’t normally be able to make meetings due to work or location or whatever.  Read below please.


“Kelly Susewind is having an open online comment period on May 13th at 7 pm..
Go to WDFW website and click on News site and go to posting May 6th.
Title is : Director Susewind invites public to a virtual open house
It will tell you how to access the online site..
I have been told that this is possibly a great way to address the cougar and predator issues.. Kelly actually wants us to address these issues.
We need to get as many folks involved with this as possible as we and the WDFW are being over powered by the AR groups..

Please find the time, this might be our chance to voice our concerns.

Joe”

[Humptulips]

The online webinar starts at 7 p.m. The public can go to
 https://player.invintus.com/?clientID=2836755451&eventID=2019051001

[KFhunter]

7 PM May 13th

[Special T]

I would recommend writing out your well thought out questions in advance. I have listened to these online open houses in the past.

[CementFinisher]

Tag. Thanks for posting this

[jackelope]

Up for the morning crowd. 

[Fl0und3rz]

Added to calendar.  Thanks.

[jackelope]

The online webinar starts at 7 p.m. The public can go to
 https://player.invintus.com/?clientID=2836755451&eventID=2019051001

Thanks sir!

[jackelope]

Let's look into getting behind the director and support what looks like some potential for change. It sounds like he's open minded.

WDFW director supports federal delisting of wolves in letter

The head of Washington’s wildlife agency supported the federal delisting of wolves in an April letter.

Kelly Susewind, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife director, submitted a letter commenting on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services proposed rule to remove gray wolves from the endangered species list.

The letter, written April 18, was first reported by the Capital Press.

“The Department finds the USFWS proposal to remove gray wolves from the federal List of endangered and Threatened Wildlife and return management authority in the western two-thirds of Washington to the Department appropriate and timely,” Susewind wrote.

The ESA, he said, is intended for species on the verge of extinction. Wolves in Washington do not need that protection.

“The state of Washington is well prepared to be the management authority for wolves statewide and would be pleased to see limited federal resources directed to other species still critically in need,” he wrote.


https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2019/may/08/wdfw-director-supports-federal-delisting-of-wolves/

[Skyvalhunter]

I myself am glad he came out and wrote the letter. I wonder what the WAG is thinking.

[BDildine]

anyone participating in this? I'll be at work (swing shift) but hopefully we have some advocates in his corner, like many of you I'm liking what appears to be the start of a *hopefully better* era of WDFW
(also a friendly bump/reminder that it is tonight, 7pm)

[bearpaw]

Does anyone know if they will be taking online comments?

[Fl0und3rz]

Does anyone know if they will be taking online comments?

Sounds more like a content delivery vehicle than an interaction vehicle.

https://www.invintus.com/streaming-platform

I couldn't find anything about submitting comments through their streaming application, so I would be prepared with written comments to paste into a box or be able to read your comments via an audio device (e.g., phone, compute microphone, etc.).


The OP text makes it sound like you will have online comments, such as a comment or chat feature common in video conferencing.


This makes it more nebulous, as to whether you are able to submit text or submit the question audibly.

The online webinar starts at 7 p.m. The public can go to https://player.invintus.com/?clientID=2836755451&eventID=2019051001 during the event to watch and submit questions.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/news/wdfw-director-susewind-invites-public-virtual-open-house


So again, type it up, be prepared to read it.

[Special T]

I have done this before. you need to have your comments ready before hand, IMO you can submitt them but they are reviewed and selected, it isnt  just answering random questions that pop up on your screen like IM a bunch of friends at the same time.

[KFhunter]

BUMP 

[Special T]

Its up
https://player.invintus.com/?clientID=2836755451&eventID=2019051001&fbclid=IwAR0_a9edEWR3GDwE8CBNRmYObDcaE43f9kKBjKzQZ1ZNWyAvQldLkNPHtIg

[KFhunter]

lot of Chinook closures 

[Special T]

45min in they talk about estuary "enhancement" on department lands... broad strokes...

[KFhunter]

Inslee decreed, WDFW is finding creative ways to comply, that's all I hear...

[Special T]

50 min in Columbia river endorsement. talking points

[KFhunter]

wolves

but first pimping the Turkey =  $$$

this guy is fund raising 

[Special T]

wolves

@ 55min in

[KFhunter]

A wolf pack takes up 300 miles of habitat   

[KFhunter]

no new info on wolves, this a very basic presentation just to stroke it with a brush

[KFhunter]

wow

light at the end of the tunnel!


Fall 2019 is going to be big, we need to get everyone commenting on delisting wolves when that portion comes around.

[KFhunter]

boating in orca zones is going to suck

[KFhunter]

1:25 to the Q&A

[Special T]

wow

light at the end of the tunnel!


Fall 2019 is going to be big, we need to get everyone commenting on delisting wolves when that portion comes around.

Im seeing a positive trend tword some predator control. Sounds like voicing  the positive bear season changes is important.

[bigtex]

boating in orca zones is going to suck

I think WA will eventually be like Florida with federal and state manatee protection zones with even more regs then what will be taking effect in WA. 

[bigtex]

Gotta give them credit for staying on past 9PM

[Special T]

I like this online Q&A format. I would prefer a more independent specific topic or topics if closely related.

[cem3434]

Overall some decent stuff on predator control, but mainly the same koolaid they have been giving us for years.

[The100Road]

Gotta give them credit for staying on past 9PM

Stayed on past 9:00 and still didn’t get either one of my questions answered.

[wa.hunter]

Kind of a disappointment, just shows the need to separate fish from wildlife. Good to see this opportunity. Amazing WDFW had 9 reps to answer questions and only 1 for wildlife ( Eric Gardner ). Once again ungulates took back door to fish issues. I had several questions in regard to the downward spiral of ungulates populations and hardly even mentioned the cougar issues.
Hope they continue to afford this opportunity to speak, however need to direct conversation to either fish, or wildlife issues only at each engagement.

[JimmyHoffa]

Agree, and it does kind of show that it's not just the hunters being frustrated with WDFW.  The fisherman are really upset too.

[KFhunter]

I had an elk question qued up too, nada.

I want to see herd building management in the NE, I think the NE has the potential to make up for a shrinking Yakima herd and could be made into a fantastic elk hunt. 
The NE doesn't have the tribal issues the Yakima has, the Colvilles are much better to work with and has good managers for the tribe, and I never see them chasing elk on what they call the northern half. 

I think most of them hunt the reservation lands anyways, which is much better hunting than the northern half managed by WDFW

[Bango skank]

So i was out of phone service.  any mention of the 2020 cougar changes in ne corner, or the new e wa bear regs?

[bigtex]

Kind of a disappointment, just shows the need to separate fish from wildlife.

It won't happen. Nationwide state and federal agencies are merging together, not splitting apart. I honestly think before I die WDFW will merge with DNR or Parks, I assume DNR. There's just too much duplication with having a Fisheries and Wildlife Depts and that was the big selling point behind the merger.

I'll also say this. I'm old enough to remember the inner-workings of the two former departments, and it wasn't rosey back then. I know there are a lot of people who think the old DOW just managed fur and feather species, that's not correct. DOW managed inland fisheries as well. The Dept. of Fisheries managed saltwater species, shellfish, and salmon. DOW managed the remaining fish (trout, bass, steelhead, etc.) DOF was always well funded because they were funded by the taxpayers, fishing license fees went into the general fund. DOW was always poor because they basically got no tax money and were largely funded by hunting license funds. I can remember Wildlife Officers and biologists with DOW having to get hand-me-down equipment from their DOF counterparts because DOW couldn't afford the gear but DOF could.

Quite simply, we're stuck with WDFW.

[BDildine]

So i was out of phone service.  any mention of the 2020 cougar changes in ne corner, or the new e wa bear regs?

I didn't hear mention of any cougar changes but may have missed it, on the bear side they said they wanted to look at implementing changes and to please participate in the comment/survey

[Skyvalhunter]

Kind of a disappointment, just shows the need to separate fish from wildlife.

It won't happen. Nationwide state and federal agencies are merging together, not splitting apart. I honestly think before I die WDFW will merge with DNR or Parks, I assume DNR. There's just too much duplication with having a Fisheries and Wildlife Depts and that was the big selling point behind the merger.

I'll also say this. I'm old enough to remember the inner-workings of the two former departments, and it wasn't rosey back then. I know there are a lot of people who think the old DOW just managed fur and feather species, that's not correct. DOW managed inland fisheries as well. The Dept. of Fisheries managed saltwater species, shellfish, and salmon. DOW managed the remaining fish (trout, bass, steelhead, etc.) DOF was always well funded because they were funded by the taxpayers, fishing license fees went into the general fund. DOW was always poor because they basically got no tax money and were largely funded by hunting license funds. I can remember Wildlife Officers and biologists with DOW having to get hand-me-down equipment from their DOF counterparts because DOW couldn't afford the gear but DOF could.

Quite simply, we're stuck with WDFW.

Thanks for those words of encouragement

[bearpaw]

Kind of a disappointment, just shows the need to separate fish from wildlife.

It won't happen. Nationwide state and federal agencies are merging together, not splitting apart. I honestly think before I die WDFW will merge with DNR or Parks, I assume DNR. There's just too much duplication with having a Fisheries and Wildlife Depts and that was the big selling point behind the merger.

I'll also say this. I'm old enough to remember the inner-workings of the two former departments, and it wasn't rosey back then. I know there are a lot of people who think the old DOW just managed fur and feather species, that's not correct. DOW managed inland fisheries as well. The Dept. of Fisheries managed saltwater species, shellfish, and salmon. DOW managed the remaining fish (trout, bass, steelhead, etc.) DOF was always well funded because they were funded by the taxpayers, fishing license fees went into the general fund. DOW was always poor because they basically got no tax money and were largely funded by hunting license funds. I can remember Wildlife Officers and biologists with DOW having to get hand-me-down equipment from their DOF counterparts because DOW couldn't afford the gear but DOF could.

Quite simply, we're stuck with WDFW.

Even though I would like to see an agency specific to hunting, I don't foresee it being split either for many of the same reasons.