Official notice that lion changes are on the table for 2020

[Bango skank]

Subject: NOTICE: Revised - Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission's Special Meeting and Commission Agenda - March 11 & 13, 2020

 

Greetings,

 

Attached is the revised agenda for the March 13-14, 2020 Commission meeting, as well as, the revised special meeting agenda for the Columbia River Salmon Fishery Policy Workgroup. The information can also be found at the Commission website here.

 

The following has been revised on the March 13-14, 2020 Commission agenda.

Shortened the two day Commission meeting to one day
Canceled a previously scheduled wolf committee meeting,
Rescheduling a hatchery policy evaluation review workshop to a date to be determined and;
Rescheduling the review of the Columbia River Salmon policy to the June Commission meeting in Yakima.
 

The following has been revised on the March 11, 2020 Special Workgroup Meeting agenda.

The Columbia River Workgroup meeting previously scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in Kennewick is cancelled. Instead, the meeting will be conducted at the same time via conference call. Please contact Commission staff at (360) 902-2267 or commission@dfw.wa.gov to obtain call-in information no later than 3 p.m. on March 10, 2020. The public may also listen to the call at the Natural Resources Building Room 180.
 

The Commission encourages the public to monitor the Department’s website for further schedule changes that may be needed to help protect public health. The meetings will be recorded and may also be viewed from home either live or afterward at the public’s convenience.

 

Thank you.

 

[KFhunter]

what the heck?

[Bango skank]

what the heck?

Yeah, crystal clear huh? 

[KFhunter]

COVID-19 strikes again


seriously though,  if a key person was in quarantine that would explain all that      

otherwise I'm at a loss as to guesses

[jrebel]

This is simply getting out of hand.  COVID19 has this liberal state in a panic and gives our state government reasons to work even less than they already are......DUMB!!  Wash your hands and get to work.

[KFhunter]

This is simply getting out of hand.  COVID19 has this liberal state in a panic and gives our state government reasons to work even less than they already are......DUMB!!  Wash your hands and get to work.

I just threw that out there...it was just a wild guess on my part,  and it wasn't even a serious guess at that more like tongue in cheek.   

[jrebel]

This is simply getting out of hand.  COVID19 has this liberal state in a panic and gives our state government reasons to work even less than they already are......DUMB!!  Wash your hands and get to work.

I just threw that out there...it was just a wild guess on my part,  and it wasn't even a serious guess at that more like tongue in cheek.

I'm pretty sure you are correct.  Covid19 is shutting down schools, events, towns, etc.  People are buying toilet paper by the truck load due to the panic....explain that??  All this hysteria will give WDFW an excuse not to make decisions on Cougars and Wolfs till a later date.  It is always something. 

[Bango skank]

This is simply getting out of hand.  COVID19 has this liberal state in a panic and gives our state government reasons to work even less than they already are......DUMB!!  Wash your hands and get to work.

I just threw that out there...it was just a wild guess on my part,  and it wasn't even a serious guess at that more like tongue in cheek.

I'm pretty sure you are correct.  Covid19 is shutting down schools, events, towns, etc.  People are buying toilet paper by the truck load due to the panic....explain that??  All this hysteria will give WDFW an excuse not to make decisions on Cougars and Wolfs till a later date.  It is always something.

Oh theyll make a decision.  After screwing with the meeting schedule and not even clarifying if the lion proposal will be a part of the now 1 day meeting, even less people will be likely to go.  Then theyll say since nobody showed up to comment it will just be status quo.  I imagine turnout will be poor on 0830 on a friday. 

[Bango skank]

Did anybody go to the meeting today?  Im stuck up in alaska, couldnt go.  Curious what the mood was on the lion changes.  I expect with the kung flu and the weekday meeting, in tri cities, that there wasnt much of s hunter turnout to address the lion changes.

[Onewhohikes]

Did the meeting even occur due to the current meeting restrictions?

[bearpaw]

According to the WDFW calendar it was supposed to occur: https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/commission/meetings/2020/march-11-14-2020-meeting-agenda

Audio is not available yet, but should be when posted: https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/commission/meetings/2020

[WAcoyotehunter]

Did anybody go to the meeting today?  Im stuck up in alaska, couldnt go.  Curious what the mood was on the lion changes.  I expect with the kung flu and the weekday meeting, in tri cities, that there wasnt much of s hunter turnout to address the lion changes.

curious about this as well

[buckfvr]

Yet to hear a word about the meeting which doesnt bode well for ungulates.  The composition of the commission alone, makes me highly suspicious of fair representation for hunters.  It lookes to me now as if meetings are 100% protocol and 0% about bringing about changes.

[shallowforks]

Just about an hour before i got this email i sat down and wrote another letter to wdfw about our need for cougar changes.  I saved it as a draft, so that i can sit on it a while incase i decide to add anything.  The way our harvest guideline system is set up now is seriously flawed.  Its basically going off the concept that you can take X% of the adult lion population out every year without reducing the population (though i feel a big reduction is exactly what is needed.)  The problem with this is that they dont know how many lions we have, so how can they come up with a harvest guideline number to accurately reach that percentage?  This is why we should be using the minimum harvest concept instead.  No top end restriction on harvest numbers.  If harvest falls below a predetermined level for a couple years, use that as an indicator that the population is struggling and adjust seasons accordingly.  I dont see numbers ever getting dangerously low without hound hunting and trapping.  I highly doubt we could ever drop them to unsustainable levels with just boot hunting and calling, even if the season was opened up year round like coyotes.
  If we must stick with this harvest guideline system though, which im sure we will be stuck with, a few basic changes would help at least a little.  Right now our general season runs sept 1st through dec 31st before harvest guideline shutdowns go into effect.  Id like to see the general season open august 1st with bear, and go through at least january 31st, if not the end of february.  Also greatly increased quotas are a no brainer.  Second cougar tags should also be available for those fortunate enough to fill their first tag if they are feeling optimistic enough to buy another. 
  What other ideas do you guys have other than hounds?  Keep in mind the ban on hounds isnt wdfws policy, and it can not be changed at their discretion.  It is state law, from voter initiative.

true WDFW cannot change the hound rule but we can demand a portion of our license sales go toward an educational advertisement campain to reverse the law. WDFW should be spending dollars on advertising for public image, hunter recruitment and such anyways. Would go a long way to change public perception and straighten out some facts. many other state game departments advertise but WDFW minimal if any kind.

[Humptulips]

At the risk of sounding like a broken record WDFW could legalize a trapping season for cougar at anytime without legislative approval.
They may not be able to bring hound hunting back but to say they are helpless to increase harvest is just not true.
Change the status of cougar to dual big game/furbearer and set a season. I guarantee trapping cougar is a viable option.