Klickitat Sheriff Swears in Hound Hunters to pursue Cougars & Bears

[gee_unit360]

Been a fan of Songer ever since I met him when he chased me down on deer huting on private property. Dropped the right name and he let me hunt on. Also love his stance against WA new gun laws, as well as the sheriff posse they have out in Goldendale.

Songer’s been suspect his whole career. Clark County Superior Court ruled he used excessive force when he worked in Vancouver, WA. He improperly and without reason fired 3 employees in Elko, Nevada which led to the city having to pay compensation of $148,000 for 1 employee who took the issue to court  and settlements of 65,000 and 70,000 to two other employees who chose not to go to court.

My interactions with Bob Songer have been less then pleasant for absolutely no reason. Which actually led me to research the guy. With the way he presented himself I wasn’t shocked to find out what I did about him.

Glad he’s trying to decrease the cougar population in Klickitat County, but I’m definitely not a fan of the guy.

[bigtex]

I agree with what WDFW Enforcement Chief Bear said in terms of killing cougars too freely. This provision of law can be eliminated by a simple majority vote of the liberal WA legislature and Inslee's signature. If Klickitat County or any other county starts popping every cougar they see, or appear to give that illusion, we may see this provision of law eliminated pretty quickly.

[Skyvalhunter]

Well I would hope that hunters this time would step up and write Inslee and the Legislator and complain instead of standing around with their hands in their pockets.

[Fl0und3rz]

Really hope this sets a trend.

Wise move, and puts the authority and ability to respond into the correct hands.

"The State" needs less and less hands-on authority in communities. (Not just in the case of Animal Damage, but you've got to start somewhere.) WE THE PEOPLE are the ones who are supposed to say so.

Way to go, Sheriff Songer!

[birddogdad]

I agree with what WDFW Enforcement Chief Bear said in terms of killing cougars too freely. This provision of law can be eliminated by a simple majority vote of the liberal WA legislature and Inslee's signature. If Klickitat County or any other county starts popping every cougar they see, or appear to give that illusion, we may see this provision of law eliminated pretty quickly.

been hunting Klick for 30+ years, last ten have seen a very marked drop in deer population.. hope they cull a bunch of these pred's.

[pianoman9701]

I agree with what WDFW Enforcement Chief Bear said in terms of killing cougars too freely. This provision of law can be eliminated by a simple majority vote of the liberal WA legislature and Inslee's signature. If Klickitat County or any other county starts popping every cougar they see, or appear to give that illusion, we may see this provision of law eliminated pretty quickly.

That doesn't mean the sheriff will follow the law. We've seen a few who've decided to ignore 1639. In addition, WA state holds no high ground here and has given precedent by ignoring US immigration law. I doubt seriously that there's going to be a shortage of cougars in Klickitat anytime soon.

[300rum]

Bob is a very good man.  I pulled up behind him quite a few years back on a very out of the way desolate road.  Bob noticed I had a flat tire (I had not yet) and asked if I wanted his help changing it.  I told him that I could handle it just fine and he left.  My pickup was brand new and the sleeve that drops the spare wasn't aligned correctly to the key and there was no way for me to drop the spare.  I tried like everything to get the sleeve lined up but it wasn't happening. 

I was about ready to make the long (now nearly dark) walk out and guess what?  Here comes Bob driving up the road.  He said he got off shift awhile ago but something told him to check on those newlyweds.  He called dispatch to send out Les Schwab. 

My wife and I owe him a debt of gratitude, he could have went home to his family after work but he didn't, he intentionally went way out of his way, just to make sure.

He is a fair man but I wouldn't test him!    

[ctwiggs1]

Been a fan of Songer ever since I met him when he chased me down on deer huting on private property. Dropped the right name and he let me hunt on. Also love his stance against WA new gun laws, as well as the sheriff posse they have out in Goldendale.

Songer’s been suspect his whole career. Clark County Superior Court ruled he used excessive force when he worked in Vancouver, WA. He improperly and without reason fired 3 employees in Elko, Nevada which led to the city having to pay compensation of $148,000 for 1 employee who took the issue to court  and settlements of 65,000 and 70,000 to two other employees who chose not to go to court.

My interactions with Bob Songer have been less then pleasant for absolutely no reason. Which actually led me to research the guy. With the way he presented himself I wasn’t shocked to find out what I did about him.

Glad he’s trying to decrease the cougar population in Klickitat County, but I’m definitely not a fan of the guy.

I've read up on that.

He choked a guy who was trying to swallow heroin balloons so that he couldn't in fact destroy the balloons.  That either preserved evidence or saved the guy's life, depending on how you look at it.

Oh, and he delivered the message from the City Manager that 4 ladies were fired for disobeying a direct order.

Curtis

[KFhunter]

What kind of order?  lawful and adherent to department policy and procedures?

I know nothing about him or his past, he's not my sheriff, but I support this recent thing he's doing with the hounds.  I imagine those not in favor of this policy and others of his will dig up dirt on him so better to have it come to light and get ahead of it...for him and his supporters.

[ctwiggs1]

What kind of order?  lawful and adherent to department policy and procedures?

I know nothing about him or his past, he's not my sheriff, but I support this recent thing he's doing with the hounds.  I imagine those not in favor of this policy and others of his will dig up dirt on him so better to have it come to light and get ahead of it...for him and his supporters.

One employee reported that 4 others were harassing her.  He interviewed those 4 and asked them not to speak to each other while he was investigating.  They spoke to each other and he fired them.  The jury determined that he violated their free speech rights.... I don't know if that would hold in another court.  I've had similar scenarios and had to handle them in a similar fashion. 

[dilleytech]

I’m hoping this does lead to a lot more predators removed as we have a ton of them around here in Klickitat county. They are constantly out killing cats for taking out livestock. Now they are telling parents to not let there kids walk to school in white salmon because the in town cougar sightings have gotten very common and a few days ago one killed 5 goats at the high school. But don’t forget cats can’t get over populated. I sure do miss the deer numbers I would see just 10 years ago.

[Fl0und3rz]

Sounds like a man who knows the right thing to do in a tough situation and is not afraid of ruffling a few feathers to do it. 

I like it, so far.

[idahohuntr]

Appears the sentiment is in favor of County Sheriff's essentially managing cougar populations in WA state.   

I think that is misguided...as the attention will absolutely result in a prompt change by the legislature. 

While I wish the state would more aggressively manage our high cougar populations I do not at all support individual county politicians managing the state's wildlife.  Even if I ultimately like the actions they are taking in one instance, it is so loaded with problems and potential abuses I could never support it in principle.       

[KFhunter]

Appears the sentiment is in favor of County Sheriff's essentially managing cougar populations in WA state.   

I think that is misguided...as the attention will absolutely result in a prompt change by the legislature. 

While I wish the state would more aggressively manage our high cougar populations I do not at all support individual county politicians managing the state's wildlife.  Even if I ultimately like the actions they are taking in one instance, it is so loaded with problems and potential abuses I could never support it in principle.     

Where do you get this information?

The sheriff deputized certain houndsmen to respond to citizens complaints of dangerous animals threatening people or destruction of property, no where does it say they're going to hunt random cougars/bears without a complaint or manage these animals in anyway.




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[ctwiggs1]

Appears the sentiment is in favor of County Sheriff's essentially managing cougar populations in WA state.   

I think that is misguided...as the attention will absolutely result in a prompt change by the legislature. 

While I wish the state would more aggressively manage our high cougar populations I do not at all support individual county politicians managing the state's wildlife.  Even if I ultimately like the actions they are taking in one instance, it is so loaded with problems and potential abuses I could never support it in principle.     

The law says he can.  If you don't like the law, you can contact your legislator.