High Buck Hunt & Wilderness Areas

[pd]

This is a general question.

What is the historical reason that the "High Buck Hunt" is basically limited to a few (but not all) of the federal wilderness areas?

Is this a hunt in the higher elevations?  Or, is this a hunt in relatively inaccessible wilderness areas?

Look at the attached list of areas open for the High Buck hunt.  Then, look at the attached map of all of the wilderness areas in Washington.  My question is simple: How did this situation develop?  Why have we decided that some wilderness areas (and the Lake Chelan NRA) are open to this hunt, but the other half of the wilderness areas are not?

For example: The Salmo-Priest Wilderness area is very inaccessible, and also very high in elevation.  So why is it not part of the High Buck hunt??

High Buck Hunt Areas:
Alpine Lakes WA, Mount Baker WA, Glacier Peak WA, Pasayten WA, Henry Jackson WA, Buckhorn WA, The Brothers WA, Mount Skokomish WA, Wonder Mountain WA, Colonel Bob WA, and Lake Chelan NRA.

By the way, not included in the High Buck Hunt wilderness areas:
Noisy-Diobsud WA, Boulder River WA, Wild Sky WA, Clearwater WA, Glacier View WA, Tatoosh WA, Trapper Creek WA, Indian Heaven WA, Mount Adams WA, Goat Rocks WA, Bill Douglas WA, Norse Peak WA, Lake Chelan Sawtooth WA, Salmo-Priest WA, and Wenaha-Tucannon WA.

By the way, yes, I know the Lake Chelan NRA and Lake Chelan-Sawtooth overlap quite a bit.

[bkaech]

Good question, I hope someone here has some knowledge on this. I don't know for sure but believe I heard once that at one time the "High Buck Hunt" was above a set elevation, Then changed to Wilderness areas. But I am not sure on that.

By Wilderness rule Wilderness areas do not have roads in them so, yes they are generally less accessible, but why some are included and not others would be a department question. I assume there is several different reasons why a wilderness area might be excluded, some might be because there is worry of to many hunters accessing a relatively small wilderness area, some because the deer population is low, some because neighboring areas might have low deer populations, or many other reasons that might preclude an area. I know that only recently was the Olympic Peninsula Wilderness areas added to the list.

[Stein]

Well, in general if a game agency opens something wide open there are usually only a few reasons behind it:

1.  It's invasive or otherwise unwanted.
2.  There is some overabundance or it is wanted but at a much lower level that creates fewer problems.  We see this with crop damage and competition with other more wanted species.
3.  There success rate is very low such that the resource won't be harmed and they can and hope to sell a ton of tags and create opportunity to participate.

I think WA's high buck and MT's OTC sheep fall into category 3, but there are others around here with far greater knowledge.

[Knocker of rocks]

Interesting question. I charted it out and all high hunts are in Wilderness areas on the Olympic mountains and north of I-90. 

The excluded areas are either in National Parks, in the GP or MBS administered by the GP, except for the Boulder River Wilderness.

Except for Wildsky, these Wilderness areas were created in 1984 or earlier.

[PsoasHunter]

Also along these same lines, why are there no open wilderness areas in the southern part of the state for the high buck hunt?  Kinda frustrating if you're down in that area...

[Skyvalhunter]

It seems that for the most part they don't prefer to have wilderness area's where people can drive right up to and hunt. There are places where you can get pretty close to the Wilderness boundaries to hunt. While some of the newer wilderness areas are dissected by roads und are more lenient of their wilderness definition those are not opened to the high hunt. I cant recall when a wilderness area was included in the high hunt when the year before it wasn't. A lot of The Wild Sky isn't really what I would call "true Wilderness area" much of it has bee previously logged and its borders jump all over. It was more of a way for Murray and Cantwell to pacify the tree huggers.

[Bill W]

At one time there were only three parts of wilderness open to high buck hunts.  Pasayten, Glacier Peak and one on the western Cascade by Skykomish.  From that time more wilderness spots were added.  I started hunting the high hunt in 1977 and this is how it was when I started.

[Ridgerunner]

I would also say the deer population south of I-90 is not what it is north of I-90 so that may play into why there are not more wilderness areas open down there, although I dont see the harm in them opening some of them up, maybe they could make it a draw, lol. 

[Meow]

I've wondered the same thing. I hope that someone with knowledge of the basis of this regulation can enlighten us. Many of the excluded areas seem to be rather similar to the included ones in terms of access, elevation, habitat, and size. :dunno

[Lapua07]

For example: The Salmo-Priest Wilderness area is very inaccessible, and also very high in elevation.  So why is it not part of the High Buck hunt??


[/quote]

There’s also very low deer #’s In the Salmo. I do agree that years ago it was probably more than worthy of being deemed into the high hunts. I’ve been in twice. First was the coldest night I have ever spent in the mountains. Waking up to just shy of 10” of fresh snow. The second was one of my least favorite bear experiences.

[pd]

Haha!  My eye was caught by the title, and I read the entire thread.  Only then did I realize that I had written the first post.

Still not satisfied with any answers.  Well, this is Washington, maybe the reasons for doing this just will never make sense??

[Lapua07]

Couldn’t agree more. Washington has a very odd way of accepting what is to be considered wilderness. Along with the management that pertains to it and it’s wildlife.

[Knocker of rocks]

Couldn’t agree more. Washington has a very odd way of accepting what is to be considered wilderness. Along with the management that pertains to it and it’s wildlife.

Consideration of Wilderness is a federal issue

[YellowShells]

Maybe they're trying to limit conflict with archery elk hunters? The seasons overlap, don't they?

[X-Force]

Maybe they're trying to limit conflict with archery elk hunters? The seasons overlap, don't they?

This seems to be one of the more practical answers. If the wilderness areas south of 90 were open for high buck, archery elk and deer hunters would not be particularly happy. Season overlap, added pressure, having to wear orange.