Wildlife Commission Meeting 1/14/2022 - Open Public Comment

[andersonjk4]

There is a regularly scheduled meeting of the WDFW Fish and Wildlife Commission on Friday 1/14/2022.  Open public comment is scheduled to begin at 8:45am (but may begin earlier).  To participate you must register before 8am 1/14/22.  Below is a link to the meeting agenda where you can find another link to register to provide comment.

Some thoughts regarding the public comment period.  Last meeting they limited each speaker to 2 minutes and there were a lot of people who did not get to provide comment due to a lack of time. I believe last meeting and hopefully this upcoming meeting we (hunters) will be flooding the open comment with pro spring bear comments.  The substance of the comments do not get recorded in the meeting minutes, but the quantity of comments do get recorded.  I think if we kept all comments as short as possible and allow more people to provide input way more people would be able to provide comments and hopefully most of those additional speakers will be pro spring bear. 

https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/commission/meetings/2022/13-14jan2022-fwc-agenda

For those hesitant to sign up and speak, don't hesitate.  You do not need to prepare a full two minute well articulated essay.  Keep it short and sweet and let the next person have a chance.  Keep it cordial and polite.  Here are a few talking points that may be helpful:

• Voice your support for the continuation of the spring black bear season as recommended by the department biologists.
• Encourage the commission to act on the petitions they will be reviewing on the 21st to restore the spring black bear hunt, or take other actions (re-vote) to re-instate the 2022 spring bear hunt.
• Despite the negative propaganda and preconceived notions about spring bear hunting, it is an ethical hunt and has not been shown to have any negative impact on bear populations.
• Harvesting female bears with cubs during the spring season should not be a concern. In spring 2021, only 1 lactating female was taken out of the more than 100 bears taken during the spring hunt and overall female harvest rate fell within the 35%-39% WDFW harvest objective.  Further, the harvest statistics (recent and 10 year average) show that female bear harvest is at or below objective in all bear management units throughout the state.
• The Commission is mandated to maximize opportunity and denying this hunt goes against this mandate.  WDFW provided no evidence to indicate bear populations are declining.  In fact in their presentation to the commission the biologist stated the black bear population "appears to be robust and stable".
• Spring black bear hunting does not take unfair advantage of weak or lethargic bear just emerging from hibernation.  Black bears enter a state of torpor during the winter, which is a modified type of hibernation where the bear is dormant, but does not reduce its body temperature. Therefore, black bears don’t need to wait to bring up their body temperatures – and thus can awaken and arouse quickly.

Hopefully other will chime in with more quick talking points.
 

[JeepWrangler]

Thank-you for posting this andersonjk4

I am registered.

Hope others will do the same.

At the end of the last Commission Meeting there was an announcement for all persons who were on the line waiting to speak who did not get a chance to comment to please use the Contact the Commissioners page to let them know you had not been able to speak and to leave your comments in written form and the commissioners were going to get those messages.

Maybe smoke and mirrors, maybe they did effort to read comments from those of us who sat on that call for more than 90 minutes and did not get to speak.

They did extend the comment period that day as the hold line, if I remember correctly, she said at the end of the comment period there was like 135 pre registered to speak people still on the call waiting to speak and did not get to speak.

Thank-you to all who will be registed and on the call.

Thank-you

[dwils233]

Side note: of you are planning on commenting, please be nuanced and specific in your statement.

There's a lot of vitriol right now from the hunting community towards the WDFW, the commission and certain commissioners. Becareful you don't paint with too broad a brush when you speak. The last thing we need as a community is to damage our allies currently sharing our goal who sit in position of authority.

For example: Kim Thorburn is not a hunter, but isn't anti-hunting.
For example: WDFW bios recommended this hunt be continued, as did the director.

Speak in direct detail and address individual issues or individual decisions and decision makers. Don't load their guns for them especially at the expense of damaging our own goals. Please know that if you think you are speaking for yourself, you will be representing hunting. Do your lifestyle credit please

And thank you

[saylean]

We need to fill these spots. I’m registered, please speak if you can.

[hunter399]

Side note: of you are planning on commenting, please be nuanced and specific in your statement.

There's a lot of vitriol right now from the hunting community towards the WDFW, the commission and certain commissioners. Becareful you don't paint with too broad a brush when you speak. The last thing we need as a community is to damage our allies currently sharing our goal who sit in position of authority.

For example: Kim Thorburn is not a hunter, but isn't anti-hunting.
For example: WDFW bios recommended this hunt be continued, as did the director.

Speak in direct detail and address individual issues or individual decisions and decision makers. Don't load their guns for them especially at the expense of damaging our own goals. Please know that if you think you are speaking for yourself, you will be representing hunting. Do your lifestyle credit please

And thank you

That's exactly why I'm not speaking.
I refuse to sign up to read off some canned crap.

[Tbar]

Side note: of you are planning on commenting, please be nuanced and specific in your statement.

There's a lot of vitriol right now from the hunting community towards the WDFW, the commission and certain commissioners. Becareful you don't paint with too broad a brush when you speak. The last thing we need as a community is to damage our allies currently sharing our goal who sit in position of authority.

For example: Kim Thorburn is not a hunter, but isn't anti-hunting.
For example: WDFW bios recommended this hunt be continued, as did the director.

Speak in direct detail and address individual issues or individual decisions and decision makers. Don't load their guns for them especially at the expense of damaging our own goals. Please know that if you think you are speaking for yourself, you will be representing hunting. Do your lifestyle credit please

And thank you

That's exactly why I'm not speaking.
I refuse to sign up to read off some canned crap.

That's not at all how I read it.  Be yourself, well spoken and direct. Just know who the allies are and be respectful.

[hunter399]

Side note: of you are planning on commenting, please be nuanced and specific in your statement.

There's a lot of vitriol right now from the hunting community towards the WDFW, the commission and certain commissioners. Becareful you don't paint with too broad a brush when you speak. The last thing we need as a community is to damage our allies currently sharing our goal who sit in position of authority.

For example: Kim Thorburn is not a hunter, but isn't anti-hunting.
For example: WDFW bios recommended this hunt be continued, as did the director.

Speak in direct detail and address individual issues or individual decisions and decision makers. Don't load their guns for them especially at the expense of damaging our own goals. Please know that if you think you are speaking for yourself, you will be representing hunting. Do your lifestyle credit please

And thank you

That's exactly why I'm not speaking.
I refuse to sign up to read off some canned crap.

That's not at all how I read it.  Be yourself, well spoken and direct. Just know who the allies are and be respectful.

I'll think about signing up.👍

[Platensek-po]

There is a regularly scheduled meeting of the WDFW Fish and Wildlife Commission on Friday 1/14/2022.  Open public comment is scheduled to begin at 8:45am (but may begin earlier).  To participate you must register before 8am 1/14/22.  Below is a link to the meeting agenda where you can find another link to register to provide comment.

Some thoughts regarding the public comment period.  Last meeting they limited each speaker to 2 minutes and there were a lot of people who did not get to provide comment due to a lack of time. I believe last meeting and hopefully this upcoming meeting we (hunters) will be flooding the open comment with pro spring bear comments.  The substance of the comments do not get recorded in the meeting minutes, but the quantity of comments do get recorded.  I think if we kept all comments as short as possible and allow more people to provide input way more people would be able to provide comments and hopefully most of those additional speakers will be pro spring bear. 

https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/commission/meetings/2022/13-14jan2022-fwc-agenda

Appreciate the link. I can’t make that one but did sign up for the one on the 21st

[JeepWrangler]

Now with 20,003 signatures as of Tuesday January 11th, 6:15am.

This is a good fact to share with the Commission.

Please contact the Commission and leave written comments.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/commission/contact

This is a good fact to discuss during the Friday January 14th Commission Meeting during the Open Public Testimony. Register here:

https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/commission/meetings/public-testimony

[andersonjk4]

Side note: of you are planning on commenting, please be nuanced and specific in your statement.

There's a lot of vitriol right now from the hunting community towards the WDFW, the commission and certain commissioners. Becareful you don't paint with too broad a brush when you speak. The last thing we need as a community is to damage our allies currently sharing our goal who sit in position of authority.

For example: Kim Thorburn is not a hunter, but isn't anti-hunting.
For example: WDFW bios recommended this hunt be continued, as did the director.

Speak in direct detail and address individual issues or individual decisions and decision makers. Don't load their guns for them especially at the expense of damaging our own goals. Please know that if you think you are speaking for yourself, you will be representing hunting. Do your lifestyle credit please

And thank you

That's exactly why I'm not speaking.
I refuse to sign up to read off some canned crap.

That's not at all how I read it.  Be yourself, well spoken and direct. Just know who the allies are and be respectful.

I'll think about signing up.👍

For anyone hesitant to speak, I have added some talking points to the first post in this thread and hopefully others will chime in with more.

[fireweed]

Link on change.org?

[KNOPHISH]

Anyone chiming in should say something about season setting by science, not emotion or voter ballots. That is not game management.

[saylean]

I’m signed up to speak so hopefully they’ll let me.😂

By the way, there is no public comment on the 21st, that’s a closed (to public comment) session.

[dwils233]

For the love of good policy and hunting opportunity, please please please please try and submit a live public comment tomorrow. This only has a shot if we overwhelm the Commission with support for the hunt. We have to be at the table for this to even stand a chance

[Special T]

I’m signed up to speak so hopefully they’ll let me.😂

By the way, there is no public comment on the 21st, that’s a closed (to public comment) session.

Maybe you will get called out by Lorna again!