Spring bear public comment is open

[Bullkllr]

Sportsmen are going ro need to remain Uber vigilant. Join Howl for Wildlife and get active. Having the first 20 speakers on every comment period is no necessary

While I agree you are right, I also 100% think the nah saying commissioners had a predetermined vote they were going to make regardless if 99% of the comments backed having the spring bear season.

Not wrong on this one, but there will be other issues coming up that will be much less publicly contentious. The worst that can happen from choosing to participate is some personal satisfaction for standing up, rather than just watching it happen.

[MtnMuley]

I fully agree.

[Chesapeake]

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2021/jan/10/new-commissioners-and-lawsuits-have-some-saying-hu/?amp-content=amp

Kim called it at the beginning of last year. If she bails, we’ll be that much worse off.

[TriggerMike]

All the known Dems on this site that regularly post are awfully quiet when it comes to posting on this thread... 

[Boss .300 winmag]

All the known Dems on this site that regularly post are awfully quiet when it comes to posting on this thread... 

Maybe just maybe now they’ll see the damage they have done to the hunting in this state along with everything else the liberals are throwing down our throats. But I doubt it, stupidity runs high in liberals.

[Rainier10]

On the drive in this morning KIRO radio said that the commission had ruled to not have a spring bear hunt in an effort to keep cubs from being orphaned and that the fall hunt would still be allowed.

It won't take them long to make the argument that cubs are dependent on mothers for up to two years so having a fall hunt 3 months after the old spring hunt that was cancelled to keep cubs from being orphaned is just as bad so we need to get rid of that fall hunt as well.

 

It was so frustrating to listen to commissioners who don't understand hunting and hunters knowledge of only taking boars make judgements on how to best move forward and completely throw out what actual hunters and wildlife biologists have to say.

It was clear in that meeting that they had already decided how they were going to vote.  They thanked everyone for their input, said they disagreed and had absolutely no facts to back up their reasoning for disagreeing.

The information they said they were using was incorrect. They are unaware of other hunts that take place in the spring, they are unaware that sows with cubs aren't targeted, they are unaware of what a GMU is, it blows my mind that they are allowed to make decisions about this stuff.

Thornburn, McIssac, Anderson and Linville all get it.  They sounded frustrated that new commissioners would come on board and change the direction of the commission without getting themselves informed on the issues.

[Tbar]

On the drive in this morning KIRO radio said that the commission had ruled to not have a spring bear hunt in an effort to keep cubs from being orphaned and that the fall hunt would still be allowed.

It won't take them long to make the argument that cubs are dependent on mothers for up to two years so having a fall hunt 3 months after the old spring hunt that was cancelled to keep cubs from being orphaned is just as bad so we need to get rid of that fall hunt as well.

 

It was so frustrating to listen to commissioners who don't understand hunting and hunters knowledge of only taking boars make judgements on how to best move forward and completely throw out what actual hunters and wildlife biologists have to say.

It was clear in that meeting that they had already decided how they were going to vote.  They thanked everyone for their input, said they disagreed and had absolutely no facts to back up their reasoning for disagreeing.

The information they said they were using was incorrect. They are unaware of other hunts that take place in the spring, they are unaware that sows with cubs aren't targeted, they are unaware of what a GMU is, it blows my mind that they are allowed to make decisions about this stuff.

Thornburn, McIssac, Anderson and Linville all get it.  They sounded frustrated that new commissioners would come on board and change the direction of the commission without getting themselves informed on the issues.

I really felt like the refusal to recuse ones self even while showing blatant ignorance was very telling of their integrity. 

[Stein]

At this point I think it would be pretty foolish to assume the intent of the commission is to weigh the evidence and rule.  The direction of the commission has already been set, no need for pesky evidence, or weighing competing interests.  We flipped from conservation to preservation.

The thought of sustainable use of natural resources is quickly evaporating.  The preservation mindset is to simply minimize human's impact on the landscape as if we were evil aliens with no place outside the city walls.

[Rainier10]

On the drive in this morning KIRO radio said that the commission had ruled to not have a spring bear hunt in an effort to keep cubs from being orphaned and that the fall hunt would still be allowed.

It won't take them long to make the argument that cubs are dependent on mothers for up to two years so having a fall hunt 3 months after the old spring hunt that was cancelled to keep cubs from being orphaned is just as bad so we need to get rid of that fall hunt as well.

 

It was so frustrating to listen to commissioners who don't understand hunting and hunters knowledge of only taking boars make judgements on how to best move forward and completely throw out what actual hunters and wildlife biologists have to say.

It was clear in that meeting that they had already decided how they were going to vote.  They thanked everyone for their input, said they disagreed and had absolutely no facts to back up their reasoning for disagreeing.

The information they said they were using was incorrect. They are unaware of other hunts that take place in the spring, they are unaware that sows with cubs aren't targeted, they are unaware of what a GMU is, it blows my mind that they are allowed to make decisions about this stuff.

Thornburn, McIssac, Anderson and Linville all get it.  They sounded frustrated that new commissioners would come on board and change the direction of the commission without getting themselves informed on the issues.

I really felt like the refusal to recuse ones self even while showing blatant ignorance was very telling of their integrity. 

I don't feel like everything should pause while new members of the commission get up to speed on how the process works.  Stand down or go with the flow until you are up to speed and then make a decision versus making an uninformed decision.

Excuses/facts
cubs are orphaned in the spring/out of 145 bears harvested only one was lactating
state bear density isn't high enough/we aren't talking statewide, we are talking a few specific GMU's
no other hunts are allowed in the spring/turkey season is allowed in the spring
we shouldn't be hunting bears when they are breeding/we have all kinds of hunts during breeding season
hikers want to see more bears when hiking/problem bears are removed from populated and high traffic human areas
fall hunting is better time to harvest bears so cubs don't get orphaned/cubs are still dependent on mothers 3 months after the spring season
game management plan should be based on different data/game management plan is based on best data available
bear harvest has increased too much recently/the bear population has increased

All excuses to stop the season and all facts presented by the game department showing why the season should happen.

Unbelievable.

[fishngamereaper]

The reasons they claimed to be the driving factors justifying their voting stance can be and could be applied to all big game....

See where this is going....

[KFhunter]

My response from WDFW regarding their plans for my accumulated points


Thank you for contacting the Washington department of Fish and Wildlife. Your correspondence was forwarded to the Wildlife Program for a response.

At this time Spring bear is suspended for a single season. Your points will remain in the Spring Bear category for future hunts.

Sincerely,
 
Wildlife Program Customer Service
(360) 902-2515

[salt n sage90]

My response from WDFW regarding their plans for my accumulated points


Thank you for contacting the Washington department of Fish and Wildlife. Your correspondence was forwarded to the Wildlife Program for a response.

At this time Spring bear is suspended for a single season. Your points will remain in the Spring Bear category for future hunts.

Sincerely,
 
Wildlife Program Customer Service
(360) 902-2515

Thats almost laughable.
Better chance of a spring unicorn or jackelope hunt popping up.

[KFhunter]

 


That was to the director

[Rainier10]

The reasons they claimed to be the driving factors justifying their voting stance can be and could be applied to all big game....

See where this is going....

Exactly.  None of their reasons are science or management based.  They can easily make the same baseless argument for all hunting and it won't matter what facts you have to counter with.  It will be the same as this weekend. I believe it was Lorna Smith who basically said  "We really appreciate all the hard work the biologists and WDFW staff put into this but we want to go a different direction.  We certainly don't mean any disrespect.  You did your job well and put together some great information but we just don't agree.  It is the job of the WDFW to do the work, provide direction and it is the job of the commission to do what we think is best."  I'm not sure I have that word for word but couldn't believe what I was hearing.  I am glad it was recorded.  I hope they go back and listen to their own logic.  Morale at WDFW has to be broken at this point.

Brian Blake made some great comments Sunday about how they needed to follow the game management plan for this cycle or else they would lose the hunting publics trust.  I think that is exactly what they did.

[buckfvr]

All they have to do/are doing is cast doubt.  They don't have to/aren't proving anything.  That isn't their goal.  They are on a mission to promote an agenda.  They are involved in what should be a dismissible  violation, "conflict of interest". Best/only hope for change is a new governor.