Quotes from article
"The Northeast Washington Wildlife Group is concerned growing wolf and cougar populations in Northeastern Washington are decimating deer, elk and moose herds.
“We have a predator problem, and it continues to get worse with each passing year,” said Dale Magart, secretary of the nonprofit group that has written a position paper on the issue...
...The Wildlife Group is asking the state Fish and Wildlife Commission to review its white paper and consider changes to predator management policies to restore sustainability among herds...
...He invites hunters, ranchers and others concerned about the situation to speak out at the commission meeting in Colville on Thursday, Oct. 27, where game management is on the agenda. The meeting starts at 8:30 a.m.in Colville Kalispel Hall of the local Spokane Community College campus, 985 South Elm Street. Zoom participation is available at wdfw.wa.gov, and people can also provide virtual comments on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 28 and 29...
...Magart said WDFW officials insist that game levels are stable, often citing a University of Washington study with that conclusion. That study is faulty, he said, because field research ran from 2016 to 2021, before the latest losses from Blue Tongue disease were known.
“What that study reports is not what we are hearing from hunters and property owners in this region,” Magart said “The overwhelming response falls in the line of, ‘Just not seeing deer as we used to, used to see 25 in a field nearby and now there are four or five, and on and on.’”...
...Without a change in management policies, the Wildlife Group predicts big problems ahead for game animals and people with livestock living in remote areas.
“With less wildlife to prey on, there will be more domestic depredation and increased danger to our children and selves,” said Magart. “Our wildlife managers have their blinders on, and they are not seeing the whole picture.”
The Northeast Washington Wildlife Group is a nonprofit, local organization that promotes hunting, fishing, recreation, conservation and advocates for balanced wildlife and fish management policies..."
