Free: Contests & Raffles.
Thinning actually jump starts the damage again as the tree is released, which is why PCT is often delayed so that crown closure happens quicker and pushes the crown upwards and away from ground level where a bear's nose is most apt to identify it as a food source if there is a lot of tree growth there.The bears removed under depredation permits was a small fraction of the state's bear harvest even when hounds were allowed. Someone ought to do a FOIA to see how many permits have been sought, and how much success there has been since WDFW went to boot hunt only depredation permits. I'd bet success could be counted on your two hands, maybe even one hand. Also, trees aren't the only thing these bears feed on through the spring months, it's just the easiest for them. They hammer fawns in particular, but also calves once they drop. Every bear removed via damage is also saving other wildlife at the same time. A win-win...Bellyaching about this is like cutting your nose off to spite your face... Makes sense...
Quote from: Alan K on January 24, 2023, 12:07:53 PMThinning actually jump starts the damage again as the tree is released, which is why PCT is often delayed so that crown closure happens quicker and pushes the crown upwards and away from ground level where a bear's nose is most apt to identify it as a food source if there is a lot of tree growth there.The bears removed under depredation permits was a small fraction of the state's bear harvest even when hounds were allowed. Someone ought to do a FOIA to see how many permits have been sought, and how much success there has been since WDFW went to boot hunt only depredation permits. I'd bet success could be counted on your two hands, maybe even one hand. Also, trees aren't the only thing these bears feed on through the spring months, it's just the easiest for them. They hammer fawns in particular, but also calves once they drop. Every bear removed via damage is also saving other wildlife at the same time. A win-win...Bellyaching about this is like cutting your nose off to spite your face... Makes sense...You seem very well informed on this subject, why don't you do the public records request and let us know what you find?
Quote from: Alan K on January 24, 2023, 12:07:53 PMThinning actually jump starts the damage again as the tree is released, which is why PCT is often delayed so that crown closure happens quicker and pushes the crown upwards and away from ground level where a bear's nose is most apt to identify it as a food source if there is a lot of tree growth there.The bears removed under depredation permits was a small fraction of the state's bear harvest even when hounds were allowed. Someone ought to do a FOIA to see how many permits have been sought, and how much success there has been since WDFW went to boot hunt only depredation permits. I'd bet success could be counted on your two hands, maybe even one hand. Also, trees aren't the only thing these bears feed on through the spring months, it's just the easiest for them. They hammer fawns in particular, but also calves once they drop. Every bear removed via damage is also saving other wildlife at the same time. A win-win...Bellyaching about this is like cutting your nose off to spite your face... Makes sense...Putting a band-aid on top of a band-aid is what a feed barrel is.I'm sure you are correct ,trapping with snares,and hounds are way more effective.I can't remember which units on the West it was.But wasn't timber company reducing boot hunter permits,just so they could use depredation permits.When there was a recreational season.You can't limit access to areas with damage for boot hunters and expect it to be more effective than trapping or hounds.Or even come close to it.I'm not gonna support an animal be left to rot cause it ate a tree.I'm sorry I just wasn't raised that way.
Quote from: Gringo31 on January 24, 2023, 09:57:58 AMThe anti hunting groups seem to be fine with protecting trees if that includes killing bears.Hunting bears for Harvest are no-no's.You can not use either of those H words and get any headway with them. I agree with that.I was trying to read the CR thingy that goes with this.I'm not sure if this is for hunters,or just a rule change to give more agricultural trapping permits out.I can't really figure it out.
The anti hunting groups seem to be fine with protecting trees if that includes killing bears.Hunting bears for Harvest are no-no's.You can not use either of those H words and get any headway with them.
This is from 2019.
I did an FOI request to the USDA APHIS section last year about the number of bears that they or their contractors killed. They provided me with a response that showed between May 2020 and July 2021 they had taken out 47 black bears. My request covered the entire state of WA, but their records indicated that the only bears taken were from Skagit, Pacific, Grays Harbor, Thurston, Cowlitz, and Lewis Counties. Those numbers don't really line up with information that I was told by a Fish and Game Sgt about the numbers taken out from a particular area in Pacific/Lewis county, so I really don't know how accurately this stuff is reported to them. Getting good numbers is probably next to impossible to do.Just tossing the info out there so that it's available, for what it's worth.
Quote from: Torrent50 on January 25, 2023, 11:45:17 AMI did an FOI request to the USDA APHIS section last year about the number of bears that they or their contractors killed. They provided me with a response that showed between May 2020 and July 2021 they had taken out 47 black bears. My request covered the entire state of WA, but their records indicated that the only bears taken were from Skagit, Pacific, Grays Harbor, Thurston, Cowlitz, and Lewis Counties. Those numbers don't really line up with information that I was told by a Fish and Game Sgt about the numbers taken out from a particular area in Pacific/Lewis county, so I really don't know how accurately this stuff is reported to them. Getting good numbers is probably next to impossible to do.Just tossing the info out there so that it's available, for what it's worth.Bear in mind APHIS is federal, and WDFW is state. While they share information at a high level, I'd be shocked if an officer had any hard numbers. They are (or were years ago and I assume still) notified of active permits so that they could keep an eye on folks, but were in no way the repository for removal numbers.