Goat Rocks mountain goat permits

[jackelope]

Why on earth...for all that is holy....why the hail would the WDFW schedule a goat capture operation in the Goat Rocks during what's normally hunting season, thereby shortening the season to start 10/1 instead of 9/1 and then why would they also drop the number of permits to 1 per side? I'm not a biologist, but this doesn't make sense to me.
Note to include that when I had my permit it snowed in September up where the goats mostly are on the West unit and I had pretty significant access challenges in early October. This new 10/1 start date could cause some access hardships.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2023-03/bighorn-sheep-moose-and-mountain-goat-summary-sheet.pdf

Change #4 is proposed because the Department is planning an aerial and/or ground mountain
goat capture in the Goat Rocks Wilderness and surrounding area for September 2023.
Overlapping hunting and capture operation activities will negatively impact both hunting and
capture success. Therefore, the Department is proposing to shorten the hunt dates for the Goat
Rocks West and Goat Rocks East special permits.
4. A modification of the Goat Rocks West and Goat Rocks East hunt dates from September 1 –
November 30 to proposed dates of October 1 – November 30.

@Bushcraft

[Karl Blanchard]

Unacceptable

[Stein]

Sounds like you answered your own question.   

While you are in there looking at commission docs, take a peek at all the activity around the Game Management Plan and Guiding Principles. 

[Katmai Guy]

Sounds like you answered your own question.   

While you are in there looking at commission docs, take a peek at all the activity around the Game Management Plan and Guiding Principles.

Also, why would they schedule a capture so near Winter time when the goats will have less time to recover from the stress of the transfer before snow flies? ? F'n idiots

[Stein]

At the place where I work, one of the VPs is constantly reminding us when we have confused activity with accomplishment.

[jackelope]

Sounds like you answered your own question.   

While you are in there looking at commission docs, take a peek at all the activity around the Game Management Plan and Guiding Principles. 

The question, while rhetorical, is why on earth would they schedule a capture during what's supposed to be hunting season?

[Stein]

The question is why would we think there would be a hunting season while they were capturing?  GMP and Guiding Principles are changing to say hunting happens after, and only if every other conservation issue has been addressed.

[baker5150]

Sounds like you answered your own question.   

While you are in there looking at commission docs, take a peek at all the activity around the Game Management Plan and Guiding Principles. 

The question, while rhetorical, is why on earth would they schedule a capture during what's supposed to be hunting season?

Why would the capture take priority over the hunting season?
If both would have negative outcomes in concurance, move the capture, not the hunt.   

[jackelope]

Sounds like you answered your own question.   

While you are in there looking at commission docs, take a peek at all the activity around the Game Management Plan and Guiding Principles.

Also, why would they schedule a capture so near Winter time when the goats will have less time to recover from the stress of the transfer before snow flies? ? F'n idiots

My amateur hour guess would be accessible country and a lower risk of stress to the goats due to hotter summer temps. Too much snow, the capture guys can't get there. Earlier in the year it's too hot and the animals overheat. Maybe.

[Katmai Guy]

Isnt a capture done when the population is over the carrying capacity of the area?  With permit numbers being reduced over the years, it seems a capture would not be needed.  Unless next year there are zero permits due to reduced population.  They just accomplished their goal,  no hunting season.

[jackelope]

Isnt a capture done when the population is over the carrying capacity of the area?  With permit numbers being reduced over the years, it seems a capture would not be needed.  Unless next year there are zero permits due to reduced population.  They just accomplished their goal,  no hunting season.

I was wondering about that too, but then I decided in my pea brain head that they could be capturing to collar or something else.  Who knows. I know in the summer of 2017 I saw hundreds of goats in the Goat Rocks, what would now be the Goat Rocks West. At that point it was all one unit and there were 5 tags. Now there are 2 total.

[jackelope]

I believe WDFW deemed them non-native, thus the goal population is 0.

Non-native where?  In the Goat Rocks?

[Stein]

Sounds like you answered your own question.   

While you are in there looking at commission docs, take a peek at all the activity around the Game Management Plan and Guiding Principles. 

The question, while rhetorical, is why on earth would they schedule a capture during what's supposed to be hunting season?

Why would the capture take priority over the hunting season?
If both would have negative outcomes in concurance, move the capture, not the hunt.

Listen to the commission meetings.  Hunting is going to move to the bottom of the totem pole and only happen if and when everything else is taken care of.  They are adjusting the commission documents and will likely push for RCW changes if I had to guess.  Or, just ignore them like the state has been known to do with laws they don't like.

[Stein]

I believe WDFW deemed them non-native, thus the goal population is 0.

Non-native where?  In the Goat Rocks?

My bad, confused as usual.  The only mention on the website seems to be Jan-March captures for collars.  No mention I could find of captures this fall.

[jackelope]

I believe WDFW deemed them non-native, thus the goal population is 0.

Non-native where?  In the Goat Rocks?

My bad, confused as usual.  The only mention on the website seems to be Jan-March captures for collars.  No mention I could find of captures this fall.

I got it out of the link above, which I believe is the link you posted in the Chelan goat thread.