Natural Resource Committee - HB 1124 Cougar hunting with hounds

[yelp]

http://www.tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?EvId=2011010140&bhcp=1

Interesting..Bearpaw outfitters was even in the discussion..LOL

[CMG]

I was flipping thru the channels last night and caught the last 1/2 hour of this meeting....Very interesting.
Thanks for posting the link, Now I can watch the whole meeting. I searched for upcoming times to be re-played but nothing would come up. Thought I may have missed a good discussion and topic. 
   

[WAcoyotehunter]

The meeting seems to have gone well.  What are the next steps to get 1124 passed and into action with hunters?

[Kain]

Thanks for the link.  I just got done watching it.  I have to say listening to Dave Ware and Donny Martorello I changed my opinion of the WDFW on the cougar issue.  I still believe that cougar populations are underestimated but they did give me more confidence that they are willing to be more proactive in keeping populations under control.  The only thing I wish they would consider more is the effect on other wildlife even when human conflicts are low.

[yelp]

This committee will be reviewing several bills this session and merger issues..its a good way of staying up to date. 

[yelp]

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1124&year=2011#history

Link for bill info

[Humptulips]

 The only thing I wish they would consider more is the effect on other wildlife even when human conflicts are low.

That argument is not going to get a lot of traction so it was not brought up. Could even hurt if it was talked up much.

[bearpaw]

It was brought to my attention that my name was mentioned in the meeting. I am preparing a statement for the members of the Natural Resources committee that puts a number of things in good perspective. I will post it once it is public.

I can tell which side of the issue that Rep Dunshee is on.... 

[Kain]

The only thing I wish they would consider more is the effect on other wildlife even when human conflicts are low.

That argument is not going to get a lot of traction so it was not brought up. Could even hurt if it was talked up much.

Declining populations of prey species will hurt the passage of this bill?  Hungry predators make for more human conflict which is the REASON for this bill.  

See how I spun that?    We hunters and trappers have to stop being so gun shy.

[Elkaholic daWg]

 1-25-11....10 am


Agriculture & Natural Resources -  01/25/11  10:00 am
Full Committee
House Hearing Rm A
John L. O'Brien Building
Olympia, WA

Public Hearing: 

   1. HB 1054 - Declaring water conservation practices to be a beneficial use of water for the purposes of relinquishment.
   2. HB 1117 - Regarding the relinquishment of water rights.
   3. HB 1296 - Creating a water commission.
   4. HB 1297 - Concerning the relinquishment of a water right.


Executive Session: 

   1. HB 1212 - Authorizing the department of agriculture to accept and expend gifts.
   2. HB 1124 - Establishing seasons for hunting cougars with the aid of dogs.




Committee Meeting Documents
Note: Documents are not available online until the meeting has begun.

[bearpaw]

I attached the letter I sent replying to the House Committee, I have recieved three positive responses so far.

HB1124 regarding hound hunting will be heard again very soon, I think today. I hope some of you will send a message requesting passage this morning. I attached email addresses below for the WDFW and the Natural Resources Committee members so you can easily send one message to all.

This is a critical time for moving this forward, thanks very much for any help you can provide.
Dale


Brian.Blake@leg.wa.gov
derek.stanford@leg.wa.gov
bruce.chandler@leg.wa.gov
jt.wilcox@leg.wa.gov
vincent.buys@leg.wa.gov
hans.dunshee@leg.wa.gov
bill.hinkle@leg.wa.gov
joel.kretz@leg.wa.gov
kristine.lytton@leg.wa.gov
ed.orcutt@leg.wa.gov
eric.pettigrew@leg.wa.gov
christine.rolfes@leg.wa.gov
kevin.vandewege@leg.wa.gov
lauren.burnes@leg.wa.gov


commission@dfw.wa.gov
philip.anderson@dfw.wa.gov
david.ware@dfw.wa.gov
donny.martorello@dfw.wa.gov


Video of House Natural Resources Committee Hearing on HB 1124: 
http://www.tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?evid=2011010140&TYPE=V&CFID=2182434&CFTOKEN=57993784&bhcp=1


Dear Legislators,
My name is Dale Denney, I own Bearpaw Outfitters. After receiving phone calls regarding the mention of my name in the House Natural Resources Committee hearing regarding HB 1124 on January 18, and as a professional hound hunter, I felt compelled to offer some thoughts for your consideration.

In recent years only hound hunters could participate in Washington hound hunts, occasionally my family or friends who own hounds drew tags and we helped them on their hunts. This year language allowed any licensed hunter to apply for a hound season cougar tag. We assisted 3 lucky non-hound owners in taking cats with hounds and one of those hunts was done as a free hunt that we offered to the hunting community. We also assisted another elderly hound hunter with his hound permit hunt.

For the last 14 years in Washington we have helped more boot hunters take cougar than hunters with hound permits. While I have been happy to help numerous boot hunters take a cougar, the only problem with boot hunting cougar is that it does nothing to help maintain trained hounds to be available for response to WDFW cougar attack complaints. In order for WDFW to have hounds available and capable of catching problem cougar, the dogs to be used must be hunted regularly to be effective, and it has been proven that some measure of cougar population control must be exercised either before cougar attacks occur or after cougar attacks happen.

It has been mentioned that hound hunters may not target specific problem animals, but WDFW statistics show that since hound hunting has been allowed again by the Legislature, cougar attacks have definitely declined. Legislators effectively decreased the attacks on livestock, pets, and humans. People who live or recreate where cougars may attack are very glad that the frequency of cougar attacks has been reduced, but these people need HB 1124 enacted so that rural neighborhoods continue to be safe.

From a monetary and budgetary standpoint, it seems far more sensible and cost effective for the WDFW to allow hunters to hunt who also support the WDFW via license sales, than to pay hound hunters to catch problem cats as agents of the state. Whether a hound hunter is assisting another hunter in taking a cat, or if the hound hunter has a tag of his own, or if that hound hunter is working for the WDFW to catch a problem cougar, the fact is that dogs are needed to hunt cougar. In the past when WDFW officers have requested our services for cougar attack complaints, we have responded as quickly as possible on nearly every occasion. It has been to the state’s advantage that we had dogs which were experienced in catching cougar. Please understand, I have only been able to keep trained dogs by acting as a cougar hunting guide in Idaho and Utah, and by helping the occasional person lucky enough to draw a Washington Cougar Hound permit.

From a hound owner’s standpoint, it's expensive to own hounds. I recover some of that expense by taking other hunters hunting in the states where I am licensed to provide guided hunts. Some other hound owners have good paying jobs in order to afford to own their hounds. But no matter how a person affords to own hounds, it is still imperative that those dogs get hunted or they will not be effective at catching cougar when needed by WDFW to respond to cougar attack complaints.

Just for the record, it was my hunting partner who responded and it was his hounds that caught the cougar that attacked young Jacob Walsh near Orient, Washington. Had it not been for being able to sport hunt cougars prior to the passing of I-655 in 1996, we would not have had dogs capable of catching the cougar that attacked and tried to kill young Jacob Walsh. I have also responded to numerous other WDFW cougar complaints involving attacks on livestock, pets, and another attack on a human in Stevens and Ferry counties. So with that in mind, it is my sincere hope that this legislature will pass legislation allowing hound hunters the ability to keep maintaining trained dogs.

Pursuit Seasons and Cougar Behavior Modification
Another important item that should be considered, it’s not necessary for hound hunters to kill every cougar caught in order to keep their dogs trained. It is just as effective to pursue and tree a cougar, pet your dogs, and then to leave the cougar in the tree physically unharmed. By doing this, the hounds get the experience of tracking and treeing cougar and every cougar left alive in the tree has a good reason to modify their behavior. From what I have seen, a cougar will often head for more remote areas to escape the unfriendly experience it just had with man and dogs. This will help maintain a fear of man and dogs in general and arguably could result in fewer cougar attacks without the need of killing as many cougar.

I highly recommend that this committee add an amendment to the legislation authorizing the WDFW to investigate the trial use of pursuit seasons for cougar behavior modification and dog training. Please remember, an open Pursuit Season would allow hound hunters to maintain trained dogs that WDFW can rely on for emergencies when cougars attack livestock, pets, or humans, and there is high likelihood a pursuit season will benefit the overall cougar population and Washington citizens by reinforcing the fear of man and dog in the wild cougar population.

As our governing body, hound owners and the citizens of Washington are depending on you, our legislators, to find a balance. A solution that allows trained hounds to be available for cougar population management and emergencies involving cougar attacks, and hopefully you arrive at a solution that manages the cougar population before cougar attacks occur rather than after cougar attacks have happened.

If you would like me to appear at a future hearing I will be more than happy to appear. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Best Regards,
Dale Denney

[villageidiot]

  Don't get the bighead Dale but that was a surpurb job of writing a letter.   If they actually read it I can't see how they could not be influenced by it's contents.     Great job.   

[bearpaw]

villageidiot, I hope it helped, Dunshee certainly tried to use me to discredit hound hunting. On a positive note, I recieved another positive reply from another legislator. Would like to hear from a few more to know the bill will make it out of committee.


Here's the last message:
"I support the use of hounds to hunt cougars – hope we can move the bill to make it permanent and statewide….."

[mulehunter]

Bearpaw, it was a great write.  Thanks and I am sending too. Big thumb.

Mulehunter.   

[bearpaw]

Dale – this was very helpful information for our discussions related to the bill.  Thank you.

Christine Rolfes
State Representative, Legislative District 23

____________________

That is another message I recieved from a legislator today, not sure if it's good, I hope it is. I hope some of you will please send more letters.

Here are Email addresses to use:

Brian.Blake@leg.wa.gov
derek.stanford@leg.wa.gov
bruce.chandler@leg.wa.gov
jt.wilcox@leg.wa.gov
vincent.buys@leg.wa.gov
hans.dunshee@leg.wa.gov
bill.hinkle@leg.wa.gov
joel.kretz@leg.wa.gov
kristine.lytton@leg.wa.gov
ed.orcutt@leg.wa.gov
eric.pettigrew@leg.wa.gov
christine.rolfes@leg.wa.gov
kevin.vandewege@leg.wa.gov
lauren.burnes@leg.wa.gov


commission@dfw.wa.gov
philip.anderson@dfw.wa.gov
david.ware@dfw.wa.gov
donny.martorello@dfw.wa.gov