Help (again) Needed Today on Cougar Legislation

[Rhinoron247]

Today I sent messages in support of Senate Bill 5356 (To allow the hunting of cougar with dogs) to 15 State Representatives.  As of current I have received responses from 5 Reps who are in support of passing the legislation and so far non that oppose.  Let's hope the balance of the responses are favorable and that this translate into votes.  

Even though I do not hunt with dogs I am 100% in support of those who do having that right.  Please everyone take a moment and voice your support.  There is no chance of us as sportsman gaining or maintaining ground if we don't take a stand together.

Thanks Bearpaw for bringing this to our attention.

  

[bearpaw]

Here's the latest, if you haven't already written, please send email now. I compiled a quick copy list of email addresses for your convenience.

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
_____________________

Dear Friends:
 
We need your help in getting the cougar bill, Senate Bill 5356, on the governor’s desk.
 
We think we are okay with its passage, but we want to firm up our position a little more because next Friday, March 25th, is the cut-off day for this bill to be passed out of its House committee.
 
Below is the list of legislators who will be making this serious vote, and we ask you to write them a personal note regarding your support:
 
Representative                             Room                   Phone
Blake, Brian (D) Chair                  MOD F 105        (360) 786-7870
Stanford, Derek (D) Vice Chair      MOD E 204        (360) 786-7928
Chandler, Bruce (R) *                  LEG 427B            (360) 786-7960
Wilcox, J.T. (R) **                     MOD G 106        (360) 786-7912
Buys, Vincent (R)                       MOD D 204        (360) 786-7854
Dunshee, Hans (D)                     MOD F 103        (360) 786-7804
Hinkle, Bill (R)                            MOD G 104        (360) 786-7808
Kretz, Joel (R)                            LEG 335A        (360) 786-7988
Lytton, Kristine (D)                    MOD B 203        (360) 786-7800
Orcutt, Ed (R)                            LEG 122F        (360) 786-7812
Pettigrew, Eric (D)                      LEG 434B        (360) 786-7838
Rolfes, Christine (D)                   MOD D 105        (360) 786-7842
Van De Wege, Kevin (D)              LEG 434A        (360) 786-7916
*Ranking Minority Member  **Asst. Ranking Minority Member
 
Many thanks for your assistance in this request.

Cordially yours,

BOB MORTON
State Senator

[mulehunter]

Hey machias,  thanks for post other website.  Appercate it.  I didn't get any chance to collect inflation off bearpaw's hand to post other website.  Hopefully more the better.

Thanks Bearpaw, reply emails, he seem  very motivate on try to keep hounds hunting tool.  Hopefully 350 kill next year will save almost up to 27,000  deer as most bucks. Also some bulls.  Hopefully they will add more county.  Its gonna be so much fun.   But.......,,,,  Hey back off biologlists.....      ( joke).......

Cheers

Mulehunter

[bearpaw]

Sounds like we should have generated quite a few letters and this should help the odds of passage. 

[bearpaw]

Several people have contacted me for data to use in their messages to legislators. I'm going to post a few letters that have been copied to me to give some of you an idea how to respond.


Dear Representatives:

My name is ***********, and am a lifelong resident of this state and an avid recreationalist, hunter and conservationist. I am writing to urge you to support Senate Bill 5356, authorizing the Department of Fish and Wildlife, in cooperation with certain counties, to extend another five years the existing pilot program to pursue or kill cougars with the aid of dogs.

Passage of SB 5356 will ensure that documented problem cougars can be effectively targeted and, when necessary, killed, while providing critical data to ensure cougar populations are optimally managed to maintain healthy numbers of these animals. In addition, extending the existing pilot will provide for public safety and protect property, as the drafters of the bill intended.

An additional benefit of this bill will be keeping the few remaining hound hunters, and their dogs, trained and ready to effectively respond to public complaints received by Fish and Wildlife. If this bill does not pass there will be little incentive for hound hunters to retain their hounds. If these uniquely qualified groups give up on hound hunting, who will WDFW call upon to respond to dangerous problem cougars? Expensive professional hunters from Idaho or Utah? That makes little fiscal sense given we have a local skilled group of hound hunters able and eager to help at a fraction of the cost.

Please keep in mind not all cougars who are pursued by hounds must be killed to protect life and property. Many will modify their behavior once encountered by hounds and humans. By nature, cougars do not like confrontation. Once they have been chased and treed, they will likely move to a more remote and isolated location, thereby reducing the likelihood of causing problems with people or property.

Again, I urge you to pass Senate Bill 5356.

Thank you for your time and consideration of my email.

[alwinearcher]

I have gotten several replys back and all of them were in support.

[bearpaw]

Here's another letter.....


Dear Representatives.

I am a Washington resident, businessman and hunter. I strongly support the use of hounds in our state for several reasons.
Our founding father and man whom our state is aptly named was a hound owner, breeder and hunter. We believe that many of the hounds used today are direct descendants of a line that George Washington himself helped to create. His hounds were used for sport and as a conservation tool.
Teddy Roosevelt was a hound owner and avid hunter, an outdoorsman whom was directly responsible for many of our protected wild places in this country. Teddy understood the importance of hounds as a sport and a conservation tool. We can look to history not so distant and find another president, Ronald Regan.
Ronald Regan was a rancher, hound owner and hunter, he understood the importance of hounds not only as a sport but as a tool for conservation and ranch management.
Though I could likely write several more pages in reference to historical fact, I will leave you with one more historical tid bit.
The WDFW testified that since the pilot program implementation took place, cougar incident complaints have declined by over 70%.

As a businessman, I can find good and solid economic reasons for our state to allow the use of hounds not only as a sport but as a tool for conservation,and sound management. Many ranchers across this state report lower calf numbers directly attributed to cougar kills.
One can look no farther than California and find cougar incidents with people, some of which result in the disfigurement and or death of the person. These encounters are not only terrifying but extraordinarily costly to the taxpayer. Many western states allow the use of hounds not only as a sport but as a conservation and management tool, these states have a much lower incident rate when compared to states not allowing the use of hounds.
We can look at the timber industry in our state and find millions of dollars lost due to an overabundance and lack of hunting pressure with respect to our bear population. The bears strip the bark from young trees, not only conifers but deciduous trees as well. Private property foresters battle this problem every spring by a complicated and costly process of a special state permit allowing the use of hounds to eliminate these destructive bears. Unfortunately the state does not allow the use of hounds in our public forests where the bear damage is most evident. The costs are staggering and could be managed effectively and economically by WDFW and the use of hounds.
I personally participate in both the cougar pilot program and in the private forest bear permit program in Washington state. I have seen first hand the efficiency and effect that hound hunting large predators has in several states.
From my perspective facts trump knee jerk reaction in every instance, these are not the warm fuzzy animals we all cuddled up with as children, they are predators of the highest order and need to be managed in an effective, economical and humane way.
Hound hunting provides us with the most effective, economic and humane way to manage these predators period. I believe the general public when faced with the facts will respect an educated vote.

[bearpaw]

another good letter

As a gentleman farmer and rancher in the Colville area of Stevens County I want to express my support for Senate Bill 5356.
I can attest to the damage to several of my stock having been maimed and killed by cougars over the recent 3 years which I had verified by the local Fish and Wildlife agents. The cougar population is out of control and we need all the help we can get to reduce the population, the operative word is reduce, not to the point of extinction. It becomes a financial hardship to raise stock only to see them annihilated.
Please support this bill.
Regards,

[bearpaw]

another short & sweet message:


Just a short note to let you know that I am definitely in support of this Bill. If you spend any time at all in the hunting woods, it is quite evident the impact that cougars (and wolves) have on our game herds.
 
Sincerely,   

[bearpaw]

Need to bother everyone again, the hound issue is moving forward but barely, now we all need to send another message to the House Rules committee. I attached the message from Senator Morton that I recieved today. I am also including a copy and past email list and a short message that you can easily modify as you like.
Thanks For Your Help,
Dale


Dear Representative,
Please pass SB5356 Cougar Hound Hunting. Since the Pilot Cougar program was started, cougar attacks on humans, pets, and livestock have decreased significantly. Please pass SB5356 so that residents can continue to live and recreate safely and ranchers can continue to enjoy a safer environment for raising their livestock in rural Washington.
THANK YOU


Copy and paste to these legislators as soon as possible:

frank.chopp@leg.wa.gov; richard.debolt@leg.wa.gov; jan.angel@leg.wa.gov; mike.armstrong@leg.wa.gov; cathy.dahlquist@leg.wa.gov; deborah.eddy@leg.wa.gov; david.frockt@leg.wa.gov; roger.goodman@leg.wa.gov; tami.green@leg.wa.gov; norm.johnson@leg.wa.gov; troy.kelley@leg.wa.gov; joel.kretz@leg.wa.gov; marcie.maxwell@leg.wa.gov; jim.moeller@leg.wa.gov; tina.orwall@leg.wa.gov; eric.pettigrew@leg.wa.gov; tim.probst@leg.wa.gov; ann.rivers@leg.wa.gov; cindy.ryu@leg.wa.gov; joe.schmick@leg.wa.gov; shelly.short@leg.wa.gov; larry.springer@leg.wa.gov; pat.sullivan@leg.wa.gov; kevin.vandewege@leg.wa.gov; judy.warnick@leg.wa.gov

______________________________________________

Dear Friends:

Senate Bill 5356 barely made it out of the House policy committee – by one vote.  Thank you for efforts in getting it this far through the process.

However, we need your help again to get the bill out of the House Rules Committee and on to the floor of the House for final passage.  Would you please send a personal note to the members of the House Rules Committee, asking them to lift the bill to the floor. 

Thank you again for your good support and assistance.

Cordially yours,

BOB MORTON
State Senator


Representative              Room                 Phone
Chopp, Frank (D) Chair  LEG 339C   (360) 786-7920
DeBolt, Richard (R) *    LEG 335C   (360) 786-7896
Angel, Jan (R)             MOD A 105   (360) 786-7964
Armstrong, Mike (R)     LEG 425B   (360) 786-7832
Dahlquist, Cathy (R)     MOD D 203   (360) 786-7846
Eddy, Deb (D)             LEG 132D   (360) 786-7848
Frockt, David (D)         MOD D 104   (360) 786-7886
Goodman, Roger (D)     MOD E 101   (360) 786-7878
Green, Tami (D)           LEG 122H   (360) 786-7958
Johnson, Norm (R)        MOD G 103   (360) 786-7810
Kelley, Troy (D)           MOD D 106   (360) 786-7890
Kretz, Joel (R)             LEG 335A   (360) 786-7988
Maxwell, Marcie (D)      MOD D 103   (360) 786-7894
Moeller, Jim (D)            LEG 429B   (360) 786-7872
Orwall, Tina (D)           MOD E 201   (360) 786-7834
Pettigrew, Eric (D)       LEG 434B   (360) 786-7838
Probst, Tim (D)           MOD E 103   (360) 786-7994
Rivers, Ann (R)            MOD A 203   (360) 786-7850
Ryu, Cindy (D)            MOD F 106   (360) 786-7880
Schmick, Joe (R)         MOD A 103   (360) 786-7844
Short, Shelly (R)         MOD A 204   (360) 786-7908
Springer, Larry (D)       LEG 132E   (360) 786-7822
Sullivan, Pat (D)          LEG 339A   (360) 786-7858
Van De Wege, Kevin (D) LEG 434A   (360) 786-7916
Warnick, Judy (R)         MOD C 201   (360) 786-7932

[mulehunter]

By one vote. Ouch.... Its going be very tough this time..  Hopefully more supports and show them that we need save monster bucks and many bulls for later for u all as hunter who harvest in future.  If no support.  Today 1500 cougars  in washington killing almost 112,000 in  per year big loss on bulls, most monster bucks. And few calf elk.  Hopefully more people sent letter the better for hunting season.
Please support it. 

Mulehunter.   

[Ray]

I fired off a letter. Takes just a few minutes of your time. Why not?

[bearpaw]

Thanks Ray, it's pretty quick and easy to do with the email list in my last post.

I just found out the Seattle Times had a story on the bill. I imagine the huggers are mobilizing letters, so we need all the help we can get.

[bearpaw]

Senator Morton has been on the local radio several times today asking people to write in support of hound hunting if they want it to happen. This is to get another 5 year pilot program. You can get the email list to easily paste on your email message a couple posts back.

[Bigshooter]

I just sent off another one.  Keep sending them guys.