I heard it again... Margaret/Toutle going general

[bobcat]

It's practically a general season now, with the number of permits they issued this year. 

[winshooter88]

According to WDFW at the last meeting I attended the herd has allot more animals than they thought.

[Annette]

Well Access is very limited....and they have to have a place for the wolves.. i've had permits for both units and think they'er over rated. Not my first choice when putting in for trophy units.
East/west? I never could figure out how they could justify that with the highest population on the west side and most of the land on the east side? Most the west side is privet timber land and closed most the year.

[kalamasasquatch]

i have heard that the plan is to make margret and toutle genaral tag and make the lewis river the special permit unit. also they are going to push back opening day archery by a day and take away a day on the tail end. you never know........

[WDFW Hates ME!!!]

Yeah i heard the coweeman in going permit only also...

[Fullabull]

These ideas went out last year in a survey:

Make one of the two permit units general and leave the Lewis as is.
Make Lewis permit only and the other two general.
Leave as is.

I think I voted for option one but I think there needs to be a plan not just a change

Fulla

[CavemantheHunter]

If this really is the case, I'm just glad I got drawn for my Toutle permit this year. I don't understand 90% of the decisions the WDFW makes anyway.

[bowhuntersd]

The few people from the WDFW I've talked to didn't have an exact answer about this. My suggestion is if this is the case they need to impliment some new draw units now not following the change. Why would someone put in for a draw on a unit they hunted the previous year during general season. Just my 

[Battle Ready]

Thats just a bad idea..all the way around.

[Button Nubbs]

Sounds like a good idea to me. Maybe the one other guy that hunts our groups area will go to one of those units and leave all the bulls to us! I know where I won't be if that happened...

[h2ofowlr]

The wolves are now down there, so why not give the hunters a shot at harvesting some before they get decimated.

[nontypical176]

Its a great idea....leave that portion of the Toutle running from the South Fork of the Toutle river north across the state land to the mud flows special permit, and open up more of the Loo Wit to permits also.  The Toutle is a big unit with most of it being closed to camping and one hell of a hike to get to if gates are closed.  The state land is where most of the big bulls are shot in the Toutle unit and making the South fork of the Toutle river the boundary keeps some permit hunting and is an easy border.  So much funner for me.....but its just a dream.  And on another note, poachers run rampant across the Toutle its too big to patrol and the only thing that will stop them is other hunters. 

[trophyhunt]

If they open those units to regular hunting I will be as far away from there as possible, and for those of you who would go- better put on some body armor! It will be a war zone, have fun with that. By the way I think it's a terrible idea, more people will have to put in for the other few permit bull units that are on the west side.

[elksnout]

Stupid idea...even for a rumor.

[bobcat]

How about this- instead of making those two units a general season hunt, make ALL westside units permit only, just like Margaret and Toutle.