Free: Contests & Raffles.
Issue Scoping GuidelinesUnder the Governor’s Rule Moratorium, changes to regulations that are 1) not necessary for conservation, or 2) have not been specifically requested by those being regulated (hunters), should not be submitted for consideration.
Dear Wildlife Commission,On behalf of Washington For Wildlife I would like to thank the department of fish & wildlife and the wildlife commission for taking proactive measures for managing cougars in the counties that were effected by the legislatures failure to renew the cougar pilot program. This failure will increase livestock and pet depredation, human cougar conflicts, as well as increased pressure on ungulate populations. While we like to see the department taking steps to increase cougar harvests with other methods, we are concerned the proposed changes dont go far enough to make up for the numbers of cougar taken by the pilot program hunters. Last year boot hunters only took 100 cougar across the entire state for all seasons and special permits. The pilot program alone harvested 45 cougars, nearly half the number taken by boot hunters in only five hunt areas and with a much shorter season. Increasing boot hunter general season and adding very few permits, where the success rate is very low, will not be enough. We understand the departments concerns and focus on female harvest rates but we believe evidence shows that general season hunting takes an equal proportion of what is out there to take. Female cougars have much smaller home ranges that often overlap with sisters, mothers and daughters. According to the WDFW, and other management agencies, it is normal for the home range of one male to cover 3 or 4 female ranges. This means that even with counting transient males there is a slightly higher population of females. We believe the harvest data shows that. Too many males is just as bad for cougars as too few females. The competition for territory and females killed protecting their young are major factors in cougar mortality. Also the killing of kittens by males makes up a large percentage of kitten mortality. With a mortality rate of around 30% there are far more kittens killed than there are adult cougars harvested by hunters. An over population of males competing for breeding rights and territory also causes more human cougar conflicts as males are forced to seek territory in human populated areas.The changes being proposed to the public safety removal system are a great step in making up for loosing the pilot program. While these changes, and the increase in general season, may go a long way in making up for the loss of the pilot program, Washington for Wildlife has concerns about the reporting system it is based off of. There is growing evidence that some confirmed cougar conflicts are not making it on the list. According to RCW 77.12.885 the department is required to post cougar incidents online within 10 days of being reported to them. Yet, on May 10th a cougar was killed for livestock depredation and on June 15th a cougar was killed in defense and neither ever showed up on the website. In both these cases WDFW was notified and an officer was sent to pick up the dead cats. Sgt Kim Chandler is quoted as saying there were “several” reports of a cougar in the Woodinville area and it even killed a someones duck. This cat was later kill by a car in late July. Again, none of the reports of this cougar ever showed up on the WDFW website. On Aug first a cougar was tranquilized and relocated from Vancouver. Again this incident and many other are not being reported on the website. I can provide links to all these stories. How can the department , this commission or the public make informed decisions on the management of cougars when they are not getting accurate information?WFW thinks it is important to point out the fact that we are loosing hound hunters in this state. As the department and our citizens realize the value and effectiveness of having hound hunters for management of our large predators we are doing nothing to keep them. We rely on them, state wide, to keep problem cats under control but do nothing to encourage or provide them with opportunity to keep trained hounds. The WDFW MUST implement a state wide pursuit only season so that we can continue to have hound hunters for public safety removal system.Respectfully,Naithan KainCougar Committee ChaimanWashington for Wildlifehttp://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,78123.0.htmlhttp://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,76217.0.htmlhttp://www.king5.com/news/pets-and-animals/Male-cougar-killed-on-I-405-126530628.htmlhttp://redmond.patch.com/articles/a-bad-week-for-wildlife-on-local-roadways-cougar-and-bald-eagle-killed-in-separate-road-incidents-2http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/aug/01/hound-sniffs-out-cougar-in-tree-near-va-hospital/
August 19, 2011Contact: Susan Galloway, (360) 902-2267 Wildlife Program, (360) 902-2515Fish and Wildlife Commission amends cougar hunting regulationsOLYMPIA — The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission approved amendments to cougar hunting regulations during a conference call today.The commission, which sets policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), amended cougar hunting regulations in six counties in eastern Washington, where a pilot project authorizing cougar hunting with the aid of dogs was not extended by the Legislature this year.That amendment increases cougar hunting opportunities without the aid of dogs in Klickitat, Chelan, Okanogan, Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties to continue to meet management objectives in those areas.In addition, the commission modified the criteria for determining when cougars are removed to address public concerns about pet and livestock depredation and personal safety. The change allows for cougar removals when complaints confirmed by WDFW staff in a given game management unit exceed the five-year average.WDFW game managers recommended the amendments to cougar hunting regulations as an interim measure until the 2012-14 hunting season package is developed. Public discussion of the 2012-14 hunting seasons is scheduled to begin this month. More information on those public meetings is available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/news/release.php?id=aug1511a.For more information about future commission meetings, visit WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/.
"That amendment increases cougar hunting opportunities without the aid of dogs in Klickitat, Chelan, Okanogan, Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties to continue to meet management objectives in those areas."Does anyone know what these increased opportunities are or when we will find out?
