Bear tooth turn in, WSDFW rules suggestion, my letter, their response

[saylean]

What I wrote:

First off, thank you for taking the time to read this email. I have been an
avid hunter most of my life in Washington State.

I wanted to make a suggestion that I think would really help those who hunt
Black Bear in Washington State.

On page 56 of the 2007 Big Game Rules, under the heading "Submitting Bear
Teeth" it reads,

"Successful black bear hunters must submit the black bear premolar tooth
(singular), which is located behind the canine tooth of the upper jaw."

Please note under this heading, there is nothing that states a time line by
which the hunter must send in the bear tooth (ie 10 days). Nor is there any
time line for the hunter to turn the tooth into the state indicated anywhere
on the page about bears.

This however, is inconsistent with Cougars and Bobcats (on page 57) which
clearly indicates at the bottom of the page under "Hide Sealing
Requirements" the time line which a hunter must send in the skull/pelt etc
(72 hours or 20 days, depending).

If a hunter refers back to page 14 of the booklet under "Hunting Activity
Reporting" it does state that the hunter must "report their hunting activity
for each deer, elk, BEAR, and turkey tag acquired..."

Notice that it does not state the hunter must send in the bear tooth within
that time frame, only that they must report the "activity" (whether or not
they hunted, where they hunted, successful or not). I belive this is
misleading and could be easily solved, if an addition was made on the bear
information page stating that the hunter had 10 days to send in the premolar
tooth, under the heading "Submitting Bear Teeth" on page 56.

The reason I bring this up, is that I like to follow the rules and be an
exemplary hunter. But, due to this omission in the rules book, I failed to
send in the tooth within the ten days. I think the addition would help
numerous hunters, make the rules slightly more clear for those who read and
abide them, and would overall improve the states information they received
from the bear teeth that are sent in.

Thank you for your time and please consider the addition of the 10 day time
line under the bear rules for the 2008 regulations.

___________________________________________________________________________________
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The response (frankly, I was surprised I got one!)

Dear Douglas,
Thank you for contacting the Department of Fish and Wildlife regarding the bear
rules in the hunting pamphlet.  I am sorry it took us so long to get back to
you, we have been busy trying to get through with the special hunt permits.  I
think you bring up a really great point in making those regulations easier to
read and understand.  We do strive here at WDFW to make the rule book consistent
and understandable to the public.  I will forward your suggestions for our 2008
hunting regulations on to my manager.  If you have any further comments or
suggestions feel free to contact the Wildlife Program at 360-902-2515.

___________________________________________________________________________________

I am not sure about anyone else's thoughts on the matter, but it was important enough for me to want to suggest this. Do you guys/gals agree? Am I being nit picky? Or should I just be filed under "special" and ride the short bus?

[boneaddict]

I definately wouldn't have cared enough to send a letter.  Quite frankly I always just assumed the 10 day deadline.  I do congratulate you for caring enough to help them out instead of just griping about how stupid they are.  You're not assigned to the short bus yet. 

[jackelope]

i was looking for a polite way of saying you  might kind of be nit-picking, although it is a legit nit-pick. anyway... good job for caring and not just telling them they suck and don't know what the hell they are doing, which is the common response.
i also agree with them in saying to wait till the draws are done...they have enough trouble with that alone

[Muleyslyr]

I think it's good that you cared enough to send a letter.  Like the guy said in his response, they strive to make the regs more consistant and easier to understand.  I'm sure they appreciate the input.  After all, more then likely, everything thing they get is probably negetive. 

Anyway.....good topic.  I personally didn't even know you had to do it.  Never even saw it in the regs.

[saylean]

Thanks for the input guys. Another goofy point, which I didnt include, was the "tooth envelope" they send you asks for "premolar teeth" (plural) not the singlular tooth, which is also an inconsistency. Of course I want the special permits done first as well. :0

Anyway, should be interesting if it is included down the road...that way I can say...hey! that was my idea...

I probably wouldnt have said anything, but I ended up paying 10 bucks and when i called for the tooth envelope, the customer service lady kind of chastized (sp?) me for not doing it sooner.  ;(

[billythekidrock]

I am pretty sure there used to be a deadline printed on the orange submittal pouch or in the regs at one point. I always wait to send mine in at the end of the season, unless they are already out of the skull, then I will send them early.

On the same subject.
In the middle of June I called to find out when the data would be sent out as most of my old ones are dated March and April. The lady on the phone told me that it would be 6-9 months from the date of kill. I told her that I killed one in August and one in September 2006 and that made 9-10 months. She told me that maybe they didn't "have enough teeth to send in" as they send them "in batches". I told her that my boss and my brother also got bears 9 months earlier and that I doubted they were all in the same batch. So she told me that 6-9 months was the standard time. I told her that I had been told by a bio that they send all the teeth at the same time after the season to be aged and that I always got a card by April. So she enters my name into the computer and comes up with a bear I killed in April of 2005. She says, oh, here it is and tells me the age. I told her that the analysis I am waiting on is from 2006. Finally she says, "we are told to say 6-9 months" and admitted that she knew nothing about the program. So I told her I would wait a couple weeks and call back.

On June 25th I sent an email to wildthing@ asking when we will get this info (and some info I wanted on the aerial trapping of bears in Thurston Co.) and here it is 8 days later and still no response. Unless you count the auto reply that stated,
"Hunters are strongly encouraged to apply for special fall hunting permits as early as possible before the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's (WDFW) June 28 deadline to avoid complications that can occur when the system gets overloaded."
and we all know how that went.

[huntnfmly]

Man i had know idea they sent you data I have never gotten anything back.
jim

[billythekidrock]

Well there is really not alot of data, but most important to me is the age of the bear. I find it interesting to know the age of each bear along with the weight and time of year it was killed.

[saylean]

Agreed there Billythekidrock. I am anxious to get back the card to see the age of the bear (I am guess my bear was maybe 2...she wasnt very big at all). Hopefully I will get something back. ;P

[Otto1]

Standing ovation! very nice letter expressing your thoughts!

[jackelope]

I probably wouldnt have said anything, but I ended up paying 10 bucks and when i called for the tooth envelope, the customer service lady kind of chastized (sp?) me for not doing it sooner.  ;(

well i guess that would change my tune and justify the letter...nevermind what i said at first.

[billythekidrock]

Anyone get their cards back yet?

[ICEMAN]

Nope.

[saylean]

Nor I ....tooth was sent in late may or early june...

[billythekidrock]

Nor I ....tooth was sent in late may or early june...

Of this year?
I am still waiting on two from last year.

[saylean]

Nor I ....tooth was sent in late may or early june...

Of this year?
I am still waiting on two from last year.

Correct, May or June of this year I sent it in...(first time I got a bear...I misread the rules {see letter above} hence the delay..)

[bowpredator]

I shot a bear one year and called down to olympia to see if I could get a toot envelope and they had me send them a self addresed stamped envelope so they could mail it back to them. Well I didn't get it back so guess what? they didn't get a tooth. Have even asked a gamewarden if he had one and he didn't carry them. They should carry them in there trucks, or they should give them out with the tag if they want the info. just my 2 cent.

Rodger

[saylean]

"they should give them out with the tag"...


I agree completely.

[billythekidrock]

Yes, I agree. I usually stop by the region 6 office on my way to or from hunting. I pick up a couple every year usually before I kill a bear just to have them.

[GoldTip]

I agree, the envelope should come with the tag.

[bobcat]

On the cow moose my dad got last year (Oct '06) I talked to the biologist and asked him when we would get results back on the teeth we sent in. He told me we would not, something about they don't have the money anymore to send out that information (IIRC.) His suggestion was to wait a year, and then contact him, either by email or phone, and he could give me the age of the moose.

[bobcat]

I agree, the envelope should come with the tag.

They sell a lot of bear tags that never get used, so that would be a lot of wasted envelopes, and wasted money. I would guess those envelopes are rather expensive since they are some type of waterproof/tearproof paper.