Fish and Wildlife Commision Meeting 12/3

[Machias]

The problem with having defined "goal posts" is they will just move the goal post anytime it suits them.  I guess I will predator hunt in the NW and deer hunt back in the midwest every year.  Won't be many years before hunting will be a shadow of what it once was.  We have NO tools to deal with the wolf population when it hits 15, 20, 30, 50 bps.  Hunting alone will not control their numbers, ID and MT have proven that already.  We just can't seem to look past eastern WA and see what they have been experiencing for years.  In those two states they had the majoriaty of resident vocally opposing the wolves, that will not be the case here in WA.

[huntrights]

Washington Wolf Conservation and Management Plan Accepted by Commissioners with Amendments

The WDFW Commissioners voted to accept the Washington Wolf Conservation and Management Plan with amendments that were proposed at the meeting.  I will not try to paraphrase the amendments; it would be best for those interested to read the actual amendments when they are available to view.  Multiple Commissioners indicated that the plan, with the amendments, will give the WDFW flexibility to respond to issues such as threats to ungulate populations and livestock.  They also indicated that the plan will be a ”Living” document that should support adaptive management of the wolf population; that is, the plan can be changed as the situation changes in reality.  The Commissioners appeared very cognizant of the issues experienced in other states as wolf populations were allowed to grow beyond target levels. 

Much of the controversy seems to center around a sustainable wolf population being in place in the State of Washington.  That said; the sooner target wolf levels are achieved, the sooner the process can be started to downgrade the threatened or endangered status (delist); this will allow the WDFW more flexibility in appropriate management of the species.  As was mentioned at the meeting, financial and human resources are an issue when allocating these resources to actually obtain accurate wolf counts and numbers of breeding pairs in the various zones.  My personal opinion is that the WDFW resource issue will not be resolved anytime soon; there does not appear to be enough money or qualified people on staff to adequately monitor the wolves.

There is a wolf sightings post in this forum.  I do not know how much of an official link there is to the WDFW, but I would propose that some official link or agreement be made with WDFW; I believe they could use the help.  If hunters, ranchers, and others in areas where the wolves are expanding can photograph the wolves, and/or identify where their dens are, then the WDFW wolf specialist(s) can be taken to the exact locations where there is undisputable evidence of the wolves and/or breeding pairs.  I am concerned that if the WDFW monitors the wolf population and breeding pair status alone, using their limited resources, their assessment may be a significant underestimate of how many wolves and breeding pairs there actually are.  My point is: I believe we should find some way to work with the WDFW to ensure the state wolf population and number of breeding pairs is assessed as accurately as possible.

As always, efforts should be unified.  I believe there are many national and state organizations that might be able to help coordinate such an effort to help the WDFW.  I don’t believe it would be in the best interest of our ungulate populations, livestock ranches, or rural communities to have official wolf counts show numbers that might tend to be less than the actual number of wolves.  Those of you that have connections with organizations such as the RMEF, Hunter’s Heritage Council, Washingtonians for Wildlife Conservation, Safari Club International, Washington for Wildlife, and Big Game Forever, to name a few, might consider proposing such partnerships with state game management departments.  I believe if we work together, positive results are more likely.


Here's the link to the WDFW news release:

http://wdfw.wa.gov/news/release.php?id=dec0311a

[bearpaw]

very well written, my thoughts too....

[buckfvr]

No matter what......I do not believe WDFW will be forthcoming with accurate information, or take on any kind of a partnership with organizations who ultimately oppose them in their goals.

I do not believe they are being truthfull. I believe this was a done deal weeks ago, and I believe all the commissioners knew it. 

Why no ammendmant for personal; protection   It will be a few short years and this will be escalating totally out of control, and they will continue to make mistakes as they attempt to appease their political supporters.  We are odd man out.  There is no up side to this,  there is nothing good that can come from this. 

We , the license holders, need to have a voice that is taken seriously.  They just talk circles and always come back to their own agenda.  I still say, get rid of every last one of the lame *censored*s.....top to bottom, including commissioners.

[mulehunter]

Its not easy when everyone want go hunt next fall,  Then if we can make WDFW to listen to US.  We can start make flyer spread loud and stand front cabelas, sportco, many hunt stores. tell whole to STOP PAY TAGS. Just ONE YEAR.  they lost 30 million dollar.      Only once.  So they can change BP to 6.    I wish everyone will agree together.  I doubt it anyway.

[KillBilly]

Scott, I will gladlyrefrain from purchasing any license or tags next year. I'm with ya on that one....

[bullcanyon]

Couple buddies and I are considering not buying a license next season. I actually emailed the wdfw thursday and that was mentioned. Especially if they go state wide elk tag. Not dealing with the over run. I'll go back to montana.

[The Weazle]

Have a nice trip to Montana.  Two or three guys not buying a license won't do squat.

[jager]

I agree, even 1000 people not buying a license probably wouldn't matter...I mean they plan on making an extra million or so on the multi season tags this year. 
It's too bad really. I seriously wish there was someone that could explain how to fix the WDFW...legally   

[KillBilly]

Have a nice trip to Montana.  Two or three guys not buying a license won't do squat.

And just what is it that you have done? Share that with us please.

[wraithen]

Guys, I'm not sure a boycott on buying tags would help. I think the wdfw is forward looking enough to figure out how to fix that really quickly. They would just double the fees the next year. They'll figure out how to nickel and dime extras on every tag until we would have to pay the equivalent of out of state tags just to hunt. I foresee that starting to happen anyway once the population gets to the desired bp's. How many out of state tags has idaho lost? And they are actually trying to help the ranchers hunters etc. wdfw would simply raise revenue some other way. Once the anti's get their way they will just support more taxes to go into improving granola trails. Ten years after that maybe all the anti's will be eaten and moved to fight the battle somewhere else. I vote easten WA just break off from western WA. Ppl mention that they won't get anymore money from olympia. I'm pretty confident that eastern WA pays the state more than they receive though. It's like the states that want federal $'s for projects. There are actually less states carrying the burden of others. People seem to think that the money comes from thin air. 

[FALFire]

Get ready for a ZERO TOLERANCE policy on any and all violations while out hunting and fishing. They will find a way to screw everyone out in the field. The heat will be on throughout this season and  all upcoming seasons. Buckle your seat belts, be certain those guns are unloaded in vehicles, wear your hunter orange when required and watch your speed on any back road, don't give them any reason to stop and contact you while hunting. If tags and license fees drop off, they will fully enforce every law at their disposal to play catch up. I've worked on the wolf pack approach when we had problems with gangs and such, to them we are nothing more than a bank and they will make use of every withdrawal possible when you are stopped and contacted.

[JimmyHoffa]

I thought the fines would go to courts and not the WDFW.  Are there certain ones they could specifically write that would make up the difference to WDFW?

[wraithen]

They'd just shuffle money from one fund to another.

[leed]

The only impact we can have on the Department is to quit all our VOLUNTEER HOURS.  I've said it once before, they DEPEND on volunteers in so many ways.  However, that's the department, the Commisoners are the problem.  I say Post all their names on a bill board and tell everyone they and they alone are responsible for this mess.  15 BP's, that's INSANE!