Fish and Wildlife Commission adopts plan to conserve and manage gray wolves

[KillBilly]

You should also take into consideration that the commission seats are not permanent and the people will be changing all the time. They have listened and I believe they let politics and beauracy override good judgement. The wolf lovers numbers are too great for us to match because we won't stand in strength like they do. In addition they rally folks all over the U.S. to send letters in to the Washington Commission. Folks that will never see a Wolf but think they are cuddly or just plain want to stop hunting all together.

On the flip side I can't believe the Department wants the Herds decimated because they would be out of jobs and money to manage anything but a few laying hens.

More letters to the Commission won't make a difference. Letters to the Governor might and letters to the Feds might. I think that only the Governor could overide the decision. Given that we are coming into an election year I doubt that she would care and on top of that we cannot get the candidates to answer a few simple questions.

I don't have the answer but I will not buy any license or tags next year....

[CedarPants]

We have the right to peaceful protest don't we?  Nearly 10,000 members on Hunt-WA, correct?  That'd be a lot of voices on Gregoire's doorstep if organized properly with the right message.

Question is, would we be able to unite as a group and accomplish this?  I have my doubts.  Every time we get angry about something and start discussing how to address it, the discussion fizzles out when we start talking about actually DOING something about it.  Always.

[Hunting7mm]

We need to keep hunting washington.  This is our state and to keep it our state we must be responsible sportsman.  I for one will continue to hunt.  I will not give antis the oppurtunity to take my gun rights and stop hunting in washington.  I will try and beat the antis at there own game.  I agree we must educate more communities and get more involvement from all hunters and sportsman. 

[Hunting7mm]

I like the way you think.  I totally agree!!!!!! 

We have the right to peaceful protest don't we?  Nearly 10,000 members on Hunt-WA, correct?  That'd be a lot of voices on Gregoire's doorstep if organized properly with the right message.

Question is, would we be able to unite as a group and accomplish this?  I have my doubts.  Every time we get angry about something and start discussing how to address it, the discussion fizzles out when we start talking about actually DOING something about it.  Always.

[mulehunter]

We thank all people from other state who fought thur many years.  We will learn their experiences and fight our own for our state Wa.  We all need collect whole evidences that caused in this state and we all will keep fight agasint Them every day week month year.  We must stand together with all good hunters friend here and other states..   


 http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?desktop_uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DUWo9yNLwQxk&v=UWo9yNLwQxk&gl=US

[Miles]

especially this part:  "The main WDFW webpage is becoming less about hunting every year, this needs to change"

Just look at their Vision:  "Conservation of Washington’s fish and wildlife resources and ecosystems" .... and just below that:  "WDFW defines “Conservation” as: Protection, preservation, management, or restoration of natural environments and the ecological communities that inhabit them; including management of human use for public benefit and sustainable social and economic needs"

They might as well just put "for our vision, please see www.conservationnorthwest.com"

Let's play a little game...

You (Cedarpants) are a new employee for the WDFW and because of your absolute "awesomeness", you have been tasked with creating a "new" vision for the WDFW. 

Let's hear it.

[CedarPants]

especially this part:  "The main WDFW webpage is becoming less about hunting every year, this needs to change"

Just look at their Vision:  "Conservation of Washington’s fish and wildlife resources and ecosystems" .... and just below that:  "WDFW defines “Conservation” as: Protection, preservation, management, or restoration of natural environments and the ecological communities that inhabit them; including management of human use for public benefit and sustainable social and economic needs"

They might as well just put "for our vision, please see www.conservationnorthwest.com"

Let's play a little game...

You (Cedarpants) are a new employee for the WDFW and because of your absolute "awesomeness", you have been tasked with creating a "new" vision for the WDFW. 

Let's hear it.

I honestly don't think the wheel needs to be re-invented here.  More to the point, I believe its a matter of getting back to basics and focusing on the roots of the relationship between a game agency and sportsmen/women.

We only need to look a mere 75 miles east of Washington to see an example of a game agency that is designed with sportsmen/women in mind.  Take a look at Montana's mission, vision, and goals.  I've highlighted some key points:

Our Mission
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, through its employees and citizen commission, provides for the stewardship of the fish, wildlife, parks, and recreational resources of Montana, while contributing to the quality of life for present and future generations.

Vision for the 21st Century
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will provide the leadership necessary to create a commitment in the hearts and minds of people to ensure that, in our second century, and in partnership with many others, we will sustain our diverse fish, wildlife, and parks resources and the quality recreational opportunities that are essential to a high quality of life for Montanans and our guests.

Guiding Principles
We understand that serving the people of Montana to achieve this vision is both a privilege and a responsibility. We also understand that we cannot achieve our vision alone. The following principles will guide FWP:

•We will maintain the long-term viability of Montana's natural, cultural, and recreational resources.
•We will actively involve people in decisions that affect them; help people to participate by providing them with credible and objective information; and, develop programs with a clear understanding of public expectations for FWP service.
•We will serve as an advocate for responsible management and for equitable allocation of public use of the limited resources which we are entrusted to manage.
•We will manage fish and wildlife resources with pride in Montana's hunting and angling heritage.
•We will create and strengthen working partnerships with individuals, organized groups, and other natural, historic, and cultural resource management agencies.
•We will use innovation and technology to improve our services.

Goals
Goal A: Create a work environment where priorities are clear; the decision-making process is efficient and effective; and, where employees feel a sense of accountability, value, and satisfaction in their achievements and their contributions to the agency mission.
•FWP will effectively and efficiently utilize our human and financial resources, while fulfilling our role in natural and cultural resource issues.
•FWP will complete strategic and six-year plans for fish, wildlife, and parks programs to clarify public expectations, allocate resources and define a common direction for FWP and our partners.
•FWP will foster personal and professional growth of employees by developing and using meaningful employee agreements and performance standards.
•FWP will create and maintain a professional, diverse, and responsive workforce by improving employee recruitment, selection, and career development.

Goal B: Provide quality opportunities for public appreciation and enjoyment of fish, wildlife, and parks resources.
•FWP management decisions will equitably balance the interests of hunters, anglers and other outdoor recreationists, visitors to historic sites, landowners, the general public and the needs of Montana's fish, wildlife, and parks resources.
•FWP will manage its wildlife program to balance game damage, human/wildlife conflicts and landowner/recreations conflicts with the perpetuation and protection of wildlife populations.
•FWP management decisions recognize that Montana's agricultural community is integral to the management of Montana's fish and wildlife populations and the habitats that support them.
•FWP will provide diverse and equitable opportunities for people to experience a variety of outdoor recreation and historic and cultural experiences on public lands and in cooperation with private landowners.
•FWP will provide quality services for people who use Montana state parks.
•FWP will fairly and equitably enforce all regulations and maintain public safety at FWP sites.

Goal C: Maintain and enhance the health of Montana's natural environment and the vitality of our fish, wildlife, cultural, and historic resources through the 21st century.
•FWP programs will be consistent with ecologically sound and sustainable practices and managed within funding capabilities.
•FWP will provide and support programs to conserve and enhance high quality aquatic habitat and protect native aquatic species.
•FWP will provide and support programs to conserve and enhance Montana's terrestrial ecosystems and the diversity of species inhabiting them.
•FWP will provide and support programs for the long-term protection and enhancement of Montana's cultural, historic, prehistoric, and natural resources.
Goal D: Emphasize education, communication, and responsible behavior to afford citizens the opportunity to better understand and participate in the decision-making process that sustain our natural, recreational, and cultural resources for future generations.
•FWP will help Montana citizens to understand and participate in FWP's decision-making processes.
•FWP will provide regulations, program information, and educational materials that are accurate, reliable, and easy for people to use and understand.
•FWP will help people to be aware of and appreciate Montana's fish, wildlife, cultural, historic, and natural resources.
•FWP will provide family-oriented educational opportunities to help all ages learn to participate in and enjoy Montana's many and varied outdoor recreation opportunities.
•FWP will encourage high standards of outdoor behavior by recreationists who participate in FWP regulated activities.

Now, here is WDFW's mission, vision, and goals:

Mission and Goals

Our Mission
To preserve, protect and perpetuate fish, wildlife and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish and wildlife recreational and commercial opportunities.

Vision
Conservation of Washington’s fish and wildlife resources and ecosystems.

WDFW defines “Conservation” as:
Protection, preservation, management, or restoration of natural environments and the ecological communities that inhabit them; including management of human use for public benefit and sustainable social and economic needs.
(Adapted from The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2005)

Department Goals
To achieve its mission, WDFW will continue to focus its activities on the following four goals:
I.Conserve and protect native fish and wildlife
II.Provide sustainable fishing, hunting and other wildlife-related recreational experiences.
III.Use sound business practices, deliver high-quality customer service.
IV.Maintain a highly skilled and motivated workforce.

Quite the difference in scope and audience.  WDFW is extremely minimal in what they tell us they are all about, and they leave a lot of room for interpretation as to what they are really trying to accomplish.  Their Mission Statement alone says it all: "To preserve, protect and perpetuate fish, wildlife and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish and wildlife recreational and commercial opportunities".  Well, what is a sustainable recreational opportunity?  To me, they have shown that as long as they can provide SOME hunting here and there, they get to say they are sustaining recreational opportunities.  Their mission, vision, and goals have absolutely nothing to do with our heritage and nothing at all to do with keeping us informed and involved.

So i guess to answer your question Miles, I would take my awesomeness as a new WDFW employee and I would create a mandate that we get back to our roots and immediately implement a mission, vision, and set of goals similar to those in Montana.

[wraithen]

 

They may also want to realize that they are a part of the government. Not a business. Sounds more like the garbage a corporation puts out when it wants to seem like they are saying something without saying something.

[high country]

Cedar, that is a great post.

[CedarPants]

I've also posted another thread detailing the Performance Agreement between the Fish and Wildlife Commission and Director Phillip Anderson.  In addition to updating WDFW's mission, vision, and goals, I would suggest that the terms of this agreement be strictly adhered to and that the Director be held 100% accountable.

A few highlights from the current Performance Agreement that I personally feel are not being upheld by Anderson:

     - Credible and objective research is needed to support reasoned and defensible decision-making.  It is not acceptable to base priority management decisions on outdated, unverifiable information or personal opinion (was this mandate even remotely considered by Anderson when it came to the wolf plan?)

     - Enhancement of recreational opportunities is among the highest priorities for the agency.  A dedicated effort should be made to explore options for enhancing recreational opportunities. (Has Anderson made ANY effort to enhance ANYTHING for sportsmen/women?)

     - Hunting and fishing are traditional activities that through license and permit sales sustain the agency and its programs.  Services should be provided to hunters and fishers commensurate with the revenues received from these constituents. (Really, you mean Anderson is supposed to be seeing to it that the money we spend on licenses goes to providing us with services and opportunity?  Don't see that currently happening)

     -  The Director must lay the foundation for a stronger and more effective and respected agency.  (Failure here is rather obvious)

     -  The Director must demonstrate expertise in management techniques that effectively hold employees accountable (Failure here is rather obvious)

     -  The Director is expected to have a personal manner that works well with constituents from all backgrounds.  He must approach his authorities and responsibilities with humility and open-mindedness.  He is expected to display an attitude that inspires others to join in collaborative processes, because they are confident of being treated fairly. (Complete and utter failure here is rather obvious).

     -  The Director is expected to have a working understanding of scientific basis for resource management.  He is expected to have a working understanding of scientific analyses and quantitative methods used (Anderson's go to theory with wolves has been 'we simply don't have the data to report on that and can't address it at this time).

     -  The Director is expected to provide sufficient support to the Commission so the Commission can successfully fulfill its role in providing policy leadership for the department

In my opinion, Anderson long ago didn't care to remember what he was put in charge of.  Either that or he knew the direction he wanted to go and that nobody would stand in his way

[bearmanric]

Look here to see what our game has to look fowward to. Getting eated alive. Rick

Lobo Watch

http://www.facebook.com/aol#!/pages/Lobo-Watch/213339158676640

[Helix]

It will probably take a few high profile wolf attacks on politically connected children before the anti's lose any of their advantage.  Not that I'm hoping that happens.  Quite the opposite I don't wish harm on anyone but right now all the harm is being done to the sportsman and the land/business owner that depends on the hunting economy. 

Right now the media portrays any negative wolf encounter as the fault of the human that was confronted by the wolf.  Usually that they "invaded the wolf's natural habitat..."  the Media would have to be turned to our side before the tide could hope to be turned.  I just don't see that happening since the media is completley sold out to the progressive liberal agenda of ending hunting and gun rights. 

It would be nice if the people pushing the harm on us had to take an equal share of it.  So then it only seems fair:  introduce wolves to Downtown Seattle and Everett.  See how fast they get "managed."

[FC]

Well hopefully it ends up being someone who is responsible for this crap that gets their dog or kids ate first...

[wraithen]

The anti's would defend the wolf until their last breath. Even as the wolf snapped their airway shut they would still be blabbing about how awesome the wolf is. I don't think the wolves could weed out the anti's fast enough to help us. 

[huntrights]

I posted this in one of the other threads.  I believe we, as sportsmen with a vested interest in our ungulate populations and the future of hunting, should pursue taking an active role in working with the WDFW to ensure they do not underestimate wolf populations or the number of breeding pairs in the zones they have defined.  In my opinion, one or two WDFW biologists and/or wolf specialists cannot possibly accurately assess the numbers of wolves in this state; I believe they will need help.  The wolves are here and that fact most likely is not going to change.  I believe it would be a benefit to our ungulate populations, ranchers, and the hunters in this state to develop a working partnership with the WDFW to obtain accurate wolf counts as quickly as possible.  I believe this type of effort will expedite active and appropriate management of the wolf populations so the state of Washington doesn’t experience the same extreme negative impact that wolves bestowed on our neighboring states.  If we, as conscientious sportsmen, can work with the WDFW in this way, perhaps we can also reestablish the hunter-WDFW relationship that should exist.



"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 "