WDFW Game Management Advisory Council Positions

[bbarnes]

Mark smith was selected a great choice.

[HntnFsh]

Mark smith was selected a great choice.

Good to hear!

[NOCK NOCK]

Hmmmm I have not received any emails, yay or nay 

[idahohuntr]

I hope they get a good group.  I served on this group for a number of years, but ultimately resigned when I it became clear what a waste of time it had become. Same bunch of topics, no progress or meaningful actions...round and round it went. 

[Skyvalhunter]

Probably hasn't changed much. Nothing accomplished.

[justyhntr]

Probably hasn't changed much. Nothing accomplished.

It is pretty much exactly what idahohuntr said, hasn't changed much. Conversation is usually dominated with discussion of wolves. Never seem to get to other issues.

[Bango skank]

Probably hasn't changed much. Nothing accomplished.

It is pretty much exactly what idahohuntr said, hasn't changed much. Conversation is usually dominated with discussion of wolves. Never seem to get to other issues.

Well, wolves are a serious problem.  But really, at least for now, i think lions and bears are a bigger problem, simply because there are so many more of them.  And lion and bear changes are easier to get done.  We got fall bear fixed.  We got hosed on spring bear but we need to keep pushing the issue.  With a new cougar proposal being drafted, and set to be submitted this spring, everybody needs to be hammering at wdfw for increased cougar hunting.  Yes wolves are certainly a problem, and we cant just ignore it and be silent about it, but when thats all people ever bitch about to the point that nobody is addressing our other major predator issues, thats no good.

[Nwgunner]

I was surprisingly selected this year.  I am an adult onset hunter (5 years) and made sure they new that.  They told me that they were looking for a diverse group covering all possible user bases.
I don't comment much on the forum but I do regularly follow.
 @idahohuntr could you pm me with your experiences and what I can expect?

[Special T]

I was surprisingly selected this year.  I am an adult onset hunter (5 years) and made sure they new that.  They told me that they were looking for a diverse group covering all possible user bases.
I don't comment much on the forum but I do regularly follow.
 @idahohuntr could you pm me with your experiences and what I can expect?

I'm guessing they wanted you because of this fact. Everyone  loves to promote youth hunts but that is a long term investment. Adult new hunters in the 20-30 year range are super important to the department. What ever they can do to add more folks to the rolls asap they are interested in.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Skyvalhunter]

Congrats on your selection

[Fishmaker57]

Yes, congrats on being selected, hopefully you can help guide this committee in the right direction for all Washington hunters. A few things you might want to consider while serving: after spending over 20 years within WDFW (and have since moved on), the agency seems to have forgotten how to base decisions involving wildlife.....using best available science! These are the only decisions you can defend, and used to be the agency motto. I understand that the director has to play in the political arena, but making decisions for wildlife based on political pressures is how we have gotten where we are today.....far less wildlife and far too many predators. Yes, wolves are a hot button issue, but bears and cougars are decimating our deer and elk populations. The timber companies spraying all the clear-cuts on the west side have killed off most of the blacktail deer. While the agency has little power over tribal hunting, they do have the power to enforce conservation closures....but rarely do for wildlife (mostly happens with fish).

As for us on the east side, currently the agency estimates the mule deer population at 47,000. Those of us who have hunted here for the past 30 years, and actually get out of our chairs and get in the woods, know that is a pipe dream. A question I would ask (if in your shoes), how does the agency justify purchasing mule deer winter range, with tax payer dollars, and then immediately lease it out for cattle grazing?

Just my 

Good luck!

[Skyvalhunter]

I would remind the advisory committee of the WDFW mission statement time and time again