Attention WA bear hunters!

[Justin.Medcalf]

WDFW is requesting input from hunters on the 2022 and beyond Spring bear hunts in WA. You don't have to be a resident to have an opinion but the more residents that comment the better obviously. I am a board member for the WA state bowhunters representing the east side of the state. This is a huge topic to those of us that reside east of the cascades because we have very limited spring bear hunting options. The proposal right now is to drop the current tag number to 664 for the spring draw. For reference Oregon and Washington both report about 25k to 30k black bears reside in each state. Oregon had 9495 tags issued last year with Wa only issuing 668 tags! So please take a second and tell Wdfw that we want more bear hunting opportunity!
You can email to: [email protected].
or survey at : https://publicinput.com/H6080
Thanks everybody!
J

 

[Wrench]

I drew the first Aladdin tag they gave out. I shot the 31st bear I looked at after 10 days in the hunt.

 

[Justin.Medcalf]

I drew the first Aladdin tag they gave out. I shot the 31st bear I looked at after 10 days in the hunt.

Yep definitely no shortage of bears around these parts!

 

[DZurf14]

I haven’t had an opportunity to hunt black bear yet a but would have had shot opportunity during what would be bear season almost every year while out in the woods scouting for deer right before season.

Quoting the BHA’s report I would say our biologists agree there are plenty of bears to continue the spring bear hunt. “The science and analysis as presented by Dr. Stephanie Simek, the WDFW Carnivore Section Manager, supports the continuation of this hunt”. That being said there are a LOT of anti-hunters in Western Washington that would love to see bear hunting shut down without realizing the negative impact this would have. Every Washington hunter should get out and support those who take the time and make the effort to control our predator population and keep it in check for the sake of the ecosystem and health of our ungulate population. Please follow Justin’s link above and tell the WDFW to continue the spring bear hunt!

 

[BluMtn]

Hey Justin, you should know by now the the game dept is just looking out for the best interest of the wildlife. As per our king's command we will not have hunting in Washington if he has his way. They have mismanaged everything having to do with our wildlife and I don't mean the college versions either. Between the bears, cougars, and wolves we could hunt those year around and not make a dent in the populations. Heaven forbid we use dogs to hunt bears and cougars, oh my oh my.

 

[Justin.Medcalf]

Just wanted to give an update on this and let everyone know that WDFW has extended the comment period until 5pm on November 1st. The links above in my original post will still take you right to it. During the public comment period in the live meeting with WDFW there was a large consortium of non hunter anti bear hunting folks that made their voices heard. Please take the time to reach out and share your thoughts. It doesn't take long. If we let them start taking away hunting opportunities where does it stop? You don't have to be a resident either!

 

[PaulBunyun]

Thanks for the information, struck out on spring bear tags so far.

 

[couesbitten]

Thanks for the link, poll completed and comment left.

 

[Warmsy]

Done. I looked through some of the comments, and an anti Hunter must not have read the proposal, because she said it was totally unnecessary. Hilarious

 

[Hunthigh1]

Well the antis got us this year. The hunt is cancelled for 2022. It will be up for vote next year…..Chock another one up to complacency amoung hunters. Will we learn to stop eating our own and band together? In my opinion western wa has the highest bear density I’ve experienced in the west. This is not a science management decision but rather a decision based on public opinion. The worst part is the commission is voting against hunters

 

[Justin.Medcalf]

Well the antis got us this year. The hunt is cancelled for 2022. It will be up for vote next year…..Chock another one up to complacency amoung hunters. Will we learn to stop eating our own and band together? In my opinion western wa has the highest bear density I’ve experienced in the west. This is not a science management decision but rather a decision based on public opinion. The worst part is the commission is voting against hunters

Yeah they won this one. WDFW has a lot of work to do when it comes to actually making good decisions for wildlife in Wa. This was a decision based solely on the feelings around predator hunting from Anti hunters. I don't know what else to do but keep trying to get more hunters involved. Part of the issue is we have people that hunt but if a species issue comes up that they don't hunt or care about they don't get involved. We all need to stick together for hunting in general and see if we cant out number the Anti crowd or atleast get close.

 

[The Ri Guy]

Bummer the vote went 4-4, but I honestly expected an anti-hunter blowout.

People need to make some noise that's not just on the Hunting WA forum...

 

[SteveAndTheCrigBoys]

We are working on a list of contacts to raise hell to over there.

Also, note that the Fish and Wildlife Commission are the ones who voted on this. The WDFW presents recommendations and data to inform the Commission's vote. The WDFW's recommendation was that the Spring Bear hunt should be held and is in compliance with maintaining a healthy bear population. Several Commission members took it upon themselves to interpret the WDFW's data to come to a different conclusion and push their own anti-hunting agendas.

The 4-4 vote is also a violation of RCW 77.04.030. A 9th member has not been appointed. This member would be from Eastern Washington and presumably in favor of the hunt. Additionally, two of the members have not been approved by the State Senate but were allowed to vote.

Some light reading for anyone that's interested

https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-11/fwc_nov_15_response__commissioner_questionsv2.pdf

https://nwsportsmanmag.com/wdfw-commissioner-explains-no-vote-on-2022-spring-bear-hunt/

Response from one of the Commission members to a letter: https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,264880.180.html

 

[Clark33]

IF the RCW was violated is there any legal recourse? Like say, BHA file a lawsuit? This is what they are here for, I would like to see them take action to prove my initial thoughts on them wrong.

 

[Wrench]

Given the recent shitstorm the department was caught in over predator management, I'd say a strong PDR/FOIA request barrage should reveal some fun ammunition for a legitimate argument.

 

[Hoodie]

Somehow I missed this until the comment period had ended. That's what I get for trying to stay off the internet for a while.

Please keep the thread active with any future petitions/people to email, etc. If this sort of thing happens in Washington, it's only a matter of time before someone pushes the same agenda in Oregon.

Black bears are not even remotely in trouble in either state.

 

[Saylean]

Sign the Petition

Bring back spring bear hunting for Washington State 2022 season?

www.change.org

we could use every signature available.

Here is the link to sign up to speak during the next commission meeting.

Fish and Wildlife Commission - December 2-3, 2021 Meeting Agenda

Washington Department of Fish and WildlifeFish and Wildlife CommissionDecember 2-3, 2021AgendaVia Zoom WebinarWatch with TVW

wdfw.wa.gov

We as a hunting community need to collectively and without state borders support one another and make noise/contacts during times like this.

FOIA requests have been sent in at least by myself. I can promise you there is more to this than what’s let on and once I get that info I’ll do a file dump for people to review.
Additionally if you’re from Washington contact your legislature and ask them not to confirm Lorna Smith. We must get rid of her.

 

[MJB]

This is what they did in CA about 10years ago

 

[couesbitten]

This is what they did in CA about 10years ago

With Jay Inslee as our Governor and the Puget Sound liberals making decisions for the entire state, Washington is working hard to become crazier than Commiefornia.

I signed the Change.org petition (link in post #17) and would encourage everyone to do the same. Don't be afraid to send the Wildlife Commission an email telling them what you think of their science-less wildlife management.

 

[couesbitten]

I received an email from RMEF today stating that due to all of the backlash from their original decision, the commission is holding a special meeting on January 21st to review the decision. Here's a link to the RMEF page, scroll down and click on the "take action" button, which will open up a new window. Please take a moment to add your information to the preformatted letter and send it to the commissioners to keep the heat on them.

Take Action

Effortlessly contact your state and federal lawmakers to make your voice heard on issues that impact wildlife and elk country.

www.rmef.org