WA 2022 Spring Bear Hunting Suspended. Is it Lost for Good?

[jryoung]

Holy cow, we're actually going to get our season back! At least for one more year...

I'm not surprised I know things are always far more complicated than they seem, but it was interesting to hear some of the warnings from Commissioner Baker. Seems the the Commission is in a very tough spot right now and they are very much at risk like in CA.....if HSUS/CBD types don't get their way they are going to go through the legislature and have it codified.

 

[Irrelevant]

I'm not surprised I know things are always far more complicated than they seem, but it was interesting to hear some of the warnings from Commissioner Baker. Seems the the Commission is in a very tough spot right now and they are very much at risk like in CA.....if HSUS/CBD types don't get their way they are going to go through the legislature and have it codified.

Yes. I would actually support keeping Baker on the commission even if she votes against my hunting interests from time to time. She has some wisdom. If the legislature does away with the commission sportsmen will take it in the shorts.

But McIssac had, imo, the best counter argument. Uncertainty is not a reason to cancel a harvest opportunity, that there are all kinds of uncertainties around fishing and crabbing, but until there is actual evidence that over harvest or populations are a risk, the dept doesn't close those opportunities.

Interesting to hear Chair Carpenter claim to be pro-hunting while also voting against this season twice.

Ms Smith needs to go away, and I fear who is coming in next. Because the anti-contingent was clearly in on it, while the others hadn't heard anything.

 

[RG_Adult_Onset_Hunter]

If you want to get your season back ACT now and register to comment on the March 11th meeting about the rule change to reinstate the hunt.

The following link will you to the commision page to do that. There are also links within that page to leave comments now if you don't have time to make the meeting. Please at least do that. Hunter voices are the minority hear, so we need to be more engaged than the other side.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/commission/meetings/2022/11march2022-fwc-agenda

 

[Irrelevant]

WA’s controversial spring black bear hunt could be revived. Here’s how

The controversial spring bear hunt wasn't approved by a state commission last year. But now a second vote is planned that could revive the 2022 hunt.

www.seattletimes.com

Tomorrow's the big day.

 

[Irrelevant]

Oh man. Tim Ragen... not good.

Tim Ragen, Ph.D., Anacortes​

Tim Ragen, WDFW Commission
(Western Washington position, Skagit County)

Occupation: Retired, former executive director of the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission

Current Term: January 24, 2022 - December 31, 2024

Tim Ragen earned a Ph.D. in oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, California in 1990. He is a marine mammal biologist by training, and his dissertation focused on both field and modeling studies of the northern fur seal. After earning his degree he completed a National Research Council Associateship at the U.S. National Marine Mammal Laboratory, where he continued modeling studies of the northern fur seal. In 1991 he joined the Honolulu Laboratory of the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, where he worked as an analyst in the Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Program. In 1997 he took a management position as the Steller Sea Lion Recovery Coordinator for the Alaska Region, National Marine Fisheries Service. There his work focused primarily on indirect interactions between the endangered Steller sea lion and the Alaska groundfish fisheries. In 2000 he moved to Washington, D.C., to serve as Scientific Program Director for the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission. In 2006 he was appointed the Commission’s Executive Director.

He retired from that position in June 2013 and he and his wife live in Anacortes, WA. Since retiring Tim taught several courses at Western Washington University on environmental risk analysis. He also served as a member of NOAA task forces on pinniped predation on salmonids in the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. Tim’s career and that of his wife have taken them to a variety of regions in the U.S. and the world. But when it came to retirement, they both wanted to return to Washington State. They have been outdoors people since their youth, climbing, hiking, cross-country skiing, and simply taking in the beauty of this great state.

 

[Irrelevant]

Even worse..."If we do not have a spring hunt, we will not have dead bears" I don't even know where to start with that comment.

Melanie Rowland, J.D., Twisp​

Melanie Rowland, WDFW Commission
(At-Large position, Okanogan County)
Occupation: Retired, environmental attorney, National Marine Fisheries Service Office of General Counsel
Current Term: January 24, 2022 - December 31, 2026

Melanie J. Rowland has lived in Washington and enjoyed its stunning natural landscapes since the 1970's. She served in the Northwest Regional Office of General Counsel for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), where she advised the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on matters pertaining to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and other federal environmental laws. While at NOAA she was a member of the NMFS national working group on the effects of climate change on marine species and co-authored several publications on this topic. Since retiring from NOAA, she has volunteered as a member of the board and legal counsel for the Methow Valley Citizens Council.

Prior to her service with NOAA, Commissioner Rowland was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Washington’s Institute for Environmental Studies and the Law School, where she co-authored the country’s leading wildlife law treatise and taught courses in conservation biology and wildlife law. Previously, she served as Senior Counsel for The Wilderness Society, and as Assistant Dean at the University of Washington and the University of Puget Sound law schools. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Commissioner Rowland and her husband live in Twisp. They enjoy hiking, birding, and cross-country skiing in the beautiful Methow Valley. They also enjoy sea kayaking on the coasts of Washington, BC, and Alaska. She is an avid student of wildlife track and sign and is certified by CyberTracker.

 

[Irrelevant]

It is incredibly unfortunate that the vast majority of pro and con comments today fall on strict gender lines.

 

[Irrelevant]

Commission decides on spring black bear rule-making, commercial shellfish rules, and land transactions, elects Chair

OLYMPIA – The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission made decisions on spring black bear rule-making, commercial shellfish rules, land transactions, and elected Barbara Baker as Chair during its March 17-19 virtual meeting.

wdfw.wa.gov

In the end, they killed it. No more spring bear.

 

[kwyeewyk]

Commission decides on spring black bear rule-making, commercial shellfish rules, and land transactions, elects Chair

OLYMPIA – The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission made decisions on spring black bear rule-making, commercial shellfish rules, land transactions, and elected Barbara Baker as Chair during its March 17-19 virtual meeting.

wdfw.wa.gov

In the end, they killed it. No more spring bear.

Do you know who voted against it?

 

[Irrelevant]

Do you know who voted against it?

Baker, Smith, and all three of the new ones Regan, Rowland, and Lehmkuhl (the most disappointing).

 

[Derek44]

Ugh. So disappointing.

 

[rtraverdavis]

Complete and utter bullshit. That is not wildlife management.

“Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) staff will assess the path forward for offering future spring black bear hunting opportunity, per Commission direction provided on January 21.”

Does this mean that the spring bear hunt could be reinstated in the future? Is there any hope of this with the political stacking of the deck on the commission? I feel awful for you Washington guys and worry about something like this happening in Oregon. Wish I would have done more than just email the WA commissioners now…

 

[Irrelevant]

Complete and utter bullshit. That is not wildlife management.

“Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) staff will assess the path forward for offering future spring black bear hunting opportunity, per Commission direction provided on January 21.”

Does this mean that the spring bear hunt could be reinstated in the future? Is there any hope of this with the political stacking of the deck on the commission? I feel awful for you Washington guys and worry about something like this happening in Oregon. Wish I would have done more than just email the WA commissioners now…

There was nothing to be done. It was politically motivated at the Gov level. They will almost certainly outline all the data necessary to reinstate the hunt, but there's almost certainly not enough money to support that.

This is just the beginning I bet all predator hunting is eliminated in 5 years.

Spring Bear Hunting Season Shut Down Again in Washington State

Much to the dismay of hunters and conservationists across the country, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Commission voted once again to pull the plug on the state’s long-running spring bear season. The 5-4 decision, which came during a meeting of the WDFW Commission on...

www.themeateater.com

 

[Irrelevant]

Spring Bear is only the Beginning

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is the voice for our wild public lands, waters and wildlife.

www.backcountryhunters.org

 

[MarvB]

“Now is the time for all passionate sportsmen and sportswomen to stay informed and advocate around these issues. It’s not hyperbole to assert that Washington’s hunters may be dealing with an existential threat to opportunity through this commission.”

Holds true no matter WHERE you live/hunt unfortunately.

 

[pjohnson]

I have never been a big donator beyond membership fees but I put a few different dontations in trying to keep the Spring hunt, just sad the way it all played out.

 

[338BearHunter]

Read this entire thread and am saddened at what has happened to you Washington hunters. I hope you can somehow turn it around.

In Maine, the HSUS carpetbaggers tried twice to kill bear baiting, in 2004 and 2014 through a special vote and failed. I'm concerned they'll try again or worse, try some stunt like they did in WA bypassing the lawmakers.

 

[Irrelevant]

Interesting that the Commission had a workshop to discuss the WDFW mandates and the way in which commissioners need to interact with each other.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-07/20220725%20FWC%20May%2018-19%20Final%20Draft%20Notes.pdf

I have to think this all stemmed from the spring bear bruhaha

 

[SAJ-99]

Interesting that the Commission had a workshop to discuss the WDFW mandates and the way in which commissioners need to interact with each other.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-07/20220725%20FWC%20May%2018-19%20Final%20Draft%20Notes.pdf

I have to think this all stemmed from the spring bear bruhaha

I’ve been in this state for a year and have observed nothing but disfunction from the group. I guess at least they recognize that and are trying to address.

 

[Irrelevant]

Lost for good.

https://nwsportsmanmag.com/wdfw-commission-kills-spring-bear-hunt-as-known/