WA Bear proposal, support needed!

[375H&H]

No, wdfw does not have the legal authority to reinstate hound hunting.

 

[375H&H]

In my area berries are pretty much dried up by sep 1st. But with an august opener, huckleberries and service berries will be prime.

Yes, where we hunted in NE Washington that was usually the case, but some years they stayed on into October, and man did that change things.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Not hard. One of the easiest things to draw aside from multi deer. People typically draw spring bear with 3-5 pts

Holy smokes... for a bear tag 3-5 years...

 

[Dunning Kruger]

Holy smokes... for a bear tag 3-5 years...

Yeah, i mean fall bear is otc, but spring bear should be too.

 

[375H&H]

Holy smokes... for a bear tag 3-5 years...

Hey that’s way sooner than Colorado

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Pretty telling that in both CO and WA you can get 2 bear tags... but their isn't a spring season in one... and barely a spring season? in the other.

Seems like we are managing feelings rather than animals.

 

[375H&H]

Pretty telling that in both CO and WA you can get 2 bear tags... but their isn't a spring season in one... and barely a spring season? in the other.

Seems like we are managing feelings rather than animals.

I’ve never understood why spring bear isn’t OTC in Washington as the amount of damage bears do in the spring peeling trees and resources spent on depredation hunts used to be unreal. It might still be but I haven’t been involved in the depredation hunts for a while.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

I’ve never understood why spring bear isn’t OTC in Washington as the amount of damage bears do in the spring peeling trees and resources spent on depredation hunts used to be unreal. It might still be but I haven’t been involved in the depredation hunts for a while.

Tell me about it... I know one sheep herder in CO got over 80 dep permits in '17... unreal

 

[Dunning Kruger]

Tell me about it... I know one sheep herder in CO got over 80 dep permits in '17... unreal

Guy i know that lives nearby, a big boar came in and killed all 4 of his goats. Caught him in the act.

 

[Irrelevant]

How hard is it to draw? I would love to try a give a go at a Washington spring bear hunt.

3-4 years

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

So for WA spring bear application you have to pay $110.50 as a non-resident to apply then $222.00 for the license? So like $553.5 all in to get a license?

 

[Dunning Kruger]

So for WA spring bear application you have to pay $110.50 as a non-resident to apply then $222.00 for the license? So like $553.5 all in to get a license?

Yeah, washington actively discourages non residents in a couple ways. One is by making non resident apps and otc hunts ridiculously expensive, another is grossly mismanaging our game populations.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Yeah, washington actively discourages non residents in a couple ways. One is by making non resident apps and otc hunts ridiculously expensive, another is grossly mismanaging our game populations.

Yeah Co has decided giving NR half our tags is the best approach... interesting how every state is different in it's own way.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

So for WA spring bear application you have to pay $110.50 as a non-resident to apply then $222.00 for the license? So like $553.5 all in to get a license?

Idaho is a better deal.

 

[Dunning Kruger]

I’ve never understood why spring bear isn’t OTC in Washington as the amount of damage bears do in the spring peeling trees and resources spent on depredation hunts used to be unreal. It might still be but I haven’t been involved in the depredation hunts for a while.

One reason its not otc is because spring permit apps bring in more money, and they dont want to lose that. There are ways around that, and im trying to convince them. Another reason is that spring bear hunts get a lot of push back from anti hunters. Theyd pitch a fit if we tried to go otc. They think sows with cubs will be wholesale slaughtered in the spring. But i really dont see the difference between somebody accidentally shooting a sow with cubs in may or june, vs in august or september. Either way, those cubs are screwed. Just like they wont give us spring bear hunts in grizzly recovery areas. Ive never understood the logic in that either. We can hunt bears in grizz zones in the fall. Do they think people will mistake a grizz for a blackie in the spring, but not in the fall? Makes no sense.

 

[Dunning Kruger]

Idaho is a better deal.

Absolutely. If i dont draw wa spring bear next year, ill just head east and do otc spring bear in the panhandle. Hoping ill draw wa next year though, havent drawn since 2016, so ill have 4 pts next year.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

Absolutely. If i dont draw wa spring bear next year, ill just head east and do otc spring bear in the panhandle. Hoping ill draw wa next year though, havent drawn since 2016, so ill have 4 pts next year.

Hopefully the quotas will be adjusted quite liberally. Spring bear should be a two point draw, max.

 

[Dunning Kruger]

Hopefully the quotas will be adjusted quite liberally. Spring bear should be a two point draw, max.

They did double the number of spring permits in northeast units a couple years back, but they need to be doubled again, if not otc.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

One reason its not otc is because spring permit apps bring in more money, and they dont want to lose that. There are ways around that, and im trying to convince them. Another reason is that spring bear hunts get a lot of push back from anti hunters. Theyd pitch a fit if we tried to go otc. They think sows with cubs will be wholesale slaughtered in the spring. But i really dont see the difference between somebody accidentally shooting a sow with cubs in may or june, vs in august or september. Either way, those cubs are screwed. Just like they wont give us spring bear hunts in grizzly recovery areas. Ive never understood the logic in that either. We can hunt bears in grizz zones in the fall. Do they think people will mistake a grizz for a blackie in the spring, but not in the fall? Makes no sense.

If anything hunters are way more likely to kill a sow with cubs in the fall, in the spring cubs are the size of a corgi and typically right by their mom's side the entire time... in the fall they are bigger, a little more independent and sometimes a ways off from mom.


Seems like quotas should be biologically based, I have no problem with any state having a 5 year wait if that's whats required to maintain a sustainable harvest... but if you are doing 2 OTC tags in the fall and a 4 year wait on a spring tag...

 

[Dunning Kruger]

If anything hunters are way more likely to kill a sow with cubs in the fall, in the spring cubs are the size of a corgi and typically right by their mom's side the entire time... in the fall they are bigger, a little more independent and sometimes a ways off from mom.

Logic has no place in the anti hunters arguments.