Washington Fish & Wildlife Commission rejects rule establishing permanent spring bear hunt

The Trustees cited scientific deficiencies and the need for a values-based discussion

Seattle, WA – Washington Wildlife First is pleased with a 5-4 vote by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Service on Saturday to reject a proposed rule that would have established a permanent spring bear hunt in Washington.

The vote was the culmination of a process that began last fall, included many hours of Commission debate and attracted wide public interest, including hundreds of people who signed up to testify about the matter. rules and tens of thousands of people have submitted written comments. Management of the Department of Fish and Wildlife has requested approval of the rule.

“We are grateful for the Commission’s thoughtful consideration of this matter,” said Samantha Bruegger, executive director of Washington Wildlife First. “By voting no on this proposal, the five Trustees voted in favor of science, transparency and accountability, and showed that the Commission would no longer simply act as a high seal. su indifferent to the proposals of the Ministry.”

In December 2020, Commissioner Barbara Baker was the first Commissioner to raise concerns about spring bear hunting, which the Department has asserted for years is necessary for regulatory purposes, such as preventing bear conflict and minimize bear damage to commercial timber. Historically, the Department has refrained from organizing a purely recreational spring bear hunt, because such a hunt is extremely uncommon — it is supported by only 15% of people in the Western states — and out of fear that it will orphan its newborn cubs.

However, under questioning by Baker and others, the Department admitted last year that there was no evidence that the hunt actually served any regulatory goals. Department leadership then changed course and began advocating continued hunting as a mere “recreational opportunity.”

“If we are changing the purpose of the hunt, then we need to look at the values ​​behind that change. We haven’t done that yet,” Baker said during Saturday’s debate.

Joining Commissioner Baker in voting against the manhunt is Commissioner Lorna Smith, one of two Commissioners targeted by personal attacks and threats following a 4-4 tie vote in September. 11 years ago, whereby the Commission rejected a rule that would set out a spring bear hunting season for 2022 Those attacks contributed to Commissioner Fred Koontz’s December resignation, then quickly is a petition to consider a new rule establishing a permanent spring bear. The minions committee approved that rule-making petition in January by a vote of 4 to 3, setting up a final vote on Saturday on the proposal.

In addition to Smith and Baker, the three other Commissioners who voted against the proposal Saturday were Dr Timothy Ragen, Dr John Lehmkuhl and Melanie Rowland, all of whom Governor Jay Inslee appointed to the Commission in January.

Dr. Ragen, former director of the US Marine Mammal Commission, has been a leading voice since he joined the Commission, in calling for the Department to better use science in identifying the state of its game populations. He noted that “change is hard,” but as the Department develops better models, he can “see a better future than where we are now.”

Dr Lehmkuhl, a wildlife biologist and lifelong hunter, took issue with the claim that a vote against this spring bear proposal was “anti-hunting”, noting that people can still hunt bears from August to November, he questions whether bear hunters really need an extra two months of hunting in the spring, which will only yield bears.” six weeks of healing while not in hibernation.”

In explaining his ballot, Commissioner Rowland cited a letter protesting the manhunt by former WDFW predator biologist Gary Koehler, who used Department data to question whether the Can spring hunting cause native “submergence” in black bear populations. In his letter, Dr Koehler noted the disparity in science presented by the Department in advocating for the hunt, and said he was “concerned about the growing tendency of WDFW management to filter information it presents to the Commission and the public.” Dr. Koehler’s concern echoes remarks made by Department staff in a state audit report last year in which more than two dozen Department employees expressed concern that executive management often makes Decisions on sensitive topics contradict the Department’s own research and staff recommendations.

“Advocates of the hunt have tried to portray a vote against the spring bear hunt as ‘unscientific’, when in fact the opposite is true. This vote is supported by an honest assessment of the science and data from the Department’s published research and its own annual reports,” Bruegger said. “The management of the Department has repeatedly failed to disclose to the Commission and the public the rationale for this hunt, its potential effects on bear populations, or the certainty that it will be hunted. orphaned dozens of cubs every spring”.

Bruegger said it was “absurd” to assert that Saturday’s vote was the first step in a “slippery slope” toward ending hunting in the state, calling the allegation ” Fearful”.

“What we hope is this vote will be a ‘slope’ towards greater accountability and transparency in our state’s wildlife management,” she said. “We also hope this will be the start of greater community involvement in wildlife management, because Washington’s fish and wildlife belongs to all of us and to all of us. We all have a responsibility to preserve it.”

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Washington Wildlife First is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to bringing reform, accountability, and transparency into Washington’s environmental agencies, starting with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. .