THE WASHINGTON OUTDOOR REPORT

Resuscitating the Spring Bear Hunt: In November half of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission went against the advice of Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Kelly Susewind and his staff and postponed the 2022 spring bear hunt, an event that has occurred for decades in our state.  This month, the Commission revisited that issue and in a 4 to 3 vote decided to look at a rule change that could result in the spring bear hunt occurring, albeit not before May 1.  A public comment period will occur prior to that time for those for and against the hunt to express their views.

New Fish and Wildlife Commissioners: Three new Washington Fish and Wildlife Commissioners will get a chance to weigh in on this possible hunt.  Governor Jay Inslee appointed Dr. John Lehmkuhl, Melanie Rowland and Dr. Tim Ragen to the Commission, filling two vacancies and taking the place of longtime Chair Larry Carpenter, whose term on the Commission expired at the end of 2020. 

John Lehmkuhl is a former U.S. Forest Service research wildlife biologist from North Central Washington.  He has served on the WDFW Wildlife Diversity Advisory Council since 2015 and is an avid horseman who operates a saddlery business south of Wenatchee.  Lehmkuhl describes himself, “as a life-long hunter, angler and conservationist” and fills the seat vacated over a year ago by Dave Graybill.

Another North Central Washington pick for a commission seat is Melanie Rowland.  She is an environmental attorney who formerly worked with the National Marine Fisheries Service to implement Endangered Species Act protections for salmonoid fish and marine mammals in the northwest.   In recent years, Rowland has served as legal counsel for the Methow Valley Citizens Council.  This group advocates for, “the protection of the Methow Valley’s natural environment and rural character.” The organization sued to stop the expansion of ATV use on Forest Service roads in Okanogan County without an environmental review, a lawsuit this non-profit won.  The Council also supports the reintroduction of grizzly bears into the North Cascades. 

The other new commissioner is Tim Ragen, the former Executive Director of the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission who calls Skagit County home.  Ragen has been an advocate for suspending commercial whale watching around the San Juan Islands and for reducing or eliminating Chinook salmon fishing in portions of Puget Sound to protect resident Orca whales in the Salish Sea.  

One fact about the current commission is worth noting.  Only three out of nine of the commissioners identify as hunters and anglers, the rest of them stick to non-consumptive outdoors pursuits.   WDFW’s mandate is to, “preserve, protect and perpetuate the state’s fish, wildlife, and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish and wildlife recreational and commercial opportunities”.  It will be interesting to see how well the Commission supports those fishing and hunting opportunities in the months ahead.

Navy halts training at State Parks: Over the last two years a number of citizens complained to the State Parks Commission about U.S. Navy SEALs who were using some of the saltwater State Parks for special operations training purposes. This is something that has occurred for years without any problems.  The training includes approaching the beaches using scuba gear and submersibles as well as rock and cliff climbing at certain parks.  The Navy submitted a plan to continue doing this for five more years in 2020.  The plan was narrowly approved by the Washington State Parks Commission last year with new restrictions that include only allowing the use of replica weapons.

Several of the citizens who complained were unhappy about this decision and did what unhappy people often do when they don’t get their way.  They got together, formed a coalition (consisting of several environmental and anti-war activist groups), and filed a lawsuit.  As a result, the Navy has paused all training at Washington State Parks until the suit is resolved.  You can find out more about the coalition who filed this lawsuit at www.notinourparks.org/coalition. 

Reaching out to Washington State Parks about this issue, Spokesperson Amanda McCarthy said they could not comment because of the ongoing litigation.  In the meantime, the readiness and training of these elite sailors will likely suffer.

Sturgeon retention changes:The harvest quota for sturgeon has been met in the Bonneville Pool of the Columbia River but the Dalles Pool is open for catch and keep sturgeon fishing on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays until February 28 or until the harvest quota of 190 fish is met.  The John Day Pool remains open for catch and keep sturgeon fishing every day of the week.

The limit is one sturgeon per day, two per year, and the fish have to measure between 43 and 54 inches from the nose to the fork of the tail.  There are no restrictions on catch and release fishing for sturgeon.

John Kruse – www.northwesternoutdoors.com and www.americaoutdoorsradio.com