The Washington Outdoors Report

The Washington State Fish and Wildlife Commission, on a 5 to 4 vote, made a final decision to kill the 2022 spring bear hunt, a hunt that has taken place since 1999.  Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife staff recommended the hunt take place as usual, citing not only a healthy population of 20,000 to 30,000 bears, but also the facts that the hunt would help reduce human-bear conflicts, reduce damage to trees on commercial timber lands, and reduce the mortality of elk calves and deer fawns that bears prey on.  This is a permit only hunt, with 664 permits issued resulting in an annual harvest of some 150 bears.

The hunt was initially voted on in November.  In a public comment period prior to that vote, a huge number of anti-hunting activists argued against the hunt saying it was inhumane, that the bears were lethargic coming out of their dens in the spring, and that the hunt targeted lactating female sows that orphaned young cubs.   WDFW biologists pushed back on this, stating there was no indication the latter two assertions were true. In spite of that, the Commission, which consisted of only eight members at the time, voted 4 – 4 regarding the annual continuation of the bear hunt.  Without a majority vote to go forward with the hunt, it was postponed.

Hunters, who had not previously commented in large numbers during a public comment period, became energized.  Several petitions were submitted to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to reinstate the hunt.  One petition, submitted by the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council, would automatically renew the hunt on an annual basis instead of having it come up to a vote by the commissioners every year.  The proposed new rules would prohibit the harvest of cubs or female bears accompanied by cubs.  Cubs (or offspring) were defined as bears less than a year old.  The Commission opened public comment again and agreed to vote on this issue.

In the end, some 26,000 comments were received by the Commission from the public.  The hunting community generated a large number of comments between November and March, as did the anti-hunting side.  On March 19th the Commission voted on the bear hunt but before they did several of the Commission members explained their positions.

Lorna Smith said she read through most of the comments, including ones received after the comment period ended before voting “no” on the hunt.  Smith is a controversial pick for the Commission based on her pro-carnivore stance and her comments about the declining Blue Mountain elk herd which she felt could be managed as a smaller herd with reduced hunting.  This after an elk calf mortality study there showed cougars and to a lesser extent bears, had killed the vast majority of calves radio collared during the study.

All three of Governor Jay Inslee’s most recent appointees, Tim Ragen, Melanie Rowlands and John Lehmkuhl, voted” no” as well. Rowlands, Ragen and Lehmkuhl questioned the science relating to our bear populations, cub mortality and harvest data though Lehmkuhl and Rowlands agreed the hunt would likely not affect the statewide population.

Rowlands, whose stance on hunting was unknown prior to this meeting, showed her cards when she stated in light of climate change, she “Calls for a new assessment of how the department looks at conservation to include hunting of animals.”  She also went on to say she believes, “A spring bear hunt is not a responsible way to manage wildlife.”

Lehmkuhl, who says he is a lifelong hunter and fisherman as well as a career wildlife scientist for 30 years, bristled at some of the public comments he read and said “please do not question my integrity on this commission or my dedication to wildlife management or hunting traditions.”.  Regarding his “no” vote he said, “This is by no means the end of bear hunting, their remains a generous, two bear, three-month season in the fall in which 94 percent of the annual harvest occurs.  Lehmkuhl went on to question the need for a spring bear hunt.  Lehmkuhl continued saying, “From my perspective cancelling the spring bear hunt is not the slippery slope of ending the hunting tradition in Washington.  My vote addresses the concerns of a large part of our constituency who oppose the hunt.”

The final “no” vote was from Barbara Baker, a political attorney from Olympia who also voted “no” in November.  In other business, Baker was elected as the Chairman of the Commission for the next year during this meeting.

Commissioners Kim Thorburn, Jim Anderson, Don McIsaac and Molly Linville all voted for the bear hunt as they did in November.  

Despite Commissioner Lehmkuhl’s assurances, hunters should be worried about the future of hunting in the Evergreen State.  When the social values of a vocal group of anti-hunters and the apparent bias of certain commissioners trumps the WDFW mandate of, “Preserving, protecting, and perpetuating the state’s fish, wildlife, and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish and wildlife recreational and commercial opportunities,” there is cause for concern.   

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