summit daWg

Good call Ryan.... It IS just another Special permit choice ( Which I for one would NOT apply for, after 7 years applying for that big bull tag). You will find that stated about 2/3 the way down.
Also, looks like it passed senate 48-1-0


SENATE BILL REPORT
HB 1211



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As Reported By Senate Committee On:
Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation, March 28, 2005
Ways & Means, April 1, 2005

Title: An act relating to deer and elk hunting.

Brief Description: Concerning a multiple season big game permit.

Sponsors: Representatives Blake, B. Sullivan, Buck, Kretz, Eickmeyer and Armstrong; by request of Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Brief History: Passed House: 3/09/05, 96-0.

Committee Activity: Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation: 3/21/05, 3/28/05 [DP-WM, DNP].

Ways & Means: 3/31/05, 4/1/05 [DP].



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SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES, OCEAN & RECREATION

Majority Report: Do pass and be referred to Committee on Ways & Means.Signed by Senators Jacobsen, Chair; Doumit, Vice Chair; Oke, Ranking Minority Member; Spanel and Swecker.

Minority Report: Do not pass.Signed by Senator Morton.

Staff: Curt Gavigan (786-7437)



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SENATE COMMITTEE ON WAYS & MEANS

Majority Report: Do pass.Signed by Senators Prentice, Chair; Doumit, Vice Chair; Fraser, Vice Chair; Zarelli, Ranking Minority Member; Hewitt, Kohl-Welles, Parlette, Pflug, Pridemore, Rasmussen, Regala, Rockefeller, Schoesler and Thibaudeau.

Staff: Kirstan Arestad (786-7708)

Background: A big game license is required to hunt for big game, such as deer, elk, bear, and cougar. Several different big game combination packages are available. Each license package authorizes the hunting of specific species. The fee for a big game license depends on the combination package selected. Each big game license includes one transport tag for the species listed in the package chosen.

Annual big game combination, package four, allows the holder, at the time the permit is purchased, to choose to hunt either elk or deer. The fee for this license is thirty-six dollars for residents, three hundred sixty dollars for nonresidents, and eighteen dollars for youth.

Summary of Bill: The Department of Fish and Wildlife may, by rule, offer permits to hunt deer or elk during more than one general season under a multiple season big game permit. Only one deer or elk may be harvested annually under such permits. The fee for a multiple season big game permit is one hundred fifty dollars for residents and one thousand five hundred dollars for nonresidents.

A multiple season big game permit is considered a special permit, requiring payment of an application fee of five dollars for residents, fifty dollars for nonresidents, and three dollars for youth to enter a drawing for the chance to purchase a permit.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Committee/Commission/Task Force Created: No.

Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For (Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation): Multiple season big game permits would increase the recreational hunting opportunities available to hunters. The sale of these permits would also provide revenues to the wildlife fund. Hunting with a variety of different weapons would be valuable to disabled hunters. Additionally, acquisition of a multiple season big game permit would be one of many hunting options and would not be mandatory.

Testimony Against (Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation): None.

Who Testified (Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation): PRO: Albert Vinetal, Persons with Disabilities; Dave Ware, Department of Fish and Wildlife; Ed Owens, Hunters Heritage Council.

Testimony For (Ways & Means): The multiple season big game permit will create more opportunities and generate more revenue for the department.

Testimony Against (Ways & Means): None.

Who Testified (Ways & Means): PRO: Representative Blake, prime sponsor.

trapper T

One question though....... does anyone know the reason why "spike only" works best here, and 3 point or better works best there??



Well the state when they instituted this plan they actually had the entire state as Spike only. A Gov't Watchdog group out of Vancouver put the halt on that and forced the state to give three point or better on the Westside. THe State can only give out "Junk science" as why spike only is better. IF you look at the three summer issues of Wa- Or. fish and game magazine, there are usually three stories every year. 1 is a peice put out by the WDFW on how great the Blue MT. are for Elk, due to the amount of Big Bull tags, the second is a story from an independent soucre telling you how screwed up the blues actually are in WA, yet in Or. the Blues are doing fairly well(ORegon has a limited entry). And the Third is a story put out by the WDFW on how the Okanogan Mulies are thriving due in part to the" Three point" rule up there. Tell me this, when it comes to antler restricitions aren't Elk and deer the same?????? Then why does it work for one yet not the other? The state wnats spike only for ONE reason....MONEY....like SLee said the state wants permit only hunting, I've heard with my own years Dave Ware(WDFW) say this, but he knows the public won't go for it. SO what they are doing is making the east side and all the decent areas left a permit only area just to get thier numbers up, then with faulty management practice they screw it up so bad that in the 6 years they'll come back to us saying that permit only is the only way to fix this, then turn around and show that with the amount of permits we(Public) are already putting in for, the numbers back the idea that we should go for it, because we already do. I have NOT put in for any permit in about ten years, I refuse to do so just so I DO NOT help them get the data they need, so when they try this scam we as a public are not going to be able to refuse them because they have alreay baitied us into their scheme[:@]
I also told Dave Ware my stance on this and I've stated it here in the past....I will NOT gamble my RIGHT to hunt and if this state goes to "Permit Only" I will still hunt ethically and with a limit, but the one I have to answer to as far as ethics are concerned is not in Gov't and cares more about how I hunt and the respect I give to His creations then the money I spend to a phony outfit.

my 2 cents. Summit the only reason for the spike only,is a gimmic to help them acheive their blessed permit only cash cow.....period. Anyone that has an animal husbandry background will tell you you need to change your breed stock every few years to ensure good lines. You don't keep the same bull breeding the same cows year in and year out. You'll screw up the genetics.

BrushChimp

I agree with Trapper. Our state has money as it's number one priority. Seems they (WA) don't care too much about the elk herds.

summit daWg

Thanks trapper, good post! Being that this is Washington we are talking about here, I would be surprised to see anyone (outside gooberment) disagree. As for screwed up genetics, in 5 days (couldn't get away any more) of Colockum M/R last year, I saw 3 examples of it.

PacNWhunter

I live here in Okanogan county ( Methow Valley) and I know since they have put the 3 point rule into effect I see alot more bigger bucks.
Now as far as the good science rule trust me in this state it's a myth alot of times. Seems alot of politics and special interest groups, ( the tribes for one) play a big part in how seasons are set and what gets protected. Alot of the money in the Depts budget goes to nonconsumptive wildlife species. This is a result of the dept changing from the Game Dept to the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. Lets face it hunters and fishermen are not that important as far as Olympia is conserned.

summit daWg

That is unless we smoke, drink, or need fuel to get whever we go...... Then they're trying to get thier filthy mitts on as much of our $$$$$$$ as they possibly can. I see now where they burned a bunch of it to make M.L. King the official namesake of king county. They said that the Vice President who it was actually named after owned slaves and it was inappropriate to leave it alone. I guess now K/C was named in 1889 for a guy who wasn't even born yet! And of course the selected "Wench" signed it.
Say bye bye to I-601 also. Look out all, the California emissions standards bill is about to be crammed down our throats too, to add thousands to the price of new vehicles. Come on Chelan county-Get her out of there!!!

PacNWhunter

You got it right Summit, also I heard that the first step in getting a state income tax is in the works now to. Makes me wonder if alot of those people in Olympia have stock in KY jelly company. With the stuff coming in the future we're going to need it.

trapper T

Commies every last one of them, the new gas tax should be a great example of how the Democrats and alot of our so -called republicans DO NOT listen to the people. How many time have we voted it down yet they still raised it, saying it took courage to vote that in. NO stupidity, courage would've been to cut the waste and use the money right....I know we're off topic but I just got done reading the draft for the turkey management plan, and sure enough the Boobermint wants to get their hand into more of the workings of our birds.TUrkeys are doing well right now no thanks to the WDFW, but the NWTF and folks like you and I who've put in time and money to help them grow. All we need now is the WDFW to take over and turn turkeys into the same thing they've done with Deer,Elk, Salmon and Steelhead......what a shame[:@]

With that being said, in order for us to continue to expand our flocks we do need this plan,and the State is taking public input , and I feel we need to male sure that they don't take total control over it, they need to work with us(NWTF) to ensure we keep doing things right. As long as that happens will be alright, but I think the WDFW wants a Dictatorship on this one and that scares me.

PacNWhunter

I read it the other day, did not like what I saw and told them that. From what I can tell if our flocks in my area go down for nay reason they are not going to do anything. Big problem here is alot of these goody two shoers feed the birds then when the birds make a mess on there fancy cars they scream like the wind. The dept. comes in and traps them and takes them out of our area. People need to stop doing that, plus alot of them feed them out there with their chickens and thats not good for the birds.

BrushChimp

Where I hunt in East. WA., the Game Dept. usually comes in every year, traps them, and takes them to places like Okanogan County. That same flock that has been trapped at least the past two years is totaling somewheree near 280 in the winter. But if the GD keeps trapping them in huge quantities they'll end up messing up like they did over here in the westside. There used to be larger flocks of 25 to 60 until the WDFW came in, trapped them, and tried to disperse them before they could take a solid hold. Turkeys are few a far between now. I think they should get s'more Easterns for the westside and shut down the season for several years after planting them. God knows that won't happen because you won't have people buying 3 tags trying to the WA. Slam. And we all know the people up in O-Town love their money.