High Bird Counts Should Make For Happy Hunting

If the great prospects for other bird hunting seasons doesn’t sway them from their torturous sport this fall, chukar hunters at least should invest in new boots.

Helicopter surveys indicate you might be burning a lot of shoe leather to get your limit this fall.

An Aug. 25 Washington Fish and Wildlife Department survey in Asotin County found 23 percent fewer chukars than last year. The survey has been conducted over the same route each year since 1987. The number of chukars counted has varied from a high of 2,930 in 1987 to low of 578 in 1993.

This year’s survey found 1,498 chukars on the route, 13 percent below the 1987-96 average.

But that’s about the only grim news for wingshooters.

Waterfowl numbers are so good, Washington has scheduled the first-ever one-week early Canada goose season beginning Saturday.

Last year was the best year for pheasants in many seasons, but early surveys indicate pheasant numbers are even better this year in southeastern Washington. Unfortunately, pheasant numbers appear to be down slightly in the Columbia Basin.

Quail populations appear to have exploded this year. Biologists have given the encouraging words on forest grouse, a development hunters haven’t seen since the mid-80s.

First shot: Washington youth hunters who have passed hunter education requirements will get the first chance to sample the season’s wingshooting bounty.

A special youth duck hunt is set for Sept. 27. A youth upland bird hunt is set for Sept. 27-28.

These hunts allow licensed kids 15 years old and under to educate the region’s birds and waterfowl before the statewide partridge season opens Oct. 1. Eastern Washington’s general waterfowl seasons open Oct. 4. The pheasant and quail seasons open Oct. 11.

Youth hunt participants must be accompanied by a non-hunting adult of at least 18 years of age.

Snub continues: Anyone contending there’s no Great Divide between Western and Eastern Washington hasn’t been paying attention to appointments being made in Olympia.

As previously reported, Gov. Gary Locke has skewed representation on the Washington Parks and Recreation Commission by overloading the panel with Puget Sound picks.

Locke has launched a new method of selecting citizen committees. It’s called his Westside Political Positioning System, which is similar to the Global Positioning System, only much more ambitious.

Last week, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department got into the act with the announcement of the agency’s picks for its new Wildlife Diversity Advisory Council.

Citizens on the council will advise the agency on issues such as endangered species listings, wildlife education, land conservation, environmental projects and wildlife research and habitat acquisition.

Sounds good, except that only one of the 17 people named to the council is from Eastern Washington.

That person is Darci Teel of Kennewick, a biologist with Batelle.

Tom Juelson, the agency’s wildlife diversity manager in Olympia, said he was disappointed with the lack of interest in the committee from Eastern Washington.

However, the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council sent in the names of Frank and June Potter, who are deeply involved with area watchable wildlife programs.

The Potters received a rejection letter from the agency saying there were a lot of applicants and they didn’t make the cut.

Juelson said the Potters’ nomination did not include the required resume. But he also said the agency received only 25 names statewide for the 17 positions.

Seems as though an agency devoted to diversity might have made a simple phone call. Asking the Potters for a resume would have paved the way for some sorely needed diversity to the committee itself.

Cougar jeopardy: My wife and I were concerned early Monday morning when Radar, our Brittany spaniel, began barking in his kennel outside our bedroom window.

Radar rarely barks. He sees virtually any intruder, including burglars, veterinarians, raccoons and UFO’s, as possible suckers for a handout.

I went to the window and heard coyotes howling in the distance. But that’s not unusual, since we hear them virtually every night. Even when the song dogs have been in our yard, Radar hasn’t barked.

Something was up Monday: His bark was one of deep concern.

I stepped outside, but neither saw nor heard anything. I went back to sleep listening to the hoots of a great horned owl.

On Tuesday, I received an alert from the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department reporting several sightings of a cougar on the South Hill last weekend.

The possibility that a cougar was in our yard is intriguing. I thought about setting up a blind and staking out the dog kennel for a photo that night.

But wait: What would I do if the cougar decided to climb into the kennel and feast on Radar? Could I shoot the cat in defense of my dog?

Under Washington’s new laws, would I be arrested for taking a cougar with the help of a dog? Would I be cited for baiting?

Radar’s sleeping in the house this week. , DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review