Hound Hunters Get Chance

Hound hunters who can assist in killing cougars that cause problems in specified areas must submit an application to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department by Nov. 15.

Voters banned hound hunting for cougars in 1996, but the Legislature authorized the use of dogs for limited hunting starting this year to reduce complaints about cougar conflicts.

The season for hunting cougars without dogs is Aug. 1-March 15.

Hound hunters can put their name in the lottery drawing for one of 74 cougar removal permits scattered over 17 game management units across the state.

The units, most of which are near the suburban areas around Spokane and Puget Sound, are specified as follows:

Eastern Washington Region 1-37 permits in portions of units 109, 117, 121, 124 and 130.

Northcentral Region 2-2 permits in a portion of unit 250.

North Puget Sound Region 4-20 permits in portions of units 407, 448, 454 and 460.

Coastal Region 6-9 permits in portions of units 621 654 and 666.

Participants will have to meet provisions that go beyond normal hunts. They will have to view a video on the hunting procedure and will be required to notify Fish and Wildlife Department agents within 24 hours before their hunt.

The first cougar available must be taken. The permit holder will be allowed to retain the cougar after complying with reporting and pelt tagging requirements.

To apply, hunters must write a letter with their name, address, phone number, and the region or regions in which they would like to participate.

Send the request to Enforcement Program, Attn: Sean Carrell, 600 Capital Way N, Olympia WA 98501-1091.

Hunting, trapping issues face voters

Issues related to hunting and trapping will be on ballots in six states next week.

Alaska has two measures. One would prevent biologists from using aerial tracking in wolf management. The other would constitutionally prohibit any further ballot initiatives regarding wildlife.

Arizona has a measure that would require a two-thirds majority vote to approve any wildlife ballot initiative.

North Dakota will vote on a constitutional amendment with a section that says, “Hunting, trapping and fishing and the taking of game and fish are a valued part of our heritage and will be preserved for the people and managed by law and regulation for the public good.”

Oregon and Washington have similar measures that would ban use of lethal or body-gripping traps and prohibit trappers from selling furs.

Virginia has a proposition to add a section to the state constitution that reads, “The people have a right to hunt, fish and harvest game, subject to such regulations and restrictions as the General Assembly may prescribe by general law.”

Disease hitting Idaho deer

A disease outbreak similar to the one that ravaged deer herds in certain small areas of Eastern Washington last year emerged last month southwest of Orofino, Idaho.

The disease, known as epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD), is spread in deer populations by gnats, especially in dry conditions that concentrate deer around muddy water sources.

At least 35 deer were found dead from the disease during October in a small area of Idaho’s hunting unit 11A, said Mike Demick, Idaho Fish and Game Department spokesman in Lewiston.

Last year, similar outbreaks in scattered areas of Eastern Washington from Deer Park south to the Snake River killed hundreds of deer, Washington Fish and Wildlife Department officials said.

The disease does not transmit to humans, nor does it appear to be spreading out of the localized area among deer, Demick said.

Freezing temperatures in the region in late September should have done away with the disease-carrying gnats for the season, he said.