Whole lotta changes could be on the way

The latest round of potential changes to Washington hunting regulations will be as unsettling to some hunters as seeing a dozen unfamiliar rigs in their favorite hunting spot on opening day.

On the other hand, every proposal has the support of a hunting contingent, large or small. The Department of Fish and Wildlife is using a survey and public meetings to determine which proposals are most popular.

Next Thursday, Spokane will be the last stop for a statewide series of meetings in which department officials are presenting dozens of alternatives, some of which will eventually be adopted for the next three years of hunting seasons.

Here’s a sampling of proposals that would specifically affect hunters in Eastern Washington.Open bear hunts in September rather than on Aug. 1 to avoid the summer heat and reduce conflicts with other outdoor recreation. Another proposal would create spring black bear hunts in northeast units 101-111 and 117-121.

Change pheasant season dates. This year the season ran from Oct. 22-Jan. 16 – the latest opener and the first year in memory the pheasant season stretched into January. This later opening date was designed to minimize conflicts between bird hunters and deer hunters. State biologists said they heard few complaints about the season extending into January.

However, some groups have proposed running the season much as it was several years ago, from Oct. 1-Dec. 31 while another proposal would open the pheasant season the first Saturday in October through the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in January.

Allow mule deer hunting only by permit. This would follow Oregon’s footsteps in more carefully managing a species that’s particularly vulnerable to hunting in the wide-open portions of Eastern Washington. Anther proposal would have the state manage mule deer hunting on a unit-by-unit basis, which would offer more season flexibility at the expense of making regulations more complicated.

Set three-point minimum antler restrictions for the late buck in Northeastern Washington. Three years ago, a three-point minimum proposal for all the northeast seasons was widely opposed. In this round of proposals, some hunters in Stevens and Pend Oreille counties have sought a compromise by asking for a three-point minimum only during the late hunt.

Department biologists, however, aren’t necessarily supporting the proposal.

“We’re seeing more mature bucks in the harvest in the past three years,” said Kevin Robinette, department regional wildlife manager. With mild winters already giving the deer a boost, he’s hesitant to support a rule that could lead to sublegal bucks being shot and left to rot.

“That’s brushy country up there,” he pointed out, noting that the tougher the hunting conditions the more likely a hunter will pull the trigger at the sight of a buck and count antler points when it’s on the ground.

Reduce whitetail buck hunting opportunity in Lincoln, Spokane and Whitman counties to improve weak buck-doe ratios. Proposals include closing the late general season or changing the late seasons to permit only.

Increase whitetail antlerless deer hunting by letting youths, seniors and the disabled hunt does during the late buck season.

Allow a Thanksgiving hunt for whitetail bucks by permit in Unit 111 north of Colville. This is the department’s answer to nostalgic hunters who still miss that tradition of hunting deer during the rut over the Thanksgiving holiday period. The current proposal calls for issuing 50 permits.

Deer and elk season changes are proposed in many areas. Among them: reducing the general modern firearm deer season in the southeast to seven days; reducing the early muzzleloader deer season in the southeast to five days; extending the modern firearm whitetail general season in Unit 101 through the third weekend; and adding Unit 117 to units 111 and 113 for the early elk muzzleloader “any bull” season.

Turnbull Refuge elk hunts are tentatively being proposed on a special permit basis as early as 2007 depending on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service management plans. Refuge staff has indicated they need some cost-effective way to reduce the damage the expanding elk herd is doing to the habitat, especially aspen groves.

Next Thursday: We’ll explore some of the statewide hunting proposals, including the possibility of raising permit application fees so hunters willing to dig deep in their pockets will have better odds for drawing a permit to hunt bighorns, moose and mountain goats.