Rich Landers : Making a mountain out of a mole bill

The Washington Legislature generally rallied for the great outdoors this year, giving wildlife and outdoor recreation a decent piece of the surplus pie.

But lawmakers also gave us at least one head-scratcher to ponder.

At the end of the session, with no public debate, Rep. Hans Dunshee slipped a jab at the Fish and Wildlife Department into the operating budget awaiting the governor’s signature.

The Snohomish County Democrat and Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Committee inserted a line that essentially prohibits the Fish and Wildlife Department from enforcing the 2000 anti-trapping initiative as it applies to “trapping by mole exterminators” or “removal of mountain beaver from forests.”

DéjÀ vu.

In 2003, Gov. Gary Locke vetoed a bill that would have largely reversed the 2000 Washington ballot initiative that restricted trapping and banned the use of body-gripping animal traps. The initiative was heavily funded by out-of-state animal rights groups bent on killing the fur industry without regard for collateral damage.

People soon realized the ban wasn’t just a hardship on the rural bobcat trapper. Within a year, the reports of animal damage were coming in from suburban orchards, tree farms, golf courses and fish hatcheries.

Locke didn’t have the backbone to go along with the legislature because he knew the animal rights crowd would squeal louder than pigs with traps clamped on their privates.

In his veto message, Locke wrote, “I also would expect that given current financial constraints, DFW would use its limited enforcement resources on higher priorities, rather than against homeowners, businesses and the timber industry that have trapped for moles, gophers and mountain beaver.”

So here we go again. But instead of a gutless governor, it’s a handful of legislators telling a state agency to ignore a law that isn’t convenient.

In a telephone interview, Dunshee said his meddling was triggered by an incident in which wildlife agents arrested and handcuffed a West Side pest-control professional who had been using body-gripping traps to catch moles.

“They did that for political reasons,” Dunshee told me. “This is a shot across the bow of the department.”

Asked why he considered enforcing the law a political move, he asked, “Does a trooper give you a ticket for a broken tail light?”

Maybe not, but what if he catches you a second or third time?

“We don’t go out looking for mole trappers, but the man was making a lot of money using illegal traps and other pest control people who are abiding by the law complained,” said Sean Carrell, WDFW enforcement division spokesman. “He had been warned, but did not comply.”

“I’m saying they have a lot better things to do with their money,” Dunshee said.

No argument there.

Wildlife officials have gone back to the legislature every year to repeal this emotional but ill-advised law. “Telling us to ignore portions of the law is no way to fix something that’s broken,” Carrell said.

Outdoor projects funded: If signed into law by Gov. Gregoire, the state budget will offer several significant enhancements to the Spokane-area and nearby outdoors. Among them:

“Antoine Peak – $1.4 million from the state to match $1.4 million from Spokane County Conservation Futures to purchase 390 acres on this important undeveloped wildlife area south of Mount Spokane. Eventually, county officials plan to secure 1,100 acres around the mountain.

“Fish Lake Trail – $1 million for improvements to the Spokane-area portion of the rail-trail that runs from the Sunset Highway to Cheney. City officials say top priorities include dealing with the break in the trail at the Marshall Road crossing and decking the trestles in the first stretch of trail from Sunset Highway.

“Elk fence – $1 million to rebuild elk-proof fence in the Tucannon River area. This would allow wildlife managers to continue rebuilding the Blue Mountains elk herd without the threat of a harsh winter driving the animals onto lowland croplands, where they likely would have to be killed to prevent crop damage.

“Whitewater park – $530,000 to proceed with plans for installing boulders and structures in the Spokane River near High Bridge Park to create a year-round playground for paddlers. City Parks officials say they have not determined how this money will be spent.

“Fishing docks – About $500,000 to improve boat ramps and build fishing docks at public access sites on Newman and Silver lakes. Work on the Silver Lake dock and improvements will start this summer, while the Newman project still must be designed, WDFW officials said.

“Reardan Audubon Lake – $348,000 to create a trail and restore grasslands around this important waterfowl pit stop and watchable wildlife area at the edge of Reardan.

Also important, but with more widespread impact is funding to update guidelines for wind power generators to reduce their impact on birds, to improve fish hatcheries, and to step up surveillance for invasive species coming into state waters.

Tiger muskies picky eaters: Pikeminnows and trout are favorite foods of tiger muskies in Curlew Lake, according recently wrapped-up research.

Given a choice between spiny rays with the prickly dorsal fins (such as bass) or soft rays (such as trout), “they clearly prefer the soft rays,” said Bill Baker, WDFW researcher.

“In Curlew, that’s a good thing,” he said. “At least 50 percent of their diet is pikeminnows, which is what we’re trying to control. The other 50 percent is trout, which we can stock and replace.”

About 400 tiger muskies were introduced to Curlew in 1998, followed by plants of 200-250 in the following years until 2005, when 600 were stocked, followed by 500 last year.

“We’ll be reducing the plants again,” Baker said. “More than half the tiger muskies we sampled last year were longer than 36 inches – some really nice fish.”

Researchers will present their findings at public meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Republic Elementary School.