Ballot initiatives are at their worst when they ask voters statewide to determine issues that affect only a few counties. That was true when voters in all Washington counties were asked whether to ban the use of hounds in hunting bears and cougars. They went for it, even though the animals pose problems in only a few counties.

Another example is Initiative 776, which unsuccessfully sought to repeal a special excise tax and car registration fee imposed in four West Side counties to help finance mass transit.

Just as it made no sense for rural voters to determine the fate of a transit tax, it made no sense for urban voters to weigh in on cougar hunting. The closer to home those decisions, the better the chances for having laws that reflect local realities.

In 2004, the Legislature, at the behest of Rep. Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda., saw the wisdom of that thinking and adopted a pilot project that allowed the use of dogs in five counties where cougars had become a public safety concern. Now that it has proved to be a success, it deserves permanent status.

Before the pilot project, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife reported a rapid surge in cougar complaints – from 495 in 1996 to about 930 in 1998 and 2000. The state then increased cougar hunting season, but the ban on dogs remained. The result was more indiscriminate killing by hunters who stumbled upon the cats in pursuit of other game.

Hounds are more useful in tracking problem cougars because they chase them up trees, which gives hunters a chance to determine whether they’re the more troublesome ones.

The pilot project in Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Chelan and Okanogon counties has yielded encouraging results, according to a Fish and Wildlife report. The total number of complaints had dropped to 323 in 2006, or about one-third the total recorded in 2000.

But the project is set to expire this year if the Legislature doesn’t act. Kretz has introduced a bill that would make the program permanent in those five counties. Plus, it would allow other counties to join after documenting the need.

He’s clearly on the right trail.