Don Jenkins
Capital Press
Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission reaffirms decision to increase hunting of cougars in areas occupied by wolves.
Washington will increase cougar hunting in wolf territory as a sympathetic gesture to communities concerned about the increasing presence of predators, the Fish and Wildlife Commission confirmed Friday.
The commission voted 7-1 to reject a petition submitted by the Humane Society of the United States and several conservation groups challenging the stepped-up cougar hunts in about 29 percent of the state.
They argued that shooting cougars to shore up support for wolf recovery was a rash move by the commission. The groups asserted the policy was not subjected to public comment and likely to backfire by killing older cougars that keep juvenile males away from livestock and humans.
Commissioner Jay Kehne, an Omak resident who works for one of the petitioning groups, Conservation Northwest, agreed on most points. He said it was a “far stretch” to link cougar hunting with wolf recovery.
The rest of the commission stuck with its decision in April to increase harvest limits in 14 game units that overlap with wolf packs.
Commissioner Miranda Wecker, a Naselle resident, said Friday that the commission should defend its right to “tweak” harvest levels. She said in an earlier interview that the change was an empathetic signal to Eastern Washington residents unhappy with a growing wolf population. Wolves are a state-protected species and can’t be hunted.
Kehne said the public never got a chance to comment on the policy. He said public outreach focused on extending the cougar hunting season by one month. “There was no discussion of increasing (harvest) numbers in all of that process,” he said.
The move will change harvest limits statewide by about 25 cougars. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officials say the state has approximately 3,600 cougars and 163 were harvested in 2014.
WDFW biologists say it’s impossible to forecast exactly how many more cougars will be shot. Limits aren’t reached in most game units, and the department has the option of ending hunts early.
WDFW biologists had recommended keeping cougar harvest levels uniform throughout the state as the best way to provide a stable population and social structure. The recommendation was based on six studies conducted over 13 years by WDFW, Washington State University and the University of Washington, according to a staff report.
Although the April vote differed from the staff’s advice, WDFW officials Friday recommended that commissioners stick with their decision.
WDFW biologists say the increased hunting in wolf territory probably won’t lower the state’s overall population, but it may open up areas for juvenile males to roam.
There is no evidence that more attacks on livestock will follow, but young cougars are more likely to enter residential areas, according to the staff report.
The commission agreed to revisit the harvest levels in a year.