Washington Spring 2022 Bear Hunt Update

GUEST AUTHOR: Brian Clintworth

Last month I wrote about the Washington Spring Bear hunt being cancelled in 2022 due to the Commission having a split vote which was driven by a couple of commission members that chose to ignore the science and vote with emotion.  Outraged hunters started several grassroots movements and made this a national issue.  Numerous podcasts and articles have been featured across the hunting industry in the last month and half.  A change.org petition has collected over 20,000 signatures, the RMEF has taken a stance in favor of the hunt and is encouraging its members to be active in fighting for this hunt. All these efforts have forced the commission to have a special meeting on January 21st to reconsider the 2022 Spring Bear season in WA.   

Now it is time for hunters to show up and make their voices heard loud and clear. I feel that if we are able to do this we will be able to get the Spring bear hunt back on for 2022. This will be an important victory as it will show that hunters will not just accept our hunts being taken away and will fight to keep them.  It is easy to submit comments to the committee. Click on the link below to do so. You can be assured that the anti-hunting crowd will also be making their voices heard on this. All written comments must be in by January 14, 2022.

The link to the submission form is https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/commission/contact.

This form is easy to fill out. It should be done in a respectful, but brief manner to drive home the need for this hunt. These hunts can make a significant difference in the predation of elk calves when they are most vulnerable in the spring. These hunts also reduce human-bear conflicts and help with commercial timber damage. Past harvest data has shown that the vast majority of the harvest is of boars, the harvest of sows is low and the argument that this hunt leads to orphaned cubs is not true. 

There is power in volume, so everyone that voices their opinion in support of hunting will help to counter the very organized effort the anti-hunters have put forth on this effort.   

For those that want to actually present to the commission during the meeting, the following link will get you all the information you need.  https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/commission/meetings/public-testimony.   The committee meeting is on January 21st.  

I would encourage everyone who loves to hunt to take a few minutes and make their voices heard. This is a great opportunity for hunters to stand up and make sure that those who are trying to take away our hunting heritage based on emotions know that we won’t go down without a fight.