Washington Fish and Wildlife News Digest: March 13-25, 2024

The digest is a roundup of news concerning fish and wildlife management in Washington and beyond.

Recap: Washington Fish & Wildlife Commission’s Meeting of March 14-16, 2024

The Washington Fish & Wildlife Commission met in Olympia last week, with committee meetings taking place on March 14 and the full Commission meeting held March 15-16. Please find the agenda here.

Committee Meetings

• The Big Tent Committee (Commissioners Barbara Baker, John Lehmkuhl, Steven Parker, and Lorna Smith) discussed the Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation in Washington report and the draft Best Available Science Policy. (Please note that the version of this policy posted on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)’s website, dated March 8, does not include the revisions discussed on March 14. This revised version has not yet been posted.) Though the schedule promised an update on the draft Conservation Policy, for which the Commission delayed the vote in order to consult with tribes, the only new information was that the Commission’s Executive Committee will speak with the Northwest Indian Fisheries Council, which does not include all tribes who wish to give input. Watch the Big Tent Committee meeting on TVW here.
• The Habitat Committee (Commissioners Molly Linville, Lehmkuhl, Tim Ragen, and Woody Myers) discussed WDFW’s Habitat Program. Watch the meeting on TVW here.
• The Fish Committee (Commissioners Anderson, Linville, Ragen, and Parker) heard presentations on Puget Sound Shellfish Monitoring & Management, Policy C-3609: Puget Sound Crab Fishery, and Policy C-3610: Puget Sound Shrimp Fishery. Watch the meeting on TVW here.
• The Wildlife Committee (Commissioners Smith, Anderson, Myers, and Melanie Rowland) heard a very technical presentation on WDFW’s “new” cougar science, which confirmed the validity of the cougar density estimates and growth rate used to structure the cougar hunting framework in the 2015 Game Management Plan, which petitioners seek to implement through the cougar/bear rulemaking petition the Commission voted to accept in December. After the presentation, commissioners voted 3 to 1 to recommend that the full Commission take up the proposed rule changes the committee approved in February, with Commissioner Anderson dissenting and strenuously objecting. Commissioner Myers expressed some confusion about the presentation, dismay that some of the information he was expecting was not yet available, and reluctance to move forward immediately with proposed rule language. Watch the meeting on TVW here.

Full Commission Meeting

Friday, March 15, 2024. Watch the Friday session on TVW here.

Following another fiery session of open public comment (see below), the Commission discussed a new wildlife area plan and voted to acquire land in Thurston County. It voted to deny a petition to ban baiting and alter fishing seasons in Puget Sound rivers and tributaries to protect juvenile steelhead, as well as a petition to create separate “eastside”/”westside” deer tags. It accepted a petition to allow unlimited fishing of yellow perch (a nonnative species) on Fish Lake in Chelan County.

The Commission then heard a grim presentation on the Orca Periodic Status Review (PSR). WDFW is recommending that the Commission maintain the species’ endangered status due to threats from climate change, increasing human population, and inbreeding. Many wildlife advocates testified in support of this recommendation, noting the lack of progress to recover the species and the threat of increased production of hatchery fish to wild salmon and to Southern Resident killer whales.

Finally, the full Commission engaged in a circular and heated conversation about the cougar rules recommended by the Wildlife Committee. WDFW scientists Dr. Donny Martorello and Dr. Brian Kertson, as well as Game Division Manager Anis Aoude and Wildlife Program Director Eric Gardner, joined the discussion. Martorello assured commissioners that nothing in the updated cougar data contradicted the proposed rules and that they had all the information they needed to make a decision. However, the Commission focused on the degree to which the cougar population had already been harmed by the current rules and whether waiting another year would threaten extirpation or risk human safety. Kertson, at WDFW Director Kelly Susewind’s prompting, said that his research in a small area of northeast Washington did not provide evidence that chronic overhunting of cougars in the area was having a negative effect on the species’ age structure.

Commissioner Linville began to cry as she expressed confusion about the issue and said she did not feel adequately informed to move the rule forward. At Commission Chair Baker’s suggestion, the Commission decided to delay the vote on the proposed cougar rules to the next meeting (April 18-20, 2024). Baker asked for more input from the Department on the proposed rules and said an ad hoc committee of herself, Vice Chair Ragen, Commissioner Smith, and Commissioner Anderson would decide next steps.

Saturday, March 16, 2024. Watch the Saturday session on TVW here.

After another difficult session of open public comment, WDFW’s Endangered Species Recovery Section Manager and former Wolf Policy Lead Julia Smith presented the Gray Wolf Periodic Status Review (PSR) and the Department’s recommendation that the Commission approve a rule downlisting gray wolves from “endangered” to “sensitive” on the state endangered species list, bypassing the “threatened” category completely. Smith emphasized the growth of the gray wolf population and suggested that WDFW’s efforts are better spent recovering other endangered species.

During the public hearing on the PSR, several wildlife advocates criticized both the downlisting recommendation and the single population growth analysis on which it is based, which they said is overly simplistic and fails to account for many factors that could impact the state’s wolf population. (The latest version of the PSR references both the version of the study published in 2024 and the markedly different preprint published in 2023). Speakers explained that the baseline for the analysis does not account for significant increases in poaching and tribal wolf hunting over the past two years.They criticized the study for excluding any consideration of the potential impacts of poaching and climate change and for failing to consider the potential impact of more than one negative pressure affecting the wolf population over the next 50 years (such as if the Department increases levels of lethal removal after restrictions are eased and there is a reduction in immigration due to intensive hunting in Idaho and British Columbia). Commenters emphasized that it would be inappropriate for the Commission to downlist wolves when there are still no established breeding pairs in the Southwest Cascades/North Coast recovery region, which contains the state’s largest expanse of wolf territory. They pointed out that it has been months since the Department has seen the female member of the two-wolf Big Muddy pack, the first pack established in that region, indicating that it is likely she has died or been killed by poachers.

The Commission will hear a presentation on the 2023 Annual Wolf Report in April and indicated that it may delay the vote on the PSR, originally scheduled for June, to sometime in July.

Likely in June, the Commission will also hear a presentation on the Wolf-Livestock Interaction Protocol as a step toward undertaking rulemaking to establish a wolf policy, as ordered by Governor Inslee in response to petitioners’ appeal.

Open Public Comment

• Many wildlife advocates urged the Commission to pass cougar rules as quickly as possible, noting levels of killing that are consistently above agency guidelines in some population management units, especially when combined with a massive increase in the number of cougars that local and state law enforcement kill every year. Following the Commission’s Friday decision to delay the vote until April, wildlife advocates on Saturday expressed disappointment and frustration with the postponement and cautioned against letting the issue be swallowed by the Commission’s “black hole of inertia.”
• Advocates also testified on the need to better protect wild steelhead in Olympic Peninsula waters and in the Columbia River, where coldwater refugia are essential.
• Others expressed concern over WDFW’s attitudes toward science, including management’s disregard of work by non-agency scientists.
• Advocates also asked for changes in the new Game Management Plan, such as eliminating the “unclassified” category of species that can be hunted with few restrictions.
• Despite a request from Vice-Chair Ragen for speakers to avoid wasting public comment criticizing other advocates and advocacy groups, many hunters spent most of their time attacking fish and wildlife conservation groups whom they incorrectly portray as trying to “end hunting,” sometimes calling advocates out by name and referring to them as “liars.” One said that fish and wildlife conservation groups were attempting to oppress hunter “minority groups,” comparing them to the Ku Klux Klan and Adolf Hitler. Many hunters urged the Commission to delay on passing cougar and bear rules.

Top Washington News

Cougars & Bears

A cougar attacked them. They fought back for 45 harrowing minutes. Angela King and Natalie Akane Newcomb, KUOW. March 14, 2024.

• A graphic account of the cougar attack on bicyclist Keri Bergere and her friends’ struggle to save her life. The friends describe themselves as “animal lovers” (in fact, one is on the board of an animal rescue organization) who had no choice but to injure the cougar kitten to save Bergere’s life. (Please note: This article contains an image of Bergere’s injuries the day after the attack that may be upsetting to some.)
• Melissa Grant of Living Snoqualmie relates the attack in great detail, including quotes from interviews with the bicyclists who saved Bergere. A WDFW officer arrived at the scene “within minutes” of receiving a call from law enforcement, and the bicyclists were “heartbroken” to see the cougar die. Grant also includes information from cougar expert Dr. Mark Elbroch, who confirms that the cougar was a kitten and asserts that “hunting may increase conflict”: “Since the average age of lethally removed cats has decreased, there is evidence that if an age dynamic is changed in a population of cats, you create more conflict.”
• KUOW reports that the cougar kitten was “fat” and healthy, likely just “a feline being a feline, liking to chase things and pounce on them.”
• ABC News has a video interview with Bergere and her friends.
• The cougar attack has made international news, with The Guardian picking up the story.
• The Snoqualmie Valley Record reports that a GoFundMe for Bergere has raised $80,000.

Leavenworth Becoming a BearWise Community. Dave Bernstein, NewsRadio 560KQP. March 19, 2024.

• WDFW, Defenders of Wildlife, the City of Leavenworth, and Waste Management are partnering to provide BearWise garbage containers in Leavenworth, which has had chronic problems with unsafe waste practices drawing bears.
• Source One also reports on this story and includes a quote from Zoe Hanley, formerly of Defenders of Wildlife: “We are thrilled to support Leavenworth in becoming Washington’s first bear smart community.”

Fish, Shellfish & Marine Mammals

How one river in south Puget Sound tells the story of salmon’s plight. Isabella Breda, The Seattle Times. March 18, 2024.

• This article profiles the Billy Frank Jr. Salmon Coalition, a group of “indigenous leaders and fishers,” non-indigenous anglers (such as Puget Sound Anglers President Ron Garner, who pushed for massive increases in hatchery production), scientists, and others trying to prevent salmon extinction. The article gives background on treaties that took Nisqually land, the violation of indigenous treaty fishing rights, and the struggle to regain these rights, a movement that led to the Boldt decision affirming indigenous people’s right to fish. The coalition’s website lists three strategies that it espouses: habitat protection and restoration, hatchery production, and “pinniped management.”

WDFW statement on March 2024 L&I Wind River incident report (press release). Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. March 21, 2024.

• The Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) has obligated WDFW to pay a fine of over $30,000 over safety violations related to a fatal accident during a snorkel survey in which scientist Mary Valentine tragically drowned. According to Northwest Sportsman, WDFW had suspended most work around water on February 3 after an L&I inspection.
• Divernet has some background on the story.

A Trailblazing Ban On Octopus Farming Becomes Law In Washington State. Tom Hale, IFL Science. March 18, 2024.

• Washington House Bill 1153 has made the state the first in the nation to ban octopus farming, thanks to the efforts of the Northwest Animal Rights Network, the Aquatic Life Institute, and other non-profits.

North Creek: Quality over quantity (guest op-ed). Jamie Glasgow, Gig Harbor Now. March 20, 2024.

• Glasgow, a scientist with the Wild Fish Conservancy, asserts the ecological value of North Creek as a potential habitat for wild salmon and warns of the dangers posed by hatchery-raised fish.

Other Washington Fish & Wildlife News

Fish & Marine Mammals

Lummi Nation gets almost $10 million to help save endangered Chinook salmon on Nooksack River. Robert Mittendorf, The Olympian. March 19, 2024.

Smelt fishing may soon require license in Washington state. Caleb Barber, The Daily News (via The Columbian.) March 19, 2024.

NFWF Announces $1.8 Million in Grants from the Killer Whale Conservation Program (press release). National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. March 20, 2024.

Estimate of Greenhouse Gas Emissions for the Lower Snake River Dams and Reservoirs using the All-Res Modeling Tool. Tell the Dam Truth. (No date given.)

Salmon are our hope (letter to the editor). Emily Hajek, The Spokesman-Review. March 25, 2024.

Other Wildlife

Moose research begins in northeast Washington. Michael Wright, The Spokesman-Review. March 15, 2024.

Notable Fish & Wildlife News from Around the World

State Wildlife Reform

Vermont bill SB 258. This bill would convert the state’s fish and wildlife board into an advisory board and require it to have a balance of consumptive and non-consumptive “users” of wildlife such as nature photographers or wildlife watchers. It would also oblige the board to “prioritize science” and to have members trained in subjects including climate change and hunting ethics. Finally, the bill would ban coyote-hunting with hounds. As of March 25, the bill has passed the Senate, though Governor Phil Scott (R) has said he will veto it.

• In a story published Monday, Jenna Russell of The New York Times interviewed Michelle Lute of Wildlife for All and Brenna Galdenzi of Protect Our Wildlife VT about the bill. Lute: “We’re trying to challenge the status quo, because there’s a huge gap right now between state policy and the views of the American people.” Galdenzi: “Even people who don’t care about wildlife care about democracy, and believe it shouldn’t be a privileged special interest group making policy.”
• Russell’s article links to a study in BioScience by Shelby C Carlson et al. entitled “The role of governance in rewilding the United States to stem the biodiversity crisis,” which discusses the importance of state wildlife agencies responding to the biodiversity loss and finds that most members of the public, hunters and nonhunters alike, expect species restoration to take precedence over other activities in state wildlife governance.
• Vermont Daily Chronicle has the details on the version of the SB 258 that passed the Senate. This version has removed the coyote provisions and restored the power of the governor to make most of the appointments, which the original version had removed.
• The hunting magazine Outdoor Life’s Katie Hill laments: “If this bill becomes law, (and it looks like it might), then a birder, for instance, would get the same amount of clout that a duck hunter would.” She also points to the Washington Fish & Wildlife Commission’s cancellation of the 2022 spring bear hunt as an example of “a more partisan approach to wildlife management” than allowing hunter agendas to continue dominating agencies.

How did a Durango wildlife biologist end up in Colorado senators’ crosshairs? Reuben M. Shafir, The Durango Herald. March 25, 2024.

• Gary Skiba, a wildlife biologist appointed to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, resigned after failing to obtain a recommendation from the state Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. Here, Skiba denounces the “deeply disturbing lies” about him spread by hunters and others angered by his support for wolf reintroduction. Contrary to accusations that Skiba is an “animal rights professional,” he says that he is a hunter who would not vote against hunting interests.
• See also Skiba’s letter in the Durango Herald, in which he writes: “The influence of the hunting community is diminishing. That’s a reality, which I urge hunters and outfitters to understand, and work constructively to maintain public support for our hunting traditions…Some hunting and outfitting organizations opposed my appointment because of my advocacy for wolf restoration. Based on that standard, those hunters and outfitters would oppose the appointment of Aldo Leopold himself to our CPW commission.”

Kentucky hunters, anglers decry proposal to put Fish and Wildlife under agriculture department. Liam Niemeyer, Kentucky Lantern. March 12, 2024.

• A bill in the Kentucky Senate would move the state’s fish and wildlife department from the tourism bureau (under the Democratic governor’s authority) to the agriculture department (under Republican leadership). Hunting and angling groups like the Sportsmen’s Alliance and Safari International oppose the bill, even though it would also transfer the power to appoint commissioners from the governor to a hunter and angler volunteer board.

Stronger Hunting, Angling, and Trapping Commission on House & Senate Floor. Sportsmen’s Alliance. March 13, 2024.

• House Bill 2263/Senate Bill 2039 in Tennessee would require the state’s fish and wildlife commissioner “to be actively involved in activities regulated by the commission, including hunting, angling, trapping, and boating.” The bill would also specify that the commission and department must “promote hunting, angling, and trapping, including the management of predators through hunting and trapping, as preferred methods of wildlife management and conservation,” according to Sportsman’s Alliance’s description of the bill.

Good management starts with science. Dave Stalling, High Country News. May 25, 2017.

• An older but still relevant article in which Montana hunter and wildlife advocate Stalling questions the term “ballot-box biology” and the backlash against citizen initiatives that “defend and demand good science when state wildlife agencies won’t.”

General Wildlife Governance & Other Issues

Frans de Waal, who explored empathy among apes, dies at 75. Brian Murphy, The Washington Post. March 21, 2024.

• Author and professor of psychobiology de Waal, an important figure in primate research and in advancing the understanding of animal emotions, has died of cancer. Murphy writes, “Dr. de Waal found allies among groups seeking ‘personhood,’ legal status for primates and other animals such as dolphins, whales and elephants.”
• For a recent perspective on animal personhood in the legal system, see this article by Michelle C. Pardo in Animals entitled “Legal Personhood for Animals: Has Science Made Its Case?”

Oregon forest board approves controversial habitat protections. Kendra Chamberlain, Columbia Insight. March 13, 2024.

• The Oregon Forestry Board has voted to approve a plan to protect endangered species by limiting logging on state land. The logging industry is warning of a steep drop in timber revenue, while some conservation organizations such as the Wild Salmon Center are criticizing the plan for not going far enough.

Cougars & Bears

Mountain lion kills California man in state’s first fatal attack in 20 years. Ramon Antonio Vargas, The Guardian. March 24, 2024.

• A cougar killed one man and wounded his brother as the two were hunting for shed antlers in a remote area in El Dorado County. Wardens killed the cougar, which will be examined to attempt to determine the cause of its attack.
• According to the Washington Post, California Fish and Wildlife said the attacking cougar weighed 90 pounds and had been in good health. Like other articles on the attack, this piece stresses the rarity of cougar attacks.
• Outdoor Life reports that in the aftermath of the shed hunter’s death, some hunters are calling for the reestablishment of the cougar hunt in the state.
• The BBC has information on avoiding and surviving cougar attacks. The writer interviews wildlife biologist and educator Isabel Mclelland and summarizes, “When see animal attacks in the news, it can be easy to assume that carnivores, including mountain lions, are vicious, aggressive creatures by nature, when that’s simply not the case.”

Is grizzly reintroduction ‘a death sentence’ or restoring nature? Idaho comments are torn. Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman. March 15, 2024.

• Idaho residents submitted a “roughly even split” between hostile and positive comments on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)’s proposed reintroduction of grizzlies to the Bitterroot ecosystem in central Idaho and Montana. FWS proposed the different reintroduction options earlier in 2024 after a federal judge ruled that “that agency officials did not adequately assist bear recovery” in the Bitterroot system.

Fish & Marine Mammals

Bird flu is decimating seal colonies. Scientists don’t know how to stop it. Patrick Whittle, Associated Press. March 22, 2024.

Avian Influenza Virus Is Adapting to Spread to Marine Mammals. Kat Kerlin, University of California, Davis. February 28, 2024.

Avian influenza: An in-depth look at a distressing disease. Melanie Epp, The Extinction Chronicles. March 24, 2024.

Other Wildlife

A Montana Man Cloned and Illegally Bred Giant Hybrid Sheep for Captive Hunting. Sage Marshall, Field & Stream. March 14, 2024.

• A Montanan game farmer has pled guilty to two felony charges after importing body parts of endangered sheep from Kyrgyzstan and cloning the species to sell to game farms in Texas.

Wyoming Game And Fish Proposes Unlimited Elk Tags To Cut Down On Gigantic Herds. Mark Heinz, Cowboy State Daily. March 23, 2024.

On the Lighter Side

Many of us know beavers are hardworking builders… (Instagram post). Tualatin SWCD. March 25, 2024.