Action Roundup

What You Need to Know and Do This Week: January 5, 2024

Posted on by Julia Zelman
05
Jan

The Action Roundup contains what you most need to know about actions to take to support wildlife management reform, as well as upcoming events and the Fish & Wildlife Commission’s latest actions.

Urgent Notices and Actions

Actions

  • Please send comments on the latest draft of the Conservation Policy by emailing commission@dfw.wa.gov. The new draft of the policy reflects changes made in response to the latest round of criticism, including eliminating references to the precautionary principle and best available science. Please find updated talking points here; be sure to adapt them in your own words.

Upcoming Events

Fish and Wildlife Commission & WDFW Meetings

  • The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)’s Wolf Advisory Group will meet over Zoom on January 9 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on January 10 from 8:45 a.m. to 12 p.m. (link to join here). The agenda indicates that topics will include the updated Gray Wolf Periodic Status Review timeline, WDFW’s current compensation program for livestock owners, and Oregon-Washington cross-boundary management. There will be a public comment session at 3:15 p.m. on January 9.
  • The Commission will meet January 25-27, 2024 in Olympia. There is no agenda yet, but the Year-at-a-Glance indicates that the Commission will vote on the Conservation Policy, the North of Falcon policy, the Mardon Skipper and Spotted Owl Periodic Status Reviews, a rulemaking petition filed by The Conservation Angler to amend or repeal  coastal steelhead regulations to prohibit winter steelhead fishing, yet another spring black bear hunting petition by the person who has filed all previous related petitions, and a rulemaking petition filed by a crabber to amend rules related to Puget Sound recreational crabbing. It will also hear a progress report on the Game Management Plan.

More Action Items

  • Please send comments on the latest draft of the Conservation Policy by emailing commission@dfw.wa.gov. The new draft of the policy reflects changes made in response to the latest round of criticism, including eliminating references to the precautionary principle and best available science. Please find updated talking points here; be sure to adapt them in your own words.
  • Please comment on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services’ proposal to shoot barred owls. Read the environmental impact statement here. Go to www.regulations.gov and search docket number FWS-R1-ES-2022-0074 to submit a comment. The 60-day comment period will close on January 17, 2024. For more information, see this article.
  • The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is soliciting commercial and scientific input on the potential listing of Washington coast spring Chinook under the Endangered Species Act. Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Enter NOAA–NMFS–2023–0148 in the Search box, click on the “Comment” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments. You can also mail comments to: Protected Resources Division, West Coast Region, NMFS, 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd., Suite #1100, Portland, OR 97232. Attn: Shivonne Nesbit. The deadline to comment is February 5, 2024. More information on the petition to list Washington coast spring Chinook here.
  • Please support WDFW’s recommendation in its draft Periodic Status Review of the killer whale to maintain the species’ endangered status on the state endangered species list. WDFW is accepting comments until February 19, 2024. You can comment via email or write to: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife ATTN: Taylor Cotten, P.O. Box 43141, Olympia, WA 98504.
  • WDFW is asking the public for input on the following species to inform its periodic status reviews: wolverine, Mount Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan, burrowing owl, yellow-billed cuckoo, tufted puffin, Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit, fisher, sea otter, grizzly bear, Oregon silver-spot butterfly, island marble butterfly, Mazama pocket gopher; green, loggerhead, and leatherback sea turtles; and blue, fin, right, sei, and sperm whale. Submit comments by emailing TandEpublicinput@dfw.wa.gov or by sending mail addressed to Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife ATTN: Taylor Cotten, P.O. Box 43141, Olympia, WA 98504. (WDFW has not provided deadlines for input.)

 

Julia Zelman