Washington 2006-08 Hunting Regulations
January 14th, 2006 by Administrator
Washington 2006-08 Hunting Regulations - Grayback buck survival rate too low - Too few bucks are surviving hunting season in the popular Grayback unit of Klickitat County, prompting state wildlife officials to examine ways to reduce the harvest.
Regulation changes for the productive unit are expected to grab the bulk of attention at a public meeting Tuesday to discuss 2006-2008 hunting seasons.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife session will begin at 7 p.m. at the Water Resources Education Center, 4600 S.E. Columbia Way.
Grayback unit No. 588 in central Klickitat County is among the most heavily hunted in Southwest Washington.
In 2004, there were 3,488 hunters and a harvest of 831 deer, a good 24 percent success rate. The harvest was 92 percent bucks.
But Grayback is not meeting the state’s post-hunting-season goal of 15 bucks per 100 does, said Fred Dobler, regional wildlife program manager.
And it’s not meeting that goal by a wide margin.
Postseason counts in 2003 tallied 14 bucks per 100 does. That dropped to six per 100 in 2004 and just two per 100 in 2005.
“Even if there’s some error in the count, we’re still not close to the buck escapement goal,” Dobler said.
Without enough bucks to breed the does, overall deer populations will drop.
Dobler also has compared Grayback’s harvest, success rates and buck-to-doe ratios with the White River unit, just across the Columbia River in Oregon, where deer hunting is controlled by permit numbers.
Grayback has an average of nine bucks per 100 does, while White River averages 27 bucks per 100 does.
White River’s hunter sucess rate is 37 percent compared to Grayback’s three-year average of 21 percent. White River’s overall harvest is larger too, 832 bucks and 227 does compared to Grayback’s 691 bucks and 156 does.
Grayback is open for general hunting from the deer opener in mid-October until month’s end. That was 21 days in 2004, 17 days in 2005. Grayback also has a two-point antler restriction.
That two-point rule is intended to protect the yearling bucks in Grayback, but it doesn’t work well, Dobler said.
In Western Washington units, about 80 percent of the yearlings are spikes. But in Grayback, about 40 percent of the yearlings are spikes and 60 percent are two-points.
The two-point rule actually focuses hunting effort on the two-points, he said.
Four possible regulation regimes are up for discussion in Grayback:
Proposal A — A shorter season and a three-point antler minimum. Late rifle hunting would be by permit, late archery season would be open to all archers.
Proposal B — Also a shorter general rifle season with a three-point antler restriction. All late-season hunting would be by permit.
Proposal C — The current two-point rule would be dropped and there would be no antler restrictions. All late hunting would be by permit.
Proposal D — No change from current regulations.
Dobler said a three-point restriction actually would protect yearling bucks. Allowing hunters to kill spikes also helps the yearlings.
“Some hunters would take a spike and be done with it,” he said. “That avoids all the hunting pressure being focused on two-points.”
West Klickitat-Wind River units — These two units to the west of Grayback also are failing to meet post-season buck goals.
“There’s clearly a concern on the part of the public about the reduced deer population,” Dobler said.
Three proposals are up for discussion for West Klickitat and Wind River. All three eliminate the two-point restriction. One eliminates the late muzzleloader season, another makes the late muzzleloader hunt by permit only and the third ends the late muzzleloader season on Nov. 30.
Other proposed deer-hunting changes include:
Eliminating the late archery antlerless seasons in Lewis River unit No. 560 and Siouxon No. 572.
Adding late-season antlerless muzzleloader permits in East Klickitat No. 382.
Adding antlerless deer to the early archery season in Washougal No. 568.
Shorten late hunting in Battle Ground unit No. 564 from the existing Nov. 23-Dec. 31 season for any weapon type to just the standard four-day late November hunt for modern firearms users and until Dec. 15 for archers and muzzleloaders.
Comments on the proposals will be taken at Tuesday’s meeting.
The state Fish and Wildlife Commission will adopt the 2006-2008 statewide hunting package in April.
To view or comment on the proposed hunting alternatives, visit online at:
http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/seasonsetting
By ALLEN THOMAS