Story Photos
 Elk hunting in the Toutle River valley, where these elk were spotted last winter, would be increased under one proposal from the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Roger Werth / The Daily News
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DFW officials mulling new hunting regulations
Friday, September 5, 2008 10:54 PM PDT
By Tom Paulu
Printable version
E-mail this articleFar more elk hunting would be allowed in a vast swath of land west of Mount St. Helens under a proposal from the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Opening the Toutle and Margaret game units during the general elk season is one of several dozen proposals the DFW has floated.
Other ideas include expanding the area for elk hunting in the Toutle Valley, shortening legal hunting hours and thinning the herd within the Longview city limits.
(A story about the proposed Longview elk hunting will appear in Sunday’s Daily News).
The ideas come as the DFW sets the basic structure of hunting regulations for 2009 through 2011.
After a series of public meetings that ended Thursday, DFW officials are digesting comments. Proposals that remain under consideration will be submitted for public comment again in December. The Fish and Wildlife Commission will have the final say next spring.
Margaret-Toutle elk hunting
Since around 1984, elk hunting in the Margaret and Toutle game units has been allowed by special permit only.
Permit-only hunting was implemented in the Toutle and Margaret units because of the initial openness of the post-Mount St. Helens eruption landscape, vulnerability of elk to harvest and relative lack of public land and easy access.
The Margaret unit is generally between Spirit Lake Memorial Highway and the Green River. The Toutle unit extends from the Toutle River south to the Lewis River, west of Mount St. Helens.
Modern firearm permits for elk in the Toutle and Margaret units are among the most sought- after in Washington.
“It’s THE quality area in Southwest Washington” for elk hunting, said Sandra Jonker, the DFW’s regional wildlife manager.
In 2007, there were 4,341 applicants for 35 Margaret rifle permits (a less than 1 percent chance of being drawn) and 3,883 applicants for 130 Toutle permits (a 3 percent chance).
There’s no secret why the hunts are so popular. Rifle elk hunters in Margaret had a 79.3 percent success rate in 2007. The success rate in Toutle was 49.3 percent.
Statewide, the success rate for general season elk hunters was 7.1 percent and 41 percent overall for permit elk hunters.
However, some hunters have asked that the units be thrown open during the general season, when anyone who buys an elk tag can hunt, Jonker said.
Weyerhaeuser, which owns much the land in question, also favors more hunting because the elk are damaging its trees, she said.
Hunters are divided.
“Quality is a difficult concept,” said DFW wildlife biologist Pat Miller. “To many people, quality is a big bull. To many other people, quality is not having to compete with other hunters.”
If the agency decides to liberalize hunting in the Margaret and Toutle game units, it would be done gradually by increasing the permits numbers over several years before making it an open hunt, Jonker said.
If those two units do become general season hunts, another area might be changed to special permit only. One possibility is the former Marble game unit south of Mount St. Helens, where most of the land is under public ownership.
Toutle valley elk
Much of the land in the upper Toutle River valley was closed to hunting after being devastated by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.
Since 2004, the DFW has offered a small number of elk-hunting permits in the Loowit game unit.
However, hunters have complained that the portion of the Loowit open to hunting is too small. Even with a small number of hunters, the elk get spooked so it’s hard to get within shooting range.
The DFW proposes to more than double the size of Elk Area 5099. The current area is confined to the valley floor on the state’s Mount St. Helens Wildlife Area. The new area would extend up the south side of the valley to the ridge between the north and south forks of the Toutle and also farther downstream.
Currently, permits have been available only for youth, seniors and disabled hunters. That might be expanded to the general hunting population, with all weapon types.
Cowlitz valley elk
Elk are too plentiful in the upper Cowlitz valley from Morton to Packwood, according to DFW biologists.
A herd of 50 to 60 congregates in the Davis Lake valley east of Morton, munching on farmers’ crops.
The DFW proposes moving the boundary of the Mossyrock game unit 505 north to include the Davis Lake valley. The 505 allows more liberal hunting, including cows, than the Storm King unit now covering the Davis Lake area.
Another proposal is to create a 2-mile-wide elk-hunting area extending all the way from Morton to Packwood along Highway 12. Special elk permits would be issued in addition to hunting during the regular seasons.
Other proposals about hunting regulations changes:
Elk season length: Three years ago, the DFW added one day to the modern firearm elk general season in Western Washington. Bull harvest hadn’t increased, so another day or two might be added, bringing the season to 11 or 12 days.
Baiting: Though voter initiative banned baiting of bears, it’s still legal to attract deer and elk with bait. Some people consider that unethical, so the DFW is considering banning it. Dave Ware, DFW game program manager, said the agency can’t reinstate bear baiting unless the state legislature changes the law, which he said is unlikely.
Shooting hours: Currently, legal shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. The DFW is considering changing hours to sunrise to sunset so that hunters don’t misidentify game in darkness. Most hunters at a meeting in Vancouver last week didn’t want the hours shortened, however, saying that twilight is one of the most productive hunting times.
Gorge elk hunting: The DFW proposes changing the Washougal, Wind River, West Klickitat and Grayback game units from any elk to 3-point minimum. A boundary change for the units also is proposed to make them less confusing.
For more information, visit http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/seasonsetting/
loowit wrote on Sep 5, 2008 7:33 AM:
CRFisherman wrote on Sep 5, 2008 12:25 PM:
Adolph Oliver-Bush wrote on Sep 5, 2008 2:02 PM:
Atrucker wrote on Sep 5, 2008 6:14 PM:
You have no clue . Would you rather they all die from no food which is what they were doing , or harvest enough of them to keep a balance . And if you eat hamburger just SHUT THE He !@# V UP !!
Try petting a wild elk if you can , then I will watch him chase you all over the field lol. What a joke . "
Gondolapete wrote on Sep 5, 2008 11:19 PM:
Gondolapete wrote on Sep 5, 2008 11:22 PM:
lucky1 wrote on Sep 7, 2008 8:31 AM:
dawnornot wrote on Sep 7, 2008 12:03 PM:
Argoman wrote on Sep 7, 2008 7:20 PM:
Mr. Chinook wrote on Sep 8, 2008 3:08 AM:
TINKLE wrote on Sep 8, 2008 11:08 AM:
argoman wrote on Sep 8, 2008 12:36 PM:
dawnornot wrote on Sep 8, 2008 12:36 PM:
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