S-R Hunting Outlook 2015: Consecutive mild winters have allowed whitetails, elk to thrive across region
Although this year’s fires have impacted areas dear to Washington big-game hunting, sportsmen generally have good reason to be positive about 2015 seasons.
Two mild winters have boosted survival of deer fawns and elk calves, which means there should be a bump in the numbers of young bucks and bulls throughout most of Eastern Washington.
Those young bucks will be fair game for the first time in three years as the four-point minimum rule in popular units 117 and 121 has been rescinded. Any antlered white-tailed buck will be legal this year.
Youth, disabled and senior hunters are getting increased opportunity to shoot antlerless white-tailed deer after several years of having the privilege for just four days of the season. This year, hunters who qualify for those groups will be able to hunt for antlerless whitetails for the entire general October seasons in northeastern units.
All hunting factions should carefully check the 2015 Hunting Rules pamphlet for changes to their game this year. Archery elk season started later this year – on Sept. 12 – in response to hunter input that the weather was too hot and the bull elk weren’t hot enough in the rut for the Sept. 1 opening.
Other examples of rule changes for a variety of hunting groups include:
• Mechanical broadheads are legal for archery hunting.
• Crossbows are legal to use for hunting during modern firearm season.
• General cougar harvest quotas were increased.
• Muzzleloaders will be allowed to hunt for elk in 27 additional game management units (GMUs).
• Two days have been added to the modern firearm mule deer season.
• Mourning dove hunting started Sept. 1 and runs through October this year. Although most mourning doves have left, hunters will find pockets of doves and the longer season lets them shoot invasive Eurasian collared doves with less worry about identification. Collared doves can be hunted year-round.
• Early fall turkey general season bag limits have been clarified in the Big Game Rules pamphlet. Just in time – the season opens Saturday.
Indeed, this is a good year to buy an extra turkey tag and fill it. From all reports, the region is up to its neck in wild turkeys after multiple successful hatches this year in Eastern Washington and North Idaho.
In most of northeastern Washington, (units 101, 124-154, and 162-189) hunters can bag up to three turkeys, although restrictions on sex vary by unit. Check the regs for details.
Wildfires that will displace hunters from prime hunting areas in Eastern Washington include the Grizzly Bear Complex fires in the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness. The wilderness remains closed to public access. Also in the Blues, the Tucannon River Fire burned on the Wooten Wildlife Area.
Fire managers in the Blues reported that some people were not honoring the fire closures and personnel from fire crews were leaving their posts to get them out of the way.
“If disregard for the closure order continues, an expanded closure area may be implemented to allow for easier enforcement,” the Umatilla National Forest announced.
Forest Roads 64, 6415, 62 and portions of the 46 and 4608 roads are still closed this week. The non-wilderness area that’s closed is roughly the area from Big Hole to Eden Bench. Info: Pomeroy Ranger District, ( 509) 843-1891.
Chelan, Okanogan and Douglas counties have been suffering numerous fires that had substantial impacts on mountains and wilderness, such as lower shrub lands on the Scotch Creek and Sinlahekin wildlife areas.
Ferry and Stevens counties have been dealing with several large fires, including the Carpenter Road, North Star, Tunk Block and Kettle Complex fires. Pend Oreille County still has closures related to the Kaniksu Complex fires.
“A lot of what happens with hunting will be self-regulating,” said Matt Monda, the state’s regional wildlife manager in Ephrata.
“Some patchy burns are worth scouting. But if the land’s black for as far as you can see, a hunter will probably look for another place to hunt.”