Black bear or grizzly? Should hunters be tested on knowing the difference?
HUNTING -- Should Washington bear hunters be tested to prove they can tell the difference between a black bear and a protected grizzly?
That requirement is already in effect in Montana, but just now being considered as a proposal in Washington, where grizzlies are more rare.
Idaho has posted a good Bear Identification course and exam online, and I encourage everyone to check it out, even if you're NOT a hunter.
The bear exam proposal is one of about 50 alternatives in the discussion over 2018-20 hunting seasons and regulations. About 15 people attended the meeting last night in Spokane hosted by nearly as many Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife staffers to stimulate discussion on the proposals.
The proposals and possible alternatives are posted on the agency’s website at wdfw.wa.gov/hunting, where people can comment through Aug. 31.
The bear testing proposal was among several that especially intrigued me. Some sportsmen at the meeting supported it as a way to help prevent black bear hunters from running afoul of state and federal law by mistaking a grizzly for a black bear in the field.
A few other hunters criticized the proposal as unnecessary and "just another requirement on hunters."
I'm thinking: Why wouldn't hunters want to test themselves on their knowledge of wildlife? Isn't that part of the fun? If bear identification were an action video, we'd pay money to have it.
Waterfowl hunters must pass a test to hunt sea ducks as a way of protecting endangered species. Trappers have to pass a test.
Too bad bear identification education wasn't required for the youth hunter in North Idaho who shot a grizzly bear a couple of years ago over a family black bear bait station.
I've posted a bear identification quiz online and hundreds of people went through the photos out of personal curiosity and education.
So why wouldn't bear hunters want to step up, study up and pass a simple test to show that they're interested in conservation and up to the law and expectations of the sport?
I haven't heard a good counterpoint answer.
Hunters have until the end of August to comment on the proposals for the three-year hunting rules and seasons package, which is just in its formative stages.
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider final recommendations next spring.
