Better get off your butts

[Machias]

and start calling and e-mailing the WDFW. They are about to knee jerk on the whole 14 year old shooting the hiker incident! They are talking about stopping hunters from hunting in areas where hikers go, staggering season for user groups, min hunting age requirements etc...

[Buddyw]

Fred,

where is this coming from.. I read the article about the legislation.. where are you hearing this from..

I made my entire Hunter Ed class read that article last night..

Buddy

[Machias]

From the director himself

Washington looking to separate hunters and hikers
Associated Press
August 7, 2008

OLYMPIA, Wash. — The state Fish and Wildlife Department plans to look at ways to separate hunters and hikers because of the fatal shooting of a woman who was mistaken for a bear on a trail in Skagit County.

The department may post more warning signs or temporarily close some areas.

A 54-year-old woman, Pamela Almli of Oso, was killed Saturday on a Sauk Mountain trail by a 14-year-old hunter.

The Fish and Wildlife director, Jeff Koenings (KAYN'-ings), says officials also plan to reconsider hunter-education practices and may recommend age restrictions on hunters.

The black bear hunting season opened Aug. 1. More than 50,000 hunters a year purchase license tags to kill bears.

[liontracker]

Maybe hikers should wear blaze orange or stay out of the woods if a season is in progress. Better yet don't bother with it - they can assess their own risk.

[yotabluewalker]

in Montana bowhunters must wear hunter orange if a rifle season is taking place for the game they are hunting and orange is required during any rifle season including bear and lion. I think you are on the right track with the other forest users needing to wear orange as well. A proposal to your Fish & Game Comission is a good place to start with other hunting groups on board with you for numbers power.

[Machias]

It's NEVER gonna happen, us mandating other folks wearing blaze orange and they shouldn't have to wear blaze orange. It is on US as hunters to make sure what we are shooting at is the animal we are hunting. This lady was wearing a bright blue poncho. She should never have been shot. Target ID is the responsibility of the shooter, not the other way around.

[yotabluewalker]

I agree 100% about target id! Raising 2 teenage hunters ourselves :gun safety and knowing your target and beyond is absolutely a must. And while I understand your viewpoint of hunters bearing the responsibility we are not guests in the forest belonging to non-hunters. Maybe I should have written that hopefully all users of the forest and private land will be aware of other users and go prepared( as this lady was). It is definetly unfortunate and I feel for the repurcussions to both families.

[Machias]

No your point was well taken and is correct, we all have to make it easy on each other. It's a tragedy that hunters in this liberal state are going to take a serious beating over.

[PapaSweet]

--To the WDFW director

To Dr. Koenings,

I'm sure you are a busy man so I will keep this short. I heard rumor that, due to the recent incident with the 14 year old kid shooting Pamela Almli while she was hiking because he thought she was a bear, certain areas were going to be closed to hunting in an effort to keep hikers and hunters separate. I also heard other changes were being considered such as minimum age requirements, etc. I just wanted to know if any of these rumors are true, and what changes yourself and the Department were planning on making because of the accident. I will be sure to relay your response to my fellow sportsmen.



Thank you for your valuable time



Tim Sweet