Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Bear licenses are topic of the week
Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor's Outdoors column and notebook appears regularly in The Roanoke Times.
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If Internet and hunting store chatter is any indication, one topic will dominate this week's public meetings on proposed changes to Virginia's hunting regulations.
The proposal is to remove the bear tag from Virginia's big game license and create a separate bear license. The bear license would come with a fee of $25 for residents; $150 for non-residents.
Most regulation change proposals come from the staff of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, which suggests changes after carefully monitoring and considering wildlife population trends, management objectives and public input.
The idea for the bear license came from members of the Virginia Bear Hunters Association, whose members almost exclusively hunt with hounds during a season that traditionally starts in early December and runs through the first Saturday in January.
The houndsmen say that a separate bear license will help elevate bears to the "elite" status they deserve, and also reduce the number of bears shot by deer hunters who just happen to luck into one of the animals. (And when the state's roughly 300,000 deer hunters kill only 1,400 or so bears even in a record season such as 2008, luck is a huge part of the equation.)
Bear license advocates also say the license could raise as much as $300,000 for the game department.
After hearing the pitch, the agency's board voted unanimously to forward the proposal "to obtain public discussion on the issue," according the "rationale" section of the proposal.
And discussion they've gotten.
A posting on the topic on my blog has generated more than 80 comments, a record.
The bear license proposal has also been the dominant subject on the DGIF's Internet-based public comment forum.
As of Monday afternoon, the proposal had drawn 173 comments, more than three times as many as the next most popular topic.
That topic?
A change to license structure that would be necessary with the establishment of the bear license.
Other topics related to bear hunting, including proposals to expand archery and muzzleloader seasons, also are drawing heavy interest, mostly from hunters who support the expansions.
While a number of bear license advocates have commented passionately, the overwhelming majority of hunters weighing in have opposed the proposed establishment of a bear license.
Critics of the idea say it's an attempt by houndsmen to hoard bears for themselves. As rare as their opportunities at bears might be, deer hunters say, they still appreciate those opportunities but don't want to have to pay extra.
Further fueling the debate is the fact that the game department's staff wants to increase hunter pressure on the bear population, the steady expansion of which needs to be reigned in, according to biologists.
Members of the VBHA traditionally have proven themselves well organized, and they are known for massive mobilization efforts when topics of interest to them are on DGIF meeting agendas.
So it's likely they will be out in good numbers at this week's meetings, which got under way in Warrenton and Woodstock on Monday.
The question is, will hunters who oppose the proposal show up, too? Or will they be content to critique the idea only online?
Meetings in this region will be held in Abington High School tonight and at Glenvar Middle School in Salem on Thursday.
Both meetings start at 7 p.m. and are scheduled to run until 9 p.m.
While bear-related topics have been hot, a few other proposals are generating some feedback.
Proposals to reduce the number of either-sex hunting days on public land in some counties in Western Virginia have drawn generally supportive feedback. While the change could reduce opportunities for some hunters, those hunters seem to realize that protecting more female deer could help whitetail populations in areas where mature forests provide generally poor habitat.
A proposal to establish a youth deer hunting day -- like the bear license, an idea that came from meeting attendees and was approved by the board to generate public discussion -- seems to be garnering widespread support. The day would be on the final Saturday in September.
On the small game front, proposed expansion of the spring squirrel season to private lands is being supported. So is a move to expand the area where fox squirrels are legal to some counties, such as Bedford and Franklin, where the squirrels have become well established.
One proposal that isn't drawing much interest but could impact many hunters is the proposal to eliminate all in-person checking for successful spring gobbler hunters. The proposal has drawn only six comments on the DGIF forum, with all in favor of the idea.
The public comment period will end on May 11, and the agency's board will take final action on the proposals on June 2. Changes would go into effect in time for next fall's hunting seasons.
The complete list of proposals, as well as other meeting locations and dates, is available at www.dgif.virginia.gov.
