Dear Friends and Neighbors,
We need your help! There will be a public hearing on important wolf management legislation this Wednesday, March 20 at 8:00 a.m. in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. The majority party in the House refused to pass any meaningful wolf management legislation. However, the Senate Majority Coalition approved two bills sponsored by my seatmate, Sen. John Smith:
SSB 5187 – would allow livestock and domestic animal owners to kill a wolf if it poses an immediate threat to the animals.
E2SSB 5193 – would create a dedicated account to reimburse livestock owners for the value of any animals killed by wolves.
We need you to contact the members of the committee (especially the Democrat members) and let them know why we need this legislation in northeast Washington. If you can make the trip to Olympia to testify with your stories, concerns, pictures, etc. – that would be fantastic! But I know most of you are unable to take time off of work and make the long drive to Olympia. If you can send us your statements and any photos you have, we’ll make sure it gets entered into the official record. This will help us put the pressure on the majority party in the House to pass this legislation!
My contact information is at the bottom of this e-newsletter. Here is the information for the committee members:
Blake, Brian (D) Chair
LEG 437A
(360) 786-7870
Lytton, Kristine (D) Vice Chair
JLOB 310
(360) 786-7800
Chandler, Bruce (R) *
LEG 427B
(360) 786-7960
MacEwen, Drew (R) **
JLOB 431
(360) 786-7902
Buys, Vincent (R)
JLOB 465
(360) 786-7854
Dunshee, Hans (D)
JLOB 314
(360) 786-7804
Haigh, Kathy (D)
JLOB 320
(360) 786-7966
Hurst, Christopher (D)
JLOB 335
(360) 786-7866
Kretz, Joel (R)
LEG 335A
(360) 786-7988
Orcutt, Ed (R)
JLOB 408
(360) 786-7990
Pettigrew, Eric (D)
LEG 434B
(360) 786-7838
Schmick, Joe (R)
JLOB 432
(360) 786-7844
Stanford, Derek (D)
JLOB 318
(360) 786-7928
Van De Wege, Kevin (D)
LEG 434A
(360) 786-7916
Warnick, Judy (R)
LEG 122C
(360) 786-7932
Here is the agenda for the meeting:
Agriculture & Natural Resources* – 03/20/13 8:00 am
Full Committee
House Hearing Rm B
John L. O’Brien Building
Olympia, WA
REVISED on 3/14/2013 at 3:02 PM
Public Hearing:
- SSB 5187 – Protecting domestic animals against gray wolf attacks.
- SSB 5786 – Requiring certain information in commercial fishing guide license applications.
- SB 5337 – Modifying expiration dates affecting the department of natural resources’ timber sale program.
- ESSB 5663 – Regarding derelict and abandoned vessels in state waters.
- E2SSB 5193 – Concerning gray wolf conflict management.
Executive Session:
- SB 5139 – Concerning milk and milk products.
- SB 5377 – Extending the program establishing Christmas tree grower licensure.
- SSB 5634 – Clarifying the department of natural resources’ authority to enter into cooperative agreements.
- SSB 5760 – Providing compensation for commercial crop damage caused by bighorn sheep.
With your help, we were able to get the Department of Fish and Wildlife to hold wolf management meetings in Cusick, Colville and Okanogan. The meetings were packed and wildlife officials heard a strong message from the people who have to deal with wolves on a continual basis. In fact, DFW announced today another wolf meeting in northeast Washington:
NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
March 18, 2013
WDFW schedules meeting in Colville on wolves’ impact on game species
OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will hold a public meeting March 27 in Colville to discuss the potential impact of wolves on area game species such as deer and elk.
The meeting is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Colville Ag Trade Center, 317 West Astor Ave.
State and local WDFW wildlife managers will present information on monitoring efforts in northeast Washington along with population trends and harvest data for white-tailed deer, elk and moose. They’ll also discuss the status of wolves in the region and the impact wolves have had on deer and elk populations in other western states.
Dave Ware, WDFW game manager, said the department has not yet documented any measureable impacts from wolves on game species in Washington, but recognizes that reports from other states have raised public concerns.
“We want to talk to people in northeast Washington about this issue, because that’s the area of the state that has the largest number of wolves,” Ware said. “We’d encourage area residents who have concerns to attend this meeting.”
I appreciate you staying involved in this issue. I look forward to receiving information that will help us pass Sen. Smith’s legislation.
Sincerely,
Shelly Short
State Representative Shelly Short
7th Legislative District
E-mail: shelly.short@leg.wa.gov
Web site: houserepublicans.wa.gov/short
Olympia Office (January-April)
436 John L. O’Brien Building – P.O. Box 40600 | Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7908 or Toll-free: (800) 562-6000
District Office (May-December)
P.O. Box 184
Republic, WA 99166
(509) 775-8047
