Jeez, I cannot believe the shoot the messenger mentality you guys have. Here's the REAL STORY on the KIRO story, and believe me, I know. KIRO got the story from the Skagit Valley Herald, pasted below.

The story came from a WDFW press release. They (WDFW) are meeting Saturday morning to talk about severely limiting recreational crab harvest in Puget Sound, because of what THEY (not KIRO!) says is severe overharvest.

The WDFW is going to set these rules, KIRO was simply reporting what the WDFW is considering, as did the Skagit Valley Herald.

The media's job is to let the public know about things like this, seems to me the Skagit Valley paper and KIRO did a pretty good job. And you guys want to picket them? What the hell?!
Seems pretty obvious who your beef is with.

State may cut into crab seasons
By Denny Church

Denny Church
The Fish & Wildlife Commission will meet at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday at the Natural Resources Building in Olympia.

Among the items on the agenda is a briefing on strategies for cutting the recreational crab harvest in Puget Sound.

According to a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife news release, the recreational harvest has doubled in less than a decade and "has cut into the share of the harvest reserved for commercial and tribal fisheries in each of the past four seasons. In some areas of Puget Sound there's so much gear on the water that we can't shut the fishery down fast enough to keep the recreational harvest within its harvest guidelines."

Reduced recreational bag limits, delayed openings, and fishing fewer days a week are being considered.

WDFW marine resources manager Morris Barker said, "The situation varies from one area of Puget Sound to another, so we're not looking for a ‘one-size-fits-all management solution."

Public comment periods will be included at the meeting. Or you can contact the commission via e-mail at commission@dfw.wa.gov.

Another commission meeting devoted solely to the crab allocation issue will be held at 9 a.m. on May 14 at the Tyee Center in Tumwater.
Leque Island hunting ban proposed

The WDFW, the Snohomish County executive, Senator Mary Margaret Haugen and former governor Gary Locke were handed a homeowners petition to ban hunting on the Leque Island-Smith Farm public hunting site between Stanwood and Camano Island.

A public meeting on this topic has been scheduled for 7 p.m. on March 9 at Stanwood Middle School.

The petition claims hunting in the fields near State Highway 532 is a danger to motorists, that it disturbs the peace and tranquility of the surrounding area and that the shotgun blasts are disruptive to game and non-game species resting on Port Susan and south Skagit Bay.

The WDFW pheasant release site on Fir Island will soon be converted to salmon and waterfowl habitat.

If hunting is banned at Leque Island, the nearest pheasant release site will be north of Bellingham.

Pheasant release sites are popular with older hunters who are no longer able to make long trips to the Columbia Basin.

A similar homeowner effort to ban hunting on a portion of Whidbey Island is also underway.

If you attend the meeting, keep your comments constructive. If you are unable to attend, comments can be directed to WDFW Region Four Resource Manager Bob Everitt.