Has anyone heard that if you were drawn for a permit that you are going to be able to hunt in your unit! but for the guys that didn't draw a permit we are left holding there D!ck in there hand! What kind of BS is that. This all purtains to the St. Helens tree farm area. They say the woods are to dry to be open. Now all of a sudden the woods are ok for everyone that drew a permit, but still to dry for everyone else!! BULLSH!T!!!! My feeling is what's good for some is and should be good for all. I'm sure there are lots of other hunters that agree with me on this one. I wish there was a way for all the non-permit holders to get together next year and protest by not purchasing a tag & license. That would really put a kink in the wdfw budget. As far as i'm concerned the $$$$$$ generated is not being used afficiently.

P.S. I know this because one of my buddies was drawn for Toutle. They sent him a letter in the mail outlining most of what i have said. They will be given a key to come and go as they please. The gates will be manned from 6-9 am and 7-9 pm by the wdfw. Way to go wdfw screw & piss off the majority of the hunters just to make a few lucky ones happy!!!

That does surprise me in a way, but that has been an ongoing problem, and at least they are letting the permit holders hunt, and I think that's fair. You can't blame the WDFW....that is all Weyerhaeuser land, and they are who has the control over whether it is open or not. Last year I drew an archery bull elk permit for the Toutle and was unable to hunt, not even by walking in. The WDFW was nice enough to restore my points though, so I now have 7 points, and I thought that was fair enough. They can't control the weather, or the private timber companies. But somehow they got Weyerhaeuser to let some hunters in to hunt this year, and that is good. They are doing a good job, let's not bad mouth them.

Fishmaster,maybe you should exert some of your negative energy at another organization other than the WDFW, maybe uh, a Timber company?

===============
NEWS RELEASE

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Aug. 28, 2003

Contact: Mark Quinn, (360) 902-2402


Fire risk sparks new road rules on WDFW lands


OLYMPIA - Concerned about the high risk of wildfires, the Washington Department
of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is limiting vehicle access on lands it owns and
manages throughout the state to existing open roads.


Effective immediately, no off-road travel or parking will be allowed off
graveled roads or parking areas, said Mark Quinn, WDFW lands manager. Included
in this restriction are designated "Green Dot" road management areas, where
visitors are normally allowed to park or camp 100 feet from an open road.


"The fire danger is extreme throughout the state, and this is one precaution we
can take short of closing department lands to public access," Quinn said. "We
don't want to do that, and we're urging everyone visiting WDFW lands to abide
by the new road restrictions."


High summer temperatures, combined by sparse rainfall, have left moisture
levels in grass and brush at the lowest levels in decades, according to the
state Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service.


Besides urging compliance with the new WDFW road restrictions, Quinn asks that
hunters and other visitors take several additional precautions to avoid
sparking a wildfire on department lands. These include:


· Parking vehicles over exposed gravel or soil that is free of any
vegetation to reduce the chance of hot exhaust starting a fire.


· Checking the undercarriage of your vehicle for weeds or other
vegetation that could ignite.


· Avoiding smoking outside your car and using the ashtray for ashes and
cigarette butts.


· Using gas stoves for outdoor cooking. Virtually all of Washington is
closed to outdoor fires and outdoor cooking with anything except gas or
propane.


"If you're hunting, the safest way to do it is on foot," Quinn said. "Please
respect private property and take every precaution to prevent wildfires.
Everyone should carry a shovel, bucket and a fire extinguisher if possible."


###

If the woods are too dry for the folks without permits its just as dry for those with permits.

Pray for rain, guys. Supposed to start getting a little wet stuff next week. Hope for the best

Fishhamster,

At least they are letting some folks in. Fewer people = fewer chances of a wildfire. Then again, it only takes one match.

If that doesn't piss you off enough , it looks like Fisherdan and myself will have chances at two elk tags this year. It seems that a number of the AHE hunts were undersubscribed and about 80 tags went unclaimed. Dan's got one elk down and has applied for a number of hunts, and if I draw the right second tag I could theorhetically shoot 2 elk on the same day from the same spot from the same herd. Hmmmmmm.......

The WFDW is doing things just fine by me. Play the game and use the rules to your advantage. I am glad they are letting folks with tags hunt, because 5 years ago I drew a ML tag in the Satsop unit early season and couldn't hunt on all of the Simpson or Port Blakely land. Thankfully there was a long late season, and I got a nice deer anyway.


Take care, and I hope you get a deer, and an elk this year.

Andy

Weyerhause reopened their proprty today.For more info call their hotline.Listen to the message then press #2
1-866-636-6531

Thanks HuntnFish for the heads up!