I just wanted to bounce this off some of you. The Fish & Wildlife Commission is either making rule changes or proposing rule changes (not sure which) and I can't decide if I agree or not.

Here's the one I'm most skeptical about:

"An advanced hunter education rule that would increase penalties for master hunters found guilty of violating hunting rules."

Now, in theory an someone who has achieved their "master hunter" status should know the rules pretty well and should set a good example. For the most part I would agree with this but there is still a part of me that says shouldn't the punishment fit the crime and not the person? Shouldn't anyone who breaks the rules get the same punishment? I know this isn't always the case (i.e. Winona Ryder, OJ, etc.) but shouldn't it be?

I'm kind of riding the fence on this and would like to hear arguments either way.

Shouldn't matter who you are. There should be a set penalty for all violations. I'm not sure I understand why they would go to the trouble to change this. Can't figure out how they will make more money by doing it. Always about the dollar with this state.

I recieved a letter from WDFW that said the reason for this is that they had 5 Master Hunters who had game violations recently and there isn't a policy in place to revoke Master Hunter privelages. I assume anyone with a card recieved the letter also. Anyway that's what I heard.

I hadn't heard of the 5 violations,by the AHE hunters and I don't think the penalties are stiff enough in most cases. If you're out hunting or fishing and you havn't bothered to read or chose to ignore the law,too bad,you should be fined right out of hunting or fishing. I'm tired of hearing excuses while out fishing, " I didn't know you can't use bait here", or " this is a closed unit? " . Until the fines are so big it's absurd people just aren't gonna care about the law.

Look at the thread over on the NW fishing board,about Cougars on the Sky. There are some guys claiming to be bow-hunters,that say they carry a firearm while bow-hunting. They probably don't even know they're breaking the law,if they do know they don't care.

O.K.....I'll get off my soapbox now.

I have that AHE certification. Same punishment for the same infraction, plus revoke the AHE Cert and not allow the person to participaite in the program for 5 years. Then make them take the class all over again if they want.

It is time for my recertification, another few volunteer hours. I like it so far. Four cow tags in 5 years and 4 or 5 late goose hunts. It has been worth my time.

Andy

What constitutes as volunteer work?

I've been interested in the whole AHE thing and got the informational, just not sure about the volunteer thing cause I dont know how to do it! Like where to sign up and stuff... It wouldnt take an AHE card to get me to do it, I'd love to do some volunteer work for wildlife.

It's 12 hours that are wildlife related. I contacted the local warden and he set me up the first time. The last time I helped fix fences and built a gate that were damaged by elk. We even cleared brush to try and funnel them elsewhere. Good PR and you may even gain access. Who ever you help they just need to sign off on it. Contact WDFW to make sure your time qualifies. The card got me a beautiful 6x6 a few years ago.

I have gone through the master hunter program. And I got that letter also. I agree with the rule change. It basically is set up so if you have the AHE certificate and you get caught with a game violation that they can revoke your AHE satus. I think that is fair.

As for going through the program it is very easy, you do it all on your own time. For the volunteer time I called the game Dept. and they set me up with some programs that they had going on. You can actually do work at a fish hatchery if you want. Which is what I did to renew my card.
Buck

Thanks all for your responses. One thing that the bulletin did not explain was what exactly the penalty would be. If it is just that an AHE grad would lose his Master Hunter status along with normal penalty I agree with that completely. When I read this I was thinking they were talking about additional monetary penalties or jail time just because they should have known better.

Thanks for explaining.