Hearings set on hunting seasons and net use policy

OLYMPIA — The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission is seeking public comment in a series of public hearings at the end of this week to discuss the 2022-23 hunting season, a land deal and the use of commercial pound nets on the Columbia River.

According to a press release, the commission will meet online from April 7-9, with comments from the public welcome during its morning sessions on Friday, April 8, and Saturday, April 9.

To attend the meeting, visit the commission’s webpage wdfw.wa.gov/about/commission and click on the link “commission meetings.” All meetings are recorded and archived online at the department’s website, according to the press release.

Among the issues up for discussion during the upcoming three-day meeting are the department’s “Conservation Roadmap” for the state, updates on the use of pound nets to catch fish along the Columbia River, rule-making for the Chelan River, landowner hunting permits, changes to rules covering hunting equipment, and possible new rules to deter conflicts between livestock and wolves.