BILL REQ. #:  S-1480.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/17/11.   

     AN ACT Relating to allowing the use of dogs to hunt cougars; amending 2008 c 8 ss 1 and 2 (uncodified); adding new sections to chapter 77.12 RCW; and providing expiration dates.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   2008 c 8 s 1 (uncodified) is amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) The department ((of fish and wildlife)), in cooperation and collaboration with the county legislative authorities of Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Chelan, and Okanogan counties, shall recommend rules to establish ((a three-year)) an additional five-year pilot program, beyond the program authorized by chapter 8, Laws of 2008, within select game management units of these counties, to pursue or kill cougars with the aid of dogs.
     (b) A pursuit season and a kill season with the aid of dogs must be established through the ((fish and wildlife)) commission's rule-making process, utilizing local dangerous wildlife task teams comprised of the two collaborating authorities. The two collaborating authorities shall also develop a more effective and accurate dangerous wildlife reporting system to ensure a timely response.
     (c) The pilot program's primary goals are to provide for public safety, to protect property, and to assess, conserve, and manage cougar populations.
     (2) Any rules adopted by the ((fish and wildlife)) commission to establish a pilot project allowing for the pursuit or hunting of cougars with the aid of dogs under this section only must ensure that all pursuits or hunts are:
     (a) Designed to protect public safety or property;
     (b) Reflective of the most current cougar population data;
     (c) Designed to generate data that is necessary for the department to satisfy the reporting requirements of section 3 of this act; ((and))
     (d) Consistent with any applicable recommendations emerging from research on cougar population dynamics in a multiprey environment funded in whole or in part by the department of fish and wildlife; and
     (e) Conditioned on the licensed hunter participating in the pilot program not being permitted to exchange payment to a commercial enterprise for the use of dogs for the purposes of hunting under the license.
     (3) The department ((of fish and wildlife)) may authorize ((three additional seasons)) an additional five seasons, beyond the program authorized by chapter 8, Laws of 2008, in which cougars may be pursued or killed with dogs, subject to the other conditions of the pilot project. The additional seasons are authorized to aid the department in the gathering of information necessary to formulate a recommendation to the legislature regarding whether a permanent program is warranted, and if so, what constraints, goals, and objectives should be included in a permanent program.
     (4) This section expires July 1, 2016.

Sec. 2   2008 c 8 s 2 (uncodified) is amended to read as follows:
     (1) A county legislative authority may request inclusion in the additional ((three)) five years of the cougar control pilot project authorized by section 1 of this act after taking the following actions:
     (((1))) (a) Adopting a resolution that requests inclusion in the pilot project;
     (((2))) (b) Documenting the need to participate in the pilot project by identifying the number of cougar/human encounters and livestock and pet depredations;
     (((3))) (c) Developing and agreeing to the implementation of an education program designed to disseminate to landowners and other citizens information about predator exclusion techniques and devices and other nonlethal methods of cougar management; and
     (((4))) (d) Demonstrating that existing cougar depredation permits, public safety cougar hunts, or other existing wildlife management tools have not been sufficient to deal with cougar incidents in the county.
     (2) The department shall automatically include a county participating in the pilot program authorized by chapter 8, Laws of 2008 into the additional five-year pilot program extension authorized in section 1 of this act under the initial terms of inclusion.
     (3) This section expires July 1, 2016.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) By September 1, 2015, the department shall deliver to the legislature, consistent with RCW 43.01.036, a progress report summarizing the pilot program authorized in section 1 of this act. The report must include information relating to how the program has been used to assess cougar population levels and protect public safety and property. The report may also include any recommendations as to how the cougar management policies may be changed in the future to achieve more effective or efficient management.
     (2) This section expires July 1, 2016.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   Sections 1 through 3 of this act are each added to chapter 77.12 RCW.