Late this past week the public comment period opened up on the next three year cycle of hunting regulations in the state of Washington.  Public comment is open until March 25th.   It is important that hunters make their voices heard so that our voices are taken into consideration when these are adopted.  In the past few years, anti hunters have become more and more vocal in Washington. This is our chance to make our comments heard.  

In reviewing these proposals for the 2024-2026 hunting seasons I’ve highlighted a few things that look to be the more significant changes in this blog.  

For deer and elk there were not a lot of changes.  Some reduced archery opportunity as it relates to hunting antlerless deer and elk in various parts of the state due to low herd numbers is the proposal that will have the most impact on folks. 

For the OIL species, moose, sheep and goat permit levels looked to be pretty status quo with prior year with the exception of adding a new sheep permit in the Wenaha unit.  

Some of the biggest changes have to do with potential equipment changes that have been proposed.  One of the biggest proposed changes has to do with allowing 1x scope on muzzleloaders.  This was proposed in the last three year cycle but did not pass. Perhaps with stronger support it will pass this cycle.  The other major change would be to allow crossbows during muzzleloader seasons.  It is already legal in Washington to use archery during muzzleloader season.  

With predator hunting under significant attack in the state of Washington it is no surprise to see some items in here that impact the hunting of those predators.  The first is a new requirement for bear and cougar hunters to wear hunter orange or hunter pink during open bear or cougar season.  This is something that has not been done before, as hunter orange or pink has only been required during modern firearm deer or elk seasons.  The second requirement is that those who take a bobcat are required to submit a jaw.  

The complete proposals can be found at the following link 2024-2026 Season Setting | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife.  

Please take a few moments and make your voice heard.  The link to the comment form is 2024-2026 3-year Hunting Season Rule Proposal CR-102 – PublicInput.  It only takes a few minutes and if we as hunters do not make our voices heard, the anti hunting voice will dominate these proposals.  Keep in mind that any written comments are captured on a public facing webpage, so keep your comments professional and on point.