Public commenters press Fish and Wildlife Commission for records on canceled spring black bear hunt

Daniel Fiske Bennett, a Washington resident and recurring public commenter, told the Fish and Wildlife Commission that the public deserves a written, evidence‑based explanation for the commission’s decision to cancel a limited spring black bear hunt. “If WDFW's professional staff concluded that a limited spring bear hunt was biologically sustainable … why has the decision not been corrected, reconsidered, or fully justified in writing?” Bennett said, urging the commission to produce any analysis showing population‑level harm or to state plainly that no such analysis exists.

Bennett framed the issue as “a scientific and administrative inquiry,” and asked the commission to release records and materials he said would clarify whether nonbiological factors influenced the decision. He requested “records, analyses, communications, meeting notes, staff recommendations, commissioner materials, polling materials, biological assessments, legal reviews, and methodology used to justify canceling the spring bear hunt and maintaining that cancellation,” and called attention to an internal memorandum he said raised public‑records and private‑meeting concerns involving named commissioners and outside advocacy groups.

Other public commenters also addressed the spring bear hunt. Kelly Bush praised the commission’s vote to end the spring hunt and described the practice as ethically troubling, saying it was “not ethical to kill bears just trying to revive after the winter.” Multiple speakers urged the commission to ground wildlife policy in transparent, repeatable science and to explain how values or advocacy pressures were weighed against staff recommendations.

Commission staff did not make a formal statement in the meeting that produced new documentation. The commission’s meeting debrief acknowledged these concerns and listed transparency and record follow‑up among items staff will address in future planning. Commissioners did not take a formal vote in this session to produce the documents Bennett requested; public comment and the debrief will be carried into committee follow‑up and future staff work.

The commission did not adopt a formal motion on the record in this meeting; members said they would consider the requests as part of future meeting planning and staff follow‑up.