The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

June 21, 2007

Hunters are encouraged to apply for special fall hunting permits as early as possible before the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) June 28 deadline.

Application instructions and details on permit hunts for deer, elk, mountain goat, moose, bighorn sheep, and turkey are in the 2007 Big Game Hunting Rules pamphlet, available at WDFW offices, license vendors, and at http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/hunter/hunter.htm. All applications must be submitted via a toll-free telephone number (1-877-945-3492) or the website at https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov.

Hunters should apply early to avoid potential delays or other complications with submissions during the final days and hours of the application period, said Dave Ware, WDFW game division manager.

“We strongly encourage hunters to apply for these special permits as early as they can,” Ware said. “It’s best not to wait until the eleventh hour, when the system can become busy and complications can occur.”

Ware said that this year’s special fall hunting permits include:

* An additional 1,700 special draw permits for antlerless elk in the Mount St. Helens area.

* Twelve new “any bull” permits in Game Management Unit 418 (Nooksack).

* An additional 22 permits in the Blue Mountains for any bull.

* Ten additional any moose permits in northeast Washington.

Mick Cope, WDFW upland bird and turkey manager, said applications for the early fall turkey permits must be in by June 28, but the late fall turkey permit applications will not be available until August and are due Aug. 31.The early fall turkey permit season is scheduled Sept. 22-Oct. 5 in Game Management Units (GMU) throughout much of eastern Washington. The late fall permit hunt will run Nov. 20-Dec. 15 in northeast GMU's 101-124 only. Details are in the Big Game pamphlet (page 62).