WDFW & Tribal Wildlife Management

Since tribal and non-tribal hunters impact the wildlife resource over much of the state, it is important that WDFW and the tribes work cooperatively to develop management strategies that can meet the needs of both. This process is complicated because tribal ceremonial and subsistence hunting and state recreational hunting are two different philosophies steeped in different traditions and cultural heritages.

Many tribal governments take an active role in the management of wildlife resources. Most tribes with off-reservation hunting rights have a tribal hunting committee that meets to develop regulations and management strategies. Many tribes have hired biologists, or have access to biological staff, that can advise them on the development of management approaches. Tribes have taken the lead in several areas on research projects to gather the information that is needed to better manage wildlife resources. WDFW and various tribes have worked together to develop herd plans for key wildlife populations. WDFW has also worked cooperatively with tribes to rebuild or augment populations that are below desired levels.

WDFW Staff from Intergovernmental Resource Management, Wildlife, and Enforcement Programs meet with tribal representatives to discuss wildlife and hunting management issues. The discussions stem from a 1998 Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission policy directing the department to negotiate with tribes to resolve hunting issues. Hunting co-management is also a stated objective within the department’s Game Management Plan and six area-specific elk herd management plans, all developed with extensive public-involvement.

WDFW and some tribes have entered into cooperative management agreements and Memorandums of Agreement/Understanding to foster and maintain a good working relationship. For wildlife management, WDFW has entered the following agreements and MOU’s:

• GMU 418 Interim Elk Hunting Agreement with Point Elliott treaty tribes
• Medicine Creek Southern Boundary Determination
  - WAC 232-12-253
  - Mediator’s Report
• MOU with Nez Perce
• MOU with Cowlitz
• Agreement with Colville Confederated Tribes

Game Management Unit 418

In the spring of 2007, eight of the nine tribes signatory to the Treaty of Point Elliott and WDFW reached an agreement for elk harvest in Game Management Unit 418. The state and the tribes had worked together for years to rebuild the North Cascade elk herd by implementing a moratorium on elk harvest, augmenting the herd with elk moved from Mount St. Helens and enhancing elk habitat. Based on wildlife survey data and criteria adopted in the North Cascade Elk Herd Management Plan, it was determined that the population rebounded to a level that could provide limited hunting opportunity for bull elk, which took place in the fall of 2007. The agreement provided a framework to ensure that there was coordination of hunting seasons and harvest levels, harvest reporting, and regulation sharing.