MONTESANO -- Beginning next year, elk hunters on the Olympic Peninsula will be allowed to take only bull animals with antlers of three points or more.

Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission members approved the antler restrictions today in Olympia when they adopted a new, three-year hunting seasons and rules package.

The commission's action was taken because of concern over declining numbers of elk on the peninsula. The three-point minimum antler restriction is aimed at reversing that decline.

Wildlife managers had recommended that a more stringent, spike-bull only elk season be adopted, but commissioners opted for the less restrictive, three-point minimum rule.

No hunting for cow elk was authorized for the peninsula.

In previous years, there have been three-point minimum and general bull elk seasons on the peninsula.

The commission also restricted elk hunting in the Quinault Valley (Muzzleloader Area 963) to graduates of the Advanced Hunter Education (AHE) program. All elk hunters must complete the training to hunt in the area.

Olympic Peninsula Game Management Units north of Highway 12 were affected by the commission's actions.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife's Hunting Seasons and Rules pamphlet for 1997 will contain complete information on the new seasons and regulations approved by the commission. The pamphlet is expected to be available by mid-February at department offices and businesses where hunting licenses are sold.