Washington Administrative Code › Title 220 - Fish and Wildlife, Department of › WILDLIFE › Chapter 220-412 - Wildlife-Hunting-Permits › Section 220-412-100 - Landowner hunting permits

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) A landowner
				may enter into a contract with the department and establish boundaries and
				other requirements for hunter access consistent with commission
				policy.
(2) It is unlawful to
				participate in a landowner hunting permit (LHP) hunt without a landowner LHP
				permit from the landowner or a public LHP permit from the department for the
				species covered under the landowner's contract and possess an unfilled tag for
				said species. A violation of this section is punishable under RCW
				 77.15.410.
(3)
Acceptance
				Guidelines
(a) LHP contracts must
				provide one or both of the hunting opportunities listed below for the public
				via landowner permits and public permits:
* Hunting opportunity that otherwise would not exist.
* Hunting opportunity that helps resolve chronic crop damage
				  problems that have been documented by WDFW.
(b) WDFW may deny LHP applications that do
				not provide substantial public access benefit beyond the allotted WDFW public
				permit opportunity.
* For the purposes of this program, "substantial public
				  benefit" will be defined as access for the general public to the property
				  outside of the designated LHP permit season, for any of the following
				  activities: General season or special permit hunting access for deer, elk,
				  bear, cougar, sheep, goat, moose, upland game birds, turkey, waterfowl, dove or
				  other nonhunting activities such as wildlife viewing or fishing. At a minimum,
				  the LHP property should attempt to allow access for at least two types of
				  recreational opportunity outside of the designated LHP permit seasons for deer
				  and elk. Each LHP agreement must demonstrate a substantial public benefit to
				  the citizens of the state and the wildlife resources of the area. For further
				  information regarding public benefit, please refer to the standard operating
				  procedure.
(c) Lands in a
				single LHP must have a minimum huntable acreage of 1,000 acres.
* Lands that are contiguous can span GMU boundaries.
* Lands that are not contiguous have to reside within the
				  same GMU.
(d) Only 2 LHP
				contracts will be active at the same time in each WDFW district (Appendix B).
				If an LHP crosses district boundaries, the LHP will be considered to be in the
				district containing the majority of the land and/or hunting
				opportunity.
(e) WDFW will
				prioritize LHP applications that score the highest using the scoring matrix
				(Criteria - Appendix D in the standard operating procedure). In addition to LHP
				hunts, "no-fee" general public access opportunity is strongly encouraged (e.g.,
				general deer, elk, turkey, upland hunting, or other opportunities as stated in
				(b) of this subsection). Special accommodations for hunters with disabilities,
				youth, seniors, and designated master hunters are also strongly encouraged, as
				well as "no-fee" access for special permit holders (e.g., elk, bear, moose and
				bighorn sheep).
(f) To ensure
				predictability for landowners, hunters, and WDFW, all landowners who enter into
				an LHP contract in April are required to abide by the conditions of the LHP
				contract for the term of the contract. Any changes in property ownership, total
				acreage or management practices on the land(s) enrolled in the LHP will require
				an amendment to the contract. WDFW reserves the right to alter conditions to
				the contract if an amendment is required. It is the responsibility of the
				landowner to inform the proper WDFW regional staff of any changes. Not
				providing accurate information may result in the termination of the
				contract.
(g) Landowners may only
				be involved in one LHP statewide.