PINK OUTFITS CAN now be worn legally by hunters in our state.
During the 2019 legislative session, the state legislature passed Senate Bill 5148 that allows hunters to wear fluorescent hunter pink.
The state Fish and Wildlife Commission recently adopted rules to implement the legislation, which allows hunters to wear fluorescent hunter pink, fluorescent hunter orange, or both.
Several other states have passed laws allowing hunters to wear pink clothing for safety.
“Hunters must follow the same requirements as hunter orange if they wear hunter pink,” said David Whipple, Fish and Wildlife hunter education division manager. “If you hunt during a season that requires visible clothing, you’re required to wear a minimum of 400 square inches above the waist that is visible from all sides.”
A hat, by itself, does not meet the requirement. Hunters may wear fluorescent hunter orange and fluorescent hunter pink on different garments or the same garment.
As with hunter orange, a camouflage hunter pink pattern is legal as long as it is fluorescent. Hunters can find more information on hunter pink at tinyurl.com/PDN-HuntReqs.
“This legislation follows that of numerous other states across the country and simply gives Washington hunters an additional color option to be seen while out in the field,” said Jen Syrowitz, Washington Outdoor Women director.
Since Fish and Wildlife began requiring hunters to wear hunter orange, as well as pass a hunter education class, hunting incidents have declined significantly in the state.
“We’re excited to add this new option for our hunters,” added Whipple. “Many hunters, regardless of gender or age, are looking forward to wearing fluorescent hunter pink.”
House hearing
The federal House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife held a hearing Thursday on the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (HR 3742) — a piece of legislation that has more than 130 bipartisan cosponsors.
The bill will dedicate $1.3 billion annually to state fish and wildlife agencies to implement science-based wildlife action plans and an additional $97.5 million for tribal fish and wildlife managers to conserve fish and wildlife on tribal lands and waters.
This will provide dedicated funding, so state and tribal wildlife managers can conserve fish and wildlife species of greatest conservation need in a voluntary, non-regulatory manner before federal listing under the Endangered Species Act is warranted. Bill sponsors say all of this can be done without additional taxes.
The impact for our state is pretty significant.
If passed and signed into law, an estimated $24 million in new federal dollars would be sent to our state’s Fish and Wildlife department to manage nongame species.
Knowing the department’s funding woes, these funds would be welcomed with open arms.
River Center lectures
The Dungeness River Audubon Center’s Focus on Series returns Saturday with a presentation on Weasels, Otters, and Fishers.
The Focus on Series will be held at the center, 2151 W. Hendrickson Road, every third Saturday at 10 a.m. through March.
Admission is $5 for members, $10 for nonmembers.
For more information, call 360-681-4076 or email rceducation@olympus.net.
Native northwest corals
University of Washington assistant professor of chemical oceanography Alex Gagnon will discuss the Salish Sea’s native corals at a talk Sunday in Port Townsend.
Gagnon will speak at the Chapel at Fort Worden State Park at 3 p.m. as part of the Port Townsend Marine Science Center’s The Future of Oceans lecture series.
Admission is $5, free for students and teachers.
Gagnon’s talk will focus on cold-water corals, including species native to the Pacific Northwest.
“Many coral reefs are in decline due to rising temperatures and ocean acidification,” Gagnon said. “What few people know is that stony corals do not live just in the tropics. A few hardy species of stony corals grow right here in the Pacific Northwest.
“What is even more surprising is that these native corals record information about ocean chemistry as they grow and may hold the key to understanding how much humans have changed the pH of the Salish Sea,” he said.
Gagnon uses tools from chemistry and geology to study how ocean acidification impacts corals and other marine organisms that make their skeletons out of calcium carbonate. Based on this mechanistic understanding of calcification, his lab can predict how changing ocean conditions will affect coral reefs and uncover the climate records locked within fossil marine shells.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
