WA Goat Tag- Advice

[slick]

Howdy- planning a scouting trip to the East Olympics of Washington for a friend that drew the tag. If there are any previous tag holders on here, or anyone that's intimately familiar with the area I'd appreciate a phone chat as to keep the secret stuff off the internet. This is not in regards to the Park cull, and I have spent time in the area but wouldn't mind picking a local/previous local's brain.

 

[hunterednate]

Very cool! No insider info here, but I'm interested to hear how your friend's hunt goes. Best of luck to you both.

 

[slick]

Well the Olympic's are steep, steep, and steeper. The lower portions are a complete jungle so it can be a slog- especially if it rains like it has the potential to in September. Ideally, we locate goats in a high basin and have a starting point for the hunt. They've been out once already but no luck. I'm trying to utilize all available resources to narrow the search down. I'm not sure if they'll post anything or not and I would have to ask for permission. Thanks for the kind words.

 

[MountainTracker]

I know in addition to the cull there was a number relocated. Have you tried talking to the Park staff? I’d bet they have a log book for hikers to log where they had seen goats. They also have staff whose job it is to hike around and check to make sure people have the proper camping permits, so they will have a pretty good idea of where they are hanging out. Good luck on the hunt beautiful area up there.


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[slick]

Thanks for the reply M.T.

The NPS/WDFW relocated all goats into native range within the North Cascades...like 275 of them.

This tag is bordering the park and I believe this is the last year of the hunt due to WDFW aggressively hunting the goats outside of the park boundary, but still tied to the Olympic range so there certainly could still be immigration into the park from this unit.

I don't think NPS would be much of a help just due to the fact it falls outside of their jurisdiction. I know previously they had collared goats, and some of that data was shared with the tag holder from the WDFW Bio.

 

[MountainTracker]

Thanks for the reply M.T.

The NPS/WDFW relocated all goats into native range within the North Cascades...like 275 of them.

This tag is bordering the park and I believe this is the last year of the hunt due to WDFW aggressively hunting the goats outside of the park boundary, but still tied to the Olympic range so there certainly could still be immigration into the park from this unit.

I don't think NPS would be much of a help just due to the fact it falls outside of their jurisdiction. I know previously they had collared goats, and some of that data was shared with the tag holder from the WDFW Bio.

Gotcha didn’t realize the tag was for outside the park. Know anyone with a helicopter could always go for a ride hahaha


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[slvrslngr]

That was a tough hunt before the NPS relocated and culled the goats. The idea of going on a plane or helo scouting trip is probably a good one. Good luck!

 

[hikenhunt]

Jealous and not at the same time for your buddy, that's going to be a tough hunt with so many of them removed! Get a hold of the WDFW bio and anyone they refer you to. I'd love to hear how it goes, best of luck!

 

[hunterednate]

How did this go for your friend, Slick? Did he (or she?) end up finding any goats? I know the weather was pretty nasty here in WA in late September. Depending on his dates, it could have been tough to see any goats, let alone get to them.

 

[slick]

Yep. She was able to take a young billy. Was the only hunter between the first two seasons to do so. Bio didn’t think people really gave it a fair shake.

 

[hunterednate]

Wow, congrats to your friend! That is no small feat in that country. Well done.