One of my favorite times of the year is when friends and family, young and old, gather at my family’s property, which is little more than a field of 10 acres on a river with some cottonwood trees and an old barn, where we construct our annual deer camp with various campers. We all meet there annually to set up camp and then take off to different hunting spots during the day before meeting back up for an evening meal.  

Tucked away in the Methow valley, fall is a particularly gorgeous time of year in this special place. The aspens that line the wide, shallow, slow moving Methow river turn a vibrant gold. The pleasant bluebird weather found in eastern Washington is a welcome reprieve from the rain and gray dismay of western Washington, despite not being all that great for hunting. Hunters flood the valley for a chance to tag out on over-the-counter mule deer tags. It’s a pumpkin patch of hunters, but there are refuges of solitude if you know where to look. Nestled in the general agreement of deer camp is one of the few places I would not expect to hear the words “you should not hunt bears”; but alas, this year I did. 

We were sitting upstairs in our barn after dinner and sharing tales of various hunts, where to go tomorrow, and what we saw earlier that day. I happened to mention one of my bear hunts and a few others joined in with theirs. To my surprise, one of our longtime family friends, who happened to join us this year and had hunted deer with us prior, piped up and said, “You guys should not be hunting bears!” I was taken aback, not realizing that anyone in camp would even suggest such a thing, but also open to his reasons why.  

“Why shouldn’t we hunt bears?” I quickly responded.  

His reply was equally surprising, “You just shouldn’t.” 

I chuckled a bit under my breath and said, “What makes them any different than hunting deer or elk?”  

His reply again surprised me, “I had a teddy bear growing up and I just don’t think you should hunt them.” And there it was. A long-forgotten childhood adoration imprinted on his psyche had informed his adult opinion. I explained that bears needed to be managed and that I personally took more from a bear carcass than I did a deer (the bear hide, meat, and skull). But logic could not persuade the 70-year-old memories of his teddy. Secretly, I thought it kind of sweet of the old man despite my disagreement. 

Now, I want to say clearly that I love this guy: he is a Navy vet, hard worker, friend, farmer, neighbor, and I would help him in any way I could if he needed it. Heck, my son even bucks hay with him in the summer. But all my loyalty to our family friend cannot negate the truth, and the truth is that predators need to be managed. This was made very clear during that deer season with the obvious lack of deer in the valley. The steady decline of mule deer in the area has been noticeable for several years because they compete with wolves, coyotes, cougars, bears, white-tailed deer, development, sometimes brutal winters, and even hunters.  

Generally, deer are such an issue in the valley that there is a sign along the highway that drops the speed limit during the evening and showcases the annual total and year-to-date of deer hit as well as the monetary damage accrued. Normally during deer season, there are at least 200 or more deer on the year-to-date list that have been hit. This year, it was 25. That is unheard of. Never in my 30+ years of hunting the valley have I seen a number below 100, let alone below 50. The season reflected this concern. In our camp, we normally see at least five or so deer tagged, but this year not even one was tagged. We did see others have some success in camp, but this year it just wasn’t meant to be. I happened to spot two legal bucks (neither of which I shot at) and, frankly, I felt like I should let them walk anyway due to their numbers.  

Anti-hunter groups attacking predator hunting is nothing new. After all, who doesn’t like a photo or video of a sow with her cubs snuggled up in a den or running along an old logging cut? I could watch bear cubs all day and be happy as a lark. It is an easy target to chip away at, a “low-hanging fruit” as it has been called by the great Clay Newcomb. But why is that? Well, a lot of us, like my friend, had teddy bears growing up and relate to the visuals of bears being harmless, cuddly friends. With recent unsuccessful attempts in California and Colorado, along with successful ???attacks in Washington, the battle to retain our way of life is constant. So must our vigilance be in defending this way of life. Even if it rears its head in deer camp, family gatherings, the dinner table, school, or work, we should tactfully confront it. Taking every opportunity to defend and showcase our love of this resource will go a long way in turning the tide in our favor.  

That is what I did in camp. While we agreed to disagree, my hope is that he ponders my point of view the way I did his. My hope is he considers our neighbors’ plight at that property. They deal with black bears destroying their fruit trees just a few feet outside their home every summer. It is very possible a bear may cause physical harm to them or their pets if surprised. A common view we share is that we want the bear species to be healthy and the population to thrive. But as to how we accomplish (or rather, maintain) that goal is where we differ. Black bears throughout the west are thriving, and hunting the species is in no small part a positive contributor to that equation.  

A big part of being a hunter, particularly a bear hunter, is now arming yourself with the knowledge to stand for something that means so much to so many. If a person or organization truly believes they are “inclusive” or want “wildlife for all”, should that not include those with a different point of view from theirs? I would suggest that it must include that, otherwise they are little more than an exclusionist organization or individual who seeks to diminish alternative points of view and ways of life.  

The recent success we found in stopping the ban on cougar and bobcat hunting in Colorado was due, in no small part, to the coordinated efforts by hunters and hunting organizations. Getting the word out on social media (no matter how many followers you have), showcasing your meal preparation of the meat, and sharing your kids’ hunting moments can all have a positive effect on the non-hunting public. So many people approve of hunting when the animal is used for food, but likewise, so many in the public do not realize that bear meat is used as such. It is up to us to shed light on this topic and to do it respectfully.  

I spent the rest of my deer season really focusing on predators after several unsuccessful days of searching for deer. As a camp, we saw way more legal and non-legal predators than legal bucks. Deer hunting success in this immediate area has been steadily declining for some time. If it wasn’t for the company in deer camp and the surrounding area that I love so much, I would likely spend my season closer to home where I believe I have a higher chance of success on a blacktail deer. But I will continue to go back as long as I can. 

I hope that during this slow time of year for hunting, you take time to do your own research, gain knowledge of the benefits of hunting (to the bear species as well as other species), attend some fish and wildlife meetings to show your support, write an editorial for your local paper, and become a soldier in defense of bear hunting. We need you.