Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
FFA to share in Chewelah next week
From left to right, Jaylee Abrahamson, Logan Flaa, Vaea Lamoreux, Lydia Wicks and Emma Flaa give their presentation on carnivore and predatory management policies in Washington to the Lincoln County Commissioners Tuesday, Jan. 17.
DAVENPORT-Reardan's FFA team was back in the commissioner's chambers for its annual presentation to the Lincoln County Commissioners Tuesday, Jan. 17. This year, the group of five students presented on the issue of carnivore and predator management in Washington State.
Advisor Rick Perleberg informed commissioners Scott Hutsell and Rob Coffman of the importance of this presentation for his students as part of their public portfolio.
Lydia Wicks and Emma Flaa presented as opponents of the way the state Department of Fish and Wildlife handles predatory policy, while Logan Flaa and Jaylee Abrahamson presented as proponents. Vaea Lamoreux acted as a middleman during the presentation, which served like a simulated debate.
The opponents began by sharing the story of Lily Kryzhanivskyy, a nine-year-old girl who was attacked by a cougar at a campground near Fruitland last June as an example of the dangers predators create when they venture into human-occupied areas without policies to keep those predators in check in place.
The proponents countered by sharing about six endangered gray wolves from the Wedge pack that were fatally poisoned near Colville last year and countered that droughts, wildfires and other uncontrollable factors are larger contributors to predatory problems than poor governmental policy.
After the 15-minute conversation, the students had a Perleberg-prompted conversation with the commissioners to inquire about Hutsell and Coffman's opinions while sharing their own opinions about state predator management, issues they found with policies and their thoughts on where those problems originate.
The FFA team will take their presentation to Stevens County, a common source of wolf conflict and debate, next week. The presentation is Wednesday, Jan. 25 and is sponsored by the Northeast Wildlife Management Group.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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