OLYMPIA - Hunters and other members of the public will have through Feb. 15 to comment on changes to hunting rules proposed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

WDFW is accepting written comments on the 17 proposals, posted on WDFW's website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/about/regulations/2013/wsr_13-03-152.pdf . The proposals include:

Expanding spring black bear hunting opportunities in the northern Puget Sound area to reduce bear damage to trees in commercial timberlands.
Allowing the use of illuminated arrow nocks for archery equipment.
Restoring antlerless elk opportunities for archery hunters in Yakima County, specifically in Game Management Units 352 (Nile) and 356 (Bumping).
Written comments may be emailed to wildthing@dfw.wa.gov or mailed to: Wildlife Program Commission Public Comments, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA 98501.

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, a nine-member citizen panel appointed by the governor to set policy for WDFW, will discuss the proposals and hold a final round of public comments during a meeting set March 1-2 in Moses Lake.

The commission is scheduled to vote on the new hunting rules during a meeting April 12-13 in Olympia.