I think decentralized management, in theory, is a great idea (see Region 4 changes this year). The problem is, for some reason the FWP staff in Region 7 seem to think everything is fine as it is.
My suggestion is find another OTC unit. I’ve spent time deer hunting in 44 and one other OTC elk unit. It was night and day the amount of elk we saw between the two.
I’ve only been hunting in TX once so my experience is very limited, but I think there’s some pretty shady outfits down there. It’s also TX, rules and regs don’t apply for a lot of species.
I think that’s just a cop out so they don’t have to do the work to take the meat. I went with some guys to TX last year and they didn’t take the meat because of what they had heard from guides. It kind of put a sour taste in my mouth the whole hunt after that. I was the only guy who still hadn’t...
I get what you’re saying, but there’s a difference between landowner permits and permits that are only valid on private land. It’s not a terrible idea. You make one permit type that’s good for both public and private, and one that’s only valid on private. The permit that is valid for both would...
I haven’t been down to the Custer since they broke up the bundle so I can’t speak from experience, but based off of talking to other hunters, it sounds like the Custer has no more archery hunting pressure than before, if not even a little less. The pressure in the central MT units increased...
Breaking up the 900 was good for your part of the state, but it sure as hell didn’t help the central MT units. They are a perfect example of what’s wrong with letting the commission set quotas. If they would have let the biologists set the quotas, those units would likely be a lot more enjoyable...
It wasn’t justified. I asked the question at two of the season setting meetings. At one meeting they said they thought the commission was just wanting more control over the quotas. At the other meeting, the FWP staff basically said they’ve been asking the same question themselves.
Why not start from scratch and fix the NR draw while we’re at it. Model the draw after Wyoming. If you want to draw a LE permit, you shouldn’t have to first draw a general tag. You either put in for general or a LE permit. It’s by far the most messed up NR draw system in my opinion. I bet half...
One thing I took away from last week's commission meeting, is that e-mailing commissioners and commenting on Zoom during the meeting doesn't seem to do any good. It's pretty disheartening when you present your case with good facts to back your argument (like saying all the public comments on...