FWP adjusts mule deer quotas in response to spring surveys

[BuzzH]

I'm sending you a snickers. Hangry old bastige.

I'd be happier if you could send SE Montana some mule deer.

Oh, and I'm reluctant to tell the FWP I saw a live mule deer doe last year where I hunt in Western Montana last fall. First one in 9 years.

I'm sure they would promptly release a statement to the public how they increased the mule deer herd by 100% since 2014.

Probably worth at least 50 doe tags.

 

[Ben Lamb]

I'd be happier if you could send SE Montana some mule deer.

Working on it.

King size or regular snickers for you?

 

[BuzzH]

Working on it.

King size or regular snickers for you?

Hold the snickers and relay to the FWP it would be nice, just one time, they take accountability for their crap management.

 

[brocksw]

Working on it.

King size or regular snickers for you?

Ice cream snicker or die

 

[Ben Lamb]

Ice cream snicker or die

A man after my own blood sugar level.

 

[huntin24/7]

It’s great to see the progress that’s finally starting to happen, but when will there also be management for bucks as well. There isn’t an unlimited supply of them either. I’m glad we’re taking a step forward anyways. Hopefully these changes continue.

 

[Deleted member 48080]

Change is good here, but incremental change is just going to condense pressure further and further and we'll continue to run out of places for it to go.

We need blanket change, for both species.

 

[antlerradar]

I like the recent developments with SE Montana mule deer. Not as many steps as I would like, but at least we are pointed in the right direction. I worry though that in a few years when the Mule Deer herd on private land recovers FWP will declare victory and we will be right back to 11,000 region wide doe tags and pounding public land long before there is a recovery. Problem is the public herd needs to recolonize many places before recovery can even start.

 

[Ben Lamb]

I worry though that in a few years when the Mule Deer herd on private land recovers FWP will declare victory and we will be right back to 11,000 region wide doe tags and pounding public land long before there is a recovery.

There's an old saying in Montana politics "Forever is until next session."

Same goes with season setting. It's a never ending process and you will always have to maintain engagement, or accept the outcomes.

“It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.” Theodore Rex

 

[Ben Lamb]

Change is good here, but incremental change is just going to condense pressure further and further and we'll continue to run out of places for it to go.

We need blanket change, for both species.

Tell me what you'd do for whitetail.

 

[Deleted member 48080]

Tell me what you'd do for whitetail.

Montana Deer Management- If I were King for a day.

This last season I've been able to hunt with and discuss Montana's deer management with a bunch of different hunters, many from this site. probably 90% of the hunters I’ve spoken to have agreed something needs changed with our deer season structure, and the course we’re on with our current...

www.hunttalk.com

 

[Raisin Bran]

Montana Deer Management- If I were King for a day.

This last season I've been able to hunt with and discuss Montana's deer management with a bunch of different hunters, many from this site. probably 90% of the hunters I’ve spoken to have agreed something needs changed with our deer season structure, and the course we’re on with our current...

www.hunttalk.com

I liked it when you wrote it then and I like it now. It seems like it would create more objective data points to see if it is making a difference than the current system.

 

[MTGomer]

I'm also reluctant to give too much praise when a 52% decline results in still issuing 1000 b tags. It should be zero,

Yes

 

[Ben Lamb]

This popped this morning.

Guest opinion: FWP deserves accolades for deer license reduction

Recently, Montana’s Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks recently announced they were reducing hunting licenses for mule deer in a large swath of Central and Eastern Montana. This move was

billingsgazette.com

 

[Carnage2011]

This popped this morning.

Guest opinion: FWP deserves accolades for deer license reduction

Recently, Montana’s Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks recently announced they were reducing hunting licenses for mule deer in a large swath of Central and Eastern Montana. This move was

billingsgazette.com

I don’t fully understand why people want to give others accolades for doing their job. It’s what we pay them to do. It’s one thing if they went above and beyond to do something that wasn’t necessary. That’s not the case here…they were slow to react and basically just did what was necessary.

 

[Ben Lamb]

I don’t fully understand why people want to give others accolades for doing their job. It’s what we pay them to do. It’s one thing if they went above and beyond to do something that wasn’t necessary. That’s not the case here…they were slow to react and basically just did what was necessary.

I don't have any problem telling people when they do something good. This was a big step in the right direction, regardless of timing. Showing FWP that hunters are willing to give up opportunity for better management helps the agency in their decision making matrix.

honey, vinegar, and all that.

 

[Carnage2011]

I don't have any problem telling people when they do something good. This was a big step in the right direction, regardless of timing. Showing FWP that hunters are willing to give up opportunity for better management helps the agency in their decision making matrix.

honey, vinegar, and all that.

I get what you’re saying, but if the animals are dead then there isn’t much “opportunity” to harvest them. So hunters aren’t giving up opportunity here. They are saving them money and time is all.

I do appreciate FWP actually recognizing that deer numbers are down and making a good management decision.

 

[Ben Lamb]

I get what you’re saying, but if the animals are dead then there isn’t much “opportunity” to harvest them. So hunters aren’t giving up opportunity here. They are saving them money and time is all.

I do appreciate FWP actually recognizing that deer numbers are down and making a good management decision.

Opportunity isn't necessarily defined by the number of critters in MT, it's defined by the fun ticket in your pocket. Deer are a renewable resource, luckily.

 

[DFS]

Ben we have been here before. In 2012 there was a room full of hunters in miles city pleading with fwp to do something to help our deer and antelope. 2 years later they finally did. Before numbers recovered they were issuing 11k doe tags. Numbers on public never came back. I’m fairly new to the game but this cycle has been happening long before I started paying attention. It will be interesting what things look like in 5 years, I know what my bet is.

 

[Mallardsx2]

You, I, We, shouldn't have to praise a state agency for doing something good. Thats what they should be doing all the time. It's their freaking job.