Montana General Season Structure Proposal

[The Hedgehog]

Greenhorn there's your shout out. Probably get me beat up. Lol

i’ve no clue WTF you’re talking about but if you sign up on FB - i’m instantly requesting to be your friend.

 

[antlerradar]

Leaving the rut going will also bring public land bucks into private due to large concentrations of does

With the current distribution of does the road heading to private is a four lane highway and the road going to public is a washboard gravel.

 

[Shed God]

Talking about shout outs way earlier in thread. She knows what iam talking about. Lol

Just she is a hotty.

 

[antlerradar]

Can you expand on what the benefit would be?

Ideally I would think it would be best that the bucks doing the buck of the breeding have proved there value by surviving a few years of bad winters, drought and predators. It all that was required to do the breeding was a set of balls, there would be a lot of pure breed cattle ranches out of business.

 

[R.K.]

bma is private . This was a big topic at the meetings in December . FWP thought telling landowners enrolled in Bm what to do might mean less acres enrolled . I agree . They can decide what is hunted on their bma’s

I agree with this. Because this further legitimizes using BMA access as a way for landowners to reduce deer populations, rather than cry for compensation after not letting anyone in during the outfitting season.

 

[Ben Lamb]

“
A few other major changes to this year’s hunting season regarding mule deer are:

• Antlerless mule deer in Regions 6 and 7 can only be harvested on private property this coming fall, which is a change from years past.
• Beginning in the 2024 hunting season, only antlered buck mule deer may be harvested with a General Deer License in all Region 5 hunting districts. In six of the 10 Region 5 deer and elk hunting districts, youth hunters aged 10-15 may harvest either sex mule deer with a General Deer License.
• Nonresidents may only purchase one Deer B License unless they drew a combo, which allows them to purchase two total. Before this year, nonresident hunters could purchase up to seven Deer B Licenses.”

I know we like to be negative around here, but I feel like these 3 changes are a big step in the right direction. We all want more deer on public land, and FWP just took steps to protect the does on public land. Makes me hopeful that the trend might head in the right direction.

One thing I’m curious about is if BMAs count as public for the doe tags. I know of some parts of region 7 that are mostly BMA.

Excellent post.

The Doe harvest in 6 & 7 is a good example of stakeholders working to change direction with the commission. It's exactly what our system is set up to do: Allow the public a large role in how wildlife is managed.

FWP also cut doe licenses by 90% in 2023. That should be recognized and celebrated as well. FWP gets a lot of hate for management, but they are reflecting what the public wants.

 

[TheTone]

Good fawn crop this year has got to be a positive for blasting forkies next year

 

[8andcounting]

Excellent post.

The Doe harvest in 6 & 7 is a good example of stakeholders working to change direction with the commission. It's exactly what our system is set up to do: Allow the public a large role in how wildlife is managed.

FWP also cut doe licenses by 90% in 2023. That should be recognized and celebrated as well. FWP gets a lot of hate for management, but they are reflecting what the public wants.

Well to be fair , FWP cut doe tags in 7 by 90% in 2023 . But when the amount of tags (11,000) is unbelievably high 10% is still too many . And like someone else mentioned , it was not FWP idea to switch doe harvest to private . Let’s pump the breaks before we give them a cookie

 

[Ben Lamb]

Well to be fair , FWP cut doe tags in 7 by 90% in 2023 . But when the amount of tags (11,000) is unbelievably high 10% is still too many . And like someone else mentioned , it was not FWP idea to switch doe harvest to private . Let’s pump the breaks before we give them a cookie

 

[brockel]

Excellent post.

The Doe harvest in 6 & 7 is a good example of stakeholders working to change direction with the commission. It's exactly what our system is set up to do: Allow the public a large role in how wildlife is managed.

FWP also cut doe licenses by 90% in 2023. That should be recognized and celebrated as well. FWP gets a lot of hate for management, but they are reflecting what the public wants.

90% was 3 years to late

 

[Ben Lamb]

90% was 3 years to late

“O God and Heavenly Father, grant to us the serenity of mind to accept that which cannot be changed, courage to change that which can be changed, and wisdom to know the one from the other through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen”

The three greatest weapons that people possess in getting something done are humility, grace and serenity. Learn from the past, but let go of the past and work for the future.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Also, “Beatings will continue until morale improves.”

 

[brockel]

“O God and Heavenly Father, grant to us the serenity of mind to accept that which cannot be changed, courage to change that which can be changed, and wisdom to know the one from the other through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen”

The three greatest weapons that people possess in getting something done are humility, grace and serenity. Learn from the past, but let go of the past and work for the future.

You’re right we better start praying for Montana mule deer because we can’t rely on fwp

 

[SwaggyD]

Won’t even charge you

 

[Ben Lamb]

You’re right we better start praying for Montana mule deer because we can’t rely on fwp

"What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?" Frederick Douglass

Action always must come from outside of Government. The State will generally favor intransigence as it dislikes controversy and functions better on a long, stable track. Moving the management of a very well liked species isn't ever an easy task.

 

[8andcounting]

You can’t make this shit up . Just now on fb - mule deer populations in eastern Montana are stable ….

 

[Mountain Man]

I’m on the precipice of moving to Montana after concluding my career in the military and I get that “things aren’t as good as they used to be”, but holy cow there is a tremendous amount of outrage towards FWP and sniveling going on in these 90 pages. I’m just glad to be able to go hunting again after living overseas for 4 years. It seams that many of you missed your calling in becoming wildlife biologists and actually working for FWP to make the change you so desperately want. It’s never too late to change careers…

 

[8andcounting]

I’m on the precipice of moving to Montana after concluding my career in the military and I get that “things aren’t as good as they used to be”, but holy cow there is a tremendous amount of outrage towards FWP and sniveling going on in these 90 pages. I’m just glad to be able to go hunting again after living overseas for 4 years. It seams that many of you missed your calling in becoming wildlife biologists and actually working for FWP to make the change you so desperately want. It’s never too late to change careers…

Thanks for your service . Good luck in your future hunting adventures

 

[huntin24/7]

Sometimes the word sniveling gets confused with people actually caring about the resource and concerned about the future. I think the majority complaining here would fall into that category.

 

[sclancy27]

I’m on the precipice of moving to Montana after concluding my career in the military and I get that “things aren’t as good as they used to be”, but holy cow there is a tremendous amount of outrage towards FWP and sniveling going on in these 90 pages. I’m just glad to be able to go hunting again after living overseas for 4 years. It seams that many of you missed your calling in becoming wildlife biologists and actually working for FWP to make the change you so desperately want. It’s never too late to change careers…

I worked in 2 different agencies (FWP as a fisheries intern and WYGFD doing tech work) and the Feds working with FWP on projects. I left fisheries work to do engineering for a couple reasons, but a big one was how unbelievably political state game agencies, particularly FWP, can be. And this goes back well before the GG administration. There is little room to be outspoken on issues without very real implications for your job and financial security. In contrast, I can be more involved in the processes that matter (legislature, commission, etc) than I ever could as a bio. I am not saying bios don't matter (they absolutely do) but they are significantly hamstrung by the managers of the agency.