Montana General Season Structure Proposal

[Gerald Martin]

When there’s little to no deer left in areas there won’t be much cwd

That will be progress. We’ll really be winning when we completely extirpate deer in states with CWD and stop CWP for good.

Then we can get back to our OTC rut hunts for mule deer. #Opportunity.

 

[huntin24/7]

I may have missed something somewhere, but I believe scorched earth attempts on deer herds in the u.s. and Canada to curb cwd spread have had virtually no success in slowing transmission in those areas.

 

[Nick87]

I may have missed something somewhere, but I believe scorched earth attempts on deer herds in the u.s. and Canada to curb cwd spread have had virtually no success in slowing transmission in those areas.

Ask them your just not scorching the earth long enough.

 

[DFS]

I haven’t made it all the way through the day 1 presentations yet but it sure seems like FWP already has a direction the ship is headed. I hope I’m wrong.

If nothing else the region 7 stats are pretty damning. Nonresidents are pounding the ch#t out of it. Time for a major change in their management.

 

[Ought Six]

If nothing else the region 7 stats are pretty damning. Nonresidents are pounding the ch#t out of it. Time for a major change in their management.

That’s just because residents aren’t as good of hunters as them NRs

 

[8andcounting]

That’s just because residents aren’t as good of hunters as them NRsView attachment 325432View attachment 325433

There’s one in every crowd don’t blame the rest of us

 

[The Hedgehog]

Non resident hunters are usually going to be the more successful of the two in any state for a lot of different reasons. I bet that’s a statistical fact and definitely in MT.

 

[rogerthat]

That’s just because residents aren’t as good of hunters as them NRsView attachment 325432View attachment 325433

Just a thought, the fish and game agencies could pay the influencers to put on these classes. Luckily they already have the curriculum built. I’m going to be a core af baddy hunter before we know it

 

[Elktrack]

After listening the day one of the CAC it is glaringly obvious that there is a serious lack of data.

The hunter surveys are not producing much feedback and FWP doesn’t seem interested in mandatory reporting of any kind. They said multiple times that it’s difficult to mandate hunter reporting. Repeatedly said people just don’t answer the phone, hard to reach people, etc. Just excuses as to why it’s hard to get significant survey information. They feel like they get enough info to get a general idea. I think this needs to be addressed.

The population numbers are pretty much just averages and projections based off other criteria such as hunter success (which is not good data) sprinkled with actual flight survey numbers to create a “model” and numbers sometimes get “teased “ to come up with a plan. I’m surprised at how little information they actually have regarding numbers.
“Using the number of bucks harvested on a general license is a reliable index to population size.
Using aerial surveys on trend areas is a reliable index to population size”

They are running off a plan from the 1990s that was modified in 2001 and are reluctant to change because they don’t want to scrap it and produce an entirely new plan. It’s almost like they are following it out of some reverence for their predecessors.

It’s very apparent that managing for age class doesn’t factor into any of this and is not going to. It’s obvious that mule deer are not near the top of the list of of important species. It’s interesting that the management is merely about hunting opportunities that allow tags to be notched.

• Some (15-37% hunters are in favor of restrictions to manage for older age class bucks (confirmed).
• A majority of hunters want the opportunity to hunt mule deer bucks every year somewhere in Montana, with a lower probability of harvesting a mature buck (confirmed)

I was shocked to hear them say that there’s no funding issues and they’ve actually turned down money from organizations. Listening about 6 hours and 35 minutes or so.

For me it just sounds like the disconnect is worse than I hoped. It really does look like there is no change in the near future because they don’t see a problem. I’m not trying to spread hate and discontent. But trying to initiate change is hard when the folks that have the ability to make the changes don’t see the need.

Just some ramblings after a day spent listening to a whole lot of the same thing over and over hoping to hear something different. It really seemed like they were saying “ eh, were not exactly sure but things seem good enough “

 

[BuzzH]

As to the lack of people answering a phone survey, is the myfwp so far out of touch that they can't find another way to collect that data?

It's almost as if they don't know what a computer is, or an email address, an app, etc.

Unbelievable.

 

[rogerthat]

As to the lack of people answering a phone survey, is the myfwp so far out of touch that they can't find another way to collect that data?

It's almost as if they don't know what a computer is, or an email address, an app, etc.

Unbelievable.

It’s almost as if they don’t want the data…oh wait….they don’t

 

[BuzzH]

It’s almost as if they don’t want the data…oh wait….they don’t

True story.

 

[Gerald Martin]

It’s almost as if they don’t want the data…oh wait….they don’t

No need for data. They have the results of the mule deer hunter survey.

 

[The Hedgehog]

True story.

In Utah if you don’t report you cannot apply next year. Pretty easy solution. FWP will have an excuse to not do anything, based on their ridiculously sh1t data.

 

[Gerald Martin]

In Utah if you don’t report you cannot apply next year. Pretty easy solution. FWP will have an excuse to not do anything, based on their ridiculously sh1t data.

Yeah but Utah doesn’t have good enough hunting and management to come up with a five week OTC hunt that encompasses all phases of the rut. Results speak for themselves. Montana does it best without no stinking mandatory reporting. Just go check on Facebook if you don’t believe me.

 

[Nick87]

As to the lack of people answering a phone survey, is the myfwp so far out of touch that they can't find another way to collect that data?

It's almost as if they don't know what a computer is, or an email address, an app, etc.

Unbelievable.

New mexico has the perfect solution for this.

 

[Rie Bread]

You think with the E-tags they could sucker some intern to add a survey element to it….

 

[huntin24/7]

I don’t see why you couldn’t have a survey system in place like the HIP survey you must complete before buying a migratory bird license. When you click to purchase an elk or deer tag online, you automatically get directed to a survey you must complete before your purchase. If you buy your tag at a store, it could be completed there. Something basic like how many days you hunted, what regions you hunted, did you shoot a buck(region you killed it in and what species) etc.

 

[cgasner1]

I’d rather just see it be part of the e tags and if you don’t wanna do e tags then you have to get online and answer the same questions

 

[sscrano]

I don’t see why you couldn’t have a survey system in place like the HIP survey you must complete before buying a migratory bird license. When you click to purchase an elk or deer tag online, you automatically get directed to a survey you must complete before your purchase. If you buy your tag at a store, it could be completed there. Something basic like how many days you hunted, what regions you hunted, did you shoot a buck(region you killed it in and what species) etc.

many states have had automated game harvest call lines for a long time. With the advent of the internet, I am sure there would be an easy automated way for hunters to enter harvest information.