Montana Mule Deer Mismanagement

[SwaggyD]

I had 2 roommates in college have a 3-some in a Chevy s-10 in the teasers parking lot. With a stripper.

 

[SwaggyD]

One of them killed a decent muley in R6 in like 2006.

 

[JEL]

back to fwp and mule deer mgt

Every excuse except lead poisoning.
THE NEW NORMAL
https://billingsgazette.com/the-new-normal/article_4c7cbaa7-06b0-51e1-932c-b56a99ea4afd.html

 

[mtmiller]

I had 2 roommates in college have a 3-some in a Chevy s-10 in the teasers parking lot. With a stripper.

One of them killed a decent muley in R6 in like 2006.

One of these is true, but which one?

 

[SwaggyD]

One of these is true, but which one?

Actually they both are. This was roughly 20 years ago.

 

[Mtn-time]

I have repeatedly watched bios try to cut both elk and deer permits in different areas I am familiar with including the Elkhorns, only to have their proposals questioned and tempered by their leadership.

I was doing some work for a rancher by Boulder in 380 many years ago, and he had a deer antler nailed to his tack shed that was probably half of a 180" buck. I asked him about it and he said something like, "Oh yeah, in the 50s and 60s those things were all over the place." It certainly isn't the range that is the problem and private land combined with the difficulty of access to the Black Sage WSA is probably one of the few things that allows any bucks to get older than a toddler in that area.

I dont know. My memory indicates that Mule Deer populations in 380 were substantually higher in the 1970's and 80's with ol timers reporting that back in the 50's and 60's there were more big bucks. Spokane Hills and the southend of the Boulder Valley south of the cut across road were both good hunting. Both areas were open to hunting, a different era for sure. Then both of those two areas were basically closed to public hunting with few exceptions. Deer populations, particularly older age class fell off prior to Spokane Hills being opened to the public. The south Boulder Valley is basically closed to public access for hunting. However, I dont believe the Mule deer situation is much better than the surrounding areas. How much of a factor does hunting truly play in the equation vs natural predation. I dont know. A similar case may be made for private property that is closed or managed for outfitting in that those areas are not necessarily overrun with deer and particularly not 180+ class older mule deer bucks either. Again, I dont know, but wouldnt be surprised as an example "if mule deer hunting was closed entirely in 380 for the next 5-7 years" one wouldnt see as much of a change as one would expect and that if there was a resulting hand full of 180+ class bucks on the landscape they wouldnt last more than a year or two. How much management and to what extent would be required to attain an extremely small proportion of the overall population. In my twisted logic is managing mule deer somewhat similar to that of managing timber if you dont harvest it those resources will be fed to coyotes or burned, respectivley.

 

[Eric Albus]

Funny the article didn’t mention predation as a factor in wildlife populations.

 

[DFS]

Guiding Principles For Mule Deer Management Plan Released For Public Comment | Montana FWP

Guiding principles for mule deer management plan released for public comment

fwp.mt.gov

 

[RandanP]

Explore innovative funding opportunities

There is approximately $22,000,000 allocated to Habitat MT in a special revenue account that FWP has not been given the authority to spend. That was innovative. Just need that authority.

 

[Forkyfinder]

Guiding Principles For Mule Deer Management Plan Released For Public Comment | Montana FWP

Guiding principles for mule deer management plan released for public comment

fwp.mt.gov

Curious what the comments will be

 

[Elky Welky]

Explore innovative funding opportunities

There is approximately $22,000,000 allocated to Habitat MT in a special revenue account that FWP has not been given the authority to spend. That was innovative. Just need that authority.

That money is for Habitat MT, not mule deer management, and the Land Board gets to decide how to spend it for purchasing conservation easements, WMAs, and the like. Every session people try to go after that account. But it is specifically there so that, when someone like the owners of Shodair Children's Hospital feel like generously giving their land back to Montanans, Montanans (with the exception of our AG) can purchase that land and provide more access to places like the Big Snowy Mountains, etc. We shouldn't be touching that account, and there would be significant opposition to shifting the spending power to FWP to spend on projects that are not Habitat Montana.

However, SB 442 was ultimately killed, which means there will be another battle over MJ tax revenues. And I would gladly get behind allocating some of those monies towards mule deer specific recovery and CWD prevention efforts.

 

[RandanP]

That money is for Habitat MT, not mule deer management, and the Land Board gets to decide how to spend it for purchasing conservation easements, WMAs, and the like. Every session people try to go after that account. But it is specifically there so that, when someone like the owners of Shodair Children's Hospital feel like generously giving their land back to Montanans, Montanans (with the exception of our AG) can purchase that land and provide more access to places like the Big Snowy Mountains, etc. We shouldn't be touching that account, and there would be significant opposition to shifting the spending power to FWP to spend on projects that are not Habitat Montana.

However, SB 442 was ultimately killed, which means there will be another battle over MJ tax revenues. And I would gladly get behind allocating some of those monies towards mule deer specific recovery and CWD prevention efforts.

They should split the Habitat MT allocation in half. One half staying with Habitat MT and one half going specifically to large habitat projects. This would address a large need for habitat improvement and it would make supporting this easier for reps that fear the spectre of additional land acquisition from FWP. I think there is virtually no chance FWP will acquire anything in the next four years.

 

[sclancy27]

Curious what the comments will be

I wonder if "best science" includes mandatory reporting....

 

[Rie Bread]

That money is for Habitat MT, not mule deer management, and the Land Board gets to decide how to spend it for purchasing conservation easements, WMAs, and the like. Every session people try to go after that account. But it is specifically there so that, when someone like the owners of Shodair Children's Hospital feel like generously giving their land back to Montanans, Montanans (with the exception of our AG) can purchase that land and provide more access to places like the Big Snowy Mountains, etc. We shouldn't be touching that account, and there would be significant opposition to shifting the spending power to FWP to spend on projects that are not Habitat Montana.

However, SB 442 was ultimately killed, which means there will be another battle over MJ tax revenues. And I would gladly get behind allocating some of those monies towards mule deer specific recovery and CWD prevention efforts.

I’d be curious as to how wild life crossings, winter range preservation and other habitat improvements isn’t qualified? Perhaps a rename of the find is in order

 

[antlerradar]

I wonder if "best science" includes mandatory reporting....

I laugh, because of the number of times mandatory reporting was mentioned by nearly all the CAC members.

 

[DFS]

I hope at minimum we get nonresident regional caps and residents are forced to pick a region. Making positive changes to help a species shouldn’t be this hard. Frustrating for sure.

 

[Ought Six]

After all the Montana mule deer management complaints and discussions on this thread and HT in general, you couldn’t write the irony any more perfectly than the Montana submission to the Members Success section of the Summer 2024 Mule Deer Foundation magazine:

 

[Shed God]

The mule deer foundation is gay

 

[Shed God]

What I found out not too long ago was the money the mule deer foundation receives, very little or none of it goes back into montana.

 

[Forkyfinder]

After all the Montana mule deer management complaints and discussions on this thread and HT in general, you couldn’t write the irony any more perfectly than the Montana submission to the Members Success section of the Summer 2024 Mule Deer Foundation magazine:

View attachment 333056View attachment 333057

lol just send this as your public comment.