Montana season structure proposal 2.0

[DFS]

4. Not significantly reduce funding for FWP.

If you don’t have sustainable wildlife management you don’t have sustainable funding.

 

[Gerald Martin]

If you don’t have sustainable wildlife management you don’t have sustainable funding.

Never underestimate the department’s ability to print tags and provide “opportunity”

 

[Carnage2011]

If you don’t have sustainable wildlife management you don’t have sustainable funding.

Our wildlife management is sustainable. You may not like it, but the deer aren’t going extinct.

 

[DFS]

Our wildlife management is sustainable. You may not like it, but the deer aren’t going extinct.

Right. Because of private land I know that. That is the only thing stopping it.

 

[OpenCountry]

Getting the data first, which is also part of our proposal, is working in the right direction too.

I don't think it is safe to assume we would be successful in getting caps put in place a few years down the road. Hell, even attempts to limit NR bird hunting pressure have came up unsuccessful lately.

Wouldn’t knowing exactly how many people are hunting region 6 and 7 by picking your region be part of that data?

 

[cgasner1]

Wouldn’t knowing exactly how many people are hunting region 6 and 7 by picking your region be part of that data?

Mandatory reporting would help to know what coming out

 

[Gerald Martin]

It’s comforting to me that the main criticism so far is we aren’t going restrictive enough. I wouldn’t have thought that!

How about we keep archery going through the first week of October and just have the last two weeks of October be rifle season for mule deer? Think that would fly?

 

[cgasner1]

It’s comforting to me that the main criticism so far is we aren’t going restrictive enough. I wouldn’t have thought that!

How about we keep archery going through the first week of October and just have the last two weeks of October be rifle season for mule deer? Think that would fly?

We didn’t even tell them about the blow gun season yet.

 

[Carnage2011]

It’s comforting to me that the main criticism so far is we aren’t going restrictive enough. I wouldn’t have thought that!

How about we keep archery going through the first week of October and just have the last two weeks of October be rifle season for mule deer? Think that would fly?

Not a chance. I think the people of MT are already going to have a meltdown. If you cut deer season to two weeks it’ll be a riot.

 

[bigsky2]

Wouldn’t knowing exactly how many people are hunting region 6 and 7 by picking your region be part of that data?

It would be, and that was part of the original thinking behind pick your region. I would prefer not to potentially increase the pressure in R6 and 7 even more for a couple of years based on the assumption that regional caps would be implemented a few years down the road. If the caps didn’t get implemented, the situation in those regions would be even worse than it is now.

Even if regional caps did eventually get implemented, a very likely scenario is that the quotas would be set so high that they wouldn't do any good. The same thing happened to some of the elk districts in R4 and 5 when they broke up the 900 archery bundle. The quotas were set so high that there were hundreds of leftovers. That doesn’t do anything to help crowding.

 

[SAJ-99]

Just take the antelope regs, do a ‘find-replace’ antelope with mule deer and submit that.

 

[Shed God]

Well that is fwps job. To manage the wildlife. Set the qoutas to manage a healthy herd.

And everyone would still apply for the tag. So fwp would not lose any money.

Nobody is going to starve to death because they didn't get 40 lbs of mule deer meat every yr.

 

[OpenCountry]

It would be, and that was part of the original thinking behind pick your region. I would prefer not to potentially increase the pressure in R6 and 7 even more for a couple of years based on the assumption that regional caps would be implemented a few years down the road. If the caps didn’t get implemented, the situation in those regions would be even worse than it is now.

Even if regional caps did eventually get implemented, a very likely scenario is that the quotas would be set so high that they wouldn't do any good. The same thing happened to some of the elk districts in R4 and 5 when they broke up the 900 archery bundle. The quotas were set so high that there were hundreds of leftovers. That doesn’t do anything to help crowding.

It seems like both of those roads still lead to the eastern half of the state continuing its downward spiral for mule deer if there isn’t a reasonable cap put in place at some point.

You’re going to end up with more hunters each year hunting the east side of the state for deer with or without pick your region so in the end the resource still takes a beating. No different than years past. Imo it makes sense to keep the pick your region so you at least have a general idea of the shocking number of folks hunting both of those regions. Better to start building the data now instead of kicking the can down the road another few years.

 

[Shed God]

Yes it seems we should storm the castle now on that one. Pick your region. Seems like a very important piece of the puzzle. Too move forward, instead of dragging it out.

 

[Werty]

It seems like both of those roads still lead to the eastern half of the state continuing its downward spiral for mule deer if there isn’t a reasonable cap put in place at some point.

You’re going to end up with more hunters each year hunting the east side of the state for deer with or without pick your region so in the end the resource still takes a beating. No different than years past. Imo it makes sense to keep the pick your region so you at least have a general idea of the shocking number of folks hunting both of those regions. Better to start building the data now instead of kicking the can down the road another few years.

Agreed!
Worst case scenario hard winter hits, and EHD hits region 7. Now everyone is forced to hunt there.

 

[INMT]

I see it from the working groups side. We can’t always get what we want and have to start somewhere.

They keep referring to socially acceptable and having a realistic expectation of getting anything implemented. If we want this to go anywhere, folks on both sides of the argument have to be willing to compromise.

This is a start and I think that is what they are aiming for.