Montana season structure proposal 2.0

[sclancy27]

Any data to back up these proposed changes will do anything?

Just Seams a little funny that colorado surprisingly defeated the lion hunting ban on promoting listen to the experts then you have montana going the opposite direction the citizens think they know more then the experts.

We've gone thru a significant amount of harvest data that shows several issues. Our goal is to use a changed season structure to incentivize human behavior to address those issues. The other options are do nothing or regulate changes (limited tags, regional quotas, etc). We believe our proposed changes can produce positive benefits while limiting unintended consequences and maintaining a high level of opportunity.

 

[Archer86]

We've gone thru a significant amount of harvest data that shows several issues. Our goal is to use a changed season structure to incentivize human behavior to address those issues. The other options are do nothing or regulate changes (limited tags, regional quotas, etc). We believe our proposed changes can produce positive benefits while limiting unintended consequences and maintaining a high level of opportunity.

No concern for the unintended consequence of putting most of you mule deer hunters in the field the last week of October?

Seams like doe harvest would be a big issue i looked through the thread but didn't see anything may have missed it whats the reason for leaving mule deer doe harvest on private but not public I would think you would want to eliminate all mule deer doe harvest if herd size is the concern?

 

[cgasner1]

No concern for the unintended consequence of putting most of you mule deer hunters in the field the last week of October?

Seams like doe harvest would be a big issue i looked through the thread but didn't see anything may have missed it whats the reason for leaving mule deer doe harvest on private but not public I would think you would want to eliminate all mule deer doe harvest if herd size is the concern?

No concern at all to cut the number of mule deer hunters with the split and not let them flood the last week of November

 

[Forkyfinder]

Any data to back up these proposed changes will do anything?

Just Seams a little funny that colorado surprisingly defeated the lion hunting ban on promoting listen to the experts then you have montana going the opposite direction the citizens think they know more then the experts.

I used to agree with your logic - but the biologists dont really get to set tag allocations, seasons, or make adjustments as they see fit.....Seperately, credentials dont really mean everything and you can be an expert without them and the comittee is represented by what a lot of people would call experts.

 

[Archer86]

No concern at all to cut the number of mule deer hunters with the split and not let them flood the last week of November

my guess is there will be no change in those that choose to hunt mule deer or whitetail just because the the season dates those the hunted whitetail will continue and those that mule deer hunt will flood the last week of October.

 

[sclancy27]

No concern for the unintended consequence of putting most of you mule deer hunters in the field the last week of October?

Seams like doe harvest would be a big issue i looked through the thread but didn't see anything may have missed it whats the reason for leaving mule deer doe harvest on private but not public I would think you would want to eliminate all mule deer doe harvest if herd size is the concern?

Currently, there is huge incentive to concentrate hunters the last 10-14 days of November (rut). Our structure will push that incentive to whitetails as hunters will have to make a choice; hunt whitetails in the rut or mule deer, best case scenario, at the beginning of the pre-rut. You cannot hunt both.

Also, the current season is 36 days. Our proposed total is 61 days. If you assume harvest rates are indicative of Hunter pressure, you can assume 45-50% of residents will continue to hunt whitetails. This cuts pressure significantly. Then, it is reasonable to expect that more NR will pursue WT deer in the rut vs mule deer (at worst one would expect it to not change), which further reduces pressure.

Doe harvest on public vs private is a temporary measure while herds recover on public land.

 

[cgasner1]

my guess is there will be no change in those that choose to hunt mule deer or whitetail just because the the season dates those the hunted whitetail will continue and those that mule deer hunt will flood the last week of October.

Having “all the pressure” in the last week of October is no where near the same as November. Even besides the rut being taken out not a lot of people dream of deer hunting a blue bird 60 degree day. November usually means colder and snow.

 

[Archer86]

Having “all the pressure” in the last week of October is no where near the same as November. Even besides the rut being taken out not a lot of people dream of deer hunting a blue bird 60 degree day. November usually means colder and snow.

Just asking questions seams like you guys are not going to get the results you intend but time will tell I guess.

Seams like you would be better served to try a regions not the whole state at once what happens if this doesnt accomplish what you guys think?

 

[Flynarrow]

So a lot of credible ideas presented here to manage populations on a unit by unit or regional basis. However, FWP under Director Temple has been on a rage to force centralize decisions and power at the expense of regional discretion. Centralization normally reduces local discretion in an effort to "standardize" at a statewide perspective. Now that Temple is leaving, the Governor has an opportunity to select a new Director. Some are speculating that the Governor, with strong ties to the outfitting industry, will select someone of that bent. Wouldn't it be refreshing to instead have a Director who had a biological background that cared about healthy populations of big game as well as fisheries for the average Montanan?

 

[sclancy27]

Just asking questions seams like you guys are not going to get the results you intend but time will tell I guess.

Seams like you would be better served to try a regions not the whole state at once what happens if this doesnt accomplish what you guys think?

Well first it would need to be provisioned as-is. The over-arching goal is to get the ball rolling on what is a long overdue change in MT. If that happens to be our proposal in full, so be it. If it is incremental positive change over time, so be it.

Second, all this maintains Commission control over season setting/structure. It could therefore be iterated as needed in the future to better suit any change, or lack there of, that occurs.

 

[SAJ-99]

Well first it would need to be provisioned as-is. The over-arching goal is to get the ball rolling on what is a long overdue change in MT. If that happens to be our proposal in full, so be it. If it is incremental positive change over time, so be it.

Second, all this maintains Commission control over season setting/structure. It could therefore be iterated as needed in the future to better suit any change, or lack there of, that occurs.

Someone needs to introduce the new member to politics in Montana, and on his one year anniversary of joining.