Montana - Time to Shake it Up?

[mtmuley]

I'm really pleased every Region is going to be represented. The mule deer issue is complicated in Montana. Having thoughts from statewide will be eye-opening. mtmuley

 

[8andcounting]

I'm really pleased every Region is going to be represented. The mule deer issue is complicated in Montana. Having thoughts from statewide will be eye-opening. mtmuley

It doesn’t have to be . Kill less deer . No more otc tag for R . LE only

 

[golfer]

I’d think it would be better set at a semi private type of setting due to the stuff I have seen people bring up and ramble on about in our region 5 season meeting some guy from 4 showed up and went on a tangent for a hour about stuff in 4 I never got to say anything about issue I had in 5 it would be nice to avoid that and stick to a a game plan

Wanting to prevent rambling, then goes on and rambles.

 

[mtmuley]

It doesn’t have to be . Kill less deer . No more otc tag for R . LE only

I don't think it's that simple of a solution for the whole State. But what do I know after hunting here for 45 years. mtmuley

 

[cgasner1]

Wanting to prevent rambling, then goes on and rambles.

Better?

 

[Gerald Martin]

Here's who I have as being interested:
DIY Public Hunting Side:
R1: @Pagosa
R2: @Randy11
R3: @Big Fin
R4: @bigsky2
R5: @cgasner1
R6: @Schaaf
R7: @antlerradar

Expressed interest: @stoep, @bigsky2, @sclancy27

Who did I miss, and especially folks from R1,3,4. Regions 3 & 4 are arguably some of the most important for this species given the historical range and hunting history. R1 has a host of issues, but those folks need to be at the table as well since they're the largest group of displaced MT resident hunters and considering what the MD resource used to be like in the region.

For outfitters:

@Eric Albus, @Big Shooter. I think having a few outfitters who work in the western part of the state are needed as well.

I am also suggesting that Rob Arnaud and I be the moderators. Rob is well known and trusted in the outfitter circles, and I'm moderately known in the hunting circles.

The idea is to not have organizations represented at the table. They have the capacity to do this on their own and they already make their suggestions known. This is about putting Montanans together in room to discuss what they'd like to see in terms of overall mule deer management, address some shared concerns about season structure and possibly walk out with a better collaborative framework for which we can bring hunters, outfitters and landowners together to find better outcomes for mule deer.

Once we have a line up set, we can start a new thread that has ground rules, and we can refine the agenda down to what we feel we can reasonably accomplish in 1 day.

As far as being open to the public, I think the group needs to decide. If it is, then there needs to be a way to ensure that the conversation doesn't go sideways as people want to participate and lead the discussion away from a structured process. I do think that having some folks attend isn't a bad idea, and if we provide time for public comment at the end, as well as give folks a place to send their suggestions to us, then a public facing effort makes sense.

I’m interested as well.
I’m not in R1 anymore but lived there from ‘02-‘20. I doubt too much has changed in the past three years that wasn’t relevant in the past 5 before that.

 

[Pagosa]

I’m interested as well.
I’m not in R1 anymore but lived there from ‘02-‘20. I doubt too much has changed in the past three years that wasn’t relevant in the past 5 before that.

Gerald please take my spot, you could provide a great perspective. I had mentioned you for Region 1 previously in another post. Besides I don’t even hunt Region 1, bc it’s so bad

 

[Mtn-time]

I’m interested as well.
I’m not in R1 anymore but lived there from ‘02-‘20. I doubt too much has changed in the past three years that wasn’t relevant in the past 5 before that.

Is there any consideration to extend an invitation to the 7 tribal bodies to participate in the discussion.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Is there any consideration to extend an invitation to the 7 tribal bodies to participate in the discussion.

This is a super critical piece of the pie, as is @cowboy wanting to include other landowners.

I've had interest expressed from some solid people off the board as well.

By no means is this initial group a final in terms of stakeholders. This is just the start of a broader conversation. As this group cusses & discusses potential changes, we can take them out to that broader audience once some consensus has been reached. For now, I would suggest keeping this to the 7 hunt talkers who are listed, and the outfitters that we are able to bring together.

My hope is that if we can find common ground as a small group, we will gain more support & thoughtful input from experts, landowners, tribal govt's, and the agency. We have some time to do this right, and starting at a place where we can find a common goal is going to be a big enough lift.

So, of those who are signed up want to spend the next 4 weeks drafting proposals and vetting them with your own circles, I think that can help advance the conversation.

I'll start a group PM after Christmas so folks can chat that way as well as set up a Google folder so we can share our work.

 

[daltrix99]

Please keep the rest of us updated as much as you can on HT so that we can follow, but also so that we can express support for the effort and progress you guys make.

 

[Mtn-time]

Been some talk about the Farm Bill in congress here lately, got me thinking why isnt wildlife management included under that umbrella at some level. Part of the farm bill covers but not limited to cultural, conservation, access to healthy food and Ag industry of course, all of which wildlife management/hunting fall under. Expanding the farm bill to include benefits to the ag industry for sustaining continued access and harvest of wildlife managed by the state. I dont have a lot a time to flesh this out more at the moment, but basically subsiding ag/land producer-owners that participate in non-commercial hunting activities under the jurisdiction of fwp with federal oversite to a degree that if fwp and its extensions that being the FWP Commission didnt operate within their mission statement the federal funding would be jeopardized.

 

[huntin24/7]

I ran into a local lifelong Montanan today that has always been one of the last guys I would ever expect to want anything other than a 5 week general November rifle season. This guy doesn’t give the smallest sh** about killing big deer. He told me he thinks that the state needs to go to some type of permit system where you end up with a mule deer buck permit every 4 years or so because all the bucks are getting killed so young anymore. I’m not an advocate for promoting LE muley hunting statewide at all, but it was really encouraging hearing someone who has always been all about the status quo be ok with making some sacrifices to potentially improve things.

 

[8andcounting]

I ran into a local lifelong Montanan today that has always been one of the last guys I would ever expect to want anything other than a 5 week general November rifle season. This guy doesn’t give the smallest sh** about killing big deer. He told me he thinks that the state needs to go to some type of permit system where you end up with a mule deer buck permit every 4 years or so because all the bucks are getting killed so young anymore. I’m not an advocate for promoting LE muley hunting statewide at all, but it was really encouraging hearing someone who has always been all about the status quo be ok with making some sacrifices to potentially improve things.

Problem is there’s not enough with the same thought .

 

[DFS]

Problem is there’s not enough with the same thought .

I think you might be surprised. At least on one side of the state.

 

[8andcounting]

I think you might be surprised. At least on one side of the state.

Hope your right

 

[Ben Lamb]

PM's are sent out. Please respond if you are @Eric Albus @Big Shooter @Randy11 @Schaaf @Gerald Martin @bigsky2 @antlerradar @cgasner1 @Big Fin.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Thanks Ben. I just responded

 

[mtmuley]

PM's are sent out. Please respond if you are @Eric Albus @Big Shooter @Randy11 @Schaaf @Gerald Martin @bigsky2 @antlerradar @cgasner1 @Big Fin.

All star team there. mtmuley

 

[Deleted member 48080]

If anyone wants to discuss or have something specific to mule deer in region 2 brought up, please reach out to me in the next few weeks.

 

[Ben Lamb]

If anyone wants to discuss or have something specific to mule deer in region 2 brought up, please reach out to me in the next few weeks.

I really think that the perspective of R2 & R1 hunters in terms of both whitetail and mule deer are critical. Both species are important, and the loss of one of those across the state can and does impact the other. There tends to be a critter vacuum when we discuss mule deer, and I think your understanding of public land whitetail as well as the pressures on public lands in western MT are massively important.

Just my $.02.