WTH is Nebraska doing?

[Whiskey Freak]

This is an asinine approach to management. Tell me how this is management and not eradication? The hunting season runs July 1-31. I don't know if ya'll have been to Nebraska in July but I don't how you won't have a ton of wasted meat. This shouldn't be an either sex hunt!

Special elk depredation season designated in southwest Nebraska​

shawna richter-ryerson June 21, 2022 Comments Offon Special elk depredation season designated in southwest Nebraska


A special elk depredation season has been ordered for July in a portion of southwest Nebraska because of excessive crop damage caused by elk.
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Director Tim McCoy signed a Special Depredation Order for a season July 1-31 in specific parts of Lincoln, Perkins, Keith, Deuel and Garden counties.
The season will be valid on private land only.
Game and Parks staff have worked with landowners in this area for several years to lower elk herds to an acceptable level in cropland areas. Several small elk herds inhabit crop fields through harvest, then disperse randomly, making it difficult for hunters to take elk during the late general season.
The special season will allow hunters and landowners the opportunity to help reduce the population before the general elk season in this area. The objective is to alleviate damage to crops and property caused by consumption of crops, trampling and wallows.
Permits will be available to residents, nonresidents and landowners owning at least 80 acres within the hunting area. Landowners must hunt their own land.
Starting June 27, permits will be available for purchase at the Game and Parks office in North Platte. Applications also are available at outdoornebraska.gov/depredation. They can be mailed to: Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, 301 E. State Farm Road, North Platte NE 69101-0430.
The fees for the permits, which are unlimited in quantity, are $20 for general residents, $40 for general nonresidents, $5 for resident landowners, and $10 for nonresident landowners.
The permit bag limit is one elk of either sex. Hunters may purchase more than one permit.
Harvested elk must be checked in via internet or telephone. Permits issued to hunters participating in this season will not count against their personal limits or ability to hunt during a regular big game season.
Hunters are reminded that permission is required to hunt on private land. Game and Parks strongly encourages hunters to obtain permission before purchasing a permit.
For a map of the specific hunting area, and additional information about the season, visit outdoornebraska.gov/depredation.
Game and Parks is exercising the authority granted under Nebraska Revised Statue 37-448 to designate a special elk depredation season. In June 2021, Game and Parks adopted regulations for the special depredation season that was passed during the 2021 Legislative session.

 

[MTLabrador]

Don’t let Montana FWP see this one.

 

[Stocker]

I’ll get torched on here, but here it goes. Basically those elk are taking up residence in irrigated crops. They absolutely will not leave. The past 4 years I’ve looked at several damaged fields. They range in damage from $15,000-$60,000 per irrigated quarter, which means the landowners are losing not only profits, but a ton of input costs. G&P is basically targeting those few landowners to drive the elk off before the problem gets worse.


There isn’t a ton of good options G&P has. It’s either give landowners depredation tags, go with this option, or spend years and millions of dollars in court. I’m not an enormous fan of this plan, but I think giving hunters a chance is better than people shooting them and leaving them lay.

For some reason the Nebraska elk don’t move much, I know of one area that is 30 miles x 30 miles, mostly irrigated circles and the elk really only stay in 10 of the 1000’s of circles and have for 10 years. They won’t move, and they decimate those crops.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I’ll get torched on here, but here it goes. Basically those elk are taking up residence in irrigated crops. They absolutely will not leave. The past 4 years I’ve looked at several damaged fields. They range in damage from $15,000-$60,000 per irrigated quarter, which means the landowners are losing not only profits, but a ton of input costs. G&P is basically targeting those few landowners to drive the elk off before the problem gets worse.


There isn’t a ton of good options G&P has. It’s either give landowners depredation tags, go with this option, or spend years and millions of dollars in court. I’m not an enormous fan of this plan, but I think giving hunters a chance is better than people shooting them and leaving them lay.

For some reason the Nebraska elk don’t move much, I know of one area that is 30 miles x 30 miles, mostly irrigated circles and the elk really only stay in 10 of the 1000’s of circles and have for 10 years. They won’t move, and they decimate those crops.

Will the measure, in your opinion, achieve the desired outcome?

 

[Stocker]

Will the measure, in your opinion, achieve the desired outcome?

Partially. The sad thing is these elk herds, which are small (6-10 animals) are pretty much set staying in the same area. So the few areas we’re talking about are probably a total of 40-70 elk. They are trying to irradiate those small herds. A big problem in that area is the black cedar canyons that are so thick you can’t see 10’. G&P really has no idea how many elk are in the area. I’ve heard guesses of 3-5,000. But it could be as high as 7,000. The elk they are targeting are the ones pushing out of those canyons into the crop areas. This program will most likely be abused by some but I doubt it’s widespread.

 

[seeth07]

Am I missing something here? I don't understand why there are permits for anyone but landowners when you have to own at least 80 acres to get a permit...

 

[Stocker]

View attachment 227146

Am I missing something here? I don't understand why there are permits for anyone but landowners when you have to own at least 80 acres to get a permit...

Tag cost difference. It’s minimal but a part of it.

 

[3855WIN]

That’s depredation permits for you. A farmer told me that he shoots the deer in the gut so they leave the field and don’t get caught up in implements.
I’m fortunate that the farmers on either side of me don’t apply for the permits. Deer hit them fairly hard. I do shoot some does in season to help them out.

 

[seeth07]

Tag cost difference. It’s minimal but a part of it.

The way I read that notice is that unless you own 80 acres and are hunting your own private land, you can't get one of these permits. Therefore, the only people buying them would be the landowners at those reduced prices.

 

[Stocker]

The way I read that notice is that unless you own 80 acres and are hunting your own private land, you can't get one of these permits. Therefore, the only people buying them would be the landowners at those reduced prices.

So it’s all private land only. So I could buy a tag but would have to get permission. If I bought a landowner tag or NR landowner tag at a reduced rate I would have to hunt only my land listed out by parcel ID on my tag.

 

[mevertsen]

Our seasons in Nevada start August 1st. Elk and Antelope. The wasted meat concern is negligible.

Get it cooled quick and there is no problem. You're not hanging it in the shed for days before butchering.

 

[Schaaf]

A farmer told me that he shoots the deer in the gut so they leave the field and don’t get caught up in implements.

That guy’s a piece of shit.

 

[MTGomer]

Wow, this is really cool. I never imagined a season would be early enough to allow you to get an elk small enough to fit in a pressure cooker without even having to detach the hooves.

 

[D.Blake]

This is a small part of the unit on the outskirts of the majority of the elk habitat. It's not elk habitat, it's almost entirely irrigated ag land... nothing but pivots and fields of ag from road ditch to road ditch The G&P constantly pushes hunters to that area during the regular season and in the past 2 years only 3 elk have been taken from the area. There are simply not that many elk in the area, and the ones that are there are extremely difficult to hunt. (try glassing into a half section of 10' corn on flat ground.)

That being said...

Why did the NGPC decide to release this 9 days before the season? An earlier release would have allowed hunters to make contact with land owners in advance and solidify plans. I cant imagine how those landowners are going to feel as the revolving door of hunters comes through begging for a place to punch their tag. It is going to be an absolute zoo out there.


I'm not a fan of the whole thing, but thats just my opinion. If you decide to come out and try it.

1. Tuck that cow's udders in for the photo so it doesn't look like a Holstein.
2. Sit WAY back to make that calf look big, and don't forget to wipe the milk off its snout.
3. Your rubber antlered bull will always be a great convo starter about how big he "would have been"

 

[Stocker]

This is a small part of the unit on the outskirts of the majority of the elk habitat. It's not elk habitat, it's almost entirely irrigated ag land... nothing but pivots and fields of ag from road ditch to road ditch The G&P constantly pushes hunters to that area during the regular season and in the past 2 years only 3 elk have been taken from the area. There are simply not that many elk in the area, and the ones that are there are extremely difficult to hunt. (try glassing into a half section of 10' corn on flat ground.)

That being said...

Why did the NGPC decide to release this 9 days before the season? An earlier release would have allowed hunters to make contact with land owners in advance and solidify plans. I cant imagine how those landowners are going to feel as the revolving door of hunters comes through begging for a place to punch their tag. It is going to be an absolute zoo out there.


I'm not a fan of the whole thing, but thats just my opinion. If you decide to come out and try it.

1. Tuck that cow's udders in for the photo so it doesn't look like a Holstein.
2. Sit WAY back to make that calf look big, and don't forget to wipe the milk off its snout.
3. Your rubber antlered bull will always be a great convo starter about how big he "would have been"

Yeah, I don’t recommend anyone actually participating in the season that doesn’t know exactly where they are going with permission in hand. I got about a dozen text/calls from some derelict friends wanting me to call the few people I know out there to chase elk. My idea of fun is not fighting an army of people to hunt a few hundred acres while being circled on county roads by about 5,000 people who showed up without having permission anywhere, in 100 degree heat. My guess is they’ll kill 3-4, the elk will vanish or go onto ground where nobody has permission. G&P will laugh all the way to the bank at all the “cheap” elk tags they scammed people into buying and that’ll be it.

 

[seeth07]

It's not elk habitat, it's almost entirely irrigated ag land... nothing but pivots and fields of ag from road ditch to road ditch

Actually, historically that was primo elk habitat. Humans pushed them to the mountains. Elk are plains animals and our intolerance of them and them of us has just altered what we consider good elk habitat. How about we let the elk take over those stupid corn fields and reclaim their habitat?

 

[Stocker]

Actually, historically that was primo elk habitat. Humans pushed them to the mountains. Elk are plains animals and our intolerance of them and them of us has just altered what we consider good elk habitat. How about we let the elk take over those stupid corn fields and reclaim their habitat?

That area out there is pretty much desert. The eastern 1/2 would be more elk habitaty. But I understand your point. It’s a social/economic tolerance thing.

It’s not so much that elk are there, it’s that they concentrate in 1 area so bad. It’d be like if you had 50 badgers tearing up your yard when there was only a couple around in your nearest 20 neighbors yards. I’d bet you wouldn’t be overly understanding of a badgers original habitat in that case.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I have a feeling the objective will be met fairly quickly if they have a number in mind for animals to harvest.

If the elk are destroying cultivated fields, it should be possible to drive to the carcass with no meat being lost.

This is not pretty but apparently necessary. Usually, here anyway, predation kills allowed to farmers must NOT be taken off the field unless in hunting season with an appropriate tag. That would be the more unpleasant alternative. This is sure to be a genuine shitshow of the greatest magnitude. Shooting fish in a barrel attracts the dregs of society (I see it every fall on the ranch "hunts" outside Dillon, MT). Elk meat is "okay" but I certainly don't need any badly enough to participate in those clownfests. Point me to the Albertsons meat counter.

 

[bignest]

At least they’re letting hunters do it instead of the California method I hear about on podcasts…ie using tax payer money to hire snipers to shoot them and waste the meat. Or worse poison. As mentioned, It would be nice if they allowed some advance notice or gave resources to landowners looking to be contacted. Then again, I’m sure those farmers have plenty of local buddies who are happy to go get those elk.

 

[seeth07]

It’s not so much that elk are there, it’s that they concentrate in 1 area so bad. It’d be like if you had 50 badgers tearing up your yard when there was only a couple around in your nearest 20 neighbors yards. I’d bet you wouldn’t be overly understanding of a badgers original habitat in that case.

They are in that one specific spot because that area is providing all of the required needs in order to survive. Rather than kill them, why just tell the landowner to remove one of those needs and they will move away in search of it?

Sorry, I just have ZERO sympathy for landowners (ranchers, farmers, etc.) when it comes to them whining about their profit being hurt because of wildlife that has more right to that piece of earth than they do.