Wyoming antelope population article
- Thread starter 2rocky
- Start date
...and god damnit I drew a doe tag and we're sure as hell driving from Indiana to kill our doe! WGF gave us the tag they know what they're doing.
Really can't imagine wanting to shoot a doe in a large part of the state right now where the winterkill was severe, regardless where your from or who tells you its ok.
.....they'll come to kill an antelope doe, they'll see 20 antelope and think it's amazing, then move on to the next epic hunt in some other state.
SaskHunter
Well-known member
Looking for advice, picked up a couple 23-7 tags and turns out they're private land only.
Anyone knows a farmer with antelope problems in 23 that would let me hunt for a fee?
Oh, also, I'm a veteran and will be using my daughter/wife to try and pull at your heart strings in a desperate plea for help.
Not looking for you honey hole either.
Anyone knows a farmer with antelope problems in 23 that would let me hunt for a fee?
Oh, also, I'm a veteran and will be using my daughter/wife to try and pull at your heart strings in a desperate plea for help.
Not looking for you honey hole either.
No... they don't.
They are chasing $$$, otherwise we wouldn't be in this predicament.
And this ends in 2013 when it was "the good ol' days".
Much worse now.
Every hay field had 200-300 antelope. Now... maybe 6-8.
Bullshot
Well-known member
Pronghorn productivity declining in Wyoming
CASPER — Wyoming is home to a whopping 50% of the world’s pronghorn, the iconic ungulate so named for its laterally flattened, blade-like horns. But that may not be the
So, we’ve identified the problem. How do we go about fixing it?Pronghorn productivity declining in Wyoming
CASPER — Wyoming is home to a whopping 50% of the world’s pronghorn, the iconic ungulate so named for its laterally flattened, blade-like horns. But that may not be thewww.wyomingnews.com
Aerosith
Well-known member
1. Eliminate all doe tags in units under population objective.
2. Work on habitat improvements and restoration such as creating additional water sources, and creating wildlife friendly fences. Think about how much viable land there is for wildlife to inhabit that lacks water. Guzzlers and water encatchment systems would work great.
3. Potentially restructuring seasons to relieve excess stress on animals, some areas have seasons nearly 3-4 months long leading into winter.
4. Create feeding programs in specific areas during extreme winters.
5. Reduce wildlife car collisions with protective and strategic fencing around major roadways.
Perhaps some of these things are already being done, but they are just a few of my ideas.
HONEYBADGER
Well-known member
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There should be zero doe tags statewide. It's ridiculous.
Wyo_Jeeper
Member
1. All the units I used to harvest does in have had those tags (thankfully) eliminated.
2. I agree with this, some of the waterways that used to provide needed habitat don't really exist anymore, just dry creek beds for miles
3. Agree with this completely, but with one counterpoint; you generally only see non-residents still hunting antelope after deer and elk open.
4. Hard disagree on this one, just look at the issues the elk feed lots have created that are only now being acknowledged. Granted, the elk feed lots were an annual reoccurrence regardless of seasonal variance, a properly managed feeding program could possibly benefit the population.
5. This is already being implemented in the La Barge / Big Piney area. The state is going after the highways with the highest wildlife "incident rate." The Wyoming Game and Fish youtube channel has a couple really good videos about their efforts in that migration corridor.
bonedogg
Well-known member
Another anti oil and gas BS article. Guess which side of the fence this guy supports. famous quote from an operator...I'm not here to point fingers, I'm here to plug holes.....Few bad winters and someone has to be blamed. unreal. Life cycle happens fellas, don't fight it, understand it and move on.....Next time you see a group of antelope or deer laying in the shade of a gas or oil well. Make sure you inform them of all of the dangers and how we do nothing to support them.....when you see the barn swallows nesting on the production shack, the rattle snake that uses the shack to get out of the sun..... if you don't see the symbiotic relationship, you got blinders on. how much environmental damage can be done with a two-track access trail....give me a break!
I’ve only hunted one unit for antelope in Wyoming but in the three years I did the new oil and gas roads built were definitely bad for survival. Year one it was pretty easy for me to park on a main road and walk just out of sight and get into antelope, the second year a gravel road went exactly through the spot where I shot my buck the prior year. Hunter vehicle traffic was basically constant and any doe within 300 yards of the road was seemingly running from one shooting rig to the next
wyoelkfan15
Well-known member
Personally I would like to see the doe fawn tags cut all together. With the way the populations are, I see little reason to be giving out doe tags until the herds can recover.
Bigjay73
Well-known member
I haven't looked, but I'm sure there are over objective areas that need a few does culled. But I agree with the spirit of you post, make them zero in any place under objective/ declining in population.
for beginners, stop applying for doe antelope tags, NR and R alike.
bonedogg
Well-known member
Nobody builds more dugouts for borrow material than the Energy Industry. Water sources are the most important factor in antelope distribution, population growth and sustainability.
Bigjay73
Well-known member
Hell,
Buzz has a better strategy, draw doe tags and throw them in the trash
Bigjay73
Well-known member
Maybe take notes from AZ, they're pros on building wildlife catchments
"Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) in North Dakota have experienced habitat fragmentation due to agricultural practices, roads, and oil development. We analyzed patterns of female pronghorn habitat selection in 2006 and 2014, years with contrasting pronghorn density and oil production in western North Dakota. We quantified resource selection and fawn:female ratios relative to proximity to active wells, road density, land cover, development, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and agricultural practices. We also assessed patterns of well placement relative to the same environmental variables. Pronghorn selected sagebrush and areas with low NDVI but avoided developed areas, roads, forests, and wetlands. Pronghorn selected areas close to oil and gas wells because wells were located in high-value habitats (e.g., native sagebrush-steppe ecosystems selected by pronghorn). For the majority of variables tested, selection was stronger when pronghorn density was low, consistent with current resource selection theory. Although females selected relatively open habitats, fawn:female ratios within areas selected by females were positively correlated with NDVI. Our results demonstrate that pronghorn avoid human development and roads but not oil and gas wells. Although wells are not actively avoided by pronghorn, their placement in high-value habitat for this species leads to significant habitat fragmentation. In light of these results, we recommend efforts to conserve pronghorn habitat such as constructing wells away from sagebrush, using existing roads to service newly constructed wells, and re-vegetating well pads with sagebrush plantings once they are no longer in use"
Abstract and figure from "Pronghorn Resource Selection and Habitat Fragmentation in North Dakota" (Christie et al. 2017). Habitat fragmentation is a huge issue even if they don't avoid the wells themselves. Having wells in areas that were historically great pronghorn habitat doesn't make it a symbiotic relationship. Look at the map here, it's not like they're only constructing a couple two tracks - it's a pretty dramatic change from continuous sagebrush communities. Yeah this is ND, but similar scenario.
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