|
Tuesday, 09 November 2010 13:41 |
BOU was a member of the Mule Deer Committee assembled by the UDWR to review the Mule Deer Management Plan. The Committee discussed micro-management, looked at data, and came to the conclusion that Micro-management would not grow our deer herds. There was no dissension from members of the Committee when Micro-management was left out of the Committee’s recommendations. The 5 year Plan was put in place just one year ago and we are now seeing major proposed changes to it after just one year.
Bowhunters of Utah would ask for the RAC’s support of the current Statewide Mule Deer Management Plan. The Current Plan allows for regional hunting with the ability to micro-manage our chronically troubled units.
Here are the reasons why:
-The Current Mule Deer Management plan alleviates pressure on the States struggling units, while allowing the Regional management to continue on all other units who meet or exceed the buck to doe objectives.
- A 29 Unit Management Plan will not grow more bucks. Only cutting Buck harvest and Hunter opportunity will grow more bucks. Biologically bucks are not the issue for deer herd stagnancy. The doe population is bred and we are carrying enough bucks on every unit to meet the biological need.
Many will claim that other states are micro-managing and that those states have better hunting. This claim may be true, but at what cost? Micro-management has not grown the herds in Colorado, Arizona, or Nevada. The following is an excerpt from Nevada’s Annual Report:
“The 2008 post-season buck ratio was again one of the highest on record at 31 bucks/100 does. Though this may be good news for the lucky Nevada deer applicants that are able to draw a tag, it is also a liability. With so many bucks in the population, they are directly competing with does and fawn’s for limited quality forage and thermal cover on winter range and are likely contributing to decreased body condition in does and fawns. This likely increases winter fawn mortality and decreases fawn production the following summer.”
*The above info can be found on page SS-1 at: http://www.ndow.org/about/pubs/reports/
... tus_bk.pdf
In the past 10-15 years, Nevada’s deer herd has gone from around 125,000 animals to just over 100,000. Their buck to doe ratio has doubled. That means their doe herd has shrunk by over 20% while buck numbers have increased by almost 80%. Nevada hunters wait 3-8 years to draw lesser quality units. They have a 40-50% success rate, of which 40-50% are 4 point bucks. Nevada hunters are waiting 3-8 years for a 20-25% chance to shoot a 4 point buck and carrying that many bucks is having a negative effect on their overall herd populations.
Utah’s system is somewhat like Wyoming’s system—Regional hunting, with some limited units. Wyoming’s herd is as strong as anyone’s.
Bowhunters of Utah is adamantly opposed to mandating a Limited Entry status on our deer herd. There are too many unanswered question’s, too many people will be locked out of our sport. It will not help our deer herd and may follow the negative trends seen in other states. All units (but 3 which the UDWR is proposing to address) are meeting their Buck to Doe Objective under the current Plan.
We ask the RAC to support the Current Statewide Mule Deer Management Plan: Regional Hunting, with the ability to follow the Unit by Unit approach where needed.
|
|
Last Updated on Sunday, 16 January 2011 16:48 |
to post comments.
