It’s time to apply, if you want to hunt mule deer in Idaho. Idaho has been over-priced since the early 90’s, and in spite of a “mule deer recovery” plan, there still aren’t many more mule deer in the great Gem state. From May 1 to June 5, you can apply for an Idaho deer tag.
For more info click IDAHO HUNT INFO
Utah’s 805 wildland fires have scorched more than 689,495 acres as of Aug. 6, according to the Boise, Idaho-based National Interagency Fire Center.
In an attempt to help Mother Nature rehabilitate the landscape wildlife depend on for food, shelter and protection, local, state and federal officials will plow charred soils and begin reseeding the area by hand and aircraft.
The Bureau of Land Management requested $30 million in seed to help rehabilitate federal property damaged by the Milford Flat fire. State officials will spend about $3 million on reseeding efforts, said Tyler Thompson, a statewide habitat conservation coordinator for DWR. “The challenge will be getting enough seed,” he said. “The next biggest hurdle is going to be the vast size of the burned area, and getting that seed on the ground.”
When crews begin seeding this fall, they will use a chemical called “Plateau” to target the highly flammable cheatgrass, an invasive species that fuels wildfires.
Habitat charred by big wildfires
* Milford Flat: More than 363,052 acres
* Salt Creek: 25,456 acres
* Neola North: More than 44,000 acres
By Nathan C. Gonzalez
Consider the following:
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-The Utah DWR is not really inclined to have more deer
-There is little reason to kill does until the deer herd is up to carrying capacity
-The Utah deer herd is at app. 46% of carrying capacity – overall
-Hunting and killing does is harmful to the herd in the following ways:
*hunters tend to kill the best
*does may be pregnant
*some young bucks get killed supposing them to be does
*the herd cannot grow without does
*killing one doe is the same as killing 25 deer (in 5 years)
-Here are the reasons the doe slaughter was started in the first place:
*to reduce or avoid depredation costs
*to shrink the herd to the “political” carrying capacity
*to eliminate “valley deer”
-The Utah DWR hates to pay depredation from wage or toy money
-The Utah Farm Bureau campaigned successfully to have depredation limits raised
-A pathetic reason for killing does is to increase the buck/doe ratio
-Does taste good but do not look pretty on the wall – bucks look good and taste good
-Predators kill more than enough does without any help from persons
-There were many years when it was illegal to kill a doe, although the herd was much larger than it is now
-Consider teaching your children to let the does live. If you are starving – kill a buck
About half of my little herd of mule deer have returned to their summer range now that the snow has melted and it is starting to green up a bit.
Each year, about hunting season, in October they leave, and then they aren’t seen around here again until mid-April. There are always quite a few that don’t return – particularly the bucks.
There are no bucks or yearlings in the herd now, but the seven does look to be in very good condition – surprisingly so, for this time of year. I hope they all deliver twins and that they survive the numerous coyotes around here. I am going to try and help out with that.
We had a very good winter here in Northern Arizona with lots of snow. We have been in a sustained drought, so this should be good for the wildlife and for the people, as well.
Please visit the forum, and tell us how the winter was in your area, and how the mule deer fared, if you know.
Today, I visited my local taxidermist, TR Taxidermy in Flagstaff, to pick up my latest mule deer mount. TR was pouring cement for lunch (not to eat, you silly), so I had to wait for over an hour. An elderly gentleman pulled up next to me and we started to talk.
He was retired, but had worked for the Arizona Game and Fish doing Mule Deer and Antelope research in North-Central Arizona. He studied the effect of coyotes on fawns and the effects of clear-cutting on herd size. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that, in their study, clear-cutting increased the number of mule deer and that killing coyotes increased the number of fawns.
The biggest coyote herd he reported seeing numbered ‘eight of them devils”. He said that they finally obtained permission to kill coyotes from an airplane, and that after they did that, the number of fawns increased dramatically. He was discouraged with “modern” wildlife management and with forest management, as well. He said that the Forest Service just wants a to have a giant tinderbox so they can fight fires, and that nobody seems to know how to manage natural resources anymore.
When I compare the old school with the new, I get discouraged too. How about you?
Click NEVADA APPLICATION for more info
TIME NEAR TO APPLY FOR BIG GAME TAGS
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To many, March means spring, green grass, wildflowers and warmer weather. But for Nevada hunters March also means big game tag application season has arrived and with it, renewed hope of drawing a coveted tag this fall.
To reduce costs and environmental impacts, the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) will not send applications and regulation brochures to those who applied online for tags within the past two years. Instead, those hunters will receive a postcard on or about March 24 reminding them of the upcoming draw. Hunters who want paper applications may obtain them at sporting goods stores, NDOW offices or online at www.ndow.org, and can begin applying online at www.huntnevada.com on March 24 as well.
This year’s application deadline is Monday, April 21. Applications must be received, either via mail or online, by 5 p.m., to be eligible for the drawing. Hunters will be notified of the drawing results by June 20.
Regardless of application method hunters should be aware of some regulations changes in 2008 according to Maureen Hullinger, NDOW licensing program officer. “Hunters should carefully read this year’s regulations brochure because there have been several important changes from last year,” said Hullinger. “Some of the more significant changes involve junior tags and junior bonus points.”
In 2007 the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners (NBWC) amended regulations regarding the junior deer hunt. Beginning in the 2008 season junior hunters will only be able to apply four years for the junior hunt. The NBWC also amended the regulation to automatically transfer any bonus points accrued in the junior hunt to the antlered deer category at the time the junior hunter becomes ineligible for the junior hunt, either by age or after four years of application for the junior hunt.
This year hunters will also find they have the option of purchasing a mountain lion tag and any or all stamps (duck, upland game, trout, second rod) when applying for their tags.
Hunters should be aware that wilderness areas are greatly expanded across White Pine and Lincoln counties. These areas restrict motorized access. The Hunt Unit Map at ndow.org displays the wilderness boundaries. Whether you are concerned about where you can drive your ATV or where to backpack hunt to avoid vehicle traffic, review page 35 of the new application regulations and check NDOW’s internet mapping service at http://gis.ndow.nv.gov
NDOW will once again hold tag application workshops in Las Vegas (Mar. 26) and Reno (Mar.27). The workshops are designed to explain the tag application process from A to Z, covering such topics as game management, hunt unit information, draw odds, bonus points and the mechanics of the draw itself. Workshop details, times and locations can be found on the NDOW website at www.ndow.org.
Ms. Hullinger recommends every hunter attend a workshop at least once to gain a better understanding of the process. “If there is one area where we are constantly trying to correct misinformation it’s the tag draw,” said Hullinger. “There are no secrets, no magic formulas presented, but understanding how the process works is one of the single most important steps a hunter can take towards being successful in the draw.”
The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) protects, restores and manages fish and wildlife, and promotes fishing, hunting, and boating safety. NDOW’s wildlife and habitat conservation efforts are primarily funded by sportsmen’s license and conservation fees and a federal surcharge on hunting and fishing gear. Support wildlife and habitat conservation in Nevada by purchasing a hunting, fishing, or combination license.
For more information, visit www.ndow.org.
April 21, 2008 is the deadline to apply for limited quota mule deer tags
in Nevada. Drawing results will be available June 20, online.
A sign of things to come, the Nevada Department of Wildlife is not mailing out
Proclamations and Applications beginning this year. If you applied for a mule deer hunt last year, you should have already recieved a postcard informing you of the need to go online.
For several years now, it has been required that you purchase a license in order to obtain a preference point. A non-resident can hunt coyotes and jacks in Nevada without a license, so if you don’t draw a tag, having one is of little value other than for a preference point.
Beware. When I applied online last year, I was given the option to have my license
money refunded if I didn’t draw a tag, which option I selected. Somehow, I still ended up with a license ( a 2008 license, at that ), and my credit card was hit for the amount of the license – which was not my intent.
Application fees:
Cougars in Conflict
ODFW seeks to thin cat population
By Kathleen Ellyn
Reporter
Wallowa County holds one of the largest concentrations of cougars in the state – and they’re becoming bolder, say residents and woods workers.
Logging contractor Mike Frolander now sees cougars in broad daylight on a regular basis.
“Up until the 1994 law (banning the use of dogs to hunt cougar), normally you didn’t see cats during the day,” he said. “Now you’ll see them quite frequently.”
The problem with that, Frolander added, is that it demonstrates not only an increased population, but also the animals’ loss of fear of humans.
“Used to be they knew we were the top of the food chain because we could sic the dog on them,” he said. “Now these younger cats think they’re the top of the food chain.”
Frolander brings up a number of issues that the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is struggling with as it implements its 2006 Cougar Management Plan: potential cougar/human conflict, potential cougar/livestock conflict, lower than desired populations of elk and deer, and inability to control the cougar population through general hunting.
The underlying cause of all of the problems is that the cougars have made an amazing comeback.
“Cougars are a great conservation success story,” said Michelle Dennehy, Wildlife Communications Director for ODFW. “However, naturally when you have higher populations, you get higher (cougar/human) conflict. What we plan to do is to target areas of the state where we see high conflict.”
“Targeting areas” is code for deciding where to kill cougars beyond those taken through sport-hunting or damage complaints. How the ODFW intends to do the killing is controversial in some quarters.
Despite the ban on sport hunting with dogs, houndsmen have proved to be the best tool for taking “problem cats,” and are regularly used by the US Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services, which handles many cougar damage complaints in Wallowa County.
Last year, the Oregon State Legislature passed House bill 2971 which clarified ODFW’s ability to designate houndsmen as agents to pursue cougars and bears with dogs when acting in official capacity.
A second area of controversy ODFW is wrestling with is the sheer number of cougars they believe may now reside in Oregon.
The target number for cougars, as outlined in the ODFW 2006 Cougar Management Plan, is a minimum of 3,000 cougars statewide. Recent biologist estimates now number cougars at somewhere over 6,000. This does not mean that the ODFW wishes to get down to the minimum number, Dennehy said. In fact, their initial plan was a small reduction of cougars in high-conflict areas, with the intent to study the outcome of that action.
“The cougar plan allows us to proactively manage conflict in areas where there are high levels of conflict, provided the statewide population is 3,000 or above,” said Dennehy.
“If for some reason the cougar population went below the 3,000 threshold, we would end any sport hunting seasons and ‘administrative removals’ of cougars,” she said, referring to cats ODFW removes independently of sport hunting or damage complaints.
However, wildlife-preservation organizations and the groups Goat Ranchers of Oregon and Ranchers for Rural Responsibility filed suit against the Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services, Inc., in District Court in January, opposing the planned elimination. The group’s chief complaint is that Wildlife Services did not sufficiently examine the adverse environmental impacts of their decision as required by the National Environmental Policy Act.
A key point for the suing parties is that new studies have shown that older cats who have caused no problems in high interface areas are “good neighbors” and should be preserved.
“There are a number of studies that indicate that by randomly killing cougars you destroy the fabric of their social system,” said Sally Mackler, Wildlife Chair for Oregon Sierra Club. “If you remove a dominant male, you allow juveniles to come in. Juveniles are the age group most likely to create conflict.”
That’s not the only complaint independent cougar biologists and wildlife groups have about the Cougar Management Plan, however.
“Mostly, the cougar management plan has been widely criticized by cougar biologists,” Mackler asserted. “In a nutshell, I would have to say the main point of their criticism has to do with the population model used to establish the population of cougars in the state and the fact that findings were not reviewed by means of a ‘blind peer review.’ It was a selective peer review.”
Wildlife organizations claim that there are far less cougars in the state than reported by ODFW. They also claim that general hunting has resulted in a much higher kill rate than ODFW predicted.
ODFW reports, in contrast, show that general hunting has not proved successful as a monitoring tool.
Despite extending seasons to year-round in four western Oregon areas, and up to 10 months in Zone E, not enough cougars have been killed to maintain target populations.
In 2007, according to a chart provided by the ODFW, 41,813 cougar tags were sold, but hunters took only 232 cats. An additional 96 were killed due to human safety issues or livestock predation, and another 65 were listed as “other mortality” – road kill, found dead, etc.
Many hunters got their cougar tags as part of the Sportspac combination-hunting license, and they clearly did not intend to hunt cougar.
How and to what extent the cougar population is thinned may still be undecided – but the necessity of the thinning is based on numerous studies, according to ODFW. The results of early computations, made as far back as 2003, show that it would take 121,000 elk and 560,000 deer per year to support 5,000 to 7,000 cougars.
Preliminary information in an ongoing study in Zone E (of which Wallowa County is a part) has shown that elk cow/calf ratios have fallen to 23 calves per 100 cows when they used to be 31-35 calves per 100 cows. According to the study, cougars were responsible for 75 percent of all elk calf deaths in that area.
Another three-year study in NE Oregon also found cougars responsible for 33 percent of all adult mule deer deaths.
Yet one more recent study of wintering mule deer in Hells Canyon showed a 25 percent death rate for adult does from 1999-2000, with cougars accounting for most of those deaths.
Wildlife preservationists dispute those numbers as well.
“It’s a very complex variety of factors that cause herd declines,” said Mackler. “We cannot say, ‘Oh, it’s problem A.’ I don’t think we can say it is one single factor that is causing the decline in elk herds. Herd counts have been going down for at least 40 years, and I dare say there are still spike (a yearling male) and doe/cow hunts in the area.”
Whatever the cause of the decrease in elk and deer herds, cougars are not the only ones affected. Less elk and deer means fewer tags sold to human hunters. Although exact numbers were not available at press-time, Dennehy confirmed that ODFW has reduced the number of elk and deer tags available for eastern Oregon.
And that last issue is the one that most concerns businesses in the small towns of Zone E. Income from hunters has been an important staple of the small towns for devades.
In fact, according to ODFW calculations, hunters provide millions of dollars to Oregon economy each year.
In the Cougar Plan, ODFW estimates that hunters annually spend $8.5 million deer hunting and $14.2 million elk hunting in the Blue Mountain region.
But the solution to improved elk and deer herds is not to kill cougars, says Mackler. Increasing community education on how to live with cats, and increasing elk should be the focus, she said.
“We have common area here,” she said. “We have a common goal to reduce conflict. I don’t think anyone wants to see that conflict happen. I think, rather than looking at numbers, we should be looking at the best way to avoid conflict.”
The Deadline is April 9, 2008.
Click NEW MEXICO DEER APPLICATION to apply.
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There are no preference points in New Mexico and 10% of the tags are reserved for non-resident unguided. You only have to pay the $8.00 application fee up front. If you draw, you can go to a vendor and buy your license, or apply online.
In order to apply, you will first need to establish an account.
Good Luck
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