Mule Deer Fanatic

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Big changes coming for big game hunting seasons

AARON MEIER

Hunters who have been around a while will notice several important changes from years past. Perhaps the biggest changes affect the scheduled season dates for the upcoming fall hunting seasons. Rather than opening on a designated day of the week, as has been done in the past, the 2007 hunting seasons will begin and end on specific dates. Those dates have been set for the next two years. This, according to NDOW, will allow seasons to remain constant from year to year and should make it easier for hunters who need to plan their hunts and put in for vacation time early in the year.

This is a significant change for a hunting culture that is rich in tradition, but NDOW is hoping that the changes will ultimately make it easier for hunters and their families when it comes to applying for tags and planning their hunts.

“The long-term goal is to pursue standard seasons and eliminate unnecessary changes and confusion to tag applicants and hunters every two years,” said Mike Cox, NDOW’s big game staff biologist. “The diverse and changing work force of Nevadans, commitment of hunters to hunt regardless of what day of the week it is, the spread of hunting pressure across the opening day and first weekend of a season and trends of other western states were all taken into account.”

Another significant change is the creation of split hunting seasons for mule deer and elk hunts in several areas. These changes will provide hunters with a choice of early and late rifle hunts. The benefit of the split seasons, Cox said, is the ability it gives NDOW to recognize and manage two groups of hunters, “opportunity hunters” and “trophy hunters.” Each group has different expectations and demands. Split seasons also provide a level of protection to the mature buck segment by controlling the harvest of these bucks later in the fall.

Mule Deer — An antlerless deer hunt has been added in Area 6 and many hunt areas will now offer an early and late split rifle season. However, the resident junior deer rifle season was not split (single 22-day season). Some interstate deer herds have all three weapon class hunts in December.

Unit Boundary Changes

Pilot Peak in eastern Elko County is now designated as Unit 091. In prior years Pilot Peak was included in Unit 079, but that unit is now limited to the Toana Range and surrounding area. Other units with revised boundaries include: 072 – 075, 102, 104, 111, 114, 131, and 221.

Hunters should be aware and research that wilderness areas are greatly expanded across White Pine, Lincoln and portions of Clark County. These areas restrict motorized access. The Hunt Unit Map at ndow.org displays the wilderness boundaries. An updated Nevada hunt unit map can be found on the NDOW website at http://www.ndow.org/hunt/maps/unitmap.shtm . The Big Game online tag application program began last month and ends on April 16.

BIG GAME APPLICATION FAST APPROACHING

The deadline for the upcoming Big Game Tag Draw is fast approaching. Hunters hoping to draw a 2007 Nevada big game tag need to submit their application no later than 5 p.m. April 16, 2007. Applications must be mailed through a postal service or submitted online at www.huntnevada.com. Applicants using a postal service should allow three or four days to ensure they meet the deadline.

If they haven’t done so already, hunters born after January 1, 1960 must complete a Hunter Education class before they can purchase a Nevada hunting license. Several classes are still open for enrollment and will finish up in time for graduates to meet the application deadline. A list of classes can be found on the Nevada Department of Wildlife website –www.ndow.org.

Well folks,

I got busy and missed the deadline for applying for a mule deer hunt in Colorado. That hasn’t happend to me much, and I regret to say that I missed the opportunity. Nevertheless, I will run a series of posts to inform and entertain you would-be Colorado Mule Deer Fanatics.

Once upon a time, Colorado had a real good thing going with unlimited over-the-counter mule deer tags. The deer hunt was practically a holiday, and the deer herd was large. So was the harvest.

Today, other than certain private land situations, all Colorado mule deer hunting is by draw only, and the number of hunters has been severely limited. Getting enough brownie points to draw a tag in one of the better areas is a time consuming activity.

Happy hunting and may the Force be with you

What is the point in being a Mule Deer Fanatic?

It’s always nice to see mule deer, especially a large buck. You can always enjoy stalking a buck. Photographing mule deer is also very enjoyable. Reading about mule deer is  exciting. Hunting mule deer, if you can draw a tag, is getting right up there. Ultimately, though, a mule deer fanatic wants to harvest a trophy buck. If one is fortunate enough to have several trophies on the wall, that person really qualifies as a mule deer fanatic.

In order to frequently have the opportunity for a trophy buck, there has to be an investment ( and an incentive ). The investment may be made by purchasing expensive, high-quality, guided hunts. Alternatively, success can be achieved by a DIY hunter who simply has a lot of tenacity, desire, and knowhow.  Some have been fortunate enough to have access to great mule deer hunting by owning enough of the right property.

I believe it is getting harder and harder to be consistently successful. One thing that every mule deer fanatic needs to do is exert influence, as much as possible, toward better mule deer management. One should not consider himself a true mule deer fanatic without doing all in his power to promote an abundance of mule deer.

The idea of abundance has not been a high priority for game managers. It is, in fact, scarcity that is most popular today. Game managers must cease their love affair with predators before we will ever see abundance again. Weather, habitat, human encroachment, hunting, and even poaching combined do not cause the scarcity that is caused by predation.

If you want to be classified as a mule deer fanatic, I believe you need to be like a nagging child that won’t go away – when it comes to voicing your wishes to those that are in control. Interestingly, individual game biologists are not in control, even though you should certainly talk to them. Even heads of departments are not that influential. None of them is elected. You really need to go after state Governors and legislators, who are elected. However, if you want to get to the top, then talk to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, or more importantly the Mule Deer Working Group. I believe this group has become the major factor in keeping scarcity in place. They would much rather fund a study to prove that predators don’t have a negative impact on deer, than to fund serious predator control – the former accomplishing nothing and the latter benefitting mankind.

Here is a link to this group. I wish that all mule deer fanatics, everywhere, would overwhelm this group with a common cause – mule deer abundance. Read their conservation plan and you will realize that “conserve” means to feed predators and reduce hunting. If you don’t like that too well – then do something about it. Send an email to every person in the group and let them know that abundance will not be achieved until predators are controlled, and that when mule deer are once again abundant, then we will consider feeding the predators. Show that you are a dyed-in-the-wool, true-blue MULE DEER FANATIC.

POOR FORAGE GROWTH HAS G&F RECOMMENDING AGAINST WINTER RANGE EXCEPTIONS

11/3/2006

PINEDALE – With word of requests for exceptions from big game winter range closures by natural gas companies in the Pinedale area, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is recommending the Bureau of Land Management deny the requests based on poor forage production this past summer.

“We’ve just finished looking at the shrub production data for our winter ranges this past growing season and it is abysmal,” said the Game and Fish’s Jackson/Pinedale Wildlife Supervisor Bernie Holz. “There is going to be very little forage for those antelope and mule deer this winter and we cannot in good conscience support any additional stress being placed on those animals from gas development activities on crucial winter ranges.”

Each year Game and Fish biologists measure “leader growth,” which is the new growth on shrubs from the current growing season that browsing animals like antelope and mule deer survive on through winter. Average leader production on sagebrush was only 0.3 inches compared to 1.07 inches the past couple years. The sagebrush data from the Pinedale Mesa showed even less at 0.12 inches.

Mountain mahogany production averaged 0.85 inches as compared to 3.94 inches the past couple years and bitterbrush averaged 2.55 inches of leader growth this year compared to 7.18 inches the past couple years.

“You can see how much difference summer moisture can make, but we just didn’t get it this year,” said the Game and Fish’s Pinedale Habitat Biologist Nick Scribner. “Several of the sagebrush plants we measured this year had zero leader growth on the entire plant. All they did was kick out leaves. And very little seed, if any, was produced by shrubs this year.”

The Game and Fish is concerned there could be significant antelope and mule deer winter losses in the Pinedale area, even with average winter conditions, given the lack of forage production.

“Even last year, with the better shrub production, we had a fair amount of deer die over the winter along the Wind River Front,” said Scribner. “It figures to be much worse this year considering we only have 30 percent, or less, of the forage production we had the previous two years.”

(contact: Scott Smith (307) 367-4353 or Mark Gocke (307) 733-2331)

-WGFD-

Clik to Link to this hunting fanatic

Check out Mr. Kevin C. Paulson. He says:

I am obsessed with hunting, conservation and getting to know great people.

Go ahead and be one of the great people he gets to know.

WYOMING RESPONDS TO THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE’S REFUSAL TO DELIST WOLVES

10/6/2006

CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has responded to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s recent denial of Wyoming’s petition to remove gray wolves from the Endangered Species List in the Northern Rocky Mountains.

In a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director Mitch King, Game and Fish Department Director Terry Cleveland said the service’s analysis of Wyoming’s petition is “flawed in various aspects and is lacking depth and understanding of several issues brought forth in Wyoming’s petition.“

The denial of Wyoming’s petition is based on disagreements about the urgency of the need to delist wolves in Wyoming and the adequacy of Wyoming’s proposed plan to maintain wolves above distribution and recovery goals.The wolf population in Wyoming continues to grow by about 20 percent per year. Based on the most recent counts, there were 309 wolves in Wyoming in 31 packs, including at least 24 potential breeding pairs – more than three times the original recovery goal for the entire Greater Yellowstone Area, which also includes portions of Idaho and Montana. There are more than 1,200 wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountain population – more than four times the original recovery goal.

Biologists estimate that approximately 22 ungulates (mostly elk) per wolf are lost each year to wolf predation. Since 2003, an average of 69 cattle have been killed by wolves annually in Wyoming. These are confirmed wolf kills only, and recent research has found that as few as 25 percent of livestock depredations are actually discovered.

“Given the rapid recovery of wolves and their effects on Wyoming’s wildlife and livestock, delisting is long overdue,“ said Cleveland. “Wyoming’s plan will work. But the service is delaying the delisting process by selectively using data and references that seem to support its case while ignoring other data and the preponderance of evidence that Wyoming’s plan will ensure a recovered population of wolves. Overall, their rebuttal of Wyoming’s wolf plan is highly flawed based on unrealistic assumptions, misinterpretation of data, misrepresentation of Wyoming’s wolf plan under Wyoming Statute and hypothetical examples that are infeasible or highly unrealistic under Wyoming’s management plan.“

Wolves were reintroduced from Canada into Yellowstone National Park in 1995. Wolf numbers first reached the criteria for a recovered population in 2000.

Before the Northern Rocky Mountain population of wolves can be removed from the Endangered Species List, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must approve wolf management plans developed by Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. The service has approved plans developed by Idaho and Montana but has rejected Wyoming’s.

In July of 2005, Wyoming filed a petition to remove wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains from the Endangered Species List. In August of 2006, the service denied that petition.

Wyoming plans to file litigation in federal court in early October to seek a ruling that Wyoming’s wolf management plan constitutes an adequate regulatory mechanism, and an order directing the service to proceed with delisting the gray wolf in the Northern Rocky Mountains.
(contact: Eric Keszler (307) 777-4594)

-WGFD-

NONRESIDENT PREFERENCE POINTS ENTER SECOND YEAR

12/22/2006

CHEYENNE – Should I apply for only a preference point? Do I apply for just a license or should I apply for both? These are questions nonresident hunters will need to answer as the new deer, elk, and antelope application periods draw near.

The coming of the new year will mark the second year that preference points are available for nonresidents who wish to apply for elk, deer and antelope licenses. The preference points system was implemented in 2006 following numerous requests from hunters to develop a system that would reward perseverance in applying for hard-to-draw areas.

The preference point system is optional. Nonresidents who apply for a license with the preference point purchase option will be awarded a point if unsuccessful for drawing a license on their first choice. Hunters who apply for a license and preference point purchase and are successful in drawing a license on their second or later choice will still be awarded a point. This gives hunters the option of applying for a hard-to-draw area on their first choice, listing an easy-to-draw area on their second and still build preference points for future years.

Cost of the preference point is $50 for elk, $40 for deer, $30 for antelope and $10 for each species for youth under 18. Hunters who wish to apply for a preference point only without the possibility of drawing a license will need to wait until July 1, at which time preference point purchase only applications will be available in hard copy and on the Game and Fish website.

According to license section manager Jean Cole, there will be a statistical advantage in building up points as 75 percent of licenses will be issued to those with highest point totals. “The remaining 25 percent will be issued in a random drawing which at least will give all applicants a mathematical possibility of drawing a license regardless of preference point totals,” Cole said.

The elk, deer and antelope license preference point system is only for nonresident licenses. Both residents and nonresidents have had a similar system in place for moose and bighorn sheep for a number of years. Hunters with questions can call the Game and Fish at 307-777-4600.
(Contact: Al Langston)

-WGFD-

Wyoming is the Golden Egg for non-resident Mule Deer hunters. If you want to apply to hunt Mule Deer in Wyoming, the time is growing short. The application deadline is March 15. So Hurry! Just about any area will do, but SouthWestern Wyoming is my pick.

Other nearby posts have additional information.

Apply online at https://gf.state.wy.us/elsapplication/ELSTerms.aspx . Before applying have the following information readily available: species, draw, hunt area, type, party info, credit card info.

Link to Map: Click here

Customer Service: (307) 777-4600.

Other information useful to the Mule Deer Hunter

Application Fee Information. A nonrefundable application fee of $12.00 is included in the amount to be remitted for each big game license applied for in the Initial or Leftover drawings.

Computer Drawing. In an attempt to assure fairness, all Limited Quota licenses are allocated to applicants on the basis of randomly generated numbers through a computerized drawing system.

If the applicant is successful, the license and a copy of the regulations should be mailed within 15 days of the selection date. License fees are returned to unsuccessful applicants and to persons whose applications and/or fees submitted are improper. All refunds will be issued in the name of the applicant, regardless of who submitted the fee accompanying the application. Applicants who underpay or overpay their fees will receive a separate refund by August, following completion of all regular drawings. Any refunds overpayment in a party application will be made to the first applicant entered in the party, regardless of the payor.

Applicants for deer licenses should be aware both mule and white-tailed deer inhabit Wyoming. Licenses may be valid either species, or licenses may be restricted to or only. Before applying for a Deer license, the applicant should review the tentative Deer hunting information, specifically the limitations column, to determine the species of Deer for which the license is valid in a specific hunt area. Nonresident Deer licenses are either Region General licenses or Limited Quota licenses valid in specific hunt area(s). Check the hunt area, type and limitation columns on page 23. For region licenses, place the letter of the region you prefer to hunt and do not enter a specific hunt area number. Regions and their hunt areas are listed around the border of the Deer map on page 22. Region General licenses are not valid in hunt areas that are totally limited in quota. you want to apply a license, list the specific hunt area and type on the application.

Special Archery Seasons are established for nearly all Big Game hunt areas by the Commission. Season dates are not available at press time, but most open September 1. Some archery seasons for Antelope open on August 15. Information on these seasons will be available on or about May 5. Hunters holding General or Limited Quota hunting licenses may hunt with bow and arrow or crossbow during Special Archery Seasons if they first obtain an Archery license. Only one Archery license is required for a Big Game and Trophy Game species. This license qualifies the holder to hunt Big Game and Trophy Game during Special Archery Seasons in areas for which they also have a valid hunting license. Archery licenses are available at License Selling Agents statewide. Do not purchase an Archery license until you have received notification of drawing results.Some Big Game hunt areas offer hunting licenses for Archery Only. These licenses are designated as Type 9 licenses in the Hunting Season Tables. Type 9 Elk licenses are often available as Leftover licenses. Holders of Type 9 licenses are not required to obtain an Archery license in addition to the Limited Quota Archery Only license, but are restricted to hunting only in the area(s) and during the season specified for that license type.Persons hunting with archery equipment during regular firearms season need not obtain an Archery license.

Hiring Outfitters and Guides. Wyoming Statute states, “No person shall directly or indirectly compensate a person holding himself out as engaging in the business of, or acting in the capacity of, an outfitter or a professional guide unless that person provides proof that he is a licensed outfitter or professional guide as required by State law.” Any person violating this section is guilty of a misdemeanor…”Before hiring an outfitter, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department advises that hunters check with the Wyoming State Board of Outfitters and Professional Guides (http://outfitters.state.wy.us) to verify that the outfitter is licensed by the State of Wyoming. Hunters should be aware that landowners engaging in outfitting or guiding activities on their own land are exempt from licensure by the Board. Specifically, W.S. 23-2-406(a)(ii)(B) states: “Landowner” means any person, firm or corporation holding title to, or occupying under a contract of purchase, agricultural land or any person whose family owns at least a majority of the stock in a Wyoming corporation and who provides services specified in this paragraph on lands owned by the corporation and used primarily for agricultural purposes.” Contact: Wyoming State Board of Outfitters, at the above address.