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Turkeyhunter's Link
March CDAC meetings have commenced. A handful of counties held meetings last week with most everyone else meeting this week.
Additional meetings in April. The link will take you to the schedule.
I'm attending the Door CDAC tonight.
For any of the rest of you attending these meetings here's a place to post your impressions and any feedback.
Someone once said if you're not part of the process you're part of the problem.
We had ours last week. Basically, for one reason or another, we have little "teeth" this year outside of recommending quotas (we can recommend the moon but hunters will continue to shoot only xx number of deer).
Sounds like beginning next year CDACs could have additional authority to make some recommendations (offering more free or reduced-price tags, holding an antlerless hunt, holiday hunt, bonus bucks, etc. among the possibilities).
We are actually recommending fewer bonus tags than last year, but that doesn't mean anything when you consider it's still 3-4x higher (depending whether public or private) than hunters in our county purchased last year. Our thought was perhaps if it appeared they were more limited, more folks might buy one right away vs. the nearly unlimited numbers we could recommend. Also, figured since herd is growing, more free tags would be filled (a higher percentage of them), plus there were also concerns about "telecheck" and crossbow growth.
Here's tonight's takeaway.
No real 'tools' until 2016. Until then all they can do is fiddle with the antlerless quota. They voted unanimously to raise the antlerless tags because they know the deer population has to come down. They also know they didn't sell all the ones available from last year. There is some hope that having to designate county and public vs. private might drive some additional demand.
2016 gives them the option of holiday hunt, antlerless hunt, free or reduced-price tags, recommendations on youth antlerless tag use, etc.
My impression is that things have certainly become more complicated but Dick is a good man and knows his deer biology. He's a great Chairman.
They're using the opportunity to 'message' to the powers-that-be that not having and real 'tools' this year isn't working. They're asking for free/reduced antlerless tags. Nobody believes the excuse that the current ALIS system can't issue them.
Warden suggested a youth hunt on our property. I'll follow-up and discuss with The Frau.
Turkey, agree with you on Dick, he knows his stuff. Had more property at one time than perhaps any other single landowner, sold a lot to various trusts and conservancies but still has some nice stuff and allows youths and others on to target antlerless. If you decide on the youth hunt, I'll offer my two older kids that you and I could work with to help reduce the doe population there! ;)
It's really too bad that the DNR screwed up EAB. It was an excellent management tool, and would be perfect used sparingly.
EAB cost me the best 10 pointer I've ever had at 12 yards...heavy sigh.
But imagine how big he was next year Rick! ;) Agree there were a few stories like that, but far, far more of guys getting the biggest buck of their lifetime a year or two after.
One truly rare case: the biggest non-typical ever taken with bow in my area had to be passed up in September .... only to be shot by the same archer weeks later after he arrowed a doe. He got a lucky break!
I also believe eab should be used every 3rd yr in areas needed. I know several guys that simply will not shoot a doe. I don't think it would work with call in registration, one doe/fawn would be registered multiple times. I know it was abused before but it would be 100× worse. There hasn't been one deer shot off our neighbors 300 acres in 4 yrs.
"EAB cost me the best 10 pointer I've ever had at 12 yards...heavy sigh."
Bowhunting during the early T-zone one year I had to pass up a 200" non-typical that I had been hunting for 3 years. He milled around me in bow range for 22 minutes. I am not bitter about it, the only thing I was mad about is that I left the camera in the truck that day.
EAB did provide some positive aspects to people who want only to kill big bucks. Problem was that it was not well received by the majority. Regulations and rules are designed to meet not only biological needs but also social ones. Socially, EAB was a flop.
Crossguns were not well received by the public, but..... The majority doesn't want to be 'forced' to kill a deer even if it is the best solution for the herd. My strategy is the same every yr. Hunt mature bucks 1st 2 weeks, does during lull, mature buck during rut.
Crossbows will prove to be a flop also. At least to hunters who dedicate more effort than a weekend per season.
"EAB was a flop."
Had the DNR not overused it,it may of become more accepted. It was an awesome management tool, unfortunately the tools using it did not know how.
Rut, I agree that if it were used as a tool, as a result of a CDAC recommendation, it could help with herd management.
I attended our CDAC meeting last night. Its pretty much a carbon copy of what NAZ posted above. We had 10 citizens attend and they posed some interesting questions for our DNR biologist. With a harvest last season of only 1399 deer the biggest concern was to grow the herd on public land.
We had about 15 guests at Lincoln County, after some every good discussion by both private land hunters and public land hunters, we decided to go with a quota of 380 antlerless deer for the County, with a split of 75%(750 permits) for private land and 25%(250 permits) for public land. This should help with the pockets of high populations on private land and still give the public land hunter the opportunity to purchase a permit while still allowing the population to increase, with more emphasis on increasing the herd on public lands.
Five R's, nice job. While more attendance would be nice, I believe that is how this system is supposed to work.
Yes, what about attendance?
There seems to be plenty of folks that piss and moan and few that spend anytime trying to improve things (AW) -
CDAC is one of the most interesting things the WDNR has done and we need to take advantage of this opportunity!
There seems to be plenty of folks that piss and moan and few that spend anytime trying to improve things (AW) - You hit it on the head BT.
County Deer Advisory Councils have released their recommendations for 2015 antlerless deer quotas and permit levels, and now is your chance to review these recommendations and provide feedback. Review these recommendations and provide your feedback - link posted above. The public comment period is open through April 15, and CDACs will meet during the week of April 20 to make their final recommendations - these meetings are open to the public, and your feedback is encouraged.
As stated above, it's time to become part of the solution. BC
