5 year mule deer plan
Contributors to this thread:Kansas
From: Deone H
27-Feb-17
Hello, I saw there was information on the 5 year mule deer plan at the KBA banquet. I was unable to attend and cannot find information one KDWP website. Anyone have a link or insight please? Thanks! Deone
From: Deone H
27-Feb-17
I got inpatient and called KDWP. Sounds like an interesting study.
From: KB
27-Feb-17
Here's the info sheet they dispersed at the meeting Deone. Hopefully the Bowsite gremlins don't render it unreadable... Seems like a unique and interesting plan, but it sounded like there were plenty of unknowns as to how it would affect management decisions. It will primarily be carried out by KState from what I gathered... Mr Peek said he didn't foresee any drastic tag changes, maybe until this research is complete.
From: Deone H
27-Feb-17
KB, I was confused on what it had to do with management also but I guess they have to start somewhere. I had a nice visit with Mr. Peek, he seemed like a great guy. Thanks for the pic
From: sitO
27-Feb-17
You should have been there Deone! I'll get your membership if you'll come next year ;)
From: Deone H
27-Feb-17
That is very kind of you sitO but not necessary. Just printed off my application, time to get it done.
I offered my help to Mr. Peek if they ever needed it....and volunteered help of my buddies also.
From: Jaquomo
27-Feb-17
You guys should be overrun with muleys since the whitetails in CO are supposedly chasing them all into Kansas!
The CO DOW did a big mule deer study in my area about 15 years ago, when they theorized that by killing every muley in an area they could save them from CWD. So they shot them all at night. It worked, as not one of those deer died from CWD. Has taken this long for them to even begin to recover.
From: Matte
28-Feb-17
It will be interesting to see the findings. There are strong pockets of Mule Deer in Kansas but mostly in broken or roadless country. As much as I wish they would return areas found only a few short years ago I do not see it happening with the amount of Whitetails that now inhibit those areas.
From: Jaquomo
28-Feb-17
Matte, in my longtime area in eastern CO it was about a 50-50 mix 30 years ago. Gradually it became about 80-20 whitetails. Then it swung back the other way to the point where I didn't see a single whitetail this season. There are only five deer hunters on the 60,000 acres where I have access, and the surrounding outfitted ranches are selling mule deer because that's what eastern guys pay to hunt. So it's not from over hunting the whitetails.
There are complicated dynamics in play, and the DNR folks are puzzled. That's why every state with muleys is trying different things.
Our CO pilot program now is to kill the predators in a sample area to see if that helps. The earlier plan to kill off all the whitetails where they overlap may have some effect but we haven't seen the muleys tick up yet.
From: MDW
28-Feb-17
Might add in here, that the K.B.A. executive council agreed to make a very sizeable donation toward this study during their Sunday morning wrap-up session
From: MDW
28-Feb-17
One more little piece of information that might interest you. We would really like to pay out a few more of these.
From: Matte
28-Feb-17
Jaw, I grew up in SW Kansas a stone's throw from Colorado and pretty much have hunted that area all my life. Ever since I can remember we have had a mix of Whitetails and Muleys. However going east to let's say Kingman there use to be Muleys there but not anymore. I wish they could produce a map of how much they have retreated to the west. I wish the Mule deer well I really do but with all the pressure for antlers and their ability to sense danger just puts them at risk to all the road poachers.
From: writer
28-Feb-17
Can't blame it all on poachers and pressure for antlers because the does are gone, too. Lots of change, tough. In the mid 80s there was a herd northEAST of Manhattan, and some in Clay and Ottawa counties. Back then it was 50/50 in Clark and Barber counties. They're a fine animal, and worthy of a good bow hunt.
From: Matte
28-Feb-17
Agree with you on that to an extent. When all the rough necks were out west working 1st,2nd, and third shifts is when I think the does became a target as well. All of them had grills at the hotel and at night it smelled of Venison. I know the local warden believed as I did that these guys were killing deer all the time to eat on the cheap. I never did hear if any were ticketed.
From: kscurhunter
13-Jul-17
There where two herds I knew of in Ottawa county up until 2000 writer. The last one I knew of was a lone doe that was actually on the Solomon river one whole winter that was probably 2003 or 04.
From: Thornton
13-Jul-17
In 5 years all the mule deer will be dead. Sounds like the 10 year prairie chicken survey K-state did. Their findings just proved what the old farmers were saying all along.
From: writer
13-Jul-17
"In five years all the mule deer will be dead" . Explain that, please?
The K-State study proved what the ranchers were doing all along, annual burning and double-stocking, were one of the main reasons for the on-going 30-percent annual decline.
From: Thornton
13-Jul-17
Yes that is what declined the chickens. The old timers I talked to always said that as well as some thought herbicide may be a contributor. The mule deer comment was sarcasm loosely based on my own casual observations while hunting birds out there.
From: Habitat1
14-Jul-17
They should have stopped the killing of muledeer does a long time ago.I thought I also saw that they sent out a survey to all deer hunters last year but no one on the site received one but i thought it was about deer hunting in general.
From: Griff
16-Aug-17
I just thought I would share this information to update the KBA's contribution towards this study and our commitment to the resource. We hope to make a difference and will continue to follow through with this study and the results.
Attached is a photo of several members making the presentation of the $5000 contribution towards this study at the Cheney Commission meeting. I want to thank all of our members for their support in this effort.
From: MDW
16-Aug-17
Just last season, they ended the either species antlerless permits and that alone should have kept a couple hundred mule deer from being killed. We will never know until some kind of mandatory check station is required in theses areas. Very possibly the next step could be a change in firearms permits to protect more mule deer Doe's, not saying it will happen any time soon though.
From: Matte
16-Aug-17
I hope there are some changes on how tags are acquired. Currently Mule deer tags are basically otc for residents. Heck you don't draw rifle you pick up a muzzle loader, crossbow, longbow, compound bow and got put some pressure on them. I have wondered if all the does in some areas get bred. They probably do but I have seen strings of thirty or so does with no bucks hounding them even in the rut. Like the Bison they are just to easy to kill where there is easy access.
From: z hunter
16-Aug-17
NR mule deer tag quota is very low. The state needs to only allow a resident, tenants, or land managers to draw a tag once every other year. Perhaps landowners exclusively could still hunt for 1 buck per year..
I have only hunted for muleys 1 time in 12 seasons of archery..it is the guys who hunt them year after year who are hurting the herds..to the point of complaint.
From: Kansasclipper
16-Aug-17
Do you think that when Kansas dropped the resident draw for rifle tags has a relationship with the decline of mule deer? There was a very restrictive ratio between an antler tag, antlerless tag, and those who drew nothing. That would have been mid 90's. Makes you go hmm!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From: sitO
16-Aug-17
This is a great start to an important project...hopefully other conservation groups will also step up!
Thanks KBA!
From: Matte
16-Aug-17
Z I definitely agree. I know of groups upon groups that somehow draw rifle tags every year. I for one did not chase Mule deer last year.
