JHA 2018 Canceled
Caribou
Received the unfortunate news today that JHA has canceled all hunts starting in 2018 due to Quebec closing the season on caribou indefinitely beginning Feb 2018. It's too bad because we had already put down our deposit and I was really looking forward to heading up there for a hunt with my teenage boys. Hopefully they will be able to figure it all out and get back in business soon. Now I have to figure out a plan B...
Small inconvenience for me as an individual hunter, but a HUGE issue for JHA and others whose livelihood depends on the caribou herds.
Was just about to send in our deposits for a 2018 hunt. Very sad.
Wow, I had no idea things were that bad. Sorry for all involved.
Kind of takes me back to when Ontario closed the entire province to spring black bear hunting. The outfitters and guides took a beating.
What's going on with the caribou???
Such a loss. The Humes are wonderful people. We can only hope the government comes to it's senses and reopens the season, but government and senses don't go hand in hand. To think that the fall hunting season is hurting caribou population is foolish. Midwest and I just talked last night about the small handful ( under 1000)that are taken yearly by hunters. With a herd numbering over 200,000.
The problem is there was an estimated population over over 1 million animals (close to 1.5 if I remember correctly as late as 2007) in Quebec. Just last year, the Leaf River Herd was thought to be over 350,000. The George River Herd has less than 50,000.
It is a very bleak and sad situation. If any outfitter can survive this, Richard and JHA will.
Take care. Mike
Mike
Sean nailed it. Jack, Richard and Amanda have built their outfitter business by hard work and professional ethic. I had just sent Amanda an email to book my 6th hunt with them. Disappointed? You bet. But I cannot imagine what they must be going through. I'm hopeful as I'm sure many others are - that the declining herd numbers reverse and JHA continues as the best caribou outfitter in Quebec.
Wow ! was that there only business? They got something else to fall back on?
200-300,000 and hunters are only taking 1,000 and they closing the season. Maybe the 1.5 million herds of years ago were above the capacity and there now at a better number?
We on onboard for 2017. Going to take years for the habitat to recover enough to see substantial up ticks. Sad situation but maybe we can come away learning something.
Terrible news! I feel for the outfitters as well as the hunters that will miss out.
It is a complicated issue with many potential contributing factors including habitat degradation from over population, wild fires, disease, increased insects due to rise in temperatures particularly in the northern breeding grounds, and low calve recruitment rates due to an increase of predators, including wolves. The cultural impacts need also to be considered. Hunting is about the only factor that can be controlled.
Northern calving grounds...
Has anyone else heard from Richard. I am in for 17 but feel guilty hunting them if things are that bad.
I am waiting to hear from Richard regarding this coming years hunt ....hopefully that's very soon.
I emailed Richard as well. Pry like half the country. Give him time, he'll get back to everyone.
In my opinion, it is a bunch of political BS. Luke, you and I both know that we saw more and bigger caribou last year than ever. The ones we killed were in excellent shape and had a lot of fat. Take out some wolves and bears and quit killing the cows and things should be fine. I wonder with the migration of smaller numbers at once is causing the census counts to be way off and they are missing huge percentage of the herd? Sure didn't seem to be any shortage of caribou around the camps. I will support Richard and Amanda any way I can. Will be up again next year for my 17th hunt an things seem to be just as good or better than it ever was. See you on the tundra. Rory
when i was up there hunting it seemed like there was way too much hunting pressure.
I feel terrible for JHA and the others who depend on the season to make their living. I have been wanting to go on this hunt for almost 20 years. Me and a few buddies said we were going to go when we turned 25, but we were all buying houses and settling down with families. Then we were going to go when we turned 30, but some of us were getting divorced... We were absolutely going when we turned 40, but I purchased a gym and had to use all of our savings to do so.... We mad a blood oath that we wouldn't let 50 come and go without going on this epic adventure (Now 44). I am now crying in my soup as JHA is the outfitter that has been in all of my dreams and Quebec was the destination. I just told my wife that my life will feel incomplete if I die without going on this hunt! She doesn't seem nearly as upset as I am right now!
"when i was up there hunting it seemed like there was way too much hunting pressure."
WOW when and where were you hunting that there was pressure on caribou. I have only been 5 times, but that country is pristine and game plentiful. There are not 700 sport hunters a year up there in total. maybe half that, in tens of thousands of square miles
Well that's sad. I dreamed of caribou hunting as a kid and a young man, but like a lot of other dreams, life got in the way and now I'm too old to think about it. JHA was always at the top of the list for many who even thought about caribou hunting.
Hunting pressure? What is there, like 2 outfitters? JHA runs about 150 guys per year. I hope Richard chimes in here.
Aubs- any reading you can point me to on this?
Sounds like a big enough deal that I'm sure there are good people looking into it...
I think it's a much bigger issue then predation from wolves, bears and humans. It's overly simplistic to think that a reduced mortality via predation is going to facilitate a quick rebound, in fact just the opposite maybe the case. More and more it's looking like years of overly high Population has taken its toll on the habitat. The ecosystem in the atrtic and subarctic is extremely slow to rejuvenate. It may take years of low herd numbers to allow the habitat to rebound.
Waiting on pins and needles to hear from Richard and Amanda. too say my two partners for this years hunt are experiencing trepidation is an understatement.
There is no need for trepidation on this years hunt. They will pull off a great experience like they always to and the hunters will tag out. No issues. It is not like the animals are not there or success rates have been plummeting with JHA. The animals are still there. The planes will fly, the camps will run, and the people will have memories that last a lifetime. It is the future that seems to suck.
Richard and Amanda run a stellar operation. One of the best in my opinion.
Such a beautiful place and wonderful experience. I sure hope this gets turned around for not only Richard, but for all the pilots, cooks, guides and caribou.
More importantly, for future generations to have an opportunity to experience the beauty of the tundra.
I am booked with JHA for 2017 and heard from Richard last night. This was his response to my question on how the closing might affect my hunt.
Yes, after over 35 years of outfitting in Quebec we are unfortunately being closed down and unfortunately 1 caribou per hunter is all we can offer you for 2017. If anyone wants to back out because of the 1 caribou limit then we will gladly make an exception and refund them. Our phone has been ringing off the hook today with people wanting to book a hunt with us after hearing about the closure in 2018. We are actually considering raising our prices due to the overwhelming demand and the fact that it is our "last kick at the bucket! Just got off the phone with an agent looking to book 16 spots. We told him that we have to hold off on any new bookings as we offered all our 2018 and 2019 clients first chance to rebook into 2017. If they all decide to do so we will be completely sold out. I canceled all our sportsman shows except for Harrisburg. Only attending that one to say our farewells to all our past clients and outfitters that we've met over the years as we have been at that show for over 30 years. Anyhow let me know your intent. I won't be offended in any way if you choose to cancel due to the 1 caribou limit. We have replacements for anyone choosing to cancel.
So it's a safe assumption that all of us booked for this season should be getting an email or correspondence shortly...I hope.
No Trail153 it's a safe assumption that if you want to hunt 2017 yet, your hunt is on.
Go if you possibly can and enjoy it. I did 4 central barren ground caribou hunts in the NWT starting about 16 years ago. Then the population decline happened and caribou hunting all but ceased. I still don't think there is any appreciable nonresident caribou hunting for CBG sub-species there. Many outfitters have disappeared.
There is quite a bit of information if you Google it...I came upon this some time ago... I had hoped to hunt caribou again in 2019 Take care. Mike
Treestandwolfs post sums things up very well...and if Richard booked Harrisburg just to say thanks a to his past guests....well that speaks volumes for the man. After hearing of the closure I mediately emailed about changing my 2018 hunt to 2017. Fingers crossed some fool backs out. Or He can stuff me in the back of the Cessna.
This is what I meant to post...,
The 2 Herds in Quebec are the George River Herd and the Leaf River Herd. The above link gives a nice summary to a very complex problem.
Richard previously hunted the George River Herd until that was closed to hunting a few years ago. He then bought a host of camps in the Leaf River Herd area. I believe he is now the largest outfitter in the province.
The whole situation is very sad for those in the industry and those who love all that goes with the experience of being in Northern Quebec hunting caribou on the tundra.
Mike
If people were going to cancel over the one bull thing, this post from Richard on the other thread indicated how they would handle people who still wanted to take a second non-trophy animal.
This was from a month or so ago.
"For the 2017 season rather than have the 2nd (non trophy) "management caribou" license included in all of our packages we have decided to make it an available option to our clients and so with that being said, we are taking the 2nd license out of all our packages and we are lowering our pricing slightly to reflect the savings of not having to supply everyone with the 2nd tag. Those wishing to take a 2nd caribou (provided that option remain valid) will be able to do so by simply paying an additional $500.00 to have the 2nd tag included in their hunt. The $500.00 will cover any and all cost associated with harvesting the 2nd caribou. Richard"
And yet the indigenous population selling caribou meat on Facebook is not talked about as part of the problem.
of course not. better to penalize the 500 hunters a year who spend 8 grant a piece plus travel, lodging, gas, food, etc..
Think the herds were over estimated in sise for many yes and over harvest by humans played a significant role.Better data recently shows the herds contain far less animals than older data showed.
I am Jack Hume , I want to say how disappointed I am with this decision. I started guiding caribou hunts in 1972 and then passed it on to Richard and Amanda in 2003 I was so proud of the great effort they made in maintaining the High Standard and Reputation of Jack Hume Adventures , Richard was accompanying me when he was only 12 years old and my dream was one day that he would take it over. Now Richard and I were both looking forward to one day his sons Sawyer and Seth would follow in his footsteps , making it 3 generations of Humes. The Outfitters during the fall hunt are taking only a very limited number of caribou, the Winter Hunt was out of control and there have been many horror stories of caribou killed and left on the side of the road, the territory was just too large for the Game Wardens to properly monitor... The other problem was the Wolf population is out of control , hunters should have been allowed to purchase a licence and shoot them. In the past few years the guides claim to have seen packs of six or more wolves following the herds on a regular bases, when I first stated guiding up there it was very rare to see a wolf. Also the Native people have to insure that only a limited number of animals are taken each year , in an article I just read ,one Native was bragging that he shot 25 caribou this fall, he is not married and has no kids to support , it was common knowledge that a case of beer would get you a caribou. Other,s say they shoot 5-6 animals each winter for their family's , perhaps that number should be reduced also. I believe each Band should issue a limited number of tags to each family and enforce that no caribou are taken without such a tag. Hopefully the Caribou will make a quick recovery and and in a few years Jack Hume Adventures will once again fill hunters dreams. Thank you all for your support you have given me and Richard over the years.
Wonder how much this has to do with climate change. Evidently the same crashing numbers are occurring in Kamchatka, where there is even less hunting. Doesn't look good for caribou...
What I'm hearing is climate and food situation is stable,human and animal predation is the number one factor namely poor herd estimations over a long period of time.It wasn't long ago they said the herds were over a million but likely were not.Allocate a 10% harvest of a million you still have a large base of 900,000.But if the real number was 500,000 and you harvest 100,000 that's 20% per yr not sustainable.Just examples not accrual data!
Manitoba is all but to follow. Hunting has been the pits and the only outfitters selling caribou hunts for next year are doing it basically as a glorified fishing trip with a chance at a caribou.
As far as the indiginous thing, yes it is absolutely out of control. We had the dene flying here in the winter and loading up planes and semi's full of carcasses. They would go and shoot hundreds at a time and then see what they wanted to clean up. It was a very bad situation where a number of herds came together to winter at the same point instead of different spots, and the indiginous of all kinds gathered for a slaughter unlike it has been seen before. As an added bonus the metis people (people only part native) are being granted full treaty rights so that they can do what any native can do.
All of a sudden a few extra hundred thousand white people have a blank license to kill. Ask me again why all of the animal populations here are suffering.
Separate hunting laws for different groups of people will never work. Needs to be abolished. One set of rules for all of us. Period.
Things have been a bit hectic around here lately and to tell you the truth I am still in shock and just trying to cope with the situation and at the same time trying to keep the Christmas spirit with my family. That is about as much as I can handle at the moment but I will get it together soon. lol I haven't really had enough time to digest all of this as of yet. Let me start by saying that all of your post effect me on a very emotional level. As my father stated I have been involved with our family business since the very start. I spent 35 seasons in northern Quebec and honestly thought I'd continue our legacy with my two boys some day. I often said I had the best job in the world and I still think I do. I would not have changed a thing about my past. I was extremely fortunate to have met Amanda, who has helped take JHA to a level that I would not have been able to take it to on my own. As many of you know, we had to start over from scratch in Lac Pau just 5 years ago when the George River herd was closed. At that point we were also forced to abandon most of the operation. I had taken over from my father but since that time we never looked back and today we lay claim to being the largest outfitter in northern Quebec. I owe Amanda and my entire crew for that. It wasn't always easy and we actually had years when other outfitters in Quebec were folding that we couldn't pay off anything on our mortgage and weren't taking out a salary in the winter just in order to keep our wheels turning. We did so in order to be able to continue doing what we both loved. The last two years we managed to retain some profits and things were actually looking as good as they did when my father was still involved. Our future looked great and as far as we knew the caribou looked very healthy and so we had no concerns. We had no idea that the axe was about to fall but wow yeah now the door has been slammed shut in our faces once again. If I believed in the survey and inventory done by the biologist then it would be easier to hang up my hat but the fact of the matter is that this closure is strictly politically driven. As a matter of fact the same biologist who said our herd was way down and declining further met me in Lac Pau and told me that he thought that from the caribou he had just seen that our herd was in good shape and that it should number close to what we had in 2011 (which was 430 000). I honestly believe the pressure being put on the Quebec minister from the Cree, Naskapi and Inuit (James Bay Treaty) has finally escalated to the point where the Quebec minister folded on us and decided to take the option of shutting down our entire sport hunt. Our quota for all of the fall sport hunt in 2017 is just over 700 caribou and far from being any kind of factor in any decrease in the herd even if it was at 200 000. Bear in mind that this entire inventory was done in 4 days and the counted was taken by taking pictures from a helicopter and then brought south to be counted. It all sounds OK to anyone who doesn't know any different but in my case I have over 2000 hours in the past ten years including the 200 hours I flew at tree tops last season, locating and trying to pattern the migration of the caribou in order to ensure that my hunters were always positioned where they needed to be and I can honestly say that I know for a fact that flying a straight grid with a helicopter in the area where there are some collared caribou will not get you an accurate count. I have no doubt that they counted all the caribou in the pictures they took and I also believe that the margin of error is correct at about 8% but how many caribou did they miss as they did not fly directly over them is what we don't know. If they say that they counted 200 000 caribou then I can guarantee you that our herd could be comprised of as much as twice as many caribou as they counted. Furthermore if the herd dropped by over 200 000 then where did they all go to? We aren't seeing any dead caribou out on the tundra and we actually follow the caribou from week to week and from camp to camp. Furthermore and I think most importantly they announced that our herd only had a cow to calf ratio of less than 18% in July and then as that fell further to as low as 11% in October. Why is it then, when I asked my guides (who I might add spent from 7-13 weeks living amongst the caribou) to give me an honest figure of what they seen in the field, they all said between 60-85% calf to cow ratio? I had our entire territory covered with guides and scouts spanning hundreds of miles apart form each other over a two month period. They spent a few days on the tundra and came back with 18%! None the less I realize that this is a fight that I could never win. I am know being forced to hang up my hat but most importantly I can look back knowing that we always did our absolute best and never gave up no matter what was thrown against us. I can assure you that this year will be no different. That's how we roll. In so far as the upcoming 2017 season goes we will be offering 1 caribou/hunter (which can be any caribou of your choice). We have put any new bookings on hold until January 11th as we wish to allow our 2018 and 2019 hunters time to consider moving their hunts forward and also we will receive an email with our official quota on January the 11th. It looks like we will have a waiting list of hunters wishing to join us and are very grateful for that so anyone who does not wish to hunt with us in 2017 due to the fact that we can only offer a single caribou license will be refunded in full, no questions asked.
Richard Hume
Outfitters have the toughest job with so many uncontrollable factors,weather,fuel prices,wild animal behaviour,worst of all,bad government decisions!
Thanks Richard............ this is a crime against you and the animals. Period. Pathetic. In the end it has to work out based on facts and what is best for nature. I have to believe that this will be short lived. In the end good people doing things the right way have to come out OK.
I put paragraph breaks in your post to make it easier to read....it is important that people read it.
RICHARD'S POST ABOVE:
Things have been a bit hectic around here lately and to tell you the truth I am still in shock and just trying to cope with the situation and at the same time trying to keep the Christmas spirit with my family. That is about as much as I can handle at the moment but I will get it together soon. lol I haven't really had enough time to digest all of this as of yet. Let me start by saying that all of your post effect me on a very emotional level. As my father stated I have been involved with our family business since the very start. I spent 35 seasons in northern Quebec and honestly thought I'd continue our legacy with my two boys some day.
I often said I had the best job in the world and I still think I do. I would not have changed a thing about my past. I was extremely fortunate to have met Amanda, who has helped take JHA to a level that I would not have been able to take it to on my own. As many of you know, we had to start over from scratch in Lac Pau just 5 years ago when the George River herd was closed. At that point we were also forced to abandon most of the operation.
I had taken over from my father but since that time we never looked back and today we lay claim to being the largest outfitter in northern Quebec. I owe Amanda and my entire crew for that. It wasn't always easy and we actually had years when other outfitters in Quebec were folding that we couldn't pay off anything on our mortgage and weren't taking out a salary in the winter just in order to keep our wheels turning. We did so in order to be able to continue doing what we both loved. The last two years we managed to retain some profits and things were actually looking as good as they did when my father was still involved.
Our future looked great and as far as we knew the caribou looked very healthy and so we had no concerns. We had no idea that the axe was about to fall but wow yeah now the door has been slammed shut in our faces once again. If I believed in the survey and inventory done by the biologist then it would be easier to hang up my hat but the fact of the matter is that this closure is strictly politically driven. As a matter of fact the same biologist who said our herd was way down and declining further met me in Lac Pau and told me that he thought that from the caribou he had just seen that our herd was in good shape and that it should number close to what we had in 2011 (which was 430 000).
I honestly believe the pressure being put on the Quebec minister from the Cree, Naskapi and Inuit (James Bay Treaty) has finally escalated to the point where the Quebec minister folded on us and decided to take the option of shutting down our entire sport hunt. Our quota for all of the fall sport hunt in 2017 is just over 700 caribou and far from being any kind of factor in any decrease in the herd even if it was at 200 000. Bear in mind that this entire inventory was done in 4 days and the counted was taken by taking pictures from a helicopter and then brought south to be counted. It all sounds OK to anyone who doesn't know any different but in my case I have over 2000 hours in the past ten years including the 200 hours I flew at tree tops last season, locating and trying to pattern the migration of the caribou in order to ensure that my hunters were always positioned where they needed to be and I can honestly say that I know for a fact that flying a straight grid with a helicopter in the area where there are some collared caribou will not get you an accurate count.
I have no doubt that they counted all the caribou in the pictures they took and I also believe that the margin of error is correct at about 8% but how many caribou did they miss as they did not fly directly over them is what we don't know. If they say that they counted 200 000 caribou then I can guarantee you that our herd could be comprised of as much as twice as many caribou as they counted. Furthermore if the herd dropped by over 200 000 then where did they all go to? We aren't seeing any dead caribou out on the tundra and we actually follow the caribou from week to week and from camp to camp. Furthermore and I think most importantly they announced that our herd only had a cow to calf ratio of less than 18% in July and then as that fell further to as low as 11% in October.
Why is it then, when I asked my guides (who I might add spent from 7-13 weeks living amongst the caribou) to give me an honest figure of what they seen in the field, they all said between 60-85% calf to cow ratio? I had our entire territory covered with guides and scouts spanning hundreds of miles apart form each other over a two month period. They spent a few days on the tundra and came back with 18%! None the less I realize that this is a fight that I could never win. I am know being forced to hang up my hat but most importantly I can look back knowing that we always did our absolute best and never gave up no matter what was thrown against us. I can assure you that this year will be no different.
That's how we roll. In so far as the upcoming 2017 season goes we will be offering 1 caribou/hunter (which can be any caribou of your choice). We have put any new bookings on hold until January 11th as we wish to allow our 2018 and 2019 hunters time to consider moving their hunts forward and also we will receive an email with our official quota on January the 11th. It looks like we will have a waiting list of hunters wishing to join us and are very grateful for that so anyone who does not wish to hunt with us in 2017 due to the fact that we can only offer a single caribou license will be refunded in full, no questions asked.
Richard Hume
I feel terrible for the Humes as they have given so many and enjoyable hunt. They run an impeccably honest business.
That said, biologically, the discontinuation of the sport hunt makes no sense. The sport hunters shoot majority bulls. The bulls are polygamous. Removing males has no net affect on herd growth. The net removal from the herd is simply the number of males harvested.
Very sad, we need a really Study, not a helicopter population guestamate. Predation, disease, what is real answer.
In the end, Quebec is going to lose a lot of revenue.
Hi Richard. It was nice speaking to you on the phone the other night. To find out about the season closure a couple days later was quite a shock. I had 6 of us ready send in our deposits for 2018 and we were all pretty bummed when I had to share the bad news.
I feel bad for your family and business. Wishing you all the best in the future and sorry we never got to meet in person.
Hello Fellow Hunters, You are receiving this email because you are scheduled to hunt caribou with our outfit during the 2017 season, and we would like to take this opportunity to relay the most up-to-date information concerning changes to the caribou hunting regulations at this time. We have always maintained a high importance on keeping our clients informed, and on offering transparency in our operations – there has never ceased to be some sort of dramatic uprising consistently since the date of purchase of this outfit from Jack Hume 15 years ago, but this year we write to you with the heaviest of hearts. Late Wednesday afternoon our ministry announced a complete closure of caribou hunting in the province as of February 1st, 2018, as well as a 50% drop in caribou tags from our 2015 license allocation for the 2017 season. By teleconference, we were informed of these measures by members of the MFFP (Ministere des Forets, Faune et Parcs), followed by every member of the MFFP hanging up before any questions or clarification could be discussed. We know that this was an unjust and politically-driven decision, and if you would like to read their press release, please click here http://mffp.gouv.qc.ca/english/press/press-release-detail.jsp?id=11881. We could go into great detail about how we believe the statistics published on the population of the herd have been falsified, or moreover, completely invented, but that will not change the reality of our present situation. We are David, they are Goliath, and First Nations in this province are God. Despite our anger, frustration and mostly sadness, we feel extremely fortunate to have one last opportunity to host hunters this coming season. You folks are the last caribou hunters that will visit our cherished corner of the earth for the foreseeable future – and we are going out with a bang together! As always, we promise to do everything in our power to maintain a high success level – and would really like to finish our last season with 100% success (yes, some of that weight is on your shoulders, so start shooting!) With that said, for some of you, there are obviously some changes to your contracted hunt for which we need feedback. In November of this year, just one month ago, we lowered the price of our packages by $300 and included 1 caribou license instead of 2, with the option to buy the 2nd management tag at a cost of $500 upon arrival at base camp. We came to this decision after having completed the 2016 season (the first in our company’s 35 years of operation) with most of our clients harvesting cows as their 2nd caribou, in accordance with the ministry’s new regulations for that season. This did not sit well with us, it felt wrong and our decision to drop the initial package price and essentially increase the cost for those who felt compelled to harvest a 2nd caribou, was purely a deterrent. What a mistake that decision turned out to be given our current situation. We are by no means greedy people, we have made a living as outfitters, and enjoyed every minute. Back to reality, we are running a business – a business that will no doubt end in one year from now through no fault of our own. A business that we invested significant money for that is essentially being tossed in the trash with no sign of compensation. This is not a call for sympathy, rather an explanation for the measures we are about to outline. Due to the 50% cut in licenses, we no longer have the volume to sustain our operation for one last season without making some changes. 2017 Season changes: 1. Limit of one tag per hunter for any size or sex caribou – 2nd tags for caribou with antlers less than 15” are not available due to license quota restrictions. 2. Abolishment of the drive-up package – license restrictions force us to prioritize those traveling on our charter aircrafts in order to be cost-effective. 3. The reinstatement of our package prices prior to November 2016, no matter what price you reserved for (discounts still apply): • 1x2 fully guided $8,500 • 1x3 semi-guided $8,000 • 1x4 semi-guided $7,500 • 1x6 unguided with cook $7,000 • 1x6 unguided no cook $6,500 In order to help offset the loss of income from the cancellation of the drive-up hunt, any new reservations will be priced at $1,000 more than the above listed prices. No new reservations will be taken before January 11th, 2017. Please let us know by January 10th, 2017 whether you accept these changes and would like to maintain your reservation, or if you would like to cancel your reservation and receive a full refund. Thank you for your understanding, Richard & Amanda Hume Jack Hume Adventures Inc. Delay River Outfitters 86 Robinson Road Wentworth, QC J8H 0G3
[email protected] www.jackhumeadventures.com Tel. 1-877-563-3832 Fax 1-877-563-5770 Cell 450-612-3832
The First Nation writing has been on the wall for some time now. They "appropriated" a good deal of funds from caribou hunters a few year back and shut it out. And my understanding is few years back from even there. From what I can gather JHA was about the last of the non-indigenous camps still operating in what is a HUGE area. I've seen this before.... their presence alone was doomed by the politics. Another thread up with sheep hunting being absorbed by essentially the same forces.
My heart goes out to folks who have given their hearts to their business and profession. Only to see it crushed by things and people beyond their control..... the powers that be for political gain. Very sad.
I have to weigh in here. I think it is a shame that now Richard is now taking advantage of this situation and now is going to charge more for these hunts to the guys who booked in good faith the years prior and then to go way beyond and charge an extra $1000 for new bookings, really? Let's see what would happen if everyone suddenly asked for a refund and he was stuck with all the hunts unfilled for the season. I feel for him with the closing of the hunt and now potentially his business ,but don't try and make a big payday off the back of the hunters who have booked in good faith. Once again its the hard working guy who saved for years to do a big game hunt that gets the short end. Just my own thoughts....
I agree prezboys I thought that was pretty crappy too to over charge and try to make a huge payday before going out of business
I have no involvement, but you guys may want to read this part again: "Due to the 50% cut in licenses, we no longer have the volume to sustain our operation for one last season without making some changes." You lose 50% of your sales in one year in any business... that isn't sustainable.
I suppose they could just close up shop now and not offer these hunts.
Realistically, no one's plans are changing for what I understand is $300. If there was someone out there truly affected by that amount, I'm guessing a personal conversation with the folks at JHA might solve it, but that is only a gut feeling.
the point isn't the 300.00................... it is that this operation takes NOTHING for granted with their customers so they make no assumptions that a change to the agreed upon deal, in any way, be it less tags or 3 bills, is too inconsequential to NOT allow the customer an opt out if they wish
Pretty classy and says a lot about the people involved with JHA if you ask me.
Its ridiculous. I'm no caribou expert (did hunt in QB once with Tutillik...sigh) but in a herd of 200,000 - 400,000 animals, sport hunters taking 700 or even 7000 isn't the issue. The entire sport take is way under the margin of error in the population count like that. A 4 day survey? That country is huge. Ending sport hunting won't help anything. Combine that with what those sport hunts bring in for revenue to Quebec and sport hunting should be the last consumptive use that gets restricted.
Sorry to see such a quality outfit get shafted. They have been on my short list of trips I would like to do someday. I would have no problem with how they are handling it. Its a disappointment for everyone involved but if I was booked I would be paying and going. Could be in on the last opportunities for a long time...or ever.
All I can say is......................................WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's a shame for the outfitters and hunters! Not sure what they expect to get out of closing the season. Like others have said, Taking 700 bulls out of a herd that big will have little impact. Quebec just "cut off their nose to spite their face!" : (
I went back in 2005 and after all the problems since then, I vowed to never return. This latest fiasco just confirmed my decision!
I wonder what is going to happen to all those that had already booked for 2018? Are there enough openings next season to accommodate them?
Very sad for all involved! : (
Got no problem at all with how the outfitter is handling this. If it comes down to closing up shop early vs adjusting the cost schedules, I think most would understand the decision. One thing to consider here is the refund(s) and lack of deposit income for future years like 2018 and beyond. Any outfitter would see that affect their bottom line very quickly. The river becomes a stream and then dries up, but they are still asked to honor commitments throughout it all. Stressful.
I've always seen the overall Q-L caribou scene as unstable and problematic. It's not the animals. It's the fact that the caribou are a variable resource being valued by different interests often at odds with each other. The animals unfortunately become pawns in a high-stakes chess game. I don't really know the truth behind all the wheeling, dealing and decisions at the level of management and governance. I just feel bad for a quality outfitter who is essentially getting their throat cut with no remorse from their government. I saw it with spring black bears in ON and caribou in NWT. I have to wonder what's next?
