predator voucher system

[idaho guy]

Honestly, I believe coyotes are the most harmful predator in the State. Knock them way back and you're going to see fawn survival multiply like you won't believe and bird hunting will vastly improve. Most people don't realize the chunk of fawns taken out of the herd by coyotes.

I believe this is a true statement.  Yes, it helps that coyotes are in every area of the state.  There is a whole bunch of E. Wa that doesn't have much for bears or cougars.  That being said, there is an area I know that the first fall I was there I saw 18 does come out to a field and not a fawn with them.  60 coyotes a year later, and fawns are the norm again.

60 coyotes later ? Did you kill 60 coyotes on that property in 1 year? If so that's awesome !  I might want to coyote hunt with you lol

[Gringo31]

The voucher idea would kill hunting in this state.

Many years ago the state did a survey of hunters. What was important to them.
The vast majority placed hunting with family or friends higher than harvesting a animal.

The point idea might work keeps all in the game.

But I do t believe hunters with current rules can even make a dent in yote population.

You still have to have time to hunt. Most guys exhaust any time they have on bear,deer,elk maybe some birds. All the points in the world won't get the boss to give you more time off. Than throw in family obligations.

Yotes  have what two litters a year?

I disagree with most of this.  That "survey" was a bunch of crap.  Top outdoor activity for us Washingtonians as I recall was "gardening".      Out of touch much? 

I believe and know some land owners who will go a few years "leaving the coyotes alone".  In time, they get fed up with them and decide enough is enough and start putting some pressure on them and see good results. 

Today is the perfect time of the year to make an impact.  They are paired up and defending denning sites.  Just last week at 9 pm I had a yote challenge barking my house 100 yards away.  Silly rabbit    make better choices 

And BTW, yotes only have one litter a year.

[konradcountry]

I like your creativity but here are my concerns:

1. This year I already plan on hunting coyote, deer and bear. So if you now give me a free deer tag for hunting coyotes that is lost revenue since you gave me a free tag for something I already planned on doing. I would suspect a lot of predator hunters fall into this category because it isn't done to fill the freezer and there are obviously costs involved. So you could end up with a revenue hole if enough predator hunters had already planned on buying those tags. There are also farmers that shoot them all the time and now they get free tags.

2. The coyote problem varies by county and is complicated by local laws. There are rural areas of Pierce where you can own 20 acres of woods but you can't shoot coyotes with a gun because of the firearm restrictions. So some areas are basically coyote breeding grounds and they will keep spilling into nearby GMUs.

Some people have suggested a contest like in other states but I don't see that going well with King county voters. They are very emotional voters and it could spark legislation like the previous ballot ban on bear baiting and certain traps.

As someone else said predator hunting is getting more popular. What I would like to see is an extended season on cougar and bear since dogs and baiting aren't allowed. Cougar should be pretty open since it is a lotto anyways.

[KFhunter]

The voucher system in the first post won't work but there's some good discussion in the rest of the thread, I'd like to hear more ideas.


I bumped this 3.5 year old thread because of Georgia, their state wildlife agency is running a coyote contest offering up a chance to win a lifetime hunting license! 

[garrett89]

If I had my way, I'd make better use of hunters in managing herds.
via a voucher system   

If you want to hunt ungulates, you got to do your part.

How it works;  (the amounts and such are for illustration purposes and would vary depending on location and herd quality)

1 coyote will get you a standard deer voucher, with that voucher you can buy a standard OTC deer tag.   
5 coyote = Elk OTC (spike only)  voucher

1 bear = Elk voucher + Deer voucher (standard OTC type tags).

1 Cougar = Quality Elk + deer voucher
5 Cougar = star voucher (can't sell) for standard tags, but not quality tags (true spikes)

1 wolf = Quality any bull any method Elk tag + deer
5 wolves =  star voucher for life for standard tags (can't sell)  but not quality tags (true spikes). 


This will slow down the number of ungulate hunters and dramatically increase the predator hunting going on = bigger better herds.
right now there is zero incentive for people to go wack a yote, bear cat etc.


Here's the kicker, you can buy vouchers from other hunters!  So you get a very successful coyote hunter he/she could sell those vouchers.  It wouldn't be a "bounty" that way nor would it make use of tax payer funds.


edit:

This voucher system won't work, but there's some good discussion so read through and if you have a good idea let's hear it!

Wolf should be a standard issue for $10-20 unlimited amount like coyote. Just saying.