Free: Contests & Raffles.
Clarke's philosophy, if you and others are correct, has been replaced by a more narrowly-focused campaign to turn Washington into a utopia for tree huggers and predator lovers, with hunters footing the grocery and access bill.
Hub, wow that's a new one to me. I see that as a non-issue. I think that's the problem- people making things into issues when they're not.
Habitat LossOk no doubt there is habitat loss in Washington, but there are also some other factors at work on our herds because you can visit many remaining winter ranges that have very few animals on them in the winter. We do not even have enough deer to utilize the remaining winter range so there must be other factors reducing our deer herds. What Has Really Changed In Deer/Elk Mortality?According to WDFW documentation since 1997 hunter harvest has averaged from 7000 to 9000 elk annually and 30,000 to 40,000 deer annually. This hunter harvest is not significantly different than the previous couple decades. So what else is changing, why do we all think there are fewer deer?Overall Predator Numbers!The bottom line is that coyotes, cougar, bear, and wolves eat deer and elk. WDFW has cut back cougar seasons and purposefully expanded, in fact nearly doubled cougar populations in Washington and WDFW is now working toward fulfilling the most liberal wolf plan of any western state. Additionally, trapping and hunting of coyotes has been drastically reduced due to trapping bans and decreased fur markets. Once wolves multiply and decimate certain elk herds as they have historically done in ID/MT/WY then this conversation will arise again and certain people will blame everything except the predators they are in love with. Only people who are capable of performing elementary school math will be able to decipher the true reason for the decline in the herds.Cougar PredationCougar are my favorite animal to hunt so I would never want to see them eliminated, but we have too many cougar and no matter what some people may try to say that cougar do not impact herds, they are either lieing or sadly uninformed. Numerous studies have shown that one cougar eats from 25 to 50 deer per year. In areas with more elk than deer cougar tend to make elk their diet instead of deer. A NE Washington Cougar study found that the cougar annual kill rate on deer was from 7 days to 11 days.Cougars in NE Washingtonhttp://www.carnivoreconservation.org/files/thesis/cruickshank_2004_msc.pdfQuoteAcross the study area and within The Wedge, cougars selected for mule deer over white-tailed deer during the year. When examined seasonally, cougars strongly selected for mule deer during the summer but not during the winter, and in no season or location did they select for white-tailed deer. The annual kill rate of 7 days for cougars falls within the range of 7 to 11 days reported by other investigators (Hornocker 1970, Beier et al. 1995, and Murphy 1998). The interval may be at the low end because 15 of the 22 intervals were from female cougars with kittens, which typically show a higher kill rate than single adults (Murphy 1998). Only 2 intervals were from a male cougar (8 and 11days). We found no differences in habitat characteristics between mule deer and whitetailed deer kill sites.WA Cougar Population and Impacts On HerdsWDFW said at the Colville Wolf Meeting there are likely 3500 to 4000 cougar in Washington (as compared to 2000 estimated population a few decades ago). Therefore according to these statistics from a NE WA cougar study the 1500 to 2000 additional cougar WDFW has in WA are eating anywhere from 49,772 to 104,285 more deer (or substituting elk) than cougar ate when the cougar population was estimated at 2000 animals a few decades ago. Coyotes Lead Way in Deer Deathshttp://www.jsonline.com/sports/outdoors/115154119.htmlI think most people will agree that the coyote population has increased. According to studies that are underway in several Midwest and eastern states, coyotes have a significant impact on deer numbers.QuoteIn all, 57 adult deer and 44 fawns have been captured and fitted with tracking devices.The data are from Jan. 1, 2009 through Aug. 31, 2010. Though preliminary, they are showing some very interesting results.Coyotes in the study area were responsible for 13 fawn mortalities, followed by bobcat (9), unknown predator (5), abandonment (4), unknown agent (3), black bear (2), vehicle collision (2), wolf (2) and bald eagle (1).Among adult and yearling female deer, coyote killed 6, followed by wolf (3), black bear (2), drowning (2), birthing complications (1), vehicle collision (1) and unknown predator (1).Bear predation on Elk in Idahohttp://www.wildlifemanagementinstitute.org/PDF/12-Elk%20and%20Predation....pdfQuoteDuring 1973 to 1975, neonatal calf survival from birth to October 1 averaged 37.5 percent. Predation by black bears was the primary proximate cause of mortality (Table 3). In 1976, 75 black bears were removed from the study area. Calf survival increased to 67 percent, then approximated preremovallevels 2 years later. Calf-to-cow ratios (an index of recruitment) from aerial surveys showed a similar pattern (Schlegel 1986). Concurrently, the trend in calf-to-cow ratios was similar in surrounding GMUs, where the bear population was not reduced, compromising interpretation of these results (Schlegel 1986). Nevertheless, these data suggest that predation by black bears is additive and can be a significant factor limiting elk recruitment and population growth.Wolf Impacts on Elk/DeerI know we have some wolf lovers on the forum but they cannot refute the statistics provided by other western states and published in the WA Wolf Plan. Unless my memory is mistaken, the plan states that each wolf kills an average of 44 deer or 17 elk per year. Wolf impacts have not been felt in most areas of Washington yet because we have not reached our population objective. However, simple math and WDFW wolf plan statistics tell us that 15 breeding pairs which translates to roughly 150 wolves on the ground will consume 2550 elk or 6600 deer per year. That sounds like wolves might possibly fit in if hunters give up a few deer and elk from our annual harvest. However, Idaho's wolf plan called for 10 breeding pairs and they ended up with nearly 800 documented wolves. If Washington's wolf plan is as overly successful as Idaho then our 15 breeding pairs may translate into as many as 1200 wolves that will eat 20,400 elk or 52,800 deer per year. What's In Store In The Future I have provided the statistics on predation, they are facts not speculation. How WDFW continues to manage predators will determine the future of our herds. If WDFW continues to increase predator numbers, the increased cougar, bear, coyote, and wolf numbers are statistically bound to have an effect on hunting in Washington.It doesn't matter how much summer range or winter range you have, if the animals are being eaten the summer range and winter range will not get fully utilized. Herds will decline regardless of how much blame biologists and the WDFW try to pin on every other factor. Perhaps some elk herds have increased in the last decade but deer are declining and when there are no deer the predators will be forced to eat elk so the elk numbers will decline if predator numbers continue to increase.
Across the study area and within The Wedge, cougars selected for mule deer over white-tailed deer during the year. When examined seasonally, cougars strongly selected for mule deer during the summer but not during the winter, and in no season or location did they select for white-tailed deer. The annual kill rate of 7 days for cougars falls within the range of 7 to 11 days reported by other investigators (Hornocker 1970, Beier et al. 1995, and Murphy 1998). The interval may be at the low end because 15 of the 22 intervals were from female cougars with kittens, which typically show a higher kill rate than single adults (Murphy 1998). Only 2 intervals were from a male cougar (8 and 11days). We found no differences in habitat characteristics between mule deer and whitetailed deer kill sites.
In all, 57 adult deer and 44 fawns have been captured and fitted with tracking devices.The data are from Jan. 1, 2009 through Aug. 31, 2010. Though preliminary, they are showing some very interesting results.Coyotes in the study area were responsible for 13 fawn mortalities, followed by bobcat (9), unknown predator (5), abandonment (4), unknown agent (3), black bear (2), vehicle collision (2), wolf (2) and bald eagle (1).Among adult and yearling female deer, coyote killed 6, followed by wolf (3), black bear (2), drowning (2), birthing complications (1), vehicle collision (1) and unknown predator (1).
During 1973 to 1975, neonatal calf survival from birth to October 1 averaged 37.5 percent. Predation by black bears was the primary proximate cause of mortality (Table 3). In 1976, 75 black bears were removed from the study area. Calf survival increased to 67 percent, then approximated preremovallevels 2 years later. Calf-to-cow ratios (an index of recruitment) from aerial surveys showed a similar pattern (Schlegel 1986). Concurrently, the trend in calf-to-cow ratios was similar in surrounding GMUs, where the bear population was not reduced, compromising interpretation of these results (Schlegel 1986). Nevertheless, these data suggest that predation by black bears is additive and can be a significant factor limiting elk recruitment and population growth.
Okay, this spike issue- as I said, I never thought of it as being an issue. I like the 'any bull' option for someone who waited years to draw a bull permit. Most guys aren't going to take a spike anyway. But it's a good option to have if it comes down to your last day to hunt. They could take a spike anyway during the general season. Again, this is really a non-issue. I've never seen it mentioned on this site until now.As for the "red dot" roads- there's no such thing. It's the Green Dot system, meaning only roads with green dots are open for motorized vehicles. This restriction, in certain areas, along with the spike only general season, is needed to keep success rates low, while allowing the state to sell an unlimited number of elk tags.If we want a better, higher quality elk hunting experience, with good road access into hunting areas on public lands, we need to go to elk hunting by permit only and do away with the general spike seasons altogether.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
