Mule Deer Initiative for WA State

[bearpaw]

Theres a huge point being missed here....WHITETAILS. Whitetails have expanded and grown in population throughout eastern wa. What happens is this growing population helps support more predators. A study out of wazzu suggested that cats were selecting mule deer disproportionately over whitetails, maybe because theyre easier to catch. Anyways you get the point here- more whitetail encroachment= more predators=less mule deer. Trying to control the predators is a futile effort in this day and age, so i think we need to focus on more whitetail tags. Like mentioned before, the mule deer doe harvest is ridiculous, maybe we should be making those whitetail doe tags instead!

And to be clear, on the cougar and wolf research out of wsu that has helped influence our new management plans...just realize these folks are passionate hunters that care about the resource as much as we do.

JEESH... WDFW is supporting the huge predator (cougar) population by having such low harvest quotas on cougar. Open up the cougar season and increase the cougar harvest, predator impacts on mule deer will go down without killing off all the whitetails. 

Bring back hound hunting!

I remember not too long back reading wsu's study on why cougars have been showing up I'm towns more and more and they said it was due to cougars being over harvested and how the young males are like teenagers and get into trouble. What a bunch of crap! They're over populated!!! Allowing hound hunting for cougars would help a lot!

As a hound hunter I agree, but that requires a political victory in the legislature, that's unlikely to happen anytime real soon. If WDFW simply expanded the cougar quotas for boot hunting (which they could do without the legislature) we could reduce the cougar population sooner than later.

[KFhunter]

Theres a huge point being missed here....WHITETAILS. Whitetails have expanded and grown in population throughout eastern wa. What happens is this growing population helps support more predators. A study out of wazzu suggested that cats were selecting mule deer disproportionately over whitetails, maybe because theyre easier to catch. Anyways you get the point here- more whitetail encroachment= more predators=less mule deer. Trying to control the predators is a futile effort in this day and age, so i think we need to focus on more whitetail tags. Like mentioned before, the mule deer doe harvest is ridiculous, maybe we should be making those whitetail doe tags instead!

And to be clear, on the cougar and wolf research out of wsu that has helped influence our new management plans...just realize these folks are passionate hunters that care about the resource as much as we do.

I disagree with your view of those doing the research studies at WSU. Those so called  passionate hunters are one of the reason we have such a jacked up cougar plan.

sent from my typewriter

    x1000


I talked with those bio's out in the field many times, was invited to help collar the cougars but man they'd cringe every time I talked about shooting one....and I talked about shooting them quite often 

[KFhunter]

Theres a huge point being missed here....WHITETAILS. Whitetails have expanded and grown in population throughout eastern wa. What happens is this growing population helps support more predators. A study out of wazzu suggested that cats were selecting mule deer disproportionately over whitetails, maybe because theyre easier to catch. Anyways you get the point here- more whitetail encroachment= more predators=less mule deer. Trying to control the predators is a futile effort in this day and age, so i think we need to focus on more whitetail tags. Like mentioned before, the mule deer doe harvest is ridiculous, maybe we should be making those whitetail doe tags instead!

And to be clear, on the cougar and wolf research out of wsu that has helped influence our new management plans...just realize these folks are passionate hunters that care about the resource as much as we do.

JEESH... WDFW is supporting the huge predator (cougar) population by having such low harvest quotas on cougar. Open up the cougar season and increase the cougar harvest, predator impacts on mule deer will go down without killing off all the whitetails. 

Bring back hound hunting!

I remember not too long back reading wsu's study on why cougars have been showing up I'm towns more and more and they said it was due to cougars being over harvested and how the young males are like teenagers and get into trouble. What a bunch of crap! They're over populated!!! Allowing hound hunting for cougars would help a lot!

As a hound hunter I agree, but that requires a political victory in the legislature, that's unlikely to happen anytime real soon. If WDFW simply expanded the cougar quotas for boot hunting (which they could do without the legislature) we could reduce the cougar population sooner than later.

and vastly increase the special hound permits they already got going

very poorly ran last year from reading all the threads about it

[huntnphool]

And to be clear, on the cougar and wolf research out of wsu that has helped influence our new management plans...just realize these folks are passionate hunters that care about the resource as much as we do.

[Maverick]

Theres a huge point being missed here....WHITETAILS. Whitetails have expanded and grown in population throughout eastern wa. What happens is this growing population helps support more predators. A study out of wazzu suggested that cats were selecting mule deer disproportionately over whitetails, maybe because theyre easier to catch. Anyways you get the point here- more whitetail encroachment= more predators=less mule deer. Trying to control the predators is a futile effort in this day and age, so i think we need to focus on more whitetail tags. Like mentioned before, the mule deer doe harvest is ridiculous, maybe we should be making those whitetail doe tags instead!

And to be clear, on the cougar and wolf research out of wsu that has helped influence our new management plans...just realize these folks are passionate hunters that care about the resource as much as we do.

JEESH... WDFW is supporting the huge predator (cougar) population by having such low harvest quotas on cougar. Open up the cougar season and increase the cougar harvest, predator impacts on mule deer will go down without killing off all the whitetails. 

Bring back hound hunting!

I remember not too long back reading wsu's study on why cougars have been showing up I'm towns more and more and they said it was due to cougars being over harvested and how the young males are like teenagers and get into trouble. What a bunch of crap! They're over populated!!! Allowing hound hunting for cougars would help a lot!

As a hound hunter I agree, but that requires a political victory in the legislature, that's unlikely to happen anytime real soon. If WDFW simply expanded the cougar quotas for boot hunting (which they could do without the legislature) we could reduce the cougar population sooner than later.

and vastly increase the special hound permits they already got going

very poorly ran last year from reading all the threads about it

Would we need legislature in order to increase the amount of special hound permits being given?