Antlerless Deer Hunt Opened in the Methow

[7mmfan]

The whitetail in the Methow have basically zero affect on the mule deer herd there.

Right now they don't. This winter may be a different story with more mule deer hitting the bottom to find forage and cover. Food is going to be at a premium for all deer this winter. I would think that in a winter that could make or break the future of this herd for a long time into the future, anything that can be done to minimize competition should be done.

[ROCKWHEELER]

 

[JJB11B]

300 deer in this area is a drop in the bucket. Do you think it will have much of an impact on survival rates for wintering animals?

[Rooster1981]

My daughter drew  a youth chilliwist doe tag this year, and after the fire we decided to not partake in the hunt. And now after reading about the expanded doe tags and I'm in awe. I'm not a local of the area, but from where I stand the last thing these deer need is more pressure. I say eliminate the doe tags all together and let the deer rebound with out interference. With an amounous winter kill looming why kill more deer? To head off the winter kill? So let's say there is a 70% winter kill, would taking 300 additional does really help the heard? I think every buck making machine in the area is worth preserving not harvesting.

[DeerHarvester]

This is just bull.  The deer will move to areas that haven't burned.  I would hope you guys would not participate in this slaughter. 

If the state is going to sell permits they should be giving that money back to those that lost homes in the fire.  I won't be holding my breath. 

[bigmacc]

My daughter drew  a youth chilliwist doe tag this year, and after the fire we decided to not partake in the hunt. And now after reading about the expanded doe tags and I'm in awe. I'm not a local of the area, but from where I stand the last thing these deer need is more pressure. I say eliminate the doe tags all together and let the deer rebound with out interference. With an amounous winter kill looming why kill more deer? To head off the winter kill? So let's say there is a 70% winter kill, would taking 300 additional does really help the heard? I think every buck making machine in the area is worth preserving not harvesting.

 

[bigmacc]

This is just bull.  The deer will move to areas that haven't burned.  I would hope you guys would not participate in this slaughter. 

If the state is going to sell permits they should be giving that money back to those that lost homes in the fire.  I won't be holding my breath.

 

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

I cannot for the life of me believe that a biologist with there education can use there common since and come up with this slaughter?? Unbelievable!!!!!!   This is a perfect example of what's wrong with the world today. I'm going to go listen to the song Johny Reb......

[jrebel]

I cannot for the life of me believe that a biologist with there education can use there common since and come up with this slaughter?? Unbelievable!!!!!!   This is a perfect example of what's wrong with the world today. I'm going to go listen to the song Johny Reb......

Great song....I am a little biased though. 

[MtnMuley]

The whitetail in the Methow have basically zero affect on the mule deer herd there.

Right now they don't. This winter may be a different story with more mule deer hitting the bottom to find forage and cover. Food is going to be at a premium for all deer this winter. I would think that in a winter that could make or break the future of this herd for a long time into the future, anything that can be done to minimize competition should be done.

I agree the herd is in jeopardy and I've been saying this for many years, being a local. This fire is definitely  devastating to the wintering grounds. Issuing more tags is as $&! =#  as the local bio who wants it.  I don't particularly like whitetail, yet I feel the competition for food this winter between the two will be a minor issue. 

[idahohuntr]

It seems as though winter survival is going to be poor with the dramatic loss of winter range.  This is a prime example of compensatory mortality.  We know winter mortality is likely going to be higher than normal...probably a lot higher.  Why not allow hunters to harvest some of those deer that are certain to die?  If there is only enough winter range for 100 deer, and there are 500 deer that are headed down to use it...shall we just let those 400 deer starve to death or shall we try and harvest them?

I guess the only way I would be critical of this planned doe hunt would be if it was less than clear that the loss of this winter range posed a risk of higher than usual mortality or if folks had good reasoning as to why this extra hunting harvest would result in additive (as opposed to compensatory) mortality.     

[boneaddict]

My daughter drew  a youth chilliwist doe tag this year, and after the fire we decided to not partake in the hunt. And now after reading about the expanded doe tags and I'm in awe. I'm not a local of the area, but from where I stand the last thing these deer need is more pressure. I say eliminate the doe tags all together and let the deer rebound with out interference. With an amounous winter kill looming why kill more deer? To head off the winter kill? So let's say there is a 70% winter kill, would taking 300 additional does really help the heard? I think every buck making machine in the area is worth preserving not harvesting.

Thank you!  and please THANK YOUR DAUGHTER for her sacrifice.   

[bigmacc]

It seems as though winter survival is going to be poor with the dramatic loss of winter range.  This is a prime example of compensatory mortality.  We know winter mortality is likely going to be higher than normal...probably a lot higher.  Why not allow hunters to harvest some of those deer that are certain to die?  If there is only enough winter range for 100 deer, and there are 500 deer that are headed down to use it...shall we just let those 400 deer starve to death or shall we try and harvest them?

I guess the only way I would be critical of this planned doe hunt would be if it was less than clear that the loss of this winter range posed a risk of higher than usual mortality or if folks had good reasoning as to why this extra hunting harvest would result in additive (as opposed to compensatory) mortality.     

Your right and wrong in my opinion(read my post from the 17th on page 1).Yes deer will die this winter because of lack of food and depending how rough and long the winter is will determine how many will parish. According to mother nature :ONLY THE FITTEST SURVIVE:unless this doe shoot has a stipulation that only the weak or sick can be shot during this fiasco then the probability of alot of big,healthy breeding stock does who may have made it to the rut,got bread and made it thru the winter to drop fawns in the spring and help in the herd recovery are going to get taken out in about a month .....like others here have said and i will too--Thank you to those who will not use these tags  ...and lets all hope and pray for a very mild winter!

[idahohuntr]

It seems as though winter survival is going to be poor with the dramatic loss of winter range.  This is a prime example of compensatory mortality.  We know winter mortality is likely going to be higher than normal...probably a lot higher.  Why not allow hunters to harvest some of those deer that are certain to die?  If there is only enough winter range for 100 deer, and there are 500 deer that are headed down to use it...shall we just let those 400 deer starve to death or shall we try and harvest them?

I guess the only way I would be critical of this planned doe hunt would be if it was less than clear that the loss of this winter range posed a risk of higher than usual mortality or if folks had good reasoning as to why this extra hunting harvest would result in additive (as opposed to compensatory) mortality.     

Your right and wrong in my opinion(read my post from the 17th on page 1).Yes deer will die this winter because of lack of food and depending how rough and long the winter is will determine how many will parish. According to mother nature :ONLY THE FITTEST SURVIVE:unless this doe shoot has a stipulation that only the weak or sick can be shot during this fiasco then the probability of alot of big,healthy breeding stock does who may have made it to the rut,got bread and made it thru the winter to drop fawns in the spring and help in the herd recovery are going to get taken out in about a month .....like others here have said and i will too--Thank you to those who will not use these tags  ...and lets all hope and pray for a very mild winter!

The goal is overall herd number reduction though.  If there is only enough winter food for 100 deer to survive the winter, then it does not matter how fit those extra 400 deer are...still the "fittest" will survive.  Appears as though the reduction is also aimed at helping the winter range re-generate more quickly.

From WDFW:
Brown said natural regeneration of the burned wildlife habitat has already begun, but the area will not be able to support the usual number of deer this winter. WDFW wildlife biologists estimate reducing the population by 7 percent will improve long-term range restoration as well as the herd's overall vitality.
 
Matt Monda, WDFW regional wildlife manager, said the department will issue more special hunting permits to help reduce the number of deer to a level that the remaining winter range can support.
 
"We're being conservative in reducing the size of the herd because we are still assessing the amount of regrowth that is occurring, and we can't predict winter conditions," he said. "The additional deer harvest will be tightly controlled."
 
Reducing the number of deer this year and next will help the winter range recover and will speed the growth of bitterbrush and other shrubs that represent important food sources for mule deer. Too many deer will stunt recovering shrubs, Monda said.
 
"In the long run, fewer deer on the land and our re-vegetation work will help the range recover more quickly and will contribute to a more robust mule deer population," Monda said.

This seems sensible to me.  Not shooting these surplus deer seems as though it could be detrimental to herd recovery, for those that are considering not using their tags.   

[Claymore15]

hopefully if WDFW is dead set on this, then they issue the tags to the locals, and have the season for them before general and clear out some of the little local does.  I still do not agree at all.