Bob, I agree that the state cannot treat hunters differently based on geographical location. That point has been discussed several times in setting up terms for the hunts in the 4601 area.
What might be possible is to create a process for hunters to register hunter/landowner agreements with the state prior to the draw, then form a special draw for that pool of hunters. The master hunter damage control hunt dates could be established before and after the general seasons using that model. As it is, the master hunter season runs concurrent with the general seasons and it causes needless friction and these sportsmanship issues that are of no concern to the landowners, the biologists, tribes, or the state.
When I was coordinator for this program a few years ago, a common concern from landowners was that they wanted to know who was going to be on their property. A description of the master hunter qualifications was helpful, but not enough. Some outright refused to place anyone on their property that they did not know, particularly someone from outside of the valley. Often, they'd like to meet the hunter in person prior to the hunt, they wanted all their neighbors to be informed and I did the work to make that happen. I did the best I could to honor the wishes of the general season hunters and segregate the master hunter assignments so that there was a bye week prior to the general hunting seasons and no assignments during the general hunting seasons.
A few of the permit holders that were on my list that year had been drawn for the permit in a prior season and worked with some other coordinator. They said that the way it was done before is that they were allowed to move between all of the properties in the portfolio and take an elk if there was an opportunity. Although this may have been an effective method of filling tags and meeting quota, I did not see it as the right image for the program as this activity of "unknown vehicle driving around" is suspicious for local residents already wary of burglary, drug exchanges, and poaching. Instead, I placed hunters on specific properties to be more inconspicuous and not in contention with other hunting that I was aware of. There was an additional problem with one of the golf course properties. The golf course did not want any hunters placed there at all. They had issues with the program from the prior year and dodged my calls for weeks. I worked with them, met their terms and restored access to the program for that season.
I don't know who is coordinating the hunt this year, but it can give some insight to the work that happens behind the scenes, the potential risk to the image of the program, and what could be done to make this work for everyone.
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