Antlerless deer seasons being eliminated in the NE for 2016 & 2017

[bobcat]

This proposal provide recreational deer hunting opportunity and protects deer from overharvest. The proposal continues general deer hunting season opportunities for 2016 in most Game Management Units, but reduces archery and muzzleloader antlerless deer hunting opportunity in several northeastern Game Management Units as a conservative management strategy due to population uncertainty created by a blue tongue disease outbreak in 2015. These changes were not proposed earlier, but ongoing information sharing necessitated additional proposed changes. 

http://wdfw.wa.gov/about/regulations/2016/wsr_16-10-120.pdf

[PolarBear]

Good, do what they need to do.  They have far too many antlerless and second deer tags to begin with,

[buckfvr]

There were more proposals than this on the table that all went unheard.  The pressure continues on this and other issues here in n.e.wa.   WDFW knows whats going on in these woods but ( supervisors in Spokane )  choose to either ignore reality, consider the source of info as a bunch of liars, or just plain dont care and its going in the direction they want it to anyway.

Between the wolves ( and other predators ) , blue tongue, and everyone wanting to shoot baby deer , one bad winter and we are in an extremely bad situation. 

[bearpaw]

A friend just saw three wolves this morning, we've also seen cougar this spring, and we've been 100% shooting opportunity on bear again this spring, no doubt there are plenty of predators!

The blue tongue really hit hard around agricultural areas where we had the highest numbers of deer. I'm glad to see WDFW is cutting back antlerless harvest until herds can begin to rebound.

[Duckslayer89]

A friend just saw three wolves this morning, we've also seen cougar this spring, and we've been 100% shooting opportunity on bear again this spring, no doubt there are plenty of predators!

The blue tongue really hit hard around agricultural areas where we had the highest numbers of deer. I'm glad to see WDFW is cutting back antlerless harvest until herds can begin to rebound.

Do you think black bears have much of an impact of fawns in the spring? I've always wondered if they really make a dent or not.

[bearpaw]

A friend just saw three wolves this morning, we've also seen cougar this spring, and we've been 100% shooting opportunity on bear again this spring, no doubt there are plenty of predators!

The blue tongue really hit hard around agricultural areas where we had the highest numbers of deer. I'm glad to see WDFW is cutting back antlerless harvest until herds can begin to rebound.

Do you think black bears have much of an impact of fawns in the spring? I've always wondered if they really make a dent or not.

Depends on the bears in an area. Studies in some areas have shown significant fawn and/or calf predation by bear, in other areas studies have shown other predators made a much larger impact. To my knowledge there are no studies in WA to show bear predation rates on fawns. So the correct answer is probably that it's an unknown amount of bear predation on fawns in WA, likely significant in some areas and not significant in other areas.

I'm reasonably certain that coyotes are the biggest predator of fawns under 4 months in most areas of WA and cougar are the biggest predator of deer older than 4 months in most areas of WA. But humans, automobiles, dogs running loose, etc may actually be the largest predator of deer in some areas.

[C-Money]

Looks like the youth whitetail doe hunt is getting scratched. My daughter will be sad...

[pianoman9701]

It's just the beginning of the tag cuts in the NE. Hunters will be systematically replaced by other predators. And, it'll happen fairly quickly now.

[superdown]

Are these changes actually going to happen or are they still just proposals at this point?

[Elmer Fletch]

Are these changes actually going to happen or are they still just proposals at this point?

Hearing location(s):
Natural Resource Building
1111 Washington St SE
Olympia, Washington 98501

Date: June 10-11, 2016 Time: 8:15 a.m.

[Gringo31]

It's just the beginning of the tag cuts in the NE. Hunters will be systematically replaced by other predators. And, it'll happen fairly quickly now.

 

There is only so much harvest allowed.  If the predators take more, in order to attempt to remain sustainable, we get less.....

[buglebrush]

It's just the beginning of the tag cuts in the NE. Hunters will be systematically replaced by other predators. And, it'll happen fairly quickly now.

Exactly.  That is the end result of WDFW's inexcusable refusal to manage predators.  The NE today the rest of the state tomorrow.   

[grundy53]

It's just the beginning of the tag cuts in the NE. Hunters will be systematically replaced by other predators. And, it'll happen fairly quickly now.

Exactly.  That is the end result of WDFW's inexcusable refusal to manage predators.  The NE today the rest of the state tomorrow.   

Exactly

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[jackmaster]

Bear love fawns! Are these changes do to the lack of actual predator control and wolves or are they giving a b.s reason? It should still be held open for youth, disabled and seniors IMO..

[bobcat]

Blue tongue disease.

[WAcoyotehunter]

It's just the beginning of the tag cuts in the NE. Hunters will be systematically replaced by other predators. And, it'll happen fairly quickly now.

Exactly.  That is the end result of WDFW's inexcusable refusal to manage predators.  The NE today the rest of the state tomorrow.   

The doe hunts will be back in a couple years.  They did the same thing after the bad winters in 09-11.  No big deal....

Predators are not going to kill all the deer.

[pianoman9701]

You're probably right. My buddy in MT tells me that they have lots of deer just very few elk anymore. Plenty of wolves, too.

[buglebrush]

It's just the beginning of the tag cuts in the NE. Hunters will be systematically replaced by other predators. And, it'll happen fairly quickly now.

Exactly.  That is the end result of WDFW's inexcusable refusal to manage predators.  The NE today the rest of the state tomorrow.   

The doe hunts will be back in a couple years.  They did the same thing after the bad winters in 09-11.  No big deal....

Predators are not going to kill all the deer.

I personally believe it is a big deal, but not simply because we cannot hunt antlerless deer for a while.  I believe it is a big deal because WDFW sees limiting hunting opportunity as a viable management method, but not increased predator harvest.  It is a mindset that truly disturbs me.  Now if you would add in OTC spring bear, hound hunting cats, much larger cougar quotas, and for the love of sanity let us hunt/trap wolves then I would agree with your statement. 

[Grizman]

Not long ago I talked with an Idaho game warden about predator control.  He summed up the situation pretty well I thought.  He said the "administrators have restricted predator control on bear, cougar, and wolves to the point that the only predator they can now control is the hunter". We are now raising deer and elk to feed the Bears, Cougars, and Wolves.  The hunters can find something else to eat!!

[Southpole]

Not long ago I talked with an Idaho game warden about predator control.  He summed up the situation pretty well I thought.  He said the "administrators have restricted predator control on bear, cougar, and wolves to the point that the only predator they can now control is the hunter". We are now raising deer and elk to feed the Bears, Cougars, and Wolves.  The hunters can find something else to eat!!

Try and tell that to some of the guy's on the "Grizzly Meeting in Darrington" thread 

[hunter399]

It looks like youth they just shortend it.but if you download regs they already have on there.Thats what makes me mad is they didnt get this in regs before they come out ,alot people will do what the regs say.so is it a way to get you to buy your tags thinking about a good season or is it just a way write tickets at the last minute.ALWAYS about the money,and not about the deer.I is was about the deer they have it in the regs.

[bobcat]

That's the problem I have with this. How are people supposed to know that the seasons have been changed? Lots of hunters don't participate in Internet forums like this one.

I'm assuming if this proposal passes, and I assume it will, that there will be a lot of antlerless whitetail deer harvested illegally this year.

However, I do have to say, I'm glad they're doing it, if that's what needs to be done in order to bring the numbers back up. It's just unfortunate they couldn't have done this before the hunting regulation pamphlet was printed.

[hunter399]

 

[Southpole]

That's the problem I have with this. How are people supposed to know that the seasons have been changed? Lots of hunters don't participate in Internet forums like this one.

I'm assuming if this proposal passes, and I assume it will, that there will be a lot of antlerless whitetail deer harvested illegally this year.

However, I do have to say, I'm glad they're doing it, if that's what needs to be done in order to bring the numbers back up. It's just unfortunate they couldn't have done this before the hunting regulation pamphlet was printed.

I've heard this song before somewhere... Oh, I know, the salmon closures 

[buglebrush]

Not long ago I talked with an Idaho game warden about predator control.  He summed up the situation pretty well I thought.  He said the "administrators have restricted predator control on bear, cougar, and wolves to the point that the only predator they can now control is the hunter". We are now raising deer and elk to feed the Bears, Cougars, and Wolves.  The hunters can find something else to eat!!

 . 

[KFhunter]

There were some losses to blue tongue, but I'd like to find out just how many.  I know of some pockets that were hit hard but I haven't seen evidence of wide spread deaths.


leaning towards blue tongue being a scape goat for too many predators issue


68 city deer in Colville dying to blue tongue doesn't = we need to stop anterless hunts 

[hunter399]

If they really cared about deer ,they would put a booklet of new regs. Like the turkey ones ,to all the places hunting regs are.The blue tongue is they dont wanna admit there was over harvest last year cause of 2015 regs.

[JLS]

leaning towards blue tongue being a scape goat for too many predators issue

Maybe.  However, Montana FWP did some really good research on mountain whitetail population dynamics and found that you absolutely can impact the population by doe harvest.  Agricultural and prairie whitetail populations are not impacted much, if at all by doe harvest.  However, mountainous populations are very sensitive to the level of doe harvest.

[KFhunter]

I'm not against restricting doe harvest to help the population at all that's not my point.  It's an easy restriction to tolerate most hunters being against doe harvests anyways.  I'd like to see kids continue to be able to harvest doe's though.  I remember a big die off in the early 2000's... 03? and don't recall a doe restriction being put in place then   
The die offs are very localized too, around a stagnant water source usually where the gnats hover and breed.  The 'mountain deer' are much less effected by blue tongue with better water sources (less biting gnats)


My concerns is that this blue tongue outbreak is being used to restrict hunting due to alarming population drops from other factors like too many predators.  No one at WDFW wants to name the true culprit. Predators.

I've seen about a dozen cats this year, that's not normal.

[BAR C3]

I can confirm the West Plains,(for you west siders, that is the Palouse hunting area)
we were significantly hit with blue tongue.
I've seen many nice to large bucks found. It will change my hunting for the next several years. If you happen to put in for the Palouse hunt,  not only is it hard to find places to hunt, you will be lucky to shoot a quality buck.
I would have been good with them reducing these tags for the next few years as well. 

[hunter399]

I do agree about predators,i think between the two, over harvest last year,it a mismanagement .im for a youth harvest too,got two young ones that just passed hunter ed.Ever notice how 124 gmu seems to get managed a little better than the rest.