Free: Contests & Raffles.
Quote from: Sitka_Blacktail on November 03, 2016, 01:17:36 PMYah, Look at how bad the elk in Colorado have hurt the mule deer population there. .........NotIf anything, in Washington, I'd guess whitetails are out competing mule deer. Does habitat play into that do you think?
Yah, Look at how bad the elk in Colorado have hurt the mule deer population there. .........NotIf anything, in Washington, I'd guess whitetails are out competing mule deer.
Quote from: Jonathan_S on November 03, 2016, 03:33:45 PMQuote from: DOUBLELUNG on November 03, 2016, 03:20:24 PM Mule deer abundance is reduced through legal harvest and illegal harvest (especially around orchards); doe tags are issued long before the habitat becomes limiting. The 2014 and 2015 fires are definitely an issue as well in the short term, but will favor mule deer habitat long term.Thanks for the everything you shared. The above quoted is what I was trying to articulate and you said it better than I did. Although habitat is paramount, it never seems like areas are allowed anywhere near carrying capacity. Then when fires hit, the WDFW throws 1,000 emergency doe tags as a first reaction. I said it then and I'll say it now, why couldn't they have solicited for hay and alfalfa donations to supplement the temporarily damaged winter range?1800 tags not 1000. Big difference.
Quote from: DOUBLELUNG on November 03, 2016, 03:20:24 PM Mule deer abundance is reduced through legal harvest and illegal harvest (especially around orchards); doe tags are issued long before the habitat becomes limiting. The 2014 and 2015 fires are definitely an issue as well in the short term, but will favor mule deer habitat long term.Thanks for the everything you shared. The above quoted is what I was trying to articulate and you said it better than I did. Although habitat is paramount, it never seems like areas are allowed anywhere near carrying capacity. Then when fires hit, the WDFW throws 1,000 emergency doe tags as a first reaction. I said it then and I'll say it now, why couldn't they have solicited for hay and alfalfa donations to supplement the temporarily damaged winter range?
Mule deer abundance is reduced through legal harvest and illegal harvest (especially around orchards); doe tags are issued long before the habitat becomes limiting. The 2014 and 2015 fires are definitely an issue as well in the short term, but will favor mule deer habitat long term.
The only competition I could see would be when both species are occupying the winter range. Elk are grazers, grass specifically, and will resort to browse when grass becomes inaccessible. Deer are browsers, their rumen size is too small to nutritiously digest grass. Deer also forage on forbs advantageously. Most would see deer in a grass field and think they're eating it, really they're eating the weeds and other flowering plants. I don't see how elk are out competing deer, if that were the case then Colorado would certainly be void of deer.
http://warnercnr.colostate.edu/~gwhite/mdreport.pdf Pages 12 and 13 are kind of interesting. Colorado published in 1999 so outdated
Quote from: OutHouse on November 03, 2016, 12:00:55 PMIt is my understanding that the east side of the state did not have elk prior to their introduction during the early 20th century. We all talk about wolves, other predators, fires, etc.. as reasons for declining mule deer numbers, but how much has the introduction of elk caused declining mule numbers? The reason I ask this is because elk seem to be spreading throughout the eastern half of the state which is certain habitat/forage competition for the mules. I talked to a kid at Hank's in Twisp and he told me that over the last 10 years he has found increasing numbers of elk sheds in the Methow valley. Two years ago my brother and cousin saw a cow elk just west of Winthrop about 10 miles from the Mazama area. I was told by some locals that elk were extremely rare in the Methow until recently. Any thoughts? Elk are a non factor in the decline of the Methow herd! Poor management is the primary cause in the decline....period! Increased doe permits solely based on speculation, increased late permits when the bucks are most vulnerable, piss poor to zero preditor management as examples. Throw in a couple back to back years with pretty big fires, plus a moderately bad winter, I don't think anyone should be surprised the herd is suffering. Take care of these issues and the extremely low number of elk in the area wouldn't even be a blip on the radar.
It is my understanding that the east side of the state did not have elk prior to their introduction during the early 20th century. We all talk about wolves, other predators, fires, etc.. as reasons for declining mule deer numbers, but how much has the introduction of elk caused declining mule numbers? The reason I ask this is because elk seem to be spreading throughout the eastern half of the state which is certain habitat/forage competition for the mules. I talked to a kid at Hank's in Twisp and he told me that over the last 10 years he has found increasing numbers of elk sheds in the Methow valley. Two years ago my brother and cousin saw a cow elk just west of Winthrop about 10 miles from the Mazama area. I was told by some locals that elk were extremely rare in the Methow until recently. Any thoughts?
Wild fires and winter kill is a constant period and we can't control that Problem might beHunter population growing Better camoBetter opticsBetter range findersLonger range shooting gunsOh ya hunter population