Read 'em and weep - 2017 Game harvest reports are out.

[fishnfur]

I know you all notched a tag last year with B&C class animals.  Here's your chance to see how the rest of us did: 

https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/harvest/2017/

As I suspected, the numbers for Ryderwood/530 were down by 25%  (448 down to 340).  District 10 (pretty much the top BT producing district) was down by 20% from 2016.  District 11 containing Skookumchuck - the highest producing BT GMU in 2016, was down around 25%.  It wasn't just me.  It really was a crappy year! 

Funny that WDFW has no comment on the significant drop in success.  "Just keep sending us your money suckers!"

[fish vacuum]

I guess I can feel good that I got a deer after seeing how low the success rate was where I hunted?

[pd]

Tag for later analysis.

However, your points are well taken.  Sure, the weather has been very strange these past few years.  Also, reporting accuracy is always in question.  But the numbers (taken across thousands of hunters, in dozens and dozens of districts) do make a clear trend. 

Am I the only one, I sometimes feel like the Last Mohican when it comes to hunting here.

[fishnfur]

Man, I don't get it.  The down trend seems to be virtually across the board.  Capitol Peak went down to 280 total harvest vs 427 from the previous year.  Really significant changes.

[White Pass Outfitters]

Wow ! after seeing that I guess I can say we had a very good year last year.

[rsrubalcaba]

Do the reports show hunter participation as well as harvest numbers?  Could the state lost of bunch of hunters to out of state opportunities?

[Mudman]

Less hunters.  Simple.  We are tired of this states crap.  Wa down, Id up.  I know first hand.

[pope]

I spend a little time in the pathetic 653 White River chasing deer, where harvest numbers are also down. I noticed 1 antlerless harvest. Is this possible? The unit was formerly any deer for archery, but recently became a buck only unit (2 point or better on the tree farm). I looked through all of the youth and disabled hunts and didn't see any doe tags.

BTW, look at the Puyallup numbers for special deer hunts. 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

[optic2]

Do the reports show hunter participation as well as harvest numbers?  Could the state lost of bunch of hunters to out of state opportunities?

Yes, look at the columns further to the right. They show number of hunters as well as hunter days (total number of days hunted by all hunters in that unit).

[fishnfur]

Less hunters.  Simple.  We are tired of this states crap.  Wa down, Id up.  I know first hand.

Well certainly, many are tired of Washington's "management" of game, but I'm thinking that fewer numbers of deer hunters does not result in a lower harvest.  Conversely, it means more opportunity for those still hunting here.  Success rates should be higher, and total harvest roughly equivalent with fewer hunters in the field. 

It seems plausible that the long white winter of 2016 - 2017, when we had multiple snow storms and extended periods of snow on the ground may have negatively affected Blacktail population survival rates.  I seem to remember making numerous rants about how tired I was of the snow that winter.  Any apparent change in harvest numbers may well be within the statistical norm.  I certainly can't draw any conclusions from the district 10 numbers (below).

Just for chuckles, I ran the numbers for select Districts, plus the Skookumchuck/667 GMU, for the seasons 2014 through 2017.  Certainly, in some areas, hunter numbers are down.  Whether a 5% decrease in hunter numbers causes a 20% reduction in harvest is anybody's guess.  I kind of doubt it.

Submitted for your consideration:

District/GMU             2017       2016      2015      2014

GMU 667   harvest      537         681        841        795
             # hunters   2055        2228      2335      2237

Dist 10      harvest    2147       2712      2434      2243
            #  hunters 10,009    10,406    12,093  12,360

Dist 11      harvest    1203      1634       1799      1525
            #  hunters    6009      6362       6989      6590

Dist 14      harvest      739       976         939        926
            #  hunters    3795      3699       4032      4242

[justyhntr]

Part of those numbers could be a reflection of rut timing, in 2016 the rut seemed to line up with late buck and we saw branched bucks all 4 days . In 2017 that wasn't the case, we did not see a single branched buck during that time and the 2 buck that we known got shot in our area were forkies. Cameras we had out 2017 showed the majority of the rut movement was between Nov.4 - Nov.9 . We had 11 different bucks on one camera moving daily during those dates. I think it was 2014 the same thing happened and a lot of bucks got killed that year skewing the numbers the next year.

[bobcat]

My guess on 667, is that more deer were taken out of the Vail tree farm since Weyerhaeuser began the access permit system, and now, after a few years of excessive harvest, there are simply less deer. In the past Vail was only open to hunting a few weekends during modern firearm season. Now people can drive in there and hunt or scout 7 days a week, year around. That has to have had a negative affect on the deer population in there.

[Magnum_Willys]

Does show 10% drop in hunters over 4 years.   

[Mudman]

My guess on 667, is that more deer were taken out of the Vail tree farm since Weyerhaeuser began the access permit system, and now, after a few years of excessive harvest, there are simply less deer. In the past Vail was only open to hunting a few weekends during modern firearm season. Now people can drive in there and hunt or scout 7 days a week, year around. That has to have had a negative affect on the deer population in there.

Since the 90's it has been declining.  Not even close to what it was growing up.  Permits didn't change much really.  A Zoo of rifles and trucks shooting spikes imop.

[WSU]

My guess on 667, is that more deer were taken out of the Vail tree farm since Weyerhaeuser began the access permit system, and now, after a few years of excessive harvest, there are simply less deer. In the past Vail was only open to hunting a few weekends during modern firearm season. Now people can drive in there and hunt or scout 7 days a week, year around. That has to have had a negative affect on the deer population in there.

Since the 90's it has been declining.  Not even close to what it was growing up.  Permits didn't change much really.  A Zoo of rifles and trucks shooting spikes imop.

Or maybe forestry practices?  I hunt other tree farms and there aren't many deer and the habitat (largely grass or firs, not much in between) doesn't lend itself to having lots of deer.