Free: Contests & Raffles.
I completely agree that mule deer need help, especially in all of NE WA. Is your org willing to let a few more cats be taken to reduce the higher than ever predation factor on mule deer?
Yes I agree that mule deer in NE WA need releif from predators. But, that being said, NE WA, as a whole, has never been prime high production mule deer habitat.What should be causing an uproar from hunters, and what few small business owners are left in small town Chelan and Okanogan counties is the low population of mule deer that are hanging on.Chelan and Okanogan counties, historically has been the heartland of mule deer range in this state. To allow this once common specie to wink out is an Unbeleivably obvious example of head in the sand by Wildlife "managers" and sportsmen.Mule deer have been mismanaged to the point where we now have a skelliton population hanging in in Chelan and Okanogan countys. I hear people say "Oh we had winter kill last winter". And leave it at that. Come on. We haven't had a winter in several years. Mule deer have been wintering and recovering for 40,000Winters.This problem has several moving parts. The most important is winter range degradation. Its been burned hard for three decades then allowed to come back in cheat grass and knap weed. We have unlimited summer range in Chelan and Okanogan counties, but very limited wintering areas left.When the population has been beat down to a skelliton level there is no way they can come back through the Porrly managed, Unlimited Bobcats, bears, cougars, coyotes, dogs, golden eagles, ravens, poachers, and cars. And still allow a token harvest by hunters.It seems NE Wa gets most of the attention when it comes to predators.I think all of Eastern Washington should be concerned about the mismanagement of not only predators, but all of our game and habitat.