WDFW proposing to Ban Baiting

[jrebel]

Herds are collapsing, ending baiting helps keep a few more deer for predators

The mule deer herd that I have fed for 14 years has really taken a hit since Feb. Seven of the dominant breeding does have all gone missing ( two of them were over 14 years old ). they would all have twins every year....one quarter of the fawns would survive. I also had 5 yearling spike bucks that all but one has gone missing. Neighbor has a pic of the collared cougar that jrebel has on his cam from 3 miles away. Also 4 other individual cats. They are wiping out the local mulies. Sickening. Started 14 years ago with 34 deer and today have about 12. That is not counting the whitetail.

I have two females (at least I believe they are female based on size) on camera over the last two weeks.  Bears are running rampant in all of the NE as well.......AND OUR WDFW IS WORRIED ABOUT CWD AND BAIT PILES!!!!!  If it wasn't so serious....it would almost be laughable.  WDFW SUCKS (insert middle finger emoji here). 

I'm tired of WDFW and our state taking, taking, taking and taking some more with no concessions.  Kill the predators and then we can talk CWD, until then you can suck an egg. 

[hunter399]

Herds are collapsing, ending baiting helps keep a few more deer for predators

The mule deer herd that I have fed for 14 years has really taken a hit since Feb. Seven of the dominant breeding does have all gone missing ( two of them were over 14 years old ). they would all have twins every year....one quarter of the fawns would survive. I also had 5 yearling spike bucks that all but one has gone missing. Neighbor has a pic of the collared cougar that jrebel has on his cam from 3 miles away. Also 4 other individual cats. They are wiping out the local mulies. Sickening. Started 14 years ago with 34 deer and today have about 12. That is not counting the whitetail.

I have two females (at least I believe they are female based on size) on camera over the last two weeks.  Bears are running rampant in all of the NE as well.......AND OUR WDFW IS WORRIED ABOUT CWD AND BAIT PILES!!!!!  If it wasn't so serious....it would almost be laughable.  WDFW SUCKS (insert middle finger emoji here). 

I'm tired of WDFW and our state taking, taking, taking and taking some more with no concessions.  Kill the predators and then we can talk CWD, until then you can suck an egg.

Knowing your local area and I have a pretty good idea.
Wolves are up high and have ran cougar everywhere.
I Agree with both your statement . The mule deer are getting hit very hard. Up high in the mountains/down low/everywhere. Pretty much to the point of extinction. But it's ok for WDFW to eliminate mule deer in Stevens county for wolves and cougar. I can guarantee that there predator/prey study is not show the extinction of mule deer in there traditional areas,there gonna act like the mule deer was never there. It's sickening. I'm trying to say wolves have started a chain reaction of moving animals to a pile of dust.
Just remember them wolves are just a few miles up the mountain from you guys. Those wolves will push there competition down. It's taken a few years to see the total repercussions wolves have brought, hopefully now your eyes are open. Mule deer in Stevens county are dead or as good as dead. Now you know. WDFW won't make any special regulations,The only regulations we get is no antlerless harvest of whitetail or mule deer. And  Now that you guys can see more clearly,by the time WDFW does anything to help mule deer they will be gone.And only old timers like us will remember they where even here. Really just a sad story.

Just to add most of the mule deer are gone up in the mountain,where the wolf territory is. Cougar have no choice in being in low elevation. But don't be surprised here soon when you hear them howling at your backdoor. It will come soon there is nothing up high for them to eat. They are not far behind those cougar.

[jrebel]

Herds are collapsing, ending baiting helps keep a few more deer for predators

The mule deer herd that I have fed for 14 years has really taken a hit since Feb. Seven of the dominant breeding does have all gone missing ( two of them were over 14 years old ). they would all have twins every year....one quarter of the fawns would survive. I also had 5 yearling spike bucks that all but one has gone missing. Neighbor has a pic of the collared cougar that jrebel has on his cam from 3 miles away. Also 4 other individual cats. They are wiping out the local mulies. Sickening. Started 14 years ago with 34 deer and today have about 12. That is not counting the whitetail.

I have two females (at least I believe they are female based on size) on camera over the last two weeks.  Bears are running rampant in all of the NE as well.......AND OUR WDFW IS WORRIED ABOUT CWD AND BAIT PILES!!!!!  If it wasn't so serious....it would almost be laughable.  WDFW SUCKS (insert middle finger emoji here). 

I'm tired of WDFW and our state taking, taking, taking and taking some more with no concessions.  Kill the predators and then we can talk CWD, until then you can suck an egg.

Knowing your local area and I have a pretty good idea.
Wolves are up high and have ran cougar everywhere.
I Agree with both your statement . The mule deer are getting hit very hard. Up high in the mountains/down low/everywhere. Pretty much to the point of extinction. But it's ok for WDFW to eliminate mule deer in Stevens county for wolves and cougar. I can guarantee that there predator/prey study is not show the extinction of mule deer in there traditional areas,there gonna act like the mule deer was never there. It's sickening. I'm trying to say wolves have started a chain reaction of moving animals to a pile of dust.
Just remember them wolves are just a few miles up the mountain from you guys. Those wolves will push there competition down. It's taken a few years to see the total repercussions wolves have brought, hopefully now your eyes are open. Mule deer in Stevens county are dead or as good as dead. Now you know. WDFW won't make any special regulations,The only regulations we get is no antlerless harvest of whitetail or mule deer. And  Now that you guys can see more clearly,by the time WDFW does anything to help mule deer they will be gone.And only old timers like us will remember they where even here. Really just a sad story.

Just to add most of the mule deer are gone up in the mountain,where the wolf territory is. Cougar have no choice in being in low elevation. But don't be surprised here soon when you hear them howling at your backdoor. It will come soon there is nothing up high for them to eat. They are not far behind those cougar.

Yes, very sad indeed.  I have had 3 wolves on camera over the last three years too.   

[idaho guy]

Cwd is literally 2 countys away. 70 miles as the crow flys. It probably just a matter of time before its here. Banning baiting would  slow it  down. i never had a problem harvesting a whitetail on public land without bait and i am not young. From what i read it really spreads were deer are concentrated together. I personally dont relish the idea of eating a cwd deer.

 

That’s a discouraging statement to hear from another hunter. I don’t do it so screw the other guys ? It’s already been stated that this will have NO effect on cwd deer and elk congregate in way larger numbers for many things beyond a bucket of apples. This was the attitude people probably had with bear baiting and hounds. I’m sure there were “superior” bear hunters who didn’t need bait or dogs back then too.

I dont personally bait, and I dont hold the same respect for people who hunt over bait as I do for people who go pay more in sweat equity for their kills. That said, a ban on any existing hunting technique is a ban on all hunting techniques, and I sure as hell dont support it. Keep in mind that the strategy we are fighting against is the "death by a thousand cuts" play. We need to be vigilant and support all ethical forms of our hunting heritage, irrelevant of whether or not we hunt that specific game or in that specific way.

   

  It doesn’t even affect me and I will fight for it to stay too! I don’t even hunt Washington but stumbled on this sight years ago and it’s been hard to leave. It’s scary to watch what they have done in Washington just since I got on here. unfortunately the same tactics are being tried in all western states they just don’t have the political capital to make it work in other states outside Oregon,California and Washington. YET we need to stand together and quit saying bullcrap like” I have never needed to-(insert hunting method)” it’s an ignorant sort of pride and it will be the end of our heritage that for many of us has been passed down for generations.

[jrebel]

E-mail sent.   

[idaho guy]

Herds are collapsing, ending baiting helps keep a few more deer for predators

The mule deer herd that I have fed for 14 years has really taken a hit since Feb. Seven of the dominant breeding does have all gone missing ( two of them were over 14 years old ). they would all have twins every year....one quarter of the fawns would survive. I also had 5 yearling spike bucks that all but one has gone missing. Neighbor has a pic of the collared cougar that jrebel has on his cam from 3 miles away. Also 4 other individual cats. They are wiping out the local mulies. Sickening. Started 14 years ago with 34 deer and today have about 12. That is not counting the whitetail.

I have two females (at least I believe they are female based on size) on camera over the last two weeks.  Bears are running rampant in all of the NE as well.......AND OUR WDFW IS WORRIED ABOUT CWD AND BAIT PILES!!!!!  If it wasn't so serious....it would almost be laughable.  WDFW SUCKS (insert middle finger emoji here). 

I'm tired of WDFW and our state taking, taking, taking and taking some more with no concessions.  Kill the predators and then we can talk CWD, until then you can suck an egg.

Knowing your local area and I have a pretty good idea.
Wolves are up high and have ran cougar everywhere.
I Agree with both your statement . The mule deer are getting hit very hard. Up high in the mountains/down low/everywhere. Pretty much to the point of extinction. But it's ok for WDFW to eliminate mule deer in Stevens county for wolves and cougar. I can guarantee that there predator/prey study is not show the extinction of mule deer in there traditional areas,there gonna act like the mule deer was never there. It's sickening. I'm trying to say wolves have started a chain reaction of moving animals to a pile of dust.
Just remember them wolves are just a few miles up the mountain from you guys. Those wolves will push there competition down. It's taken a few years to see the total repercussions wolves have brought, hopefully now your eyes are open. Mule deer in Stevens county are dead or as good as dead. Now you know. WDFW won't make any special regulations,The only regulations we get is no antlerless harvest of whitetail or mule deer. And  Now that you guys can see more clearly,by the time WDFW does anything to help mule deer they will be gone.And only old timers like us will remember they where even here. Really just a sad story.

Just to add most of the mule deer are gone up in the mountain,where the wolf territory is. Cougar have no choice in being in low elevation. But don't be surprised here soon when you hear them howling at your backdoor. It will come soon there is nothing up high for them to eat. They are not far behind those cougar.

Yes, very sad indeed.  I have had 3 wolves on camera over the last three years too.   

   

It wasn’t  very long ago many on here would argue tooth and nail that wolves were not going to be a problem 😂 If you raised the concerns about wolves they said we were wearing tin foil hats and that we would just have to hunt harder or become better hunters lol. Don’t see them commenting much on that anymore. This was at the height of unmanaged or lightly managed wolves in Idaho and they were just showing up in Washington. The reason our Idaho elk herds disappeared in the presence of large predator numbers was strictly HABITAT. What do you say now pro-wolfers? It’s usually crickets now days. One of the biggest pro wolf they won’t be a problem members is commenting on this thread. Follow the science they said! Look I have all this data and peer reviewed studies you superstitious redneck! I wish I and others would have been wrong. Predators eat deer and elk. You can’t avoid that fact no matter what the biologists say in there peer reviewed studies and charts of endless data. Baiting is the same tactic-just keep taking away opportunities when even a blind man can see deer and elk gathering in huge numbers for everything BUT a 5 gallon bucket of apples. Sorry for the rant but you can see these tactics slowly moving to places like Colorado. It’s time to fight this crap together. I have tried to leave this site many times but it’s a great site really and I have gotten caught up in Washington’s game management even though I have yet to hunt Washington myself. It’s irritating to see game intentionally mis-managed even if it doesn’t affect me.YET I think anyone who doesn’t care because it doesn’t affect them should remember it doesn’t affect them yet. Off my soap box for the evening  I probably got a little bit too righteous sorry for the major derail to wolves. By the way whatever happened to aspen bud ? That guy loved wolves!🤔😂 I am sending e mail. Carry on

[huntnnw]

pretty sad to see whats happened in parts of 105 that I grew up hunting. There use to be muleys everywhere we hunted, whitetails everywhere and elk were starting to take hold. Fast forward 25 years later and seeing a muley is now a rarity and whitetails are not far behind. When I grew up hunting there we could bait bears and run hounds and there was very few wolves. There seem to be a good balance of predators and prey in those hills. Now its a predator pit with almost everything wiped out.

[KFhunter]

pretty sad to see whats happened in parts of 105 that I grew up hunting. There use to be muleys everywhere we hunted, whitetails everywhere and elk were starting to take hold. Fast forward 25 years later and seeing a muley is now a rarity and whitetails are not far behind. When I grew up hunting there we could bait bears and run hounds and there was very few wolves. There seem to be a good balance of predators and prey in those hills. Now its a predator pit with almost everything wiped out.

the upshot is I haven't smoked a deer in my grill in years


25 years ago lot's of roadkill

[hunter399]

I know this topic got a little ways off topic.
But I really do think that hunters and just kind people feeding the deer through the winter has really one thing that has kept deer population ok in NE Washington. Without winter feeding predators will have a hay day.

[KFhunter]

I dunno, I kinda think feeding through the winter concentrate deer and make it easier for predators

I scout for lions *a lot* and always finds tracks on the road when I drive by someone feeding deer after a snow

[jrebel]

I dunno, I kinda think feeding through the winter concentrate deer and make it easier for predators

I scout for lions *a lot* and always finds tracks on the road when I drive by someone feeding deer after a snow

Cats will always congregate where deer populations are highest…..feed or no feed the deer bunch up in the winter.   The only difference is deer have food to keep them healthy and hopefully fend off predators.   Feed has nothing to do with predators during the winter months in my opinion. 

[hunter399]

I dunno, I kinda think feeding through the winter concentrate deer and make it easier for predators

I scout for lions *a lot* and always finds tracks on the road when I drive by someone feeding deer after a snow

Cats will always congregate where deer populations are highest…..feed or no feed the deer bunch up in the winter.   The only difference is deer have food to keep them healthy and hopefully fend off predators.   Feed has nothing to do with predators during the winter months in my opinion.

Thanks jrebel
I was just gonna say the same thing.
I have pics of cats in summer,and on the same cam deer with claw marks in its side. The only feed was a salt block.
Was the deer attacked cause of the salt or because the cougar was hungry.
In the winter your always gonna find predator tracks where the deer are the most. If there eating natural food or feed.
Your gonna notice it a little more when it comes to feed.
I really do love tracking stuff in the winter though ,you do get to see into what's going on exactly.
It's like the glass half full or half empty ,still water in there.
Cougar hungry or not hungry but there still there.
I have the pic of the cats.
I might have to look for the deer with the claw marks.
But a friend that lives in the area,told me he seen three cats jump the road the other day. So I'm kinda thinking almost a year later they are still with there mommy.

[Rainier10]

I have my feeders in open areas hoping that the deer will see a predator coming and have lots of escape routes.

[hunter399]

Did find the SD card ,but I think it was early in the summer. The deer with the gash in its side.
But I think I ran five cams last year ,all of them had a big block of salt ,and I just leave them. And like this year my cams are all in different spots . That happens Alot with me from year to year . There are spots I haven't been to in years and there probably is still salt there.

[bullfever]

Cwd is literally 2 countys away. 70 miles as the crow flys. It probably just a matter of time before its here. Banning baiting would  slow it  down. i never had a problem harvesting a whitetail on public land without bait and i am not young. From what i read it really spreads were deer are concentrated together. I personally dont relish the idea of eating a cwd deer.

 

That’s a discouraging statement to hear from another hunter. I don’t do it so screw the other guys ? It’s already been stated that this will have NO effect on cwd deer and elk congregate in way larger numbers for many things beyond a bucket of apples. This was the attitude people probably had with bear baiting and hounds. I’m sure there were “superior” bear hunters who didn’t need bait or dogs back then too.

I dont personally bait, and I dont hold the same respect for people who hunt over bait as I do for people who go pay more in sweat equity for their kills. That said, a ban on any existing hunting technique is a ban on all hunting techniques, and I sure as hell dont support it. Keep in mind that the strategy we are fighting against is the "death by a thousand cuts" play. We need to be vigilant and support all ethical forms of our hunting heritage, irrelevant of whether or not we hunt that specific game or in that specific way.

Let me enlighten you -

Maintaining a bait site properly requires a serious amount of work and dedication. The enormous amount of feed you bring in with you to then navigate off road off trail is overwhelming for most.

Setting up and changing your stand (if you have one) from tree to tree to account for the direction of thermals based on what direction game will likely come in from.

What some don't realize is that by running a site like this, it allows the hunter to be very selective. For example, since we're talking about deer/elk bait rules here, a hunter can wait for a mature buck to show up and harvest it if he chooses. This is the best scenario from a game management perspective. Typically people running dedicated bait sites are only going to be harvesting mature animals. I can't say the same for those that don't.