Free: Contests & Raffles.
Quote from: Practical Approach on September 25, 2024, 09:07:21 AMI guess I view OIL hunts as a dream hunts and not a dream kill. I just finished the Baker Avalanche Gorge hunt and was lucky enough to harvest a Billy. I can't say enough about how stressed I was making sure it was a Billy. I took the non mandatory test and watched all the video information that WDFW sent on how to identify a Billy. I spoke with some of you who had hunted goats and the area I was hunting and you all gave me good advice. The main thing I took to heart is be patient, be as certain as you can. Many of you said watch it pee to make sure. While the wait can be long for the opportunity, I went into the hunt prepared to eat my tag versus shooting a nanny on purpose. I enjoyed the hunt preparation, meeting new hunters and spending time in a place I never get to hunt with my hunting friends. For me, that is what the hunt is all about. I know every hunter is different and that it isn't illegal to shoot a nanny. I think most of us can agree that now that these hunts are highly regulated, hunters are not the limiting factor on the populations viability. As hunters, we understand that killing males, as with most of our hunted species, does not have the impact on productivity as killing females. It makes it harder for our wildlife managers to make a case the anti hunting WDFW commissioners, to keep a population open, when the population is barely meeting the minimum population threshold, if nannies continue to be harvested. I do think that due to the number of nannies killed last year and this year to date, that 2024 is the last year for goat hunting on Baker. We will see.Did the state give you a kill kit for blood samples? I received a big packet from Idaho wanting blood and some other info.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I guess I view OIL hunts as a dream hunts and not a dream kill. I just finished the Baker Avalanche Gorge hunt and was lucky enough to harvest a Billy. I can't say enough about how stressed I was making sure it was a Billy. I took the non mandatory test and watched all the video information that WDFW sent on how to identify a Billy. I spoke with some of you who had hunted goats and the area I was hunting and you all gave me good advice. The main thing I took to heart is be patient, be as certain as you can. Many of you said watch it pee to make sure. While the wait can be long for the opportunity, I went into the hunt prepared to eat my tag versus shooting a nanny on purpose. I enjoyed the hunt preparation, meeting new hunters and spending time in a place I never get to hunt with my hunting friends. For me, that is what the hunt is all about. I know every hunter is different and that it isn't illegal to shoot a nanny. I think most of us can agree that now that these hunts are highly regulated, hunters are not the limiting factor on the populations viability. As hunters, we understand that killing males, as with most of our hunted species, does not have the impact on productivity as killing females. It makes it harder for our wildlife managers to make a case the anti hunting WDFW commissioners, to keep a population open, when the population is barely meeting the minimum population threshold, if nannies continue to be harvested. I do think that due to the number of nannies killed last year and this year to date, that 2024 is the last year for goat hunting on Baker. We will see.
Quote from: Hectocotylus on September 25, 2024, 07:16:14 PMEveryone can blame predators but environmental conditions impact way more than X percent more cats. And guess what. We can’t change the number of cats really. But we sure can change how many Nannie’s get killed. As hunters let’s take responsibility instead of whining about the department or something. We have a role. Let’s do it the best we can. Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkI don't disagree with being selective, and doing what we can as hunters, but your missing the math. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of cats hunting every goat they can catch and they are not limited to one goat per lifetime. Compare that to a handful of hunters shooting a nanny, its pretty easy to see which factors are more likely causing the entire WA goat population to drop by 75%, from 10,000 to about 2500.
Everyone can blame predators but environmental conditions impact way more than X percent more cats. And guess what. We can’t change the number of cats really. But we sure can change how many Nannie’s get killed. As hunters let’s take responsibility instead of whining about the department or something. We have a role. Let’s do it the best we can. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hello special permit holders, Some permit holders may have harvested a goat already, so please ignore this email if that is the case. For those who are still hunting, I am sending a reminder to please do your best to harvest a billy. It’s not illegal to harvest a nanny, and you will not get in trouble if you do so. However, I want to remind you of a couple of important points: The Mt. Baker goat herd, like most others in WA, is in decline and has been for several years.Mountain goats are slow reproducers. Nannies reach sexual maturity late and may be 4 years of age or older before they have their first kid. Only about 60% of adult nannies will have a kid each year, and kid mortality can be high. Removal of a nanny can have implications that last for several years.Female survival has the greatest impact on population growth, and older age class females (even those over 10 years of age) are more likely to have a kid each year and successfully rear the kid than younger age females.The number of goat tags we will offer on future Baker hunts is dependent on the number of nannies harvested in this or any future hunt. The higher the percentage of males in the harvest, the better. Ideally that number will be 100%. Even a single harvested nanny may impact the number of permits we can offer in 2025, since we will be using this year’s harvest and last year’s numbers to determine permit levels. In an email I sent you on June 26, I mentioned that last year seven goats were harvested and four of them were nannies (a male harvest rate of only 43%). We want you to have a great hunt. Thanks for considering this information and doing your best to harvest a male. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Quote from: Practical Approach on September 27, 2024, 03:35:21 PMHello special permit holders, Some permit holders may have harvested a goat already, so please ignore this email if that is the case. For those who are still hunting, I am sending a reminder to please do your best to harvest a billy. It’s not illegal to harvest a nanny, and you will not get in trouble if you do so. However, I want to remind you of a couple of important points: The Mt. Baker goat herd, like most others in WA, is in decline and has been for several years.Mountain goats are slow reproducers. Nannies reach sexual maturity late and may be 4 years of age or older before they have their first kid. Only about 60% of adult nannies will have a kid each year, and kid mortality can be high. Removal of a nanny can have implications that last for several years.Female survival has the greatest impact on population growth, and older age class females (even those over 10 years of age) are more likely to have a kid each year and successfully rear the kid than younger age females.The number of goat tags we will offer on future Baker hunts is dependent on the number of nannies harvested in this or any future hunt. The higher the percentage of males in the harvest, the better. Ideally that number will be 100%. Even a single harvested nanny may impact the number of permits we can offer in 2025, since we will be using this year’s harvest and last year’s numbers to determine permit levels. In an email I sent you on June 26, I mentioned that last year seven goats were harvested and four of them were nannies (a male harvest rate of only 43%). We want you to have a great hunt. Thanks for considering this information and doing your best to harvest a male. If you have any questions, please let me know.Ugh. Glad they are trying to communicate this stuff. Hope it has an impact. 40% males is pathetic. Us hunters should be embarrassed. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Cats Grizz bear will be the final nail.
Another reason to front tag fees or pick 1 oil tag to apply for to eliminate the people who really don’t care. A huge amount of the apps are “ well I’ll just throw my name in the hat “
Quote from: huntnnw on September 25, 2024, 08:01:31 AMAnother reason to front tag fees or pick 1 oil tag to apply for to eliminate the people who really don’t care. A huge amount of the apps are “ well I’ll just throw my name in the hat “This. It’s so cheap to get into all the OIL drawings and you can put in for all of them, so a guy who can barely walk to his mail box is putting in for moose, sheep and goat. He draws a goat tag and can barely hike into the unit, of course he’s going to shoot the first goat he sees regardless of sex. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Maybe this will help
