Northwest Cable News Mtn. Goat Report

[popeshawnpaul]

I was watching channel 2 NWCN and they have a mountain goat piece on there today.  It is about how the goats on Baker are overpopulated and they will try and transplant them to areas with little goats anymore like Glacier Peak.  What I found interesting is the biologist stated that the population has exploded to 400+ animals due to the fact that they stopped hunting the area in 1997.  If that's true, great.  I am suspicious and the piece seemed one sided. 

Here is why...they noted that Glacier Peak numbers have declined to 5 goats.  That population has not exploded once hunting stopped.  Plus, not many goats were ever hunted much around Glacier Peak that I recall.  Some units surrounding the area had 1 or so goat tags but those tags were never very successful.  I remember Dwight Shuh drew a goat tag in a tough unit up by Monte Cristo in that area and he quit and never got one.  I think people got one every few years out of these units.  These units are heavily timbered and I recall going after golden trout in the area and I would stumble on goats but they were tree'ed up and in crazy territory.

Until they educate people on taking billies and not nannys, we will continue to not be able to hunt goats.  Hunters got the blame on this one though.   

[WDFW-SUX]

I dont understand why they even allow people to take nannies.. makes no sense.

[bearpaw]

I am not a goat bio, but I have been told that it hurts a herd to take too many dominant billies out in too short of time. Obviously that has nothing to do with the glacier peak situation.

I find this interesting too because it seems I read they were going to ban hunting near the baker area.....

I dont understand why they even allow people to take nannies.. makes no sense.

I think that Utah has some of the most biologically sound management in the west. This year they are holding a nanny only hunt. Probably to eliminate old nanny's that are no longer productive, but would offer a great hunt. There are nannies in the book.....

[WDFW-SUX]

It would be interesting to see what the bio's data was like for the willard peak unit where they hunt nannies in utah..I assume there are more goats than they need in that area

I just dont like it when people kill nannies and think that its a billy and then its oops.. oh well..

[bearpaw]

Not sure but I think they are requiring that you attend a class.

Utah usually does it right.....

[bear]

I dont understand why they even allow people to take nannies.. makes no sense.

Because nannies are a lot easier to kill.  They are often in areas that aren't that extreme.  Most probably have a desire to get a good billy and when they see where they like to hang out, they opt to shoot a nanny.  I'm sure that some make the mistake of shooting a nanny that's by herself because they assume it's a billy.  They will probably be able to transplant a lot of goats out of the baker east area once they shut the hunting down.  I had a good discussion a couple weeks back with a guy who is considered the utmost authority by many when it comes to the baker area goats.  He has seen the goat numbers go up and down to the extreme by lack of hunting and over grazing.  It's easy to think that those goats have plenty to eat when we are watching them, but not in February when the snow where they live is 10 feet deep.   Bear

[actionshooter]

I dont understand why they even allow people to take nannies.. makes no sense.

Because nannies are a lot easier to kill.  They are often in areas that aren't that extreme. 

I think mis-identification is as much or more than that.
 I'm all for required classes for tag holders if it would help the population/tag quotas. I question (the same as everyone else), if there are 400 goats up there, why don't we have a few tags?

[Bighorse]

Perpetuating misinformation......Nanny goats are not "easier".  They are easier to find because they group up.  The country they inhabit is still rough.

It's all seasonal.  What happens durring the rut........well the nannies and billies are in the same country. 

Mt. Goats are tough to hunt, "easy" and mt. goat don't go together well.  Finding a Bill is just an odds game.  The ratios just make finding the Billy harder by shear numbers.

[shanevg]

The population estimates of 400+ goats is not all overstated.  Unluckily, WDFW just won't give us more tags!