Overcrowding

[boneaddict]

Theres a couple famous ones up in the valley that I have gone rounds with.  Makes Idabooner cringe everytime I drive up I think.  If you sell your ranch to the game department for several million and it is now public land, then how can you post it and patrol it as your own.........

[Dman]

"I think the season should go to Oct.31, and decrease the permits to 10 per unit. In addition, make the late archery permit only as well, and maybe make it 20 or so. Then you might have some real trophy hunting."

 DFW already tried that just before the '96 die off and if you examine harvest success rates, they were actually less in most areas prior to the season's being cut back than anytime afterwards.

 "I dont see the relevance myself, there havn't been any developments anywhere close to where I hunt. Are you saying that developments have destroyed enough hunting areas in the past 15 years or so to cause us to be over crowded hunting the east side?"
 
 -Mountain Star Resort, Methow area golf courses, resorts, summer homes, etc. Wenatchee area, same thing. Each golf course put in over the last 20 years takes up over thousand acres a piece and sometimes several thousand. Mountain Star was fought bitterly and it still went in over critical habitat areas for muleys -I know, I was asked to be a part of that project and declined. Are we still saying the sale of 5-6 thousand acres of NF land's in Wa. every year too isn't happening when we can read it right off of the NF web site? Where do you hunt exactly HP? I can't recall one NE or N Central County that has not lost public and private land habitat in the last 20 years. Perhaps you hunt a private ranch or something?

 

[Lowedog]

phool, the numbers you are qouting are the numbers of hunters that reported.  The amount of tags purchased has stayed about the same at around 165,000 back to 99.  Of course the 9 day season crowds public land some and maybe you are seeing more people in your areas because they have become popular areas.  

I tend to agree with the thought that the loss of some hunting areas due to sale of private land and public land road closures is congregrating hunters some.  I know of an area in Chelan county that is the only legal area guys can ride ATV's into and in the last 10 years it has become absolutly over run with hunters because of other areas they used to hunt are no longer open to ATV's.  I also think for the most part people are lazy and are going to hunt where they can drive and never get far from there rig.  There are many places I hunt in general season where you never see another soul.  Some places that used to be overcrowded 20 years ago nobody goes into.  I don't think nearly as many people pack in on horseback as there used to be.  

The times you are thinking of are so far in the past I don't even see what your point is.  There hasn't been a general season hunt that went into November since when?  The late 80's early 90's  There was a reason that the seasons were cut back and that was to reduce harvest numbers.  In 2002 - 2004 the season went to 14 days.  Did that help to spread the hunters out?  I don't think so.  Most guys who take time off work took the second week off.  The weekends were the same.  

WDFW cut the seasons back in Okanogan County in 2005 because the herds couldn't stand up to the lenghthened season.  I was told at a public input meeting that they felt Chelan County could handle the longer season but that they had to shorten the season there also because they feared all the hunters who normally hunt the Okanogan would hunt the Chelan the second week.  

I really don't think people on here are being hypocritical either.  Most of the discussion has been about a noticed decline in mature bucks in the Entiat.  Most agree also that the numbers of deer are just fine in most places.  Maybe we have become a bit spoiled with what we have seen on the late season tags historically and on the winter range and with a down year like this for big bucks we start to wonder if something is wrong.

I do agree with you that the late archery season needs to go to draw only.  

-Lowedog

[actionshooter]

From a westside view of the overcrowding problem, I believe it has a lot to do with timber companies closing thier gates. I don't remeber the crowding when I was younger and they didn't even have gates to close. I try to ride my bike in but there are usually 2-5 trucks at the gates where I like to hunt. I don't see anyone most of the time but its the idea of people being in there.

[ICEMAN]

From a westside view of the overcrowding problem, I believe it has a lot to do with timber companies closing thier gates. I don't remeber the crowding when I was younger and they didn't even have gates to close. I try to ride my bike in but there are usually 2-5 trucks at the gates where I like to hunt. I don't see anyone most of the time but its the idea of people being in there.

Besides, I really do not like leaving my rig parked for three days down at the gate, where other trucks are coming and going by the highway... Talk about vulnerable....

Just this last elk season we did two nights way back in, left three rigs at the gate. I lost a bit of sleep over it. Expected a rock thru the side window and rummaging. The rest of my elk hunt supplies were in the rig for the rest of the week, hoped it was there upon my return. It was...but still worried.
I am also not a track star, and busting my butt up and in on the friday before the opener put the hurt on me a bit. Didn't really feel it until two days later, on the way down, but this would kill my dad or kids. In this case, I wish the gate was a bit farther into the area, wipe out some of the hill..... (And yes I know, I need to get in better shape....)