Are harvest reports even a useful tool for wdfw / us hunters ???

[dirty24d]

So I'm curious as to what you fellas / ladies think about this and if you actually file the area you harvested your deer or elk..

I'm asking because i know quite a few individuals who always file their deer as being harvested in one area which skews the numbers. I figure if i myself know of probably 10 guys that do this there are probably a ton more.

Second part of this is what do you think this does to the management of the area?  Is it extremely harmful to the game counts, do you think it has resulted in areas having tighter restrictions because so many people claim they are pulling deer out of there..

[chester]

I file truthfully. I do wish that they wouldnt release that info to the internet scouters though 

[dewandgin]

I have always filed my truthfully and correct creeks and areas

[chester]

I didnt read the last part of your post the first time. i think its harmful to an area. when they release that info, people rely on the net to do there looking for them. it leads to crowding in areas.

[dirty24d]

Yeah I'm just wondering if it could possibly play into areas having tighter minimums  like 3 point or better etc... because of the falsifying of harvest.   The guys i know say they do it because they dont like reporting their area for that very reason (the internet) and the crowds it draws.  so they all report one area and feel the crowds then move to that area instead.

[luvtohnt]

The wdfw uses the harvest reports to get harvest trends. Harvest trends help with population assessment of a given area. So in the end they could be screwing themselves. The way I see it is there are a lot of regular changes on the westside and these falsified reports could be skewing the data enough to cause the changes. Population surveys are only a piece of the puzzle in game management. The more accurate the information the better the management will be!!  

As far as for their personal gain the majority of people who hunt also go out and scout so if they don't find any sign they are going to move to another area, So your friends idea of forcing crowds to a different area is just plain stupid!!

Brandon

[ICEMAN]

Personally, I feel that by asking hunters to post their success results, they have an easy out to blame hunters for the declining populations.....the hunters lied and skewed the results.

Shouldn't proper game management be all about being in the field and personally observing game populations and carrying capacity, because expecting hunters, many who are in a big last minute dash to post any result so they can purchase a tag, is expecting too much in my opinion. Lastly, do we really need to know how long it took someone to harvest their game?


I would rather they drop the hunter reporting and rely on good ol' fashion boot earned observation and apply their schooling to what they find in the field. 

[chester]

As far as for their personal gain the majority of people who hunt also go out and scout so if they don't find any sign they are going to move to another area, So your friends idea of forcing crowds to a different area is just plain stupid!!

Brandon

If only that were true. the majority? maybe. some? yes. every year we see more people show up in the area i hunt. with campers, atvs, and cheapy little maps printed off google from up north. they have never stepped foot in there before but opening day they show up. because the internet told them it was good, on a forum like this, on go hunt , and then they look at HARVEST REPORTS. idk how they get the idea if alot of animals are taken there they can just show up and do the same. I really wish the dept would use those numbers. But not put them out there. If those were kept under wraps and not released compliance would go up.

[dirty24d]

I agree.. So for all you guys out there wondering what area i'm talking about it's huckleberry 121... 

[Special T]

I think the info can be beneficial but an explanation of how they run things would be better... In survey work or statistical analysis, data is only valuable if it is accurate AND meaningful.... Many people confuse a Correlation relationship with a causation relationship.... For example... Most people who get DUI and/or get in wrecks drunk drink more than 2 cups of coffee a day.. Does that mean drinking coffee make you more likely to get a DUI or Wreck? Hell NO! but most drunks drink a lot of coffee!  We all know that Booze causes the problem not coffee....   It is a lot harder to prove a cause relationship than one that Correlates...

[JimmyHoffa]

I figure that the published successes attract people, so I tend to look for areas with lower success such that I can escape crowds.  But scouting ahead of time will convince me if the harvest reports seem like reality.  

[dirty24d]

In my opinion the majority of hunters do not scout therefore the harvest reports play a biig role in where the yahoo's line up for a crack at the honey!! I understand why the guys do it keep people away from their holes  i dont really agree with it but they sware by it and say it's common for people to report incorrectly for this very reason..

[dirty24d]

24 votes thats it..   

cmon we can do better than that..

[boneaddict]

I file truthfully.

[Bob33]

Hmmm...let me see if I understand this poll correctly: if I lie on my harvest reports, I won't lie to you when I say I don't lie when I report?