Whitetail management plan.

[boneaddict]

You might recognize a deer or two on the front cover.     I just got mine in the mail.  COOL Document.
http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/white-tailed_deer/

[alwinearcher]

Just spent some time reading through it..


Lot of interesting stuff!

[Sneaky]

Interesting stuff. Looks like it may be another hard winter in the NE...hope we don't have to count points next season

[denali]

cool pics bone.

did some reading as well, I know hard winters and habitat changes play a significant role in lower WT harvest, but you can not ignore the correlation between lower cougar harvest and lower WT harvest numbers. - (not a Biologist or a mathematician)   

[PolarBear]

Good job on the pics Mr. Bone!  I'll have to read through the thing.

[DBHAWTHORNE]

Great Pics and Great Info. Thanks for posting.

[boneaddict]

The plan was put together nicely I thought.  I haven't had time to read it all, but I sure liked the format.

[grundy53]

wow.... the wolves will kill 44 deer per wolf per year. And to think we won't be able to delist any of these established wolf populations until there are enough wolves in the willapa hills and olympic pennisula to delist.  I also loved how much info They had on Cougars affect on deer.

[DBHAWTHORNE]

The plan was put together nicely I thought.  I haven't had time to read it all, but I sure liked the format.

It is definitely well put together. I was impressed to see the WDFW has put this much consideration into managing Whitetail Deer. Apparently they have been limited by funding on some things they would like to do.

[huntnnw]

Put together nicely ...does it matter? When I see this all i think blah blah ...appease the minions of the state.All non sense to me..they do nothing ultimately with whitetail management in this state. A 4pt min would be a first in this state..all about the money.

[DBHAWTHORNE]

Put together nicely ...does it matter? When I see this all i think blah blah ...appease the minions of the state.All non sense to me..they do nothing ultimately with whitetail management in this state. A 4pt min would be a first in this state..all about the money.

Shane, I have to disagree with you on this one. I think the whitetail herd is managed more effectively than anything else in the state.... Could it be better? I would say without a doubt. Overall I think we have one of the better herds in the nation despite winter kill. A lot of the big buck states like Illinois are poorly managed yet produce big bucks because of private management of the herds. We can't really claim that here. I do wish their management regions were a little smaller. They could probably increase doe harvest in some area and decrease it in others. The AR's would be nice. The AR's won't be popular with everyone but I am sure many people will look at them differently after a few years.

There does seem to be a big push from WDFW and hunters (who have their own ideas about what constitutes hunting) to remove baiting. It seems like it is under constant scrutiny and they will likely remove it as soon as they get majority support. For 14 years (that I know of and probably more) they have been asking us if we want baiting to be allowed. Now, in this study they show that they are budgeted to study the effects of baiting. I find it kind of ridiculous that it has taken this long. Isn't this something they should have figured out after all these years?

If doing nothing = what they are doing now then I hope they keep doing it. I have hunted quite a few states and I don't know many that I can find 4-6 150+ bucks per year to hunt and mostly on public lands. One small area I was in this year had three bucks of that caliber (that I know of) in less than a square mile. In that same areas there was 5-6 other 130-145 inch bucks. I consider that outstanding and would be near (if not) impossible in a poorly managed whitetail herd.

[RidgeRunner_07]

Any words towards the possible change to 3 point min on the whiteys? Sounds like a good way to build a healthy feed station for the wolves that are slowly creeping in.

[Cougeyes]

I thought it was a well put together plan, however money is the problem and i think that most of their efforts will fall short due to decreasing budgets and personnel. I liked that they included they would research the effects baiting has on harvest and deer herds.  Curious how they plan on attempting to get this information.  If baiting may become illegal those that hunt over bait may chose to lie if WDFW ever did a survey or however they attempt to get at the question at hand.  Just by the photos and stories on here and elsewhere i think there is a high success hunting over bait and personally believe it should be illegal 

[boneaddict]

I've never been a fan of baiting for deer and elk.  I have been for bear, mostly for the fact that you could tell much more easily ( get to observe longer) and be able to differentiate between a sow with possible cubs or not.  I don't think I have ever spoke out against deer baiting, except maybe some of the salt damage done to areas to people who don't have a CLUE what it does.  Mostly because I tend to be that conservative mind, if it doesn't effect me, leave it alone.

[DBHAWTHORNE]

I liked that they included they would research the effects baiting has on harvest and deer herds.  Curious how they plan on attempting to get this information.  If baiting may become illegal those that hunt over bait may chose to lie if WDFW ever did a survey or however they attempt to get at the question at hand.  Just by the photos and stories on here and elsewhere i think there is a high success hunting over bait and personally believe it should be illegal  

I am interested in how they will go about their methods also. I am quite surprised they have taken this many years to do it. There are plenty of studys showing the effects of baiting on deer herds so I am not quite sure why they need to spend money on a new study that will probably not likely answer or address questions that haven't already been answered.

I don't think there is anything for those of us that bait to lie about. Baiting can and often does lead to higher success rates. I see far more does and young bucks over bait than I do when I don't bait. I also have deer present better shot opportunities over bait.

I think high success rates would be a mighty weak and inaccurate argument for making baiting illegal. I have found hardcore scouting can lead to a much higher success rate than baiting alone. Should we make scouting illegal? I have found that compound bows with sights lead to higher success rates. Should we make those illegal? The list of things that may increase success rates signigicantly can go on and on; trail cameras, tree stands, hunting during the pre-rut/rut (especially rifle hunting during that time period) etc.  Hunting experience can also lead to a higher success rate..maybe for every year of hunting experience we should get one less day per year of experience. Ok..I admit I am being facetious to make a point that increased success rates should probably not be a big factor in making baiting illegal.

Then there is the question of what are we comparing the higher success rates against? It can't be the overall average because that doesn't really tell you much and isn't a fair comparison.

What does matter about baiting is this...and I am saying this as a person that baits. I can make almost no biologically sound argument for baiting....but.... I can make several biological arguments against baiting and it's possible effects on herd health..... but then if we are going to make baiting illegal for those reasons we must stop the winter feeding stations for the same biological reasons. From what I have researched and observed, those negative effects appear to be rarer and smaller than people make them out. These effects are not even close to the negative effects on a herd due to the stress created by hunting itself. Shed hunting during winter months is another thing that can put great stress on a herd but I am sure many people that are against baiting do not want that to end either.