GMU 360

[Tinner]

Is Bethel hurting that bad to only allow 5 cow tags? It appears WDFW wants everyone to move south, Across Hwy 12. Input appreciated, Thanks.

[longknife]

Thats crazy! I can see if the archers are doing well in the early season, but 5 cow tags?

[Tinner]

That is modern firearm, I believe muzzle loader has 16 cow tags. There is no Archery season in 360.

[adamR]

starting to be to many hunters during muzzleloader in bethel and not enough elk... a couple years ago it was really good and then everyone opened there mouths and brought everyone they knew and now it is going down hill

[huntandjeep]

 

[Tinner]

Yeah I here ya, It just seems fishy to me that everywhere around Bethel has 200 cow tags. Thanks for all your opinions.

[hughjorgan]

Yeah I here ya, It just seems fishy to me that everywhere around Bethel has 200 cow tags. Thanks for all your opinions.

The surrounding GMUs 352 and 356 are only giving out 5 tags each also. The game department doesn't think there are enough elk in these units to sustain a big harvest 

[Fish4Fun]

GMU 360, Bethel, used to be better back in the days when we had a later season. The biggest part of the herd is a migratory bunch, they are not there for the newer early season. If you get some weather they come into 360 from the other areas. Look at the areas that have the bigger cow permit numbers. When we finally get weather down in GMU 360, that means the elk are pouring out of the areas that have the big permit numbers. Almost seems crazy now to put in for only 5 tags when a few miles down the road there are a couple hundred permits.

[Glockster]

WDFW is not managing the herd, they are attempting to manage people.  I don't know why they are doing this.

If the Yakima herd is over their goal why don't they manage it on a PMU basis?....Figure the amount of cows they want gone, issue the proper amount of permits, let the hunters decide where to hunt....Bethel, Rimrock, Nile, Bumping...those animals can cover 12 to 20 miles in 24hrs.  These units don't mean anything to them, why should we be handcuffed? 

[iRem]

WDFW is not managing the herd, they are attempting to manage people.  I don't know why they are doing this.

If the Yakima herd is over their goal why don't they manage it on a PMU basis?....Figure the amount of cows they want gone, issue the proper amount of permits, let the hunters decide where to hunt....Bethel, Rimrock, Nile, Bumping...those animals can cover 12 to 20 miles in 24hrs.  These units don't mean anything to them, why should we be handcuffed?

[dreamingbig]

There reason is that PMU 35 is suffering compared to the rest of the Yakima herd.  You should be lucky you have 5 cow tags.  For the archery season it is now spike only, that is right we can't shoot cows anymore.  They changed it last year.  That said there are still just as many animals in the area according to my unofficial count last year by putting 10 days in the field where the elk are.  They need to stop relying on only aerial surveys and where out some boot leather.

[HoofsandWings]

starting to be to many hunters during muzzleloader in bethel and not enough elk... a couple years ago it was really good and then everyone opened there mouths and brought everyone they knew and now it is going down hill

You just have to look at the harvest reports to see what is happening in Bethel.
Most of those cow tags are for the last few days of the season. Is it possible that once the shooting starts, the cows head to Rimrock and Cowiche?
Also, in 2009, as an example Bethel had a 45% success rate for cows (49 permits/45 hunters/22 cows), while Rimrock had a 15% success rate (149 permits/104 hunters/23 cows) for those that hunted cows. If you have a target of 30 cows, and you have a success rate of 15%how many permits need to be issued? Answer is 200.
Also, if you look at the number of hunters that hunted cow in Bethel it is 92% of the permit holders, while in Rimrock, it was 70%.
There probably is an expected percent of permit holders who actually hunt and an expected success rate. Looks like Bethel out performed this rate, therefore fewer permits, while Rimrock underperformed therefore more permits.
If you want more permits next season, you have to convince all of the permit holders for Bethel this year to not hunt or miss on purpose.

[hughjorgan]

There reason is that PMU 35 is suffering compared to the rest of the Yakima herd.  You should be lucky you have 5 cow tags.  For the archery season it is now spike only, that is right we can't shoot cows anymore.  They changed it last year.  That said there are still just as many animals in the area according to my unofficial count last year by putting 10 days in the field where the elk are.  They need to stop relying on only aerial surveys and where out some boot leather.

From what I read in the status and trend report was that they didn't even do a aerial survey due to lack of snow, so they went ahead and used counts from the feed stations and hunter harvest reports. But if there isn't much snow to push the majority of the herd down to lower winter range how are they going to get an accurate count of the health of the herd for this PMU? There is lots of elk in these units and will be more in the future I bet because of them not allowing the harvest of cows.

[HoofsandWings]

The wild card is last year was the first time hunters with lots of points who normally only put in for bull permits, also put in for cow permits.
Among that group of successful cow permit holders, what percentage harvested a bull prior to hunting a cow? If you look at the number of points it took to get a cow tag in 2009 versus 2010, you are looking at a whole different population of hunters. These are hunters that seldom if ever put in for cow tags.
Once the 2010 permit holder harvest stats come out, we will get a better idea of the big picture.

[dreamingbig]

They cut it last year to 25 for both Modern Firearm and Muzzie.  This year it went to 5.  Archery has been zero the past two years.

Hughjorgan- I agree; I read the same.  There survey methods were pitiful.  They said they consulted the local bowhunters and swapped little naches with bumping for anterless harvest.  It was under the radar and they did it prior to last season.  These kind of switches during the 3 year season shouldn't be allowed without a vote but they did it and weren't going to change it back for this season.  Who knows if we ever get it back but I am going to keep bugging them about it!