Well, this is sort of embarassing. We applied for--and got pulled for a group tag (4 does)--in Deer Area 2013. (Within GMU 204, running NE from Tonasket to the CDN border just west of Chesaw, then along the border to Oroville and back on down to Tonasket). When I applied for our group, I mistakenly believed my sister still owned property near Sidley Lake (near ghost town of Molson, which is directly east of Oroville and sort of NW of Chesaw).
I found out after we were pulled this week that my sister sold the property around 2003 when her husband was fighting lymphoma (a battle he lost in 2004). After finding this out, I discovered (with the help of a fellow forum member) that area's description in the back of the pamphlet says "private lands ONLY" within the given boundaries. (Which nixed the idea of us hunting Okanogan NF within 2013.)
Long story short, we're scrambling, with the season running Sept. 8 - Oct. 9. I feel really badly that I got our group in this bind, so I'm hopeful we'll be able to find someone that would like to thin the does on their land. All four of us have hunted together for some time....being a group of guys (ages 46-65) that folks would hopefully think of as safe, conscientious and respectful of the habitat, private property, etc. If any landowners would consider, we're willing to make the trip to introduce ourselves.
Any thoughts or leads from forum members are appreciated and will be diligently explored. Again, I hate to even ask, but this is the situation. I guess a carpenter would say "Measure twice, cut once." I didn't, unfortunately.
Thanks.
