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I would bet if they closed the unit down to hunting for one or two years they would rebound pretty quickly if everyone used that two years to just focus on predators.
Quote from: Rainier10 on November 05, 2021, 11:14:30 AMI would bet if they closed the unit down to hunting for one or two years they would rebound pretty quickly if everyone used that two years to just focus on predators.Are you talking about a specific unit or all of the blues in general?
Quote from: Mtnwalker on November 05, 2021, 06:16:50 PMQuote from: Rainier10 on November 05, 2021, 11:14:30 AMI would bet if they closed the unit down to hunting for one or two years they would rebound pretty quickly if everyone used that two years to just focus on predators.Are you talking about a specific unit or all of the blues in general?I am not familiar enough with that herd to know if just one unit would do it or if you would need to limit hunting in multiple units. My gut says multiple, if you close one it would just move the pressure to the surrounding units is how it typically works.
Quote from: Rainier10 on November 05, 2021, 06:28:41 PMQuote from: Mtnwalker on November 05, 2021, 06:16:50 PMQuote from: Rainier10 on November 05, 2021, 11:14:30 AMI would bet if they closed the unit down to hunting for one or two years they would rebound pretty quickly if everyone used that two years to just focus on predators.Are you talking about a specific unit or all of the blues in general?I am not familiar enough with that herd to know if just one unit would do it or if you would need to limit hunting in multiple units. My gut says multiple, if you close one it would just move the pressure to the surrounding units is how it typically works.I see. Harvest by recreational hunters is already pretty darn low in those units. Take Tucannon for example, 7 spikes, 5 branch bulls and 0 cows harvested last year by license holding hunters for a whopping 12 elk total. I have a hard time believing that taking those 12 elk out of the equation is going to help bring herds back within a matter of a few years. I also am extremely wary of advocating for complete closures unless you are dang certain that it is going to fix the problem, because once it's closed there's a good chance it doesn't open again. Especially when the numbers are still in the crapper despite said closures
The tribes never hunted these areas to the extent they currently do back before fish and game started managing the areas for quality bulls. It actually took several years before the tribes really caught onto how big of bulls were in these units and when they caught on they really started pounding them.
Quote from: Mtnwalker on November 05, 2021, 06:58:53 PMQuote from: Rainier10 on November 05, 2021, 06:28:41 PMQuote from: Mtnwalker on November 05, 2021, 06:16:50 PMQuote from: Rainier10 on November 05, 2021, 11:14:30 AMI would bet if they closed the unit down to hunting for one or two years they would rebound pretty quickly if everyone used that two years to just focus on predators.Are you talking about a specific unit or all of the blues in general?I am not familiar enough with that herd to know if just one unit would do it or if you would need to limit hunting in multiple units. My gut says multiple, if you close one it would just move the pressure to the surrounding units is how it typically works.I see. Harvest by recreational hunters is already pretty darn low in those units. Take Tucannon for example, 7 spikes, 5 branch bulls and 0 cows harvested last year by license holding hunters for a whopping 12 elk total. I have a hard time believing that taking those 12 elk out of the equation is going to help bring herds back within a matter of a few years. I also am extremely wary of advocating for complete closures unless you are dang certain that it is going to fix the problem, because once it's closed there's a good chance it doesn't open again. Especially when the numbers are still in the crapper despite said closuresWhat I keep hearing is tribal harvest is an issue. That is a dead end, nothing is going to happen there.Lots of comments about calf recruitment and predators.Limit the pressure on cows by limiting elk hunting hopefully less stress helps recruitment.Use that time off to aggressively hunt predators. Lower the predator numbers and increase calf recruitment.I have seen reduced hunting pressure in the units I am familiar with, colockum herd, result in a population boom. Nothing was done about native harvest either.So what are your thoughts for improving calf recruitment and improving herd numbers?
It cannot be cats according to Wdfws bear and cougar lead. "Habitat destruction and persecution, the same forces that eradicated the cat from the East, continue to threaten the existing populations in the West. (Rich Beausoleil, WDFW)"
WDFW needs to think outside the box. Predator hunting for cats isn't easy without dogs and bear hunting in august and September in the wilderness when there are many other things to hunt isn't real appealing either. So how do you get guys to put in the time and effort to hunt these predators to help get the numbers down? Bring back hounds is the best answer but I have no faith in our society to allow that to happen. I would double the spring bear tags atleast. The snow hangs in the Blues so late in the spring and access is so limited that unlimited spring tags on most years would not work in my opinion. Eliminate the cougar quota and wdfw could start a bounty program that either pays a dollar amount per lion brought in or better yet 5 bonus points per lion and you just created a free predator management program..!! Its not too late to save this once world class herd but its getting pretty grim....How long wdfw studies and drags their feet and allows themselves to get bullied by antis and predator lovers will determine its fate..