The overarching management direction we take from this survey is that hunters are generally satisfied with the status quo but are also generally dissatisfied with hunter crowding and the abundance of bucks, but recognize that a trade-off exists between hunting opportunity and the abundance of bucks. When considering buck harvest management approaches for Region 3 the majority of hunters would prefer to see current seasons maintained and focus on implementing other management actions (e.g., access management, habitat enhancement, winter range protection and predator management, etc.) to benefit mule deer and mule deer hunting. If hunting pressure and buck harvests need to be reduced through regulatory options, modification of the provincial bag limit was the preferred approach.
The following are a summary of the main conclusions derived from the survey:
Current Management Considerations
1. The majority of Region 3 mule deer hunters are dissatisfied with the abundance of bucks in Region 3, and Bonaparte GMZ hunters are more satisfied than Nicola GMZ hunters, but the majority of hunters are satisfied with their hunting success and nearly 70% desired to maintain current buck ratio objectives and current seasons for bucks, likely in recognition of the trade-off that exists between hunting opportunity and buck abundance. A high proportion of those hunters (~50%) also identified that non-regulatory and regulatory management actions (habitat enhancement, access management, and predator management) should be implemented to benefit buck hunting. Further, although hunters expressed dissatisfaction with the number of bucks and mature bucks, very few hunters desired to see buck harvest management approaches that would promote a high abundance of mature bucks (i.e., trophy management) or provide for an overall lower abundance of bucks.
2. The majority of Region 3 mule deer hunters are dissatisfied with the level of hunter crowding they experience in Region 3 but only 45% of hunters desired to see more access management in the region. We suspect there was difficulty in interpreting this term because we did not define what access management encompasses (i.e., physical road management vs. Wildlife Act regulation). Future hunter surveys of this nature should clearly define this term to better understand hunter desires.
3. The highest level of support for broad management approaches to assist with managing buck harvests was for modification of provincial bag limits. The patterns of buck harvest suggest that black-tailed deer harvest should be considered when developing provincial bag limits designed to reduce mule deer buck harvests to have maximum effect. A relatively high proportion of Region 3 mule deer hunters (> 40%) indicate they hunt mule and/or black-tailed deer bucks in
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multiple regions, which is important to understand to assess effects of provincial bag limits on harvests and pressure.
4. The majority of Region 3 mule deer hunters are satisfied with current “Any Buck” and “ 4 Point Buck” season structures and do not want to see them shorter or longer. The majority of Region 3 mule deer hunters do not want to see a longer youth season for mule deer.
5. The majority of Region 3 mule deer hunters desire to see maintenance of current levels of antlerless hunting for mule deer in Region 3 but a relatively high proportion (nearly 30%) desired to see increased antlerless hunting.
6. The majority of Region 3 mule deer hunters are satisfied with the number of deer they see in Region 3 and the overall quality of mule deer hunting in Region 3. Satisfaction is higher for hunters in the Bonaparte GMZ than the Nicola GMZ.
7. The majority of Region 3 mule deer hunters are satisfied with current harvest levels for white-tailed deer and over 50% of hunters believe more should be harvested. Approximately 15% of Region 3 mule deer hunters believe harvests of white-tailed deer should be reduced.
Future Management Considerations
1. The majority of Region 3 mule deer hunters believe more management focus should be directed at habitat protection and management (i.e., winter range), habitat enhancement and predator management.
2. The majority of Region 3 mule deer hunters would rather see adjacent regions liberalize their seasons to harmonize as opposed to Region 3 restricting mule deer seasons, but if season restrictions were to be implemented in Region 3, the highest level of support was to modify November seasons as opposed to October seasons. Within November, the highest support was for implementing a rut closure from November 11th-20th as opposed to shortening seasons to November 10th (similar to Region 4 &
or 30th(similar to Region 5).
3. The age distribution of Region 3 mule deer hunters suggest mule deer hunter numbers could significantly decline in the future (~8% under age of 30; ~65% over the age of 50).
4. Trail cameras appear to be used by a minor number of hunters and not likely to be of management concern at this point.