Hey Gord, I agree & as I said above "Muleys ending Oct. 31 has NOTHING to do with rutted up meat. Its protecting their numbers when they are most vulnerable." I didn't believe they actually said it had to do with bad tasting meat - that's ~all I eat & it's ridiculous if they did say it.
Committees are difficult, but I'm sure things politics will work themselves out. Rick has done a lot more than most people to help the wildlife in the area and definitely earned the right to comment.
I fully agree Canucks6
I agree LBM
Ungulate populations are under growing pressure from all sides. Habitat fragmentation, FSR road networks aiding predators & urban development of wintering grounds being some of the biggies. However, the biggest change that we've seen in the last couple of decades is the re-introduction of wolves.
The Kootenays has higher elevations with deeper snowpacks & large winter kill incidents that other areas like the Okanagan don't experience. Therefore, our management practices must differ & adjust for this. We have also had wolves for longer than the Okanagan. I have a feeling once the wolves move heavily there from Region 3 & 4, they will be singing a different tune...
I was shifting my focus out of hunting just when the wolves were starting to come into southern BC. With their reintroduction in Yellowstone & Idaho, I remember hearing about the wolves as they swept through regions in the states north & westward & how they seriously affected hunters. I gave up my favourite elk hunting spot in the East Kootenay, after we were greeted by wolves in camp & our only bugle responses were their howling. The trapper took 25 out of that valley the following winter & said there were just as many left with more coming north to replace them. Almost no elk tracks in there the next year...
I also vividly remember bowhunting near the border in the WK & seeing my first wolf face-to-face at ~70m. It is a cool experience to have their wildness as part of our ecosystem, but they are experts at what they do & would change hunting in an area for generations if left alone...
Our wildlife management is going to have to adjust & adapt to the new reality. We should do all that we can to help ease the pressure & protect our wildlife resources...