Whitetail doe season... is it time to take end it?

[Husky7mm]

Nope, I've seen them winter in Old Growth ICH in Blue River. Can't get much deeper snow than what Blue gets. They are not near a resilent to the wolves as has been preached on this site though. Thus the reason for our concern for a overly liberal season that has been going for 8 seasons now. Would have thought such a season would have been fairly tempory. Not a long term management strategy. IMO if we keep up the current regs, we are indeed managing to zero. We will not have much to hunt. We are already there with moose and muleys are not that far behind. Whitetails are suckholing but I know the pockets where I can find them. If we keep up the Liberal season, I may as well just raise my own beef and stay home. Hunting isn't that pleasurable. You want to talk about hunter recruitment? You are loosing good hunters that don't see the point anymore. And do you think kids are keen to go out and see nothing time and time again? And giving the BS that hunters need to change how the hunt blah blah blah doesn't account for the fact that well experienced hunters are finding things extremely difficult. How is a newbie finding it? You guys ranted and raved about hunter recruitment but when those new hunters can't find anything to hunt, they need to suck it up and hunt harder? Really? That is indeed the message being preached on this site. Encouraging ain't it? Managing to zero seems to be the goal. Zero hunters.

Yes, I said it long ago and was scofted hunter "opportunity" will cost hunters there "opportunities". When the new found fair weathered friends throw in the towel and the hunters that live and breath it say fack it, where will we be?

[Wild one]

Yes, I said it long ago and was scofted hunter "opportunity" will cost hunters there "opportunities". When the new found fair weathered friends throw in the towel and the hunters that live and breath it say fack it, where will we be?

No doubt many are reaching a breaking point

[blacklab]

Are northern Region 3 snow depths generally too high for good whitey habitat??

I doubt it. I've seen white tail at the north end of Takla lake in the winter with 6 feet of snow.

[blacklab]

Our antlerless seasons here in reg8 are longer, sure we may have a bag limit of one wt doe, but we have the either sex bow season, which reg3 does not..

Why stop there? Don't you think that's a bit selfish, when you have 30 some thousand more deer than region 3.
Just think of all the opportunity.

[bownut]

Nope, I've seen them winter in Old Growth ICH in Blue River. Can't get much deeper snow than what Blue gets. They are not near a resilent to the wolves as has been preached on this site though. Thus the reason for our concern for a overly liberal season that has been going for 8 seasons now. Would have thought such a season would have been fairly tempory. Not a long term management strategy. IMO if we keep up the current regs, we are indeed managing to zero. We will not have much to hunt. We are already there with moose and muleys are not that far behind. Whitetails are suckholing but I know the pockets where I can find them. If we keep up the Liberal season, I may as well just raise my own beef and stay home. Hunting isn't that pleasurable. You want to talk about hunter recruitment? You are loosing good hunters that don't see the point anymore. And do you think kids are keen to go out and see nothing time and time again? And giving the BS that hunters need to change how the hunt blah blah blah doesn't account for the fact that well experienced hunters are finding things extremely difficult. How is a newbie finding it? You guys ranted and raved about hunter recruitment but when those new hunters can't find anything to hunt, they need to suck it up and hunt harder? Really? That is indeed the message being preached on this site. Encouraging ain't it? Managing to zero seems to be the goal. Zero hunters.

Like I said before, I wonder if someone looked back at all the past Increased Opportunity Resolutions from the clubs in region 8, would there be a common thread. When Jesse was hired to get the hunter numbers back up,
the Regs. started changing. Now that we are where we are does everyone truly feel that the population is sustaining it's numbers. As you said Experienced hunters are seeing the declining trend. The average deer taken to the meat cutters
has gotten smaller, and The Harvest Count can no way be holding. Goes to show how well our system works for taking inventory. Maybe counting resident game in farmers fields and the city limits will be the new policy and practice for defining healthy game populations.
We can only rely on WT's having twins for so long, that 60 day Antlerless Season is tanking out the numbers. I don't care how you add it up.

[Ourea]

We can only rely on WT's having twins for so long, that 60 day Antlerless Season is tanking out the numbers. I don't care how you add it up.

Bownut, having twins and triplets is simply what WT do.....what they have always done and what they will continue to do. You can bank on that.

In numerous areas elk, moose and MD are on the skid with no doe or cow season.
WT numbers are relatively stable despite the 'slaughter' of does.

You said, "Average deer weight is down at the meat cutters".
If there are way fewer WT as a result of the doe season there should be less competition for food.
Deer should be healthier not smaller. Habitat is what puts food in a deer's belly and impacts their health and size, not regulation. Something to think about.

Just trying to understand/digest some of the comments on this thread.

[Fisher-Dude]

Like I said before, I wonder if someone looked back at all the past Increased Opportunity Resolutions from the clubs in region 8, would there be a common thread. When Jesse was hired to get the hunter numbers back up,
the Regs. started changing. Now that we are where we are does everyone truly feel that the population is sustaining it's numbers. As you said Experienced hunters are seeing the declining trend. The average deer taken to the meat cutters
has gotten smaller, and The Harvest Count can no way be holding. Goes to show how well our system works for taking inventory. Maybe counting resident game in farmers fields and the city limits will be the new policy and practice for defining healthy game populations.
We can only rely on WT's having twins for so long, that 60 day Antlerless Season is tanking out the numbers. I don't care how you add it up.

Harvest is increasing.

How many times have we had to correct you on that? Do you think if you just keep repeating it often enough, people will believe you?

[horshur]

When did the harvest stats regarding moose tell managers there was an issue Fish? You were flogging that dead horse so long the buzzards were circling.
There are two arguments here...one is whether the region three two doe limit is rational. Two the one doe limit in Okanogan. ..I can't comment on region 8 or the adjacent region 3 Mu's. Only thing I can comment is northern region 3 never had many whitetail...has even less now. All are ungulates are tanked. Beggars can't be choosers we would gladly have a higher whitetail population for "hunter opportunity"....

The wolf population has proven to be a great boon for harvest opportunities..wolf hunting has never been better. But they make poor soup.

[Fisher-Dude]

When did the harvest stats regarding moose tell managers there was an issue Fish? You were flogging that dead horse so long the buzzards were circling.

You're making up stories again.

Harvest stats in region 8 for moose kept going up, then we counted the moose and found the population had more than doubled since the last count 8 - 10 years earlier.

But don't let that derail a good bullshit spew.

[Wild one]

You're making up stories again.

Harvest stats in region 8 for moose kept going up, then we counted the moose and found the population had more than doubled since the last count 8 - 10 years earlier.

But don't let that derail a good bullshit spew.

Seen no mention of region 8 moose in his post. 8 is one of the few areas in BC moose are doing well at this time

Now this might seem crazy but could he be referring to the moose decline throughout most of B.C. or is this just a BS story

Or maybe the North Thompson which I know the bio will agree moose are on the decline

I guess he could have been clearer on where but it is plain as day region 8 was not specifically mentioned regarding moose

Or is this just BS