I See Trouble for 3-30.

[Hunterguy]

After hunting this area for 25 years i have see a huge decline in animals. The pine beetle has taken its toll on the animals and their amount of cover
along with the change in migratory routes. I understand thats just mother nature. I also saw a huge increase of hunting pressure due to the closing
of the deer rut in 5-2. November becomes a busier month for sure. Now I see that someone has decided from the Ministry that a cow and calf leh would
be good for that month [Nov] along with a leh for does and an leh for bull moose. as i said at the beginning this area has and will be slammed, i'm sure
someone will have stats to say this area can sustain that amount of pressure, i think not just my opinion, Yours?

[f350ps]

I'm pretty sure they had all those species on leh last year also. K

[ElliotMoose]

As mentioned above all those species were available in last years leh. It's a busy area for sure and the pine beetle has taken its toll but there is still a good population of animals. I think they gave out 12 cow/calf tags last year throughout the region which is very manageable. Starting to see a TON of wolf sign in there though.

[Good2bCanadian]

I shot a wolf there and have seen tons of sign

Wolf sign

[burger]

I shot a wolf there and have seen tons of sign


Shhh. There's nothing to see there....move along now!!

[dana]

So you have been hunting there for 25 years and just noticed the cow/calf Leh and antlerless muley doe LEH? Seriously??? I suggest you go back and look at previous LEH synopsis'! These seasons have been there for years! I have a hard time believing you truly have hunted 3-30 for as long as you say if you are just noticing these seasons now!

[Hunterguy]

Thanks Dana for such positive input i realize there has been draws there previously was just questioning wether it should continue S---- A--.

[burger]

So you have been hunting there for 25 years and just noticed the cow/calf Leh and antlerless muley doe LEH? Seriously??? I suggest you go back and look at previous LEH synopsis'! These seasons have been there for years! I have a hard time believing you truly have hunted 3-30 for as long as you say if you are just noticing these seasons now!


With from what I felt was higher than average temps during a lot of the moose season in 3-30, game was less visible since they stayed in the cooler usually tighter bushed areas which equates to less game being seen and more people travelling around looking for said game means no game to some.

Game is there ask Good2b.

[dana]

After hunting this area for 25 years i have see a huge decline in animals. Now I see that someone has decided from the Ministry that a cow and calf leh would
be good for that month [Nov] along with a leh for does and an leh for bull moose.

The way you wrote this, it sounds like Leh in the unit is a new thing. Thus my response.

I can assure you they have a good handle on the moose situation in the unit. As a matter of fact, there are actually several GPS collared cows in the unit in order to study exactly how they are doing. I actually got pictures of one collared cow last winter in the unit. Having worked in the unit for several recent winters, I can attest to the fact that the moose are actually doing much better there than in other units of Region 3. If you pay attention to LEH tag numbers from year to year you will see some units have had major cuts. Some down to just 1 tag per season. You might ask, if the numbers are that bad, why have a season at all. That is very simple. You get rid of a season, you will have a very hard time ever getting that season back in the future when numbers rebound. Best to keep the season and really limit the tags, because as they rebound, you can just increase the tag numbers instead of fighting political battles to reinstate a season from the past.

[Hunterguy]

Thankyou for that information, thats the kind of post I expected from you.

[Weatherby Fan]

Hunterguy,just the way you wrote your post had me asking the same question as dana only he beat me to it !

I have hunted the area over 30 years and I have agree with dana that ever since moose and the general doe season has closed we've had a healthy number of LEH draws for moose and MD does, I see this year there are a few less moose draws for single applicants,I didn't see if they moved them to the group hunts ?

IMHO if anything the MD population is as good as its ever been, WT deer showing up on the east side of 3-30 and moose is ok but I wouldn't say great and I don't think it has been for a long time.

I will say the mature MD Bucks seem to be harder to hunt in the last 10 years and seem to be very nocturnal, not sure if its due to hunting pressure or the fact that wolves have flooded into the area in the last 5 years from what Ive seen.

Just have to walk a little further from the truck is all and the hunting is good.

WF

[Good2bCanadian]

I've done 5 hunts in the area over the last 2 years. The more we hike, the more we see.
We have put boots on the ground looking for sign and areas and the game is there.

If we road hunt we don't see much.

Last November we started our tour of a new area in the truck looking for sign. Not much was seen. Just about 5 other trucks doing the same thing.
The next day we chose some of the forested areas we had seen and hiked a bit. Bingo game seen, lots of sign. We asked the other fellow that stuck to his truck, and he seen nothing.

Im a rookie hunter, with only a few years under my belt. I'm self taught with the help of others. I can truly say, I see more animals out of my truck, or off my quad, either hiking or spotting, than I do driving around.

Nothing against road hunting. Get out there and enjoy yourself.
I know how I'm gonna concentrate my efforts more this season.

Also I only know the current area, I don't know the history so I'm commenting accordingly.

[Bugle M In]

having region 5 closed during the peak rut has definitely created a MUCH higher load of hunters in 3- 30 3-29 etc.
I do hope that changes?? reopening Reg 5 sooner than later I hope??!!
It was really noticeable right from the get go, and traffic has been steady ever since.
Wolves have also impacted the area hard too, also a probable reason for seeing less deer.
Heavy logging has probably also impacted to some degree, some of the routes deer used to migrate thru...but they still do,
and over years as trees regrow, so will some of the routes.
Like they say " one thing that is always constant in life is change".
Might be time to hit one of those older places that weren't producing for years...maybe they are now??

[bigredchev]

i hunt 3-30 and after bumping into an older fellow two years ago who traps he said wolfs are increasing slowly but surely.

that area has a ton of road hunters, one of the most ive seen for areas. its close to the lml so lots of people go there due to easy access from home.


like any area, the more ya put in the more you get out. what really chaps me in when hunting in the slashes and valleys and you see a truck stop on the road a km or so away and glass the area you are hunting in. never liked that feeling.

[davet]

I've done 5 hunts in the area over the last 2 years. The more we hike, the more we see.
We have put boots on the ground looking for sign and areas and the game is there.

If we road hunt we don't see much.

Last November we started our tour of a new area in the truck looking for sign. Not much was seen. Just about 5 other trucks doing the same thing.
The next day we chose some of the forested areas we had seen and hiked a bit. Bingo game seen, lots of sign. We asked the other fellow that stuck to his truck, and he seen nothing.

Im a rookie hunter, with only a few years under my belt. I'm self taught with the help of others. I can truly say, I see more animals out of my truck, or off my quad, either hiking or spotting, than I do driving around.

Nothing against road hunting. Get out there and enjoy yourself.
I know how I'm gonna concentrate my efforts more this season.

Also I only know the current area, I don't know the history so I'm commenting accordingly.

I agree with you. I have been fishing and hunting that area for a few years now. and the more i get off the road and into the bush the more i see. The game has changed a bit and gone into hiding, probably due to forestry work, hunting pressure, and wolves