wetcoaster
01-19-2008, 12:32 PM
I rarely speak in regard to my profession on the web and to date on the hunting sites I frequent as there is always a critic (fair enough) and I find it can cloud the waters of my pastime a little. I am a consulting Wildife Bio and work out of the Lower Mainland and throughout the province on various issues.
Recent discussions I have had with population level scientists regarding waterfowl management in the Fraser Delta surprised the heck out of me as they seemed unaware of issues that hunters speak to often. While I can not speak to specifics (for obvious reasons) many Fraser Delta migratory (and as we all know resident) waterfowl populations are high. Recent discussions with managers and scientists seeking solutions had me flabergasted as they seemed puzzled as to why hunting in the region was proving an ineffective tool in managing these populations.
I explained that increases in bag limits and split seasons are good ideas but at base will be innefective without increased opportunity. I went on to point out that through private land inaccessibility, the development of the foreshore and margins of the ALR, municipal no shooting bylaws, public persecution of local hunters and a general large hassle factor in licensing and becoming a new hunter the problem is not how many birds the few hunters are able to shoot but is in fact that there is to few opportunities and to few hunters to shoot them. The few areas actually open to and conducive to hunting receive pressure and therefore with so much adjacent refuge habitat can not be effective in controlling the populations. In effect the Fraser Valley and Delta has become the largest duck preserve in Canada.
I suggested that if managers hope to effectively control populations long term through recreational hunting as has been effective in the past, for starters they will need to work with local municipalities to relax hunting related no shooting bylaws, create insentives for private landowners to provide opportunities for hunters, launch a public education/ information program serving as advocates for hunters as important pieces in the wildlife management structure and work toward streamlining the licensing process related to firearms and hunting.
The lack of resource users among agency personnel responsible for managing populations is increasing proportional to the overall drop in the number of hunters. This should be a concern to all hunters as it leads to a lack of balance and knowledge in management priority among those responsible for maintaining the populations that support our way of life.
Recent discussions I have had with population level scientists regarding waterfowl management in the Fraser Delta surprised the heck out of me as they seemed unaware of issues that hunters speak to often. While I can not speak to specifics (for obvious reasons) many Fraser Delta migratory (and as we all know resident) waterfowl populations are high. Recent discussions with managers and scientists seeking solutions had me flabergasted as they seemed puzzled as to why hunting in the region was proving an ineffective tool in managing these populations.
I explained that increases in bag limits and split seasons are good ideas but at base will be innefective without increased opportunity. I went on to point out that through private land inaccessibility, the development of the foreshore and margins of the ALR, municipal no shooting bylaws, public persecution of local hunters and a general large hassle factor in licensing and becoming a new hunter the problem is not how many birds the few hunters are able to shoot but is in fact that there is to few opportunities and to few hunters to shoot them. The few areas actually open to and conducive to hunting receive pressure and therefore with so much adjacent refuge habitat can not be effective in controlling the populations. In effect the Fraser Valley and Delta has become the largest duck preserve in Canada.
I suggested that if managers hope to effectively control populations long term through recreational hunting as has been effective in the past, for starters they will need to work with local municipalities to relax hunting related no shooting bylaws, create insentives for private landowners to provide opportunities for hunters, launch a public education/ information program serving as advocates for hunters as important pieces in the wildlife management structure and work toward streamlining the licensing process related to firearms and hunting.
The lack of resource users among agency personnel responsible for managing populations is increasing proportional to the overall drop in the number of hunters. This should be a concern to all hunters as it leads to a lack of balance and knowledge in management priority among those responsible for maintaining the populations that support our way of life.