Reg 5 immature bulls

[Russell]

Anyone have any connections up in reg 5 know if they will be opening up immature bulls next year. Been hunting up there since the 70's and it sure sucks having to hunt a different area for my moose. Yeah , the draw gods hate my hairy butt . Russ

[oldtimer]

Won't be open if the Natives have any say. Mike

[CHilko21]

Well we only had the LEH hunts here (5-2) this year so I don't know what the plan is this year. Apparently the natives on the other side of the fraser will starve if anyone hunts the moose over there( I'm rolling my eyes right now) so we'll see what happens I guess.

[tomigunz]

I had a bull leh draw in 5-2a this year and got a immature in the first hour, seems like their alot of moose around. Hopefuly the natives back off for next year!

[Beagie Boy]

We had a group leh in 5-2 c this year and the one I got was also a immature after we cut the second tag we saw two more immaturs so sure dosent look like ther is a shortig of them

[Dayto]

By far my best moose trips have been in region 5 , nothing better then having all the game down on the second day and speand the rest fishing in all the little lake's , then going to see foster at the Oasis Pub.. cant get any better.

[abbyfireguy]

Hunted the 5-13,6-1,7-11 triangle for 25 yrs....Region 5 has been hard hit with native complaints that are listened to with no thought to reasoning,just because they say so....
SAD REALLY.....

Region 5 has the moose issue, us poor saps in the Fraser Valley have the salmon inequality. Welcome to the country of dual standards and no integrity for regulating bodies...
Don't do what's right,do what's politically correct...
Hope they don't get too many slivers up their a$$es from sittng on the fence...:frown: :mad:
As you can tell, I have some issues that bug the crap out of me.....

[Russell]

Are there no natives in Reg 7 it seems that area is hit a lot harder now that general season has been shut down in 5. Has anybody got any idea who calls the shots on this and if you do whats his/her phone number. Maybe if we caused him enough grief things will change.

[Jagermeister]

We had an immature opening in 2004 because the resident hunters had a petition circulated just after the close of the 2003 hunting season asking for one. There was an overwhelming response to this petition and the result was an immature season for 2004.

Part way through the immature opening, the Indians in the Chilcotin were rallied and threatened to shutdown the government offices in Williams Lake if the opening was not rescinded. The Indians' reasoning was that they were not consulted in this decision to open an immature season, (somehow they think it's their devine right to "manage" an animal that is not indigenous to the area). Never the less, this action coerced the government to immediately curtail the opening on the west side of the Fraser River to appease the Indians. And to date, there have been no further openings for immature moose on any side of the Fraser in Region 5.

In the above paragraph, I used the words, "were ralled". My opinion is that the CCGOA stirred the Indians into this threat of action, however, I do not any evidence that supports this opinion.

The long and short of it is, if we want an opening for immature moose, we will again, have to raise that issue in a united front, as it seems that only a concerted effort will bring change.

Here's a little historical data.
In 1981, Ken Childs, the regional biologist from Prince George, at the insistance of the BCGOA, institued a LEH regulation for Region 7A. This just didn't come happenstance, the Guides retained a Dr. Bebenic, world renowned expert on moose management to conduct a study of moose in Region 7A. Dr Bebenic's findings were that the average age of bulls in the region had declined to 4-5 years and that the age of bulls should be 7-9 years to be conducive to productive breeding. These findings were presented at meetings held throughout the region, including Region 5, paid for by the guides and outfitters. At the onset of this change, there was an immature opening for the entire season and it continues to this day.

At that time, it was brought to Harold Mitchell, Region 5 wildlife biologist, that it would be prudent to implement the same changes to the Cariboo, as hunting pressures would increase were the season openings to remain as before. Harold's decision was status quo and indeed, hunting pressures increased. Those that hunted Region 7A reverted to Region 5 because of the more liberal openings. Sadly, Harold Mitchell was killed in a helicopter crash a year later while surveying mountain goat on the inside of the coast range. His successor implemented change, but it was a different model to the one used to the north and all it did was put further pressure on an already dwindling moose population.

Here's the good news.
I predict that there will be a moose population explosion throughout Regions 5, 6 and 7A and to some extent Regions 3 and 8 within the next 5 to 10 years. The reason for this will be the increased habitat suitable to moose currently being generated by the harvesting of the immense area of beetle kill forest. I further predict that there will be a serious decline in moose populations if the wildlife managers fail to keep said populations in check. I also believe we will see an increase in elk populations in these regions as well. This is just my opinion and is backed by nothing more than my sheer imagination. So, have at it!

[3kills]

hopefully if all goes well i will be hunting moose in quesnal area next year on a leh...but it would be nice to see the immature season open again...

[oldtimer]

Jagermeister ... couldn't agree more !! And if you remember, another reason the Indians gave was that they didn't have a good fish harvest and needed the moose for sustenance and ceremonial feasts. This should read too lazy to fish !!!!!
There is a guide outfitter up here by the name of Darrell Collins and in an article in the paper he said his group lists the main concerns of his group was 1. conservation 2. First Nations 3. resident hunters 4. guides
Well isn't that just sooooooooo politically correct !!!! I wonder if the reasoning is that they want the first nations on their side and also use them as guides and packers. Just my thoughts Mike