Hunter Managed Herds

[bat man]

At the MNBowhunters board meeting tonight I got the green light to form a sub committee on a 'Hunter Managed Herds' education/fundraiser/seminar concept. Some volunteered but I told them a more qualified group already existed.

I asked the board several questions about BCC, maximum sustained yield etc and they were blank but intrigued.

Planning a power point with video/stats/plans etc to present to groups on managing at the local level.

Much of what was hashed out on this and the forum that should be doing this sort of thing will be included.

Planning to try a pilot night with the Rochester Archery Club, which is our only remaining 100% member club. Deer, short movies, beer, Q&A.

Great opp to expand what MDDI has started across more of MN.

Money is power. Knowledge is power. This concept could combine the 2.

Nobody else will be doing this and it needs to be done.

I will be hitting many of you up for help as it moves fwd.

 

[biglakeba$$]

10-4

 

[Freeborn]

Great Idea. let me know how I can help.

 

[MoLandOwner]

Great concept Brooks! Once again, you are on to something!

 

[Freeborn]

Here we go, Brooks in action.

 

[bat man]

What's the goal? Formation/growth of co-ops?

Current coops have a heavy focus on buck protection. It about killed ours. Arming areas hunters with herd monitoring/management tools (camera survey techniques etc) and the knowledge to put info to work will spawn coops for certain. Formal or informal.

Very few hunters realize anything about the impact of the trigger/arrow.

It could also help with the collection of hunter based herd collection data that the DNR would likely try and dismiss, but won't be able to.

MN has no group that is arming the states hunters with herd mgmt knowledge. Why QDMA is not doing it is a mystery, or maybe not. The concept could spur some major changes.

 

[bwoods11]

Sounds like a good idea!

 

[Riggsgwp->]

Brooks you need to get a paid position as a writer for Outdoor News. Weekly column on herd management techniques and info. :)

 

[West Branch]

Sounds good Brooks! Let me know what I can do to help when the time comes.

 

[bat man]

Just penned the following to the deer team at DNR. Some of the DNR that frequent this forum will actually read it here before they get it on their email. Will keep all posted. We tried getting some of this type of info from the DNR earlier and they refused to help us out. Time to mine it ourselves and share it with the masses. If the DNR choose not to be a part of the process, we may accomplish nothing, or they may find a lot of hot pockets springing up across the state.

Gino,

Kicking around the idea of starting 'Hunter Managed Herds' seminar series geared to arm interested parties with info on BCC, Max sustained yield, harvest planning, appropriate adult doe harvest, exclusion cages, trail camera surveys, doe home ranges etc etc.

I will lean on you guys some to double check fact sets, and the goal will be to help guys that want more deer on their parcel have the info to manage for such, and likely form formal or loose coops promoting the process.

The new social process and corresponding 'perception' based management style is not satisfactory for many of us, and we are going to do what we can to use science at the local level to put the herds where we would like them to be in our backyards.

You had sent me some maps etc from aerial flights, and I was wondering if you gave any graphics that show how the deer are not evenly spaced across the landscape. 45 dpsm here and 2 dpsm here etc.

Do you have any such maps or something I can manipulate?

Brooks Johnson

 

[MoLandOwner]

He ain't going to like that! No one from the DNR will!

 

[biglakeba$$]

Should be public data. Nothing they can hide. Like it or not.

 

[wiscwhip]

Heck, Grund told me to start working with my neighbors if I wanted better hunting. This type of movement is simply following one of the DNR top dog's advice

He may have advised you to do it, by no means did he ever think anyone would actually follow up on it!:eek:

 

[wiscwhip]

Well...that would be his problem, right? :D

Yes, yes it most certainly would! :eek:;):D

 

[Steve Bartylla]

I don't know if this will help or not, but, after a quick glance at this thread, I thought the latest ep of Grow `em Big may be a teaching tool for this project?????

 

[bat man]

I've said it a number of times...if hunters ever were able to band together and start managing herds ourselves, the DNR would then be in the position hunters currently occupy...that being one of little to no power. Want the DNR to be a willing partner in managing the herd? Take their power away

Leslie did tell me I needed to find a different avenue for solving my deer problems.

These guys made their own bed as far as I am concerned. We went down a ton of roads trying to work with them and were met with arrogance, manipulations and outright lies.

Let guys know how many deer an area can hold and harvest every year and compare it to what is there now, and my guess is that in many areas guys will see the light and change will come.

 

[bat man]

I don't know if this will help or not, but, after a quick glance at this thread, I thought the latest ep of Grow `em Big may be a teaching tool for this project?????

Great clip Steve. Laymans terms. Consider it pirated.

 

[Steve Bartylla]

I'll be honest. Using big words and citing all sorts of cryptic research makes a person sound really smart. If you want them to understand what you are saying, Keep It Simple Stupid works by far best for me, and is almost always the most effective route to getting something done.

 

[MoLandOwner]

Steve, In Missouri, I am in one of the hotest pockets there is with either side of 100 dpsm, and now went from unlimited permits to only one doe permit per hunter. Other than letting 50 guys hunt on my place per year, Your theory of when to shoot doe's will work elsewhere, but not here anymore. I have to continue to create as much habitat as possible, but now focus on more and more browse and full season food sources as possible. I like your comment about bucks being in a high stress environment, and not liking it with too many deer around, and that is very true, but they seemed to have adapted very well with incredible numbers here for some reason. Cool Video, thanks for sharing.

 

[bwoods11]

In the past two seasons I have noticed (due to fewer doe permits and nice winters) we are seeing more deer on my farms in Pope County/MN. I did not think it would turn around this fast. Right now it is tough to grow soybeans and corn on one of my farm ---getting hit hard in a high pocket of deer area.

It is still not where it should be for the county, but it's getting slightly better. (Still not many good bucks though:oops:)