Well, time from turkey hunting was short this weekend, so I did not get to speak with Aaron in person, but we did have a good email exchange. I inquired about the CDAC members not showing up for the meetings and Aaron assured me he is just as upset as any of the rest of us about this situation. He relayed to me that they have discussed this with the current no-show members and have basically told them to start showing up regularly for every meeting or step aside. He also said they were actively looking for folks to fill in those positions that they know will show up for all the meetings, just in case anyone should decide to step down or not comply with the CDAC's request for regular attendance. Refreshing to hear at least, whether they actually follow through or not, at least they seem to be on top of resolving the issue at this time.
He also addressed the Farmland Zone number discrepancy and the lower harvest % numbers. He stated that the CDAC members had at length discussions on this with the DNR personnel and they attributed the discrepancy to a buck harvest anomaly that occurred that they had no historical information to gauge against. He couldn't remember exactly, but it had to do with the old units(54B/54B CWD) and when they switched from the regular to the CWD harvest designation and then the switch to the new county based units. He said that the DNR Reps sounded completely on the up and up about this and they seemed a bit embarrassed about the situation. He said the CDAC had no way to know for sure if they were blowing smoke, nor any way to verify what they were being told, but that the DNR Reps seemed to know what went wrong with the numbers they recommended and now they have 2 years of historical data to make future adjustments to the population numbers and harvest quotas. The DNR also now knows they are being watched closely on this situation. Aaron(nor his CDAC peers) does not believe there is any "funny business" involved on the part of the DNR(his exact words). That said, Aaron assured me that they were watching this situation very closely and would be using all this info and any other relevant metrics when it came time to readjust the "goals" for the next 3 year period. He didn't come right out and say it, but he eluded to the fact that if things didn't improve, the CDAC may ask for an "Increase" designation in the Farmland Zone for the next go around.
As far as the turkey hunt, we had a great time but did not harvest a bird in the 2 days we hunted. I was very surprised and happy with the number of deer(and turkeys) we saw in the areas near the lake from about the CTH A(Smith's Marine)/Hwy 80 south and east. The areas north of there from Hwy M in the west to the lake and up into Meadow Valley and the Necedah NWR had very few deer and turkey which was very disappointing.
