MN Deer Plan Must have Components

[bat man]

Going to try get Anderson to do a story or 2 on what makes a deer plan work. I need a list of must have components. The components will be brought to our elected for implementation by the DNR.

Please add items a legitimate plan must have.

Measurable goals (harvest, hunter satisfaction, collisions, depredation)
Anterless allocation guidelines based on harvest numbers (below goal minimal or no doe tags)
Annual Hunter satisfaction surveys
Annual collected hunter observation data
Hot spot tool box
Public vs private anterless tags
Hunter effort collection (days per kill)
Potential geographic vs road based unit boundaries (ag vs forest /metro vs rural lines)
3 year performance reviews
Area managers don't set harvest allocations

 

[wiscwhip]

We got all that!;) As long as our Governor doesn't screw us! I don't really know of anything off the top of my head that jumps out other than the fact that your Area Managers have way to much power and authority over setting herd goals, there should have to be some type of standards as to how far they can go with herd reductions in individual areas. Our County Wildlife Biologists make "herd recommendations", they do not set the quotas.

 

[wiscwhip]

One other thing does come to mind that I feel could be very important to your "hot zone" issues. We now have some units in WI that are split in half using the consideration of Forest vs Farmland as the primary habitat in the area. I have thought all along that this could be a huge help in managing populations throughout large areas of MN, especially in zones with mixed habitats. It also helps distribute the tag allocations more evenly and in the right areas of a zone to prevent numbers issues, whether they be too many or too few deer. This habitat split coupled with the Private vs Public tags should help immensely.

 

[bwoods11]

I like the idea of private vs. public tags. We should have some control as landowners in MN to either manage farms...or back off the does so the population can rebound.

 

[wiscwhip]

Stu, I assume you were outside the Dane Co Metro unit when you owned down there, correct?

 

[Terrific_tom]

The length of the plan in years. 1, 3, 5, 10 ? The shorter the better. If longer than 3 years that it can be brought to table for revision. This is probably the reason that Northern Wisconsin deer herd is in the trouble that it is in. Wisconsin has now went to 3 year recommendations with the DTR overhaul.

 

[biglakeba$$]

The most important piece of this plan..... who owns the plan and who loses their job if the plan doesnt match the populations/harvest?

Without ownership, its just another book on the shelf gathering dust......

 

[wiscwhip]

Wisconsin has now went to 3 year recommendations with the DTR overhaul.

TT, I thought I saw in the webcast that they decided to go yearly on this? I know it was brought up in the meeting, but I can't remember how they voted on it? I can't access the d*mn webcast right now to double check. I get sent to some error page that says it is not available?

 

[Terrific_tom]

TT, I thought I saw in the webcast that they decided to go yearly on this? I know it was brought up in the meeting, but I can't remember how they voted on it? I can't access the d*mn webcast right now to double check. I get sent to some error page that says it is not available?

I thought it was 3 years with the ability to change the amount of antlerless tags on a yearly basis. The decrease, maintain or increase was for 3 years. If they changed it I missed it.

 

[wiscwhip]

You could be correct, I may be thinking of the quota adjustments. I still can't get the webcast to play. I thought the tags allotment changes were year to year to start with? So if it is what you are saying, that was the original plan to begin with, which makes sense that they didn't really change anything where all that is concerned.

 

[wiscwhip]

Either way, TT is correct, make them spell out how often they plan on doing the readjustments to the plan, and as he said the shorter the timespan the better. Some type of ability to adjust on the fly is needed, especially with MN winters.

 

[leexrayshady]

3 yr max arial counts
minnimum hunter success rates (zone specific)

 

[Jakarta]

Watch the hot spot issue. To be a considered a hot spot the area must be large. At least a couple thousand acres. In southern mn I have witnessed populations be decimated due to a anterless park hunts. Three or four mile migrations are not uncommon here. If they all get shot in the hot spot they don't return.