Game and fish agencies have undeniably improved populations of game animals due to regulating their harvest and reintroduction, not habitat manipulation.
No, I don't think quail populations would rebound just by closing seasons. It would take that on top of other methods.
But, I also know that if game and fish agencies weren't there to enforce regulations, we wouldn't have nearly the amount of game animals we do now. We complain now about baiting, rifles, crossbows, and lots more. Just think what would happen if none of that was regulated. We wouldn't see deer or turkeys for the most part.
Game and fish agencies can't manage land use or management on private properties, but they can regulate the take. We need that. Land use of private property is where the property owners come into play. If you fill a 1200 acre farm full of strip malls, parking lots, houses, hotels, and gas stations, the number of game animals using it will drastically decrease.
We need both private and public entities working together to have game animals. Take either out of the equation, and game animals are toast.
I am saying g&f can manage deer, elk, bear, gators, - mainly big game through regulation. These animals will respond positively or negatively to changing regulations. If g&f bans doe harvest - deer will become so numerous they can be a hazard. They can shorten season and fewer deer will be killed
And I will admit - turkeys can be benefitted somewhat by regulation in that those regulations MIGHT prevent them from being killed out - but unlike deer or bears or gators - g&f has not been able recently to regulate them into increased populations like they can deer or bears. No doubt untold turkeys in our state are illegally taken at corn feeders - it is a very rare occurrence for someone to be caught. Quail are same way, as are rabbits, and ducks.
I am just saying there are species that g&f can successfully manage through regulations only. And there are species they can not manage successfully through regulation - that require habitat manipulation - and the landowner has to do that. Yes - a gw can catch a poacher here or there - but it probably does not affect the overall population.
G&f could easily increase the deer population and quality strictly through regulation. They have tried all sorts of regulation recently and not been effective at increasing turkey populations. Same with quail. Same with ducks. They cant regulate a lot of these species into population increases like they do deer and bears.
I have a 62 acre tract of land that backs up to a 27,000 acre NWR where the turkeys used to be so numerous I couldnt hardly grow food plots because the turkeys would eat all the seed 20 years ago. The NWR has very restrictive regs. You cant be on the refuge with a gun - or even just ammo - outside of their limited seasons. The turkey season is two days, quota only, no baiting. The refuge is actively patrolled with their own enforcement staff. There was not a turkey killed this year - because there arent hardly any. They have basically died out over the past ten years even with very restrictive regulations and active enforcement. They do no turkey management.
Likewise, the deer population used to be very good - for decent quantity and good quality. Both quality and quantity started declining about eight years ago - deer harvest regulations were made more restrictive - and the deer hunting is improving. They do no deer management.
There are no quail - although there used to be. There is no quail season anymore.
When I bought my place - we killed three or four bucks and five or six does off 350 acres. There were quite a few days during the season when you wouldnt see a deer. And we killed way less than what the law would allow. We made our own regulations a little over ten years ago. No bucks except for a nice racked mature buck. No does - period. We dropped to shooting a buck or two a year and no does. We did not kill a doe for seven years. Many days we now see 20 deer. We pass multiple bucks. We kill four or five deer a year. We have a good deer population and good quality in spite of g&f regulations. My 1200 acre neighbor who has a ton of deer and they kill a 150” deer every year was told by g&f he needed to reduce his deer density - and especially his does - which he didnt do. He has great hunting in spite of g&f regulations and recommendations.
I am not anti g&f at all. Like I said - we let a gw hunt our lease. I just think they are largely limited in their ability to positively manipulate a lot of game populations that have specific habitat requirements - like quail and turkey - primarily because they dont have the funding and manpower to improve millions of acres of private land.
