Gunnison CDOW Meeting Tomorrow

[crestedbutte]

Heads Up!

The Colorado Division of Wildlife has scheduled a public meeting to
discuss big-game management and license numbers for 2007 in the
Gunnison area.

Wildlife officers and biologists will talk about the status and health of deer
and elk in the region and discuss proposed harvest numbers for next falls
hunting seasons.

The public is invited to ask questions and discuss issues of concern.

The meeting will be held on Thursday, March 29 at the Gunnison DOW
office at 300 W. New York Ave. From 10 a.m.-noon, DOW wildlife
managers will address game management units 54, 55 and 551; from 1-3
p.m., game management units 66 and 67 will be discussed.

Keep us posted on what is discussed. I am especially interested in Unit 55
and any feedback will be greatly appreciated. -CB-

 

[NoBark]

Any way to get an audio copy, a copy of the minutes or listen via conference????????

 

[crestedbutte]

Great question...don't know, but in case there is no one out there that can update us via the forum...I am going to contact CDOW and the Gunnison office to see if I can get my hands on a copy or audio of the meeting minutes. We'll see? If I find out any of the specifics, I will definitely keep you posted. -CB-

 

[rocketman]

I went to the meeting yesterday in Gun. About 25 people
attended and the biologist Brandon Diamond ran the
meeting. An 11 page brochure was passed out with
bull cow calf and deer ratios. The last 3 years
was included to show trends and this years counts
as well. Lic numbers for all draw species were
included. A summary, elk numbers way over
objective in 54 near objective in the other 4 units.
Good bull kills in all 5 units. 66 a slight downward
trend on this years count. Calf ratios excellent
and of course they wintered very well this year.
deer at upper end of objective for all 5 units.
There will be 40 more total deer tags in unit 54,
55 more in unit 55-551 and 70 more in units 66-67.
For deer and elk they are in excellent shape from the heavy sum-fall moisture and the mild winter. Roy in Montrose

 

[lostinOregon]

Thanks Rocketman for the information, I appreciate it.

Rich

 

[crestedbutte]

Rocketman,
Thanks. Good to know more tags allocated for Unit 55...it could be the difference in hunting this year or next? -CB-

 

[Colorado_Ryan]

Any thoughts on these? I ask the question, are we over harvesting the big bucks in the basin?

 

[Colorado_Ryan]

The graph above is total buck harvest from the DOW stats.

Below is the total buck tags in unit 54.

 

[MuskegMan]

Wonder why Garth keeps pushing 54 so hard. With a near 3x increase in tags, its fate is pretty much sealed.

 

[Colorado_Ryan]

One last on. Total buck tags for unit 54 and 55. The data is from the recap stats and drawing summaries on http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/BigGame/Statistics/

 

[Colorado_Ryan]

Makes you wonder why he down graded unit 55... With the effect they "huntin fool" has on applicants I wonder if they sometimes down grade units on purpose. A couple of years ago they didn't even list one of the better sheep units in MT that was newly open to nonres.

 

[Colorado_Ryan]

Last one and then I am done....

Note: Excluded 1st season in 1999 (240 tags) and 4th season last year (30 tags)

 

[Waygoner]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-04-07 AT 01:17PM (MST)[p]On the graphs it appears the tag numbers are increasing dramatically, but you really have to consider how the numbers compare to the total animals in the units. A jump from 300 to 450 isn't much if you're talking about a population of 4000-5000 deer. I didn't make it to the meeting, but at meeting last year the DOW stated the deer population is over objective. The vegetation can't support the numbers of deer and elk in the basin and the herd sizes have to be reduced. A tag increase is the logical answer.

 

[Colorado_Ryan]

Waygoner -

I agree completely the entire picture needs to be evaluated ? buck:doe ratios, population objective, social conflicts, etc. I just wanted to put some info up for a health discussion.

I am not trying to incriminate or attack anyone. I was just surprised by the increase in tags.

 

[Waygoner]

Based on what I've learned from attending the local meetings, the DOW is really concerned about the deer herds being over objective. A few years of drought combined with too many animals has really hit the vegetation hard. Point creep might be a factor too. A few more tags in the 4th season might loosen that up a bit. I think we can expect the tags keep increasing until they are close to objectives.

I moved here in 1999 and I'm still waiting to draw my first tag. This might be the year, I put in for 3rd season in 67.

 

[crestedbutte]

Ryan,
Thanks for sharing the graphs. It really enables one to see the overall picture or trend the last few years. Unit 54 really spiked in a dramatic way and don't know if that was good or bad for 54, obviously not good enough for the CDOW since per the info. supplied from the recent meeting they are bumping up the number of tags available in that unit to an additional 40, however not sure how many of those 40 extra tags are for does vs. bucks.
I personally hunt in Unit 55 and like what I see in your attached graphs which is a steady controlled increase vs. a dramatic increase like 54 has witnessed the last couple of years. Hope the hunting in 54 is all you hoped it would be since you applied for 4th season unit 54 w/ 12 pref. points. Thanks again, -CB-

 

[MuskegMan]

Posted by Waygoner:

"This might be the year, I put in for 3rd season in 67."

I PM'ed you Waygoner. I applied for 2nd season in 67 and expect to draw.

 

[rocketman]

As i said I went to the meeting. Here is some more info.
Unit 54 418 total buck harvest 2006. Pop objective winter
count 7500 deer objective is 6500-7500. Sex ratio 51+/100
does. Last 3 years 60,56, 51. Sex ratio still over objective
which means more buck tags. Unit 55-551 493 bucks taken 2006.
Pop objective 6500-7500 and winter count was 8000.
Sex ratio 46+/100 does. This years harvest obj is 511
bucks. Roy in Montrose

 

[Colorado_Ryan]

Roy those are helpful and put the above information into better perspective.

It would be a tough job to manage those herds with everyone looking over your shoulder and people (like me) making inferences and statements about things they know nothing about.

Thanks.

 

[woodey]

What is the link to access the harvest reports and buck/doe ratios for unit 67.Better yet, can anyone post the graphs like the ones above, for unit 67?

Any help appreciated.

woody