elks96
Long Time Member
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So here is a link to the Baggs area working group.
https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Regional-Offices/Green-River-Region/Baggs-Mule-Deer-Working-Group
On this first page you can see the proposed changes and the idea behind the issue. Their goal is to reduce crowding in the units. However this goes contrary to the idea that they do not want to limit hunting. So they are trying to figure out ways to reduce hunting pressure while keeping opportunity. It seems that the 2 inherently opposed to one another.
They want to force hunters to select a unit at application time or when buying a license. There would be no limit on resident tags for the units, and possibly 2 rifle seasons each lasting a week. This would be the only tag a resident can get. So you either choose to hunt 82 and no other units under the general tag or you give up the chance to hunt 82 and hunt other units.
For NR tags they will hold the quotas to historical averages. Region W typically has 900 NR tags to split between 3 units all with different season dates. Again NR hunters would have limited tags, but instead of being region wide and 3 hunt areas, it would not be unit specific. With 100 tags for unit 100, and up to 800 tags for both seasons in 82.
Again watch the video on the page and then take the survey.
https://docs.google.com/a/garfieldr...1o55l9lfTKh_3p8dPCs7FoH7D93g/viewform?c=0&w=1
A few of my concerns. Anytime you limit the number of tags you create demand for those tags. In unit 100 for example, a NR looking at his options will see Unit 82 with 800 tags and then look at 100 with a 100. As a result it will not take long for unit 100 to require points even though it is not managed for quality at all.
On the resident side you might see even greater demands for the unit and the net result may not be any less crowding. Or if people give up on 82 as a resident that means you have lost a place to hunt and will spent more time and hunt other areas harder. This might mean increased pressure into Region G etc.
The one big issue they fail to breech in detail is creating management plans with the BLM in order to create walk in areas, safe zones and travel areas for the deer. For me this is far more important than total number of hunters. In the area virtually ever canyon has a road on top a road in the bottom. ATV trails cross all over and finding an area away from vehicle traffic i hard unless on private land. As a result it is virtually impossible to escape pressure. Those who are willing to hike in a mile, or several have very few places to do so. As a result they often give up on walking since they can not walk with out a vehicle in the same area. By creating more walk in areas you can create greater hunter disbursement. As those who like to walk can escape the traffic and as a result they are one less person driving around.
At any rate here is a link to the survey. For my family on a purely selfish basis. I do not want the NR tag to go unit specific. I would much rather keep it as is since my family loves hunting 100, but the truth is there are few deer in 100 and we often end up in 82 to fill the tags at the very end. Forcing us to pick would either make us hunt 82 and add to the crowd or in the NR point creep. Or we would hunt 100 a hell of a lot harder and will be taking the first decent bucks we see instead of holding out for a monster. Regardless the quality of the hunt in both units would be greatly increased with better regulation of vehicles and management of the land.
https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Regional-Offices/Green-River-Region/Baggs-Mule-Deer-Working-Group
On this first page you can see the proposed changes and the idea behind the issue. Their goal is to reduce crowding in the units. However this goes contrary to the idea that they do not want to limit hunting. So they are trying to figure out ways to reduce hunting pressure while keeping opportunity. It seems that the 2 inherently opposed to one another.
They want to force hunters to select a unit at application time or when buying a license. There would be no limit on resident tags for the units, and possibly 2 rifle seasons each lasting a week. This would be the only tag a resident can get. So you either choose to hunt 82 and no other units under the general tag or you give up the chance to hunt 82 and hunt other units.
For NR tags they will hold the quotas to historical averages. Region W typically has 900 NR tags to split between 3 units all with different season dates. Again NR hunters would have limited tags, but instead of being region wide and 3 hunt areas, it would not be unit specific. With 100 tags for unit 100, and up to 800 tags for both seasons in 82.
Again watch the video on the page and then take the survey.
https://docs.google.com/a/garfieldr...1o55l9lfTKh_3p8dPCs7FoH7D93g/viewform?c=0&w=1
A few of my concerns. Anytime you limit the number of tags you create demand for those tags. In unit 100 for example, a NR looking at his options will see Unit 82 with 800 tags and then look at 100 with a 100. As a result it will not take long for unit 100 to require points even though it is not managed for quality at all.
On the resident side you might see even greater demands for the unit and the net result may not be any less crowding. Or if people give up on 82 as a resident that means you have lost a place to hunt and will spent more time and hunt other areas harder. This might mean increased pressure into Region G etc.
The one big issue they fail to breech in detail is creating management plans with the BLM in order to create walk in areas, safe zones and travel areas for the deer. For me this is far more important than total number of hunters. In the area virtually ever canyon has a road on top a road in the bottom. ATV trails cross all over and finding an area away from vehicle traffic i hard unless on private land. As a result it is virtually impossible to escape pressure. Those who are willing to hike in a mile, or several have very few places to do so. As a result they often give up on walking since they can not walk with out a vehicle in the same area. By creating more walk in areas you can create greater hunter disbursement. As those who like to walk can escape the traffic and as a result they are one less person driving around.
At any rate here is a link to the survey. For my family on a purely selfish basis. I do not want the NR tag to go unit specific. I would much rather keep it as is since my family loves hunting 100, but the truth is there are few deer in 100 and we often end up in 82 to fill the tags at the very end. Forcing us to pick would either make us hunt 82 and add to the crowd or in the NR point creep. Or we would hunt 100 a hell of a lot harder and will be taking the first decent bucks we see instead of holding out for a monster. Regardless the quality of the hunt in both units would be greatly increased with better regulation of vehicles and management of the land.
