LAST EDITED ON Mar-01-13 AT 01:03PM (MST)[p]"Tri,
THis is an actual post and not just your persona, so I will respond. The North American model was not just set up for Mule Deer."
Never said it was.
" While I agree we have seen the decline in Mule deer, we have also seen the explosion in elk. If the model was broken, we would not have seen this explosion."
Actually that is not evidence at all. Somethimes an explosion is an exact indicator that something is majorly wrong in a wildlife plan.
" Also, we have seen the continued expansion of whitetails into the west, even into my state (Utah). Again if the model was broken, they would also be in decline."
Again that is an incorrect assumption of an indicator.
" I believe that mule deer are genetically inferior to whitetails thus there decline."
There are plenty of places in the west where there are no whitetail and mule deer are in decline.
" They are two picky in feed, they inhabit to much acreage that puts them in competition with other hooved animals. They are migratory, which was stopped when I-15 was completed. They Have been pushed off winter range along the Wasatch Front. Having said that, you can jack the price of a tag to $310,000 for every deer. You can't buy back and demolish I-15, your not gonna buy the houses and restore the winter range, and as for their poor competion, money doesn't fix that."
You are over simplifying the problem. There are a whole laundry list of methods to deal with interspecies competition, range encroachment, and food availibility.
"What drives the price of this tag? EASE. There are bigger deer on the Henries, the Pauns, the book cliffs, etc. NONE of those places do you fly in on a plane, take a 45 minute drive, step off the road and shoot that size buck. Denny has gotten older, and sadly still seeks the attention, so he has to get Easier and Easier hunts to produce. The problem with this hunt is it is "shooting fish in a barrel"."
Why care? Why must we all be the "effort" police? What is the satisfaction of knowing you controlled other people's good times and spending. Maybe I am to much of an American, but I don't understand the conflict.
" Tristate, next time you are in Utah, PM me and I will take you out on the island. Come and see what its like. IT IS A HIGH FENCE HUNT, only the fence is water.
Lastly, do a search. Look at the pics Yelum has on here. He has pics of the deer that were shot last year. Then find the post he did of meeting Tred Barta. My friend(I hope, I enjoy his posts perhaps more than anyones, even though we do disagree) Yelum is wheelchair bound. I AM TRYING TO TIP TOE HERE SO PLEASE UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM SAYING. Ever wonder how a guy in a wheelchair and the infamous Doyle Moss(the greates hunter ever?) end up with the same deer, even with Yelums physical limitations? Because the deer on the island are that easy to find. Tristate, I will give you 1 day, and you too will find the such a buck. I oppose the hunt because it is a preserve, and these deer are at most, semi tame."
I don't care. I know what antelope island is. I am happy that people of all types are getting to go view the critters that inhabit it. I don't care if some people get to whack animals on it. I don't care if they spend rediculous amounts of money to do it. I do not care if someone wants to spend millions of dollars to chase nanny goats in a pen with a claw hammer. One thing I can tell you as a biologist. Since it is a confined area you have to do some controlled offtake. When you have a finite space with limited resources you are apt to experience so very wild population swings and you actually can face an ecological disastr if there is absolutely no population management. Truthfully killing two bucks a year probably is not enough. Everybody likes to make fun of Texas and their high fences. I have some exposure to high fences and I can tell you this. Within those high fence propertes is a constant battle of management. It is expensive and like a full time job you don't want to have. I literaly have clients that have high fence ranches that the feed bill is breaking them and they have to mow down so many animals there is practicly no time to trophy hunt. Some of them have to kill 20 or more deer a weekend just to keep the place in check. Its like trying to hold back the tide. They have a job away from their job now. If you think the same thing can't happen on Antelop Island you are kidding yourself.
One other thing I thought about after posting this and I am coming back and editing something. I think one good thing I can say about this hunt asside from the money is the timing. I agree with other people on here that having a place where people who are interested in pursute with a camera can go and find pleasure in photographing these large deer. Obviously the state park values that also. Notice that the hunts are heald well into the winter and therefore they have given the photographers ample opportunity to get first shake at these big deer. If the state park was only interested in the money and killing the deer I think they would allow the deer to get shot in say early October as soon as they split the velvet, before there is ever a chane that they could break off their valuable horns. After all if its as easy as you say to kill them then Doyle Moss could go find one in October as easy as he could kill one later. Looks like the park is looking out for the interests of all park patrons and not just two of them.