LAST EDITED ON May-21-12 AT 08:44AM (MST)[p]The fact is there is not one cureall answer. We need to control what we can control though. We can control predators, we can't control the weather!
Unless they are cutting doe tags, cutting tags does nothing. If an area has solid buck/doe ratios in the 15-20/100 range cutting buck tags will do absolutely nothing to grow the deer herds. It appeases hunters because there are more bucks to hunt but it does nothing for herd health. The only time cutting buck tags will help is if all the does are not getting bred and with 15/100 bucks to does I can promise you all the does are getting bred. State game depts know this, so why are they doing it knowing it won't change anything? to be appeasing! They don't want to fight with anti's over predators. They don't want to fight with the public and the NF's over fire suppression. They DO NOT want to fight ranchers about over grazing. They DO NOT want to spend the money to deal with any of the above. These Depts already know the issues, they have the studies to back up the real reasons but they are currently so scared of the public they aren't dealing with what we do have control over. It is so much easierto blame bad winters and drought and not have to spend a dime. Utah had the huevos to do something big, I admire that. What we need is a few videos of coyots tearing some fawns to shreds to go viral, then and only then would these depts get brave enough to deal with coyotes.
About over grazing. Has anyone ever noticed that on huge ranches, the game is abundant? Why? The first inclination would be no hunting pressure but I do not believe thats the case. I believe they do large scale predator control and they are good stewards of their land because it pays to do so, they don't over graze. Now, public lease land is a different story. Public land gets over grazed all the time. Especially if its state owned land. States don't have the man power to monitor for over grazing. But nothing will be done about it because ranching founded the west. Cattlemans associations are one of the most powerful groups in the west, RMEF ain't got nothing on cattlemen.
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