Dahlmer
Active Member
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An email from Don Peay. Curious what everyone's opinion is.
Last night in a 12 to 3 vote, the elk committee for Utah voted to move forward.
The elk plan will have lots of great new efforts to focus on habitat restoration, providing diversity of hunting opportunity, etc. If should also allow Utah to move to 80,000 elk, up from 65,000 as long as mule deer nor livestock operations are not impacted. After investing over $65 MILLION in habitat projects on nearly 1 million acres, an increase in herds: keep quality, increase opportunity.
After 6 or so meetings and tons of analysis, looking at a broad based survey, etc the elk committee voted on this recommendation. Here is what most hunters want to know:
7.5 ? 8 year old average age harvest bull units:
San Juan
Boulder
Beaver
Pavant
Monroe
Roadless Book Cliffs
6.5 ? 7 year old average age harvest bull units
Road area Book Cliffs
SW Desert
Diamond Mtn
Central Mtns, Nebo
Fish Lake - NOTE,
the Fish Lake unit will be at this level, if the local elk committee agrees to bump elk herd to pre ? blue Light special numbers of 6,500 elk. If not, unit goes to 5.7 to 6.3. The CWMU owners on the units want the higher age class, and they have asked SFW and Farm Bureau to work with other landowners in the area to find win/win solution to increase from the current 4,800 elk and move to 6,500 elk, prior to Blue Light special hunt that dramatically lowered this herd population.
5.7 to 6.3 Average Age Harvest Units
Panguitch Lake
Dutton
Wasatch
Manti
Lasal
Oquirhh Stansuby
Box Elder
Nin Mile Anthro
NOTE: The west portion of the Wasatch unit From Park City to Strawberry to Soldier Summitt and down to Spanish Fork Canyon to I 15 north to SLC and then to Park City (about 2,600 elk) will be managed where the majority of the permits will be ARCHERY tags ? 65%, MZ 15%, and Early rifle 20%. This will be a five year experiment to see if the LARGE bulls on the Wasatch that used to winter along the face of the Wasatch foothills can be returned, while still maintaining opportunity
4-5 year old units
Cache
Three Corners
Box Elder ? grouse creek
Paunsagunt
Fillmore Oak Creek
Deep Creeek
Nin Mile Range Creek
Finally, based on the survey and in an attempt to reduce pressure on the BEST bulls each year with rifles during the peak of the RUT, Rifle Rut tags will be reduced from 75% of the rifle tags to not more than 60%.
This is a very good plan in my opinion.
We spent countless hours looking at data, survey, talking to people
The DWR guys had some GREAT data to go by and were very cooperative and informative. Thanks to Anis, Justin and Kent. Anita as well.
The Committee Vote was 12 to 3.
The 3 descending votes wanted to see the age classes a little lower and have more opportunity but they were close to being completely on board.
Now for my commentary and opinion if anyone cares
I HOPE that more opportunity will come by the creation of SUSTAINABLE wealth ? increasing the ELK HERD POPULATIONS. With these age class goals to keep our quality standards high, and there will be about 2,200 limited permits a year is what the model predicted. 2,200 is a lot more than the 760 tags just ten years ago, less than the 2,800 in 2009.
As Elk populations grow, then there can be an increase the number of permits, thus allowing for more opportunity and keeping quality high.
To simply lower the age class objective and give out more tags is a short term solution, kind of like the US Government, just print money, then wonder why our economy crashes.
The elk survey questions clearly showed the elk hunters of Utah did not want the short term fix, they wanted the model that sustains long term wealth creation.
Now, if Congress would just let us take over the US economy, we could fix that to, using the right principles of wealth creation and sustainment, not simply squandering our nation?s wealth for short term gains, then being mad when we do ! I know this project would be a little bit more complicated, but I think my good friend Dr. Israelsen, a Harvard and MIT trained economist who teaches Econ at Utah State, would agree the principles of Sustainable wealth creation are universal. Thanks to Dr. I. for all his great comments over the years.
The political whims of short term gain ? giving out loans that should not have been given ( or simply printing more elk tags) - allowing predators to suck the wealth out of the system ($140 a barrel Oil, or large packs of wolves) leads to the destruction of wealth or elk herds.
Last night in a 12 to 3 vote, the elk committee for Utah voted to move forward.
The elk plan will have lots of great new efforts to focus on habitat restoration, providing diversity of hunting opportunity, etc. If should also allow Utah to move to 80,000 elk, up from 65,000 as long as mule deer nor livestock operations are not impacted. After investing over $65 MILLION in habitat projects on nearly 1 million acres, an increase in herds: keep quality, increase opportunity.
After 6 or so meetings and tons of analysis, looking at a broad based survey, etc the elk committee voted on this recommendation. Here is what most hunters want to know:
7.5 ? 8 year old average age harvest bull units:
San Juan
Boulder
Beaver
Pavant
Monroe
Roadless Book Cliffs
6.5 ? 7 year old average age harvest bull units
Road area Book Cliffs
SW Desert
Diamond Mtn
Central Mtns, Nebo
Fish Lake - NOTE,
the Fish Lake unit will be at this level, if the local elk committee agrees to bump elk herd to pre ? blue Light special numbers of 6,500 elk. If not, unit goes to 5.7 to 6.3. The CWMU owners on the units want the higher age class, and they have asked SFW and Farm Bureau to work with other landowners in the area to find win/win solution to increase from the current 4,800 elk and move to 6,500 elk, prior to Blue Light special hunt that dramatically lowered this herd population.
5.7 to 6.3 Average Age Harvest Units
Panguitch Lake
Dutton
Wasatch
Manti
Lasal
Oquirhh Stansuby
Box Elder
Nin Mile Anthro
NOTE: The west portion of the Wasatch unit From Park City to Strawberry to Soldier Summitt and down to Spanish Fork Canyon to I 15 north to SLC and then to Park City (about 2,600 elk) will be managed where the majority of the permits will be ARCHERY tags ? 65%, MZ 15%, and Early rifle 20%. This will be a five year experiment to see if the LARGE bulls on the Wasatch that used to winter along the face of the Wasatch foothills can be returned, while still maintaining opportunity
4-5 year old units
Cache
Three Corners
Box Elder ? grouse creek
Paunsagunt
Fillmore Oak Creek
Deep Creeek
Nin Mile Range Creek
Finally, based on the survey and in an attempt to reduce pressure on the BEST bulls each year with rifles during the peak of the RUT, Rifle Rut tags will be reduced from 75% of the rifle tags to not more than 60%.
This is a very good plan in my opinion.
We spent countless hours looking at data, survey, talking to people
The DWR guys had some GREAT data to go by and were very cooperative and informative. Thanks to Anis, Justin and Kent. Anita as well.
The Committee Vote was 12 to 3.
The 3 descending votes wanted to see the age classes a little lower and have more opportunity but they were close to being completely on board.
Now for my commentary and opinion if anyone cares
I HOPE that more opportunity will come by the creation of SUSTAINABLE wealth ? increasing the ELK HERD POPULATIONS. With these age class goals to keep our quality standards high, and there will be about 2,200 limited permits a year is what the model predicted. 2,200 is a lot more than the 760 tags just ten years ago, less than the 2,800 in 2009.
As Elk populations grow, then there can be an increase the number of permits, thus allowing for more opportunity and keeping quality high.
To simply lower the age class objective and give out more tags is a short term solution, kind of like the US Government, just print money, then wonder why our economy crashes.
The elk survey questions clearly showed the elk hunters of Utah did not want the short term fix, they wanted the model that sustains long term wealth creation.
Now, if Congress would just let us take over the US economy, we could fix that to, using the right principles of wealth creation and sustainment, not simply squandering our nation?s wealth for short term gains, then being mad when we do ! I know this project would be a little bit more complicated, but I think my good friend Dr. Israelsen, a Harvard and MIT trained economist who teaches Econ at Utah State, would agree the principles of Sustainable wealth creation are universal. Thanks to Dr. I. for all his great comments over the years.
The political whims of short term gain ? giving out loans that should not have been given ( or simply printing more elk tags) - allowing predators to suck the wealth out of the system ($140 a barrel Oil, or large packs of wolves) leads to the destruction of wealth or elk herds.