Early Sept CWMU.,,, Public Tags

cowslayer

Active Member
Messages
989
According to the rules, if there is an extension on a hunt the operator has to give the public tags the option of hunting the extension in November.

Why wouldn't the public be able to have a choice to hunt the early september hunt on the regular CWMUs... I personally have had 2 allow this for family members, but have heard that some will no way allow it.

Anyone able to clarify this point in the CWMU program?

CS

"Helping turn good tags, into great ones." - VIP Optics
 
In my opinion-

CWMUs that have Sept. 1 opening dates should be required to give the public hunters access to the ranch the first 5 days if they want them.

On several CWMUs the best dates are during the velvet hunt.

It's not fair to require CWMUs with November extentions to have to allow public access during the rut, and to not require CWMUs with velvet hunts the same public opportunity for the "prime" early dates.

It needs to be changed!
 
Yes lets keep complaning until there are no CWMU's and all the land is locked back up so we cant hunt them any more. I feel lucky that I can hunt some of these ranchs any time of the year. If not for CWMU's there would be np public access to alot of the properties. The don't control our working enviroment why should we control what time they allow us to hunt.
 
I'm not dissing on the CWMU program. I do a lot of hunting/filming on several CWMUs across the state. I understand that it's up to the operator for the most part to set dates.

The exception is-that if a CWMU has a November extension for deer (rut hunt) they are REQUIRED to allow the public to hunt in November. Why is this? Because these are the best dates on most CWMUs.

On many other CWMUs the best dates are during the first week or two of Sept. (velvet hunts). Which can be argued are the best dates on these particular CWMUs.

All I'm saying is that it's not fair to require some CWMUs to offer the "best" dates to the public and not others.

Hope that makes sense???
 
Hey everyone--It was a real education for me to spend several days at the Expo at the CWMU Assocation booth. I was shocked at how many people really knew about the program and had hunted CWMUs. To my knowledge we only had 2 uneducated bitter Utah redneks who had nothing but spew to say about the program. As near as I could figure they had a bad experience or 2 in the past and therefore the entire program is bad.

Interesting enough this topic (required early September season dates for the public hunter) didn't come up at the recent CWMU review process or at the expo. There were several changes made (all of which have gone through the RAC/Board process and will be implemented this year) but none that specifically addressed requiring operators/landowners to allow the public to hunt September 1. Those that have the late season variance don't start until September 10th, I don't know if everyone was aware of that. I think some CWMUs are given the variance way to easy, it was designed to assist those landowners/operators who have few deer on their CWMU early in September but have a bunch in the latter parts of October early November. I think some of the biologist and operators have forgot what it (Nov 1-10th hunting) was designed to accomplish.

Now to jump up on the SOAP BOX. There are always going to be folks out there who want more and more from the program. They will keep fighting and wanting to change the program. Sooner or later they will get the ear of the right legislature or the right sportsman's group and kill enough of the good things about the program to a point where the bulk of the CWMUs will just pull out of the program and completely EXCLUDE the non-paying public from a public resource. Then depredation issues will increase, landowners won't want wildlife--"kill them or get them off". These all sound like a good alternatives to me.

I am continually amazed at what the CWMU landowners and operators give annually. Just the fair market value of the public access hunts are between 1 and 1.5 million dollars annually. Free hunts on private lands. Hunts for solders, hunts to the Emery County miners fund raiser, youth hunts, disabled hunts the list goes on and on. Sounds like a good program to me but lets keep complaining about it and eventually we will shut it down.

Are there still problems? You bet, are there still bad apples who participate in the program? Absolutely. Do there still need to be some changes? I would be the first to say yes. Overall though, I think its a good program, it has been around now for 15 years and I see that it does nothing but good.


Todd Black
 
I actaully like the CWMU program and hunt on different ranches each year. In 2007 I was forunate to hunt on 4 different CWMU's personally (antlerless), and accompanied family members on two others. While there are definitely a few bad apples, the overwhelming majority of the operators have been a pleasure to work with.

One suggestion for improvement - Post the scheduled dates for the public hunts either in the Proclamation or on-line. I realize some operators are very flexible with dates, and they could post a range (Oct 1-15 for example). Quite a few operators are beginning to allow public access only on a specific day or weekend. Deseret is a good example. They know early in the year that public deer hunters will only be given two, two day periods to hunt. If you can't make those dates, then you are SOL. I don't mind this policy, but it would be nice to know these dates before the application period. This past year, I had one operator who would only allow public hunting on his ranch during the opening weekend of the general deer hunts. Having to choose between going out for the general deer season with my family, or filling an antlerless tag on a CWMU was a no-brainer, but I felt like this particular rancher wasn't playing by the rules. I wouldn't have applied for that particular CWMU if the dates had been available before the draw. For those ranches that intend to limit the public to a very specific time period, they should be required to post that info early. And the statement in the regs to contact each operator for season dates before applying isn't much help. These operators really don't want calls from 500 guys before the application deadline.
Overall, it is a good program. That doesn't mean it can't be improved, however.
Bill
 
I am a Sportsman's Rep on the CWMU committee. The overhaul for the CWMU Rule was a long one. We had numerous meetings and talked about may different issues. There are going to be some major changes coming to the program for the 2009 draw. (The 2008 season had already been set before the Rule could take place)

The issue of allowing the public to hunt Sept 1 (or 10th) was talked about, and rediscussed and talked about some more. Should the public hunter be allowed on and get first crack at the animal? That is the question everyone wants answered. This is a tough question when one dives into the specifics. The Committee came to the conclusion that to write this into the rule would have an ill effect on far too many CWMUs. The biologists who approve the plan are to approve DATES which are fair to the public hunter. The biologists must take the Management Plan of each CWMU and approve something which is fair to the public.

Changes include:
-An additional 20-30 PUBLIC bull moose tags over a 3 year period.
-A minimum of 5 days to hunt bucks and bulls.
-A minimum of 2 days to hunt antlerless AND a set goal of antlerless harvest which will force CWMUs to accommodate hunters.
-ALL public hunters will be allowed to hunt in November if the CWMU chooses the Nov hunt option.
-All dates will be published before the application period.
-Maps will be on-line for public viewing.
-Access to all designated open lands within the CWMU. (No more restricting public access, unless it is designated as a sanctuary)

If anyone has a good or bad experience on a CWMU then fill out a compliment/complaint form and let the UDWR know. It is a great way to police the program.

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