I think sportsmen's overall interpretation of "management" needs to be overhauled.
Look at Bushmen's proposal, he leads with how he would "manage" the deer herd, yet right out of the gate he is thinking about managing hunting... He is like myself, when I hear management, my first thoughts are about hunting... I think this needs to change.
J22 brings up some real issues of management. Is it possible to keep deer off the highways..?? I see high fences along most of the high traffic areas, but there are thousands of miles where the deer are still killed frequently. It is a long and difficult battle to overcome road kill. I think we can do it, but it will take years and lots of money.
The winter kill is another concern. We all know that the DWR knows where animals winter mostly. I agree that we should designate these areas as such, and keep people out so the deer can just survive without added stress- from anyone. But, do the deer herd up as well as elk do in these areas? I would like to see a little more dedication to herd preservation in this way.
Finally predation. Let's face it, there are really only 4 predators in Utah, coyotes, lions, bears, and humans. Humans are restricted to bucks only, so we don't do too much to the doe population. Black Bears don't really hunt and kill animals as they are mostly foragers. So that leaves coyotes and lions. Coyotes are already open season all year round. The only way to improve their removal is to legalize things like poison, in fact, we should probably call for their extermination to some extent, and put a higher bounty on their heads... I don't see any reason why lions should have the same protections as LE big game animals. They should be hunted year round by anyone carrying a gun, just like coyotes. Am I missing anything...
This is a cool post. As far as the hunting goes- I like the idea of separated, shortened hunts. Let's face it, the DWR has to have the same revenue (and even higher) for them to approve a plan. I think this could work.
I also have high hopes that smaller units, managed individually, could help different deer populations throughout the state. We will see...
Long post, hope I didn't miss too much...
"Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!" 2 Ne. 28: 24