NE Region RAC summary

B

BLTSO

Guest
Here's the gist of last night's meetings......

Although, this is a reflection, and might be somewhat emotionally charged, with a personal spin....

I encourage you all to read through to the minutes. They aren't posted yet, but will be soon (http://wildlife.utah.gov/dwr/hunting/board-rac.html)

First and foremost 2lumpy, I'm putting up the effort...I will be at every RAC (unless some catastrophe happens.) This is important guys, and you need to understand that the RAC WORKS FOR YOU, to REPRESENT YOU! And unless I know what you want, I can't help you.

Bessy, I didn't see your post until today, however, I feel as though I represented your points at the pre-RAC as well as the RAC, maybe not as eloquently as you put it here, but in so many words. Next time, PLEASE CALL ME. I'm not as avid of a MM'er as Justr, so you'll have to give me a few to become an addict.

Ok...here's the skinny.

Most everything was in fact accepted as proposed by the state, with the exception of the extended archery boundary, which was altered to include the Maser area (approx. 3 miles north of 500 W.) and the eastern boundary was extended to include all land up to the Monument boundary. The one mile buffer was REMOVED from the green river. Much to the dismay of the Bowhunters. I voted in affirmation of the motion BECAUSE it was proposed to the RAC that this is no longer a depredation hunt, it is strictly recreational, and will be managed as such. Because this is not a tactic to remove depredation animals anymore, the buffer becomes a hazy line, and for law enforcement issues, was limited to the north side of the Green.

I believe the bow hunters are going to propose the reinstatement of the buffer to the Wildlife Board, as well as an inclusion of the Pleasant Valley area.

Everything else was business as usual, and the motions were accepted as state proposal.


Here's where it got interesting.

DIAMOND MOUNTAIN.

grrrr.......

A letter was sent to the RAC regarding a variance from a law that allows the land owners to be exempt from allowing one hunter to access their property for every voucher given. (let me know if you want a copy of that letter) Mr. Dave Chivers was present at the meeting, along with an outfitter that works for him. The outfitter stood up and told the RAC that because there is a high monetary value on the animal, they are worth more in general. Here's where I became irate. The division was questioned regarding the variance, and was told "all is well." I had requested a list of general public hunters that were allowed access no the property (the landowners had claimed to have the information). It was not provided to me. Mr. Chivers, as well as the division claimed that the long running 17 year history of the variance had proven to be successful in the past. We voted, it passed. It was after the vote that I began hearing an OUTPOURING of public discontent with the vote.

Here's the deal. I know NOTHING about the Diamond. Educate me, please. All I know is it is vastly private, and there is limited access.......let's hear the opinions. Bessy, fill me in here. The vote was made without public input, which allows for me to strike the vote from the record, if there is enough public input in negation of the vote. Basically, if it makes you guys mad.....let me know. I'll do what I can.

....NEXT......

Blanket management. 18-25/100 ratios are the general management tactic across the state. Historically the Taylor is in the single digits for buck to doe ratio......upwards of 20 years ago. Here's what that boils down to. If we manage that unit on the 18-25 buck ratio, we will continue to cut tags, until there are no tags left.....with no hope for regeneration. My question to the state was, if we are going to manage on a unit by unit basis....shouldn't we do just that? I asked to implement the historical data of a unit into the equation of ration numbers, and not manage the state under a blanket. It's not logical.

...Next......

I made a proposal to amend the state wide Management plan to allow for the implementation of a management deer hunt on a limited entry unit. This is a broad amendment that needs to be put into place so we can start a management hunt in the book cliffs. The idea is to gear the management tags (3 point or smaller on one side) towards the youth and seniors in order to regenerate lost tags, and increase opportunity on the unit. We would like to see it in place for 3 years as a trial (as deemed fit by the division biologist on that unit (Dax).
That will hit the board at the next meeting, I'll keep you updated.

That is the basic gist of the meeting. Any questions, comments, hate mail, please email me.


Thanks for your passion, and dedication to the resource.


Carrie Mair

[email protected]
 
Good re-cap of the meeting Carrie. You did a great job and I think you represented your constituency very well. Congrats on your appointment!
 
Carrie, do you want the management tags on the Books to be in addition to the current number of LE tags, or to replace a portion of the tags currently allowed?
 
None of the logistics of the hunt were discussed. It was a very basic amendment made to the plan to allow for a hunt on the Bookcliffs. Last year, 50 tags were cut due to a dip in the deer numbers. We are still well within objective on the unit. The tags issued would most likely be the recapture of the 50 cut.

How do you feel on this one?
 
Having been in the Books during the last four seasons I have noticed that there are a HIGH percentage of management bucks. I have also noticed fewer bucks overall. This year I thought that there were a higher percentage of does to bucks and most of the does had fawns, many had two. I would not be against using some of the currently allowed LE tags as management tags and not increase the overall number, and would also be in favor of giving a percentage of those tags to youth and senior hunters. I drew a tag this year and was very satisfied with the 28 in 3 X 4 that I was able to take. On the other hand, the point creep would be exacerbated if many of the tags were included in a management hunt.
I will follow this one. I have a grandson that will be hunting soon and I will be a "senior" in the not to distant future.THANK YOU for your willingness to work for our deer herd.
 
LAST EDITED ON Nov-18-11 AT 10:40PM (MST)[p]Diamond always gets what they want. I cringed when I heard Dave say "up on our mountain", like they own the whole freaking thing. About 1/3 of Diamond is private, but the way the ownership breaks down they also block access to lots of big chunks of public land. Their paying hunters kill lots of their animals on public lands that have limited access. Beth nailed it when she spoke about public discontent with the hunt up there. You can drive down the road, glass bucks and/or bulls on the hillside on public land, but you can't walk from the road across a private field a couple hundred yards to access the public.

They were the only LE elk unit to get out of the spike bull hunt (other than 3 corners where the elk herd is managed cooperatively between CO, UT, and WY). It seems like they get just about whatever they want. Diamond is why the extended archery boundary got changed.

I would love to see Diamond go back to general season for deer. Let them form a CWMU and manage deer hunting however they want on their lands. Right now it seems like they are really working the system and making a lot of financial gain off a public resource. There is one stipulation in the landowner tag rule that grants some limited public access, and they even get out of that. They supposedly have some list of people with public tags that get access, but most of those people are friends or family or paying clients.

I would think folks from the Basin would be more upset by Diamond. They lost their best general season deer hunting areas in the Book Cliffs and Diamond, but at least in the Books when they are able to draw a tag it is mostly public and the landowners aren't getting away with the same kind of shenanigans they pull on Diamond. With the new unit by unit deer hunting the state can now control hunter numbers, they ought to move diamond back to a general season unit. Like I said, let Diamond landowners form a CWMU and they can manage their own properties for trophy deer however they would like. That would be a huge win for basin deer hunters.
 
Thanks Carrie,
With this New Job You'll have your hands Full & find out you can't satisfy everybody in the State,but You're a tough a person as I know & wish you the best of Luck.

Ah.......... Diamond Mountain,
I've always Shyed away from Diamond for the most part,chopped up with Private Land,Land Locked Public Ground,Some Nice LandOwners & a few Jackass LandOwners,I'm not singling anybody out,seems to be both types no matter where you go these days,with Big Money involved there always seems to be a conflict no matter who does what.

I've seen lots of different things happen on CWMU's,The Good,The Bad & the Ugly,seen some real Un-Honest/Ethical BS going on too,I've seen the Public Hunter/s treated right & I've seen the Public Hunter/s get the Shaft on CWMU's,again,Big Money involved and what happens to anything/everything once big money is involved?

BigMedicine talks of them doing away from the Spike Elk hunt on Diamond,well it's just My Own Opinion,but I see that as a good thing,Nobody trying to manage a herd of anything would even consider killing yearling animals while trying to improve Herds EXCEPT the UDWR!

I never thought I'd see Hunting turn in to what it is today,seems every Big Buck or Bull has a name and a Dollar value Stamped on his side and it's just a matter of time before He's hunted down for the almighty Dollar!

Hang Tough Carrie,Give Em Hell & Please Bring the Deer Herd back:D (It's gonna be a Tough Job)

Hot Dog,Hot Damn,I love this Ameri-can
 
On the Book Cliffs hunt-

The way the unit is managed is on objective. There is a high likely hood after this wet season that we will have a high fawn fate, and if the universe permits, we may have a high fawn recruitment. That being said.....the idea of the management hunt is not to go kill a bunch of yearling deer, although that will be a subsequent result of the hunt, on a small scale. The main objective is to provide opportunity, as well as help manage that high percentage of deer that do not fit the state's criteria for "trophy class." Biologists agree....they are seeing the same thing you guys are. (Congrats on the 3x4!! Is there a link on here somewhere to a picture, I'd sure love to see it!!)

On the Diamond.....here's the plan. I'm going to ask for a tour of the Diamond, with one member of the DWR, and one member of Diamond, and one person from the county boundaries division. If anyone fights in the back seat, I will turn the car around. My guess is, making all of those stars align will in fact be a difficult task, and I'm aware. I'm still going to try. If that does not work, I will find someone with a topo GPS, with boundary markings, and I myself will go to the mountain. Sounds like a nice afternoon anyway.

If anyone would like to join me, please let me know.

Otherwise, keep the info coming. I appreciate you taking the time to do so.

Carrie Mair
 
Carrie, I posted my buck on the "Let's see some Book cliff Bucks" Thread. (i just added a comment so the thread would pop back to the top--take a look)
 
Carrie, anyone who has spent time in the Book Cliffs knows there is an unusual percentage of mature bucks with less than 4 points on at least one side, perfect for a management hunt. If the management tags are taken from the already allotted tags and given to youth or elderly, who cares if they kill a few yearlings? The point is, there are a ton of management bucks that need to be removed. In fact, I wouldn't just do it on the Book Cliffs and not just for a few years. I'd make it effective on all limited entry areas and make it a permanent program using between 10% & 50% of the tags.
As for Diamond, that's a mess with the landowners up there. They can make it really difficult for the public land hunters.
 
the dwr needs to change diamond mt. show the gen hunter they work for them.......not the rich boys.....
 
LAST EDITED ON Nov-22-11 AT 10:14AM (MST)[p]after 3 bull hunts on DIAMOND MT, the amount of public land illegally blocked by landowners is ridiculas....

i am not in favor of the CWMU program...but make those guys enroll into it and see how much they can get for a tag...OR make the landowner tags PRIVATE LAND only....look at new mexico and see how they do it ranch only or open to public....
 
It's pretty clear to me that there is a major issue with public access, and illegally blocked roads. I will plan on contacting the county on that one to assess the issue....we will see how far I get.

As for proposed plans.......

Who thinks opening it up to general hunting unit (now that we can manage it on a unit by unit basis and manage tags). We should utilize this management plan, if that is what we have chosen. No blanket management......UNIT BY UNIT.

Any feedback there.

(P.S. I appreciate all of the comments thus far)
 
I can't really confirm or deny those claims at this point in time. I will look into it though. I've heard the comment from a lot of people, and it is an area of large concern. Apparently there are "no trespassing" signs on a log of public roads, in addition to public being charged to access on public roads.....I'll let you all know after Turkey day what I find out.
 
I've talked to alot of local public hunters on the Diamond Mtn. issue and from a public view, we feel that the landowners are taking opportunity away from the public.

Reasons being: The division of wildlife has settled with the landowners on an agreement to have tags allotted to them to cover wildlife damages which is unerstandable. The real problem is that the landowners get to use their buck/bull tags "unit wide", hunting public game on and off their property. Which makes the tags worth big money, and more valuable for the rich man. Landowners are ruining the hunt in the public eye. A major outfitter on diamond leases many other landowners property and hunting rights to hunt with their paying clients, Therefor they get it in their heads that they own the whole damn mountain and try to push the public out. They have to stay on their property to hunt antlerless cows. Why do they get the whole unit to hunt bucks and bulls? They are landowner tags, they need to stick to their own property to hunt. It would solve alot of problems if their hunts had to take place within ther property boundaries.They don't own the animals. They are free ranging animals that move through, on and off their land. They're making big money off of a public resource and something needs to be done about it. It pisses the public off to watch the outfitter kill trophy animals for 10 to 15 grand on public land, when they have thousands of acres of their own property that their not even hunting on.

I've also heard stories from the public calling the landowners and asking to go in to recover wounded game that happen to run on their property. Some landowners don't even try to invesigate it or help, they say to bad stay out. The landowner should be charged in my oppinion for the waste of an animal if no recovery was attempted.
This also makes the public bitter to the landowners.

Giving more power to the landowners is the cause to all the private boundary problems. They get big money so they put no tresspassing signs up on some places that are not owned. Its scary to hunt diamond because you dont know what is private or not. 75% of the roads up there have no tresspassing signs on them. Some say they were up there this past hunting season with a gps that showed the private land boundaries with each plot and ownership. They say some was spot on, but some where up to a mile off. This needs to be investigated and miss-marked property needs to be addressed.

Speaking for the public hunter!

thanks!

bowbuster
 
LAST EDITED ON Nov-23-11 AT 04:27PM (MST)[p]timothymarks (92 posts)
Nov-22-11, 10:07 PM (MST)
15. "RE: NE Region RAC summary"
how are they blocking public land "illegally".


its called locking gates/putting up signs on PUBLIC access..... 2 years ago while scouting the eastern part of the unit i watched a truck and horse trailer pull out onto the main road, i pulled off the side of the road to let them pull put... i went thru the gate after they passed after consulting my map to ensure it was the road i wanted.... they backed their trailer about a 1/2 mile to confront me and my wife about going thru the gate, even though there was a BLM sign...came out and the sign was off..next day..LOCK was on the gate...about 5 min later no lock...it was locked during the hunt, but i had no need to access the ground, i had found my bull elsewhere....if i needed that lock would have disapeared....2 other places, same story locks/signs on public ground...with them lowering the tag #s it will only get worst when the quality goes up along with the price tag$$$$ it is all about the money to these guys, just like the CWMU's...money talks...public loses

these are my PUBLIC LAND bulls off diamond,with them locking/blocking roads made it harder, but did not stop me
4033103_0699.jpg


1509elk1.jpg


4881jolene.jpg
 
The Diamond Mtn issue would be easily resolved if they had to play by the same rules as all other landowner associations- If the landowner is part of the association then they must open their lands to public hunting. If they don't want that option then they can apply to be a CWMU. It is ridiculous that the Diamond Mtn Association does not do the same as other landowner associations. They might claim it is a safety issue, but just apply the same rules we already have- no shooting within xxx feet of a building, road, or whatever. If the hassle of allowing the public on their land outweighs the cash they get for tags then they can drop out. Then let them have the antlerless tags for depredation, just like every unit in the state, but them.
 
So you guys would like to opportunity to present public input at the next meeting on the Diamond issues?
 
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