CompassWestOutfitters
Active Member
- Messages
- 236
I am sure I will end up under the bus for this but??? my .02
I know it's not the view that people seem to think about but we all NEED to think about this:
Ranches have used the system for years as it is, the reality is the income is part of what the ranch makes every year, a HUGE part for many ranches, many of them will not make it if they loose the income from hunting. Cows are not huge money makers prices now are lower then in the 70?s, and costs to raise cattle are NOT what they were in the 70?s, hunters need to keep in mind that if the ranchers are cut off from the income elk and mule generate for them, there WILL be concrescences for wildlife.
I work with some landowner and the game and fish through proper management and habitat improvements goals. Heck yea it benefits me and the ranches that why we do it, but the larger benefit is to the wildlife in the long run. We have lowered fence heights, we are now removing strands from fences to make it safer for elk and deer to cross and not hang up on the fence. We are also working with Game and Fish to put small reflectors on miles and mile and miles of fencing to help elk and deer see the fence in the dark, this is the result of a huge study of elk and deer fence mortality in Colorado and results were unbelievable. I keep water on private lands in tanks that we have to pump water to, (we are adding 22,000 feet of pipe in 2010-2011 to help cattle AND ELK) this water is here for elk and deer 365 as well as cattle, the elk flock to our area in dry times for water, we kill every lion we can and all coyotes with rifle as well as trapping year round, mineral licks salt and feed are all used buy elk and the deer.
Why does this matter, we border public lands, we manage over 40,000 acres that all have a border with public land, BLM, Forest and State Lease. Elk calf on my ranch, bulls rut, mule deer rut in large numbers and most importantly we have water at all times, and deer and elk winter in large numbers with food water and total predator control it's a safe haven. Game and fish have given us more tags for bulls and cows because of the management, we do not use them. The elk on our ranches move between public and private land, I KNOW hunters benefit from the water and wintering areas provided.
If you take away the income, no water will pump, no fences will be lowered they will be raised, predator control will not be as much of an issue, wintering areas will be grazed and numbers of animals will have to be increased resulting in lower quality habitat! Yes I know I benefit from the existing system, but?. w/o the cooperation of ranchers wildlife suffers!
Is there a need to review the program, sure, I see no reason a guy with 5 acres that a elk poops on twice a year should get a bull elk tag. But if that same guy with 5 acres puts a water hole, makes the fences safer plants natural forage that benefits wildlife then we are looking and an owner working to HELP wildlife. Through management plans on SCR we could see the benefits of working for wildlife but it costs money to make changes, money is a great motivator for improvements, but I think improvements should be a requirement!
The only way I will address the HOT tag issue is this, remove the money from the ranches pockets and we loose the water (90% of the permanent water is on private) ranches will block the wildlife and stop management to benefit both cattle and wildlife. Then populations will drop, elk will starve and be shot on DEP hunts. Once the populations drop so do the tag numbers and your odds it's a loose loose deal.
www.200inches.com
I know it's not the view that people seem to think about but we all NEED to think about this:
Ranches have used the system for years as it is, the reality is the income is part of what the ranch makes every year, a HUGE part for many ranches, many of them will not make it if they loose the income from hunting. Cows are not huge money makers prices now are lower then in the 70?s, and costs to raise cattle are NOT what they were in the 70?s, hunters need to keep in mind that if the ranchers are cut off from the income elk and mule generate for them, there WILL be concrescences for wildlife.
I work with some landowner and the game and fish through proper management and habitat improvements goals. Heck yea it benefits me and the ranches that why we do it, but the larger benefit is to the wildlife in the long run. We have lowered fence heights, we are now removing strands from fences to make it safer for elk and deer to cross and not hang up on the fence. We are also working with Game and Fish to put small reflectors on miles and mile and miles of fencing to help elk and deer see the fence in the dark, this is the result of a huge study of elk and deer fence mortality in Colorado and results were unbelievable. I keep water on private lands in tanks that we have to pump water to, (we are adding 22,000 feet of pipe in 2010-2011 to help cattle AND ELK) this water is here for elk and deer 365 as well as cattle, the elk flock to our area in dry times for water, we kill every lion we can and all coyotes with rifle as well as trapping year round, mineral licks salt and feed are all used buy elk and the deer.
Why does this matter, we border public lands, we manage over 40,000 acres that all have a border with public land, BLM, Forest and State Lease. Elk calf on my ranch, bulls rut, mule deer rut in large numbers and most importantly we have water at all times, and deer and elk winter in large numbers with food water and total predator control it's a safe haven. Game and fish have given us more tags for bulls and cows because of the management, we do not use them. The elk on our ranches move between public and private land, I KNOW hunters benefit from the water and wintering areas provided.
If you take away the income, no water will pump, no fences will be lowered they will be raised, predator control will not be as much of an issue, wintering areas will be grazed and numbers of animals will have to be increased resulting in lower quality habitat! Yes I know I benefit from the existing system, but?. w/o the cooperation of ranchers wildlife suffers!
Is there a need to review the program, sure, I see no reason a guy with 5 acres that a elk poops on twice a year should get a bull elk tag. But if that same guy with 5 acres puts a water hole, makes the fences safer plants natural forage that benefits wildlife then we are looking and an owner working to HELP wildlife. Through management plans on SCR we could see the benefits of working for wildlife but it costs money to make changes, money is a great motivator for improvements, but I think improvements should be a requirement!
The only way I will address the HOT tag issue is this, remove the money from the ranches pockets and we loose the water (90% of the permanent water is on private) ranches will block the wildlife and stop management to benefit both cattle and wildlife. Then populations will drop, elk will starve and be shot on DEP hunts. Once the populations drop so do the tag numbers and your odds it's a loose loose deal.
www.200inches.com
