Proposed Changes in General-Season Deer Hunting — Dec. 2, 2010 Meeting
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Transcript of Proposed Changes in General-Season Deer Hunting — Dec. 2, 2010 Meeting
Proposed Changes in General-Season Deer Hunting
Proposed Changes in General Season Deer Hunting
• Will present three options• The first 2 options:
– Will help increase buck:doe ratios– Will reduce hunting opportunity
• The third option is a slightly modified version of the current system
• None of these options will increase deer populations
Option 1 - DWR Preferred Option
• Unit-by-unit deer management, but will allow regional hunting
• Manage all units for a 3-year average of 15–25 bucks/100 does with a regional management target of 18 bucks/100 does – If regional 3-year average buck:doe ratio falls below
18, the regional cap will be reduced proportionally – When regional average meets or exceeds 18
bucks/100 does, permit numbers will return to the baseline
– If a unit’s 3-year average buck:doe ratio falls below 12, that unit will be removed from the regional hunt and will be managed as a recovery unit until it returns to a 3-year average buck:doe ratio of 15
Pros of Option 1
• Allows biological management on a unit level
• Hunters have more flexibility in where to hunt (Region vs. Unit)
• Easier for families or groups to hunt together
• Minimizes law enforcement problems• Dedicated Hunter Program will not
have to change
Cons of Option 1
• Does not allow us to distribute hunting pressure evenly
• Relies on hunters to evenly distribute themselves
• Some management units will have <18 bucks/100 does
Option 2
• Hunt and manage on a unit-by-unit basis
• 29 general-season units• All units will be managed for 18-25
bucks/100 does– Permits for a unit will be decreased if
the buck:doe ratio falls below 18 and increased if the buck:doe ratio exceeds 25
• Cannot be implemented until 2012
Pros of Option 2
• Allows for more precise management of general season units
• Allows us to distribute hunting pressure more evenly
• All units will have at least 18 bucks/100 does
• Improves harvest data collection
Cons of Option 2
• Limits hunters to 1 general-season unit
• Makes it harder to draw popular units
• Dedicated hunters will have to draw their unit, and the program will become a one-year program
• Law enforcement issues• Will make it harder to hunt as a
family or group
UnitsUnit # Unit Name
3 year average Bucks/100 does
1 Box Elder 19
2 Cache 15
3 Ogden 17
4/5/6Morgan Rich/East Canyon/ Chalk Creek 33
7 Kamas 19
8 North Slope 19
9A South Slope Yellowstone 15
9B/9D South Slope Vernal/Bonanza 12
11 Nine Mile 25
13 La Sal 17
14 San Juan 22
16A Central Mountains Nebo 18
16B/12 Central Mountains Manti/San Rafael 16
17A Wasatch Mountains West 18
UnitsUnit # Unit Name
3-year average Bucks/100 does
17B/17CWasatch Mountains Currant Creek/Avintaquin 15
18 Oquirrh Stansbury 10
19 West Desert 19
20 Southwest Desert 29
21A Fillmore Oak Creek 27
21B Fillmore Pahvant 21
22 Beaver 17
23 Monroe 11
24 Mt Dutton 20
25A Plateau Fishlake 16
25B Plateau Thousand Lakes 18
25C/26 Plateau Boulder/Kaiparowits 14
28 Panguitch Lake 20
29 Zion 24
30 Pine Valley 21
Unit-by-Unit Considerations
• Two subunits that need consideration:– Plateau Thousand Lakes – Fillmore Oak Creek subunit
• Both subunits currently are Limited Entry on public land and General Season on private land
Unit-by-Unit Considerations
• Plateau Thousand Lakes – Unit is not meeting the buck:doe ratio
objective for a limited-entry unit – Recommend making it a general-season
unit
• Fillmore Oak Creek– This unit is meeting the buck:doe ratio
objective for a limited-entry unit – Recommend maintaining this unit as
limited entry on public land and general season on private land
Option 3
• Unit-by-unit deer management, but will allow regional hunting
• Manage all units for a 3-year average of 15–25 bucks/100 does with a regional management target of 15 bucks/100 does– Maintain current regional permit allocations– If a unit’s 3-year average buck:doe ratio falls
below 12, that unit will be removed from the regional hunt and will be managed as a recovery unit until it returns to a 3-year average buck:doe ratio of 15
Comparing the 3 OptionsOption 1 Option 2 Option 3
Objective All Units 15-25
All Units 18-25 All Units 15-25
Regional 18-25 NA 15-25
Drawing Region Unit Region
Dedicated Hunters No change
Draw unit and 1 year
programNo change
Archery Statewide Statewide/Unit Statewide
Lifetime Region choice Unit choice Region choice
Landowner
Easier to draw
Harder to draw
Easier to draw
Popular unit
Easier to draw
Harder to draw
Easier to draw
Permit cuts
~ 7,000 ~ 13,000 ~ 3,000
Permit Cost
May increase Likely increase No increase
Current Statewide Plan• Manage general season units for a 3-year
average of 15–25 bucks/100 does and a 9-day long any weapon season– If a unit/subunit in a given region falls below a 3-year
average of 15 bucks/100 does, the season length for all hunting seasons on that unit/subunit will be shortened by 45% in the following hunting season. The season length will remain shortened until the 3-year average buck:doe ratio increases to >15/100
– If a unit/subunit in a given region falls below a 3-year average of 10 bucks/100 does, that unit/subunit will be managed on a limited entry basis in the following hunting season. The unit/subunit will continue under limited entry management until the 3-year average buck:doe ratio >15/100
Statewide Plan Amendment for Option 1
• Manage general season units for a 3-year average of 15–25 bucks/100 does with a regional management objective of 18 bucks/100 does– If regional 3 year average buck:doe ratio falls
below 18, regional permit numbers will be reduced to increase it back to or above 18
– When regional 3 year average > 18, permit numbers will return to the baseline
– If a unit/subunit in a given region falls below a 3-year average of 12 bucks/100 does, that unit/subunit will be removed from the regional hunt and managed as recovery unit for 3 years. The unit/subunit will remain a recovery unit until the 3-year average buck:doe ratio >15/100
Statewide Plan Amendment for Option 2
• Manage 29 general season units for a postseason 3-year average of 18–25 bucks/100 does– Permit numbers for a unit will be
decreased if the buck:doe ratio falls below 18 and increased if it exceeds 25
Statewide Plan Amendment for Option 3
• Manage general season units for a 3-year average of 15–25 bucks/100 does with a regional management objective of 15 bucks/100 does– If a unit/subunit in a given region falls
below a 3-year average of 12 bucks/100 does, that unit/subunit will be removed from the regional hunt and managed as recovery unit for a minimum of 3 years. The unit/subunit will remain a recovery unit until the 3-year average buck:doe ratio >15/100
Rule changes needed to hold the permit drawing for all these
options • The following rules will require changes to
make the permit drawing possible• In those rules that refer to regions, wording
will be changed to Region or UnitR657-5-Taking Big GameR657-17-Lifetime Hunting and Fishing LicensesR657-38-Dedicated Hunter ProgramR657-43-Landowner PermitsR657-62-Drawing Application Procedures
Thank You