seasonal reminder....

[BigD_83]

I've never figured out why there are still hunting seasons and limits for deer; they're MASSIVELY overpopulated throughout North America, yet the numbers of hunters are dwindling.

I ran across an article the other day about hunting in either upper NY State or Vermont. They have opened it right up to basically no limits, but they are STILL having a hard time getting enough hunters to fill the quota allocations. I'll post it if I can find the article

EDIT- I can't find the article I was looking for, but this one from NPR is a good read.

https://www.npr.org/2018/03/20/593001800/decline-in-hunters-threatens-how-u-s-pays-for-conservation

[bwringer]

Urban sprawl has caused us to be living amongst them even more than ever before.
The issue with that is it is unlikely to have a HUNTER take one out of the herd in the neighborhood.
Come to me house and drive around and see 8-10 deer any day of the week - and turkey, racoons, opossum, skunks, and squirells and chipminks too -
All in numerous obnoxious numbers --But the area is rife with lightly wooded 1-2 acre homesites -
Lots of 'natural' areas in every yard (small groves of pine and mixed hardwoods) - and a 20 acre park in the center of the subdivision.
It is a beautiful area to live -- but not hunted so Deer and other game animals run wild --
Last weekend we had a FOX run through our yard in the mid-day while we were out burning leaves and tree debris...
And of course the feral cats and many neighborhood pet dogs.

And in the past 3 years the developers have taken down more wild habitat near me for future housing - take down the wooded area and the farm land and create another neighborhood - displacing even more DEER to wander the highways near me...

One has to be mighty careful when riding in deer country - which is where I live...

There are many reasons for the overpopulation. It's true that urban sprawl is a huge part of it; there's little habitat left. Low predator populations are the other part of the equation -- we've replaced the wolf with the feral Buick and the wild Suzuki. We're also growing billions of acres of food for them, so deer that wouldn't have made it through their first winter back in 1492 can stay fat and happy without moving around much.

Deer populations in most states are much higher than they were in prehistoric times. It's way out of whack. Deer are perfectly willing (or too dumb) to live near people, but most predators other than maybe coyotes are far more affected by urban sprawl. Plus, we've spent thousands of years killing predators on sight, and people still aren't truly willing to live near wolves, bears, and big cats.

Yeah, when you've got several weeks of recovery before you can walk, you can do a lot of research and thinking... however, I don't have the foggiest idea how to solve this problem. More hunting can only help a little; there are only so many people willing to hunt these days and only so many people willing to eat venison. And they're vermin that multiply unbelievably fast. Even if the meat could be sold, it would be tough to make much of a dent.

I think one of the smartest partial solutions I've seen is in Missouri. Basically, Missouri cuts back the brush on the sides of the country roads a lot further than in any other state I've seen -- they go at least 12 feet back on both sides on all the letter roads, usually quite a bit more. This gives you some crucial added time to react, and gives animals less incentive to wander out into the road. You see a lot of deer hanging out next to the treeline that would otherwise be standing in the road in other states. It's undoubtedly saved a lot of human lives.


I also see deer on pretty much every ride in Indiana. The buck I hit in 2013 was basically in a full gallop running straight across the road. I had only a few milliseconds to catch the barest glimpse of the dumb bastard. In the ambulance, one of the EMTs asked what happened (mostly he was just keeping me talking to assess whether I had a concussion), and I told them "I hit a buck, a six or eight pointer... I only had a glimpse." He looked outside for a few seconds and told me "That's pretty good -- it's a seven pointer. Most people have no idea."

I collected my third broken left femur and my second broken right wrist in that one. Somehow the main frame of my KLR was not bent, so I rebuilt the bike with lots of fleaBay bits.

And yes, I absolutely avoid the countryside around the time of the rut. Ordinary deer are bad enough year-round, but during the rut the bucks are just nutso. They're in constant motion with no regard for their own safety.

[LAB3]

Here in Michigan there's over one million deer taken during hunting season! I'd always wondered why clear cutting of timber on state land was done instead of selective cutting, it turns out they do it to encourage growth of Aspen which is summer forage for Deer, the practice is to keep Deer numbers up for hunters and not for forest health. In the rural areas if the state hunting is more than just a cultural issue as it brings hunters up from the cities, meaning dollars spent in the local towns to help prop up their economies.

[limeex2]

Here in Michigan there's over one million deer taken during hunting season! I'd always wondered why clear cutting of timber on state land was done instead of selective cutting, it turns out they do it to encourage growth of Aspen which is summer forage for Deer, the practice is to keep Deer numbers up for hunters and not for forest health. In the rural areas if the state hunting is more than just a cultural issue as it brings hunters up from the cities, meaning dollars spent in the local towns to help prop up their economies.

Clear cutting timber is for money. With it, comes a food source and great cover for deer. No hunter can get through a clear cut. We hunt on public land and our area had been groomed for hunting for over 50 years. Usually about a 50-60% fill rate. 3 years ago they clear cut our whole area. We had probably 10 permanent deer stands. Now we have tramp through the woods, put up our stands the day before opener. If you put them up ahead of time, they get stolen. 0 deer in 3 years for 9 hunters hunting 3 days. If I could drive a bike or car through the woods, I know I could get one. lol.

[Redman]

............... In the rural areas if the state hunting is more than just a cultural issue ................

Several years ago I was in a jury pool and lawyers were asking questions about who were hunters and such. Then it was stated that the trail was going to be about poaching, and the lawyers asked if any prospective juror had any question.
One perspective juror asked "Just what is poaching?". The lawyer explained about hunting seasons and hunting laws and such. The prospective juror then said "Really? There are laws about that? The state has laws about that? and people can get fined? Really? Why arent there laws about covering your divot on the greens?"

[LAB3]

Several years ago I was in a jury pool and lawyers were asking questions about who were hunters and such. Then it was stated that the trail was going to be about poaching, and the lawyers asked if any prospective juror had any question.
One perspective juror asked "Just what is poaching?". The lawyer explained about hunting seasons and hunting laws and such. The prospective juror then said "Really? There are laws about that? The state has laws about that? and people can get fined? Really? Why arent there laws about covering your divot on the greens?"

Playing stupid has it's merits, if I wanted to get out of jury duty that would be a great response!

[jabcb]

Playing stupid has it's merits, if I wanted to get out of jury duty that would be a great response!

Something of the order of this should work well too: “I have tremendous respect for the policeman that I know. They only arrest guilty people.”
Or “I was on a jury once. When the perp walked in he looked like a TV criminal. He did a plea deal before I got to vote.”