How to decimate a mule deer herd: A case study in Wyoming

[BigHornRam]

Not much bitterbrush,if any. Lots of stuff is called buckbrush, what people are calling buckbrush here may not be the same plant in western Montana. Mostly the term is used for skunkbrush sumac here. Lots of skunkbrush and very valuable as deer food.

Ceanothus or velvety buckbrush. It's one of the first plants to establish after fire. Seeds can be viable up to 200 years. It's very fragrant and you will know when you step on it. Mule deer find it easy and dig down to it, when it's buried in snow. It's also a nitrogen fixer.

 

[antlerradar]

Ceanothus or velvety buckbrush. It's one of the first plants to establish after fire. Seeds can be viable up to 200 years. It's very fragrant and you will know when you step on it. Mule deer find it easy and dig down to it, when it's buried in snow. It's also a nitrogen fixer.

I don't think we have that.

 

[cgasner1]

"The elephant in the room is wearing blaze orange."


I'm willing to bet most hunters don't realize how bad things are, and will gladly stop hunting does and go along with tag cuts if need be. Id be okay if the biologists said no more hunting at all if it brough the herds back . My home state of AZ has only 1 doe hunt, and we're absolutely okay with that, i think most hunters are conservationists.

I think most here are opportunists

 

[WanderWoman]

I don't think we have that.

I know we have it in central MT..

 

[WanderWoman]

Generally (in MT at least) growing season for native grasses ends sometime in July. Yeah growing season grazing isn’t ideal but cattle have to graze somewhere. That’s why rotation is important and rotating the different pastures year-to-year that get a growing season treatment is a better way to go about it. Post-seed ripe grazing (July/Aug through Oct) can be beneficial since the activity and hoof action helps trample (maybe not the right word) the seed into the ground and “plants” the next crop of grass.

So your advocating to graze mid of May to mid October. Literally peak native growth season, inverse to invasive cool season growth time frame.

 

[BigHornRam]

I know we have it in central MT..

It's common in areas in NW Montana at elevations much lower than 6,000 feet. I think the key requirement to grow is areas with enough rainfall to support conifers, yet does best in full sunlight, like south facing slopes or recently burned forests. Eastern Montana may be too dry, especially in the lower elevations.

Western Native Plants

 

[WYelker]

I agree with Buzz. It is seemingly pointless to speak up in most cases. I have sent tons of emails to the commission and even to bios etc. They are ignored, dismissed, or as another person mentioned... Vanish into thin air.

This happens all the time when you speak with the commission or with local bios. When you hit them with hard questions they simply dismiss your comments... I have actually had one local guy tell me I had no idea what I was talking about... Then when I quoted him on the topic and provided the numbers he provided, he just shook his head and refused to comment.

Like said the current make up of our leadership is awful... I can also say that many of decisions made by the managers are the biggest reason why the numbers are tanked through out the state...

I find it funny the only stat they seemed to throw out was 11% CWD but failed to mention vehicles, predators, hunting, or any other cause... But CWD was the issue they wanted to dance with...

 

[wyoelkfan15]

There’s reasons for lack of public comment/participation. The commission meeting was in Cody, the GF has crap outreach, and honestly the public is ignored anyway.

Why drive 300 miles for them to say thanks for your comments we’re going to ignore?

The GF has the poorest leadership I’ve seen since living here. There’s still some good biologists, but they can’t and won’t challenge leadership. They didn’t even stand up to the task force, in fact, were directed not to participate. Yet, director Nevik, in a clear conflict of interest was a task force member.

The GF and commission is going to do exactly what Gordon wants, pointless until an administration change to even waste your time.

I stated the same in testimony at the August meeting in wheatland where the Wyoming public was ignored regarding NR general elk regions. It was a foregone conclusion, intuitively obvious when outfitters didn’t even show up.

The commission definitely ignored @mulecreek, @JM77 and I. In spite of the written public comments and our testimony.

I’ve lost confidence in the GF doing the right thing, they’re in a hurry to become Montana. Sad.

I'm sure it sucked for you "southerners" to make the drive, but for once I could actually attend the meeting in person in Cody. Couldn't agree more on them ignoring public comments, I made multiple written comments and emails to the task force that went unresponsive only to have them cater to the outfitters with the new general tag system.