I hope your HOPE is well placed. Many have been asking for a mule deer plan for decades. I talk to Commissioners, the Director, and some of the senior staff on a regular basis, as do some others on Hunt Talk. We pretty much all give the Department the same request, to the point where my call two weeks ago can be summarized as, "How can our biologists be telling us we are at the best level in decades, but seasoned hunters are not seeing what they claimed to have seen in the past? There is a disconnect somewhere."
I hope they take this seriously. I hope hunters continue to ask for better management.
Last winter when they were seeking suggestions as part of the season setting process, I gave a lot of the same comments about mule deer as I have for years. Then I posted on FB/IG my suggestion that we lower pressure on mule deer in Montana, force hunters to pick a region, and take mule deer hunting out of the rut. If the responses to my suggestions are any indication, expect a lot of weeping and wailing from some hunters if we try to do even the slightest improvement for the cause of mule deer.
That said, hunters are the only hope mule deer have. It requires hunters to stand up for the sake of the resource, in this case, mule deer. There always have been, and always will be, the critics who want change so long as the changes don't require any adjustment to their hunting. Hunters can make a compelling case as to the plight of mule deer, at least mule deer on public land, and we should do that whenever the situation allows.
Reading some of the survey questions, it will be interesting. Those questions are pointed at many of the suggestions the Department has been hearing from folks on Hunt Talk. The danger is that the majority of respondents check the box that supports the status quo, as that will give the Department information that would result in no change, rather than the changes many are seeking.
