Wouldn't be the first time. You might be correct if in my hypothetical the decision making structure didn't change (top-down) , but if it was more democratic it would. The number of things FWP is balancing is incredible. The group is already understaffed and the complaints come from every stakeholder. Most here say we shoot too many, landowner/ranchers say we shoot too few. $$$ wins that battle because legislators drive the decision rather than the scientists. Hunters need to find a way to consolidate $$$ and eliminate fragmentation. But that would require groups to agree on prioritization of the problems. I really think hunters/anglers/etc have the greatest collective power but fail to make a commensurate amount of progress in effectuating change because of this fragmentation.
The latest stats show MT had 227k total license holders. Non-residents accounted for 70% of the $39m in total revenue. This is pretty standard and hy MT has to maintain itself as an opportunity state. In 1989 (randomly selected), the state had 256k license holders and NR accounted for 76% of the rev. Numbers shift a little but tend to stay in that range. I agree resident fees should go up, but that causes quite a kerfuffle every time some floats the idea. I would also guess that the quality of opportunity has decreased. Landowners are less likely to let you hunt if you knock on the door, for various reasons. There are a lot of moving pieces for FWP. Criticism is easy when we are sitting at the keyboard.
I used to defend the department too...right up until the time I starting to think about the changes they make and those they are resistant to and why.
Some things they changed without even batting an eye:
1. Allow youth to kill cow elk and doe deer in a vast majority of units all season long.
2. Lengthen the general season by opening on Saturday VS. the traditional Sunday opener
3. Issue scads of doe tags, including OTC whitetail B-tags good for region 2 (one archery, one general, and one through the draw).
4. Reduce lion quotas by 85-90% in most of regions 1 and 2.
5. Allow a handful of mule deer doe tags in region 7.
6. Allow for elk b-tags, even though nearly all the comments received were in opposition.
7. Allow elk shoulder seasons and didn't even follow what they agree to...again, most hunters opposed them.
8. Allow 10 year olds to hunt deer without even taking hunters safety (I think this was legislatively done).
Some of the things they don't change.
1. They fly the Bob Marshall and see 202 elk, low single digit bull to cow ratio's...no change.
2. Fly unit 202 in Montana...see 8 elk, no change from current season.
3. Mule deer in the absolute shit in Western Montana...no change from current season.
4. Flying the same routes during classifications and counts because we have to be consistent...never mind that land patterns change, elk use changes.
5. They didn't have lengthen upland bird season by a month.
How in the hell do you expect any hunter that thinks about things for 2 seconds to defend the actions, and inactions of the FWP? The way you talk, they just simply don't have the ability to manage seasons, practice biology, etc. THEY DO, and they CHOOSE to not change anything and use every lame excuse under the sun to defend it.
Then I think of what hunting was like when I was 12, is it better or worse?...with the exception of turkeys, lions, and wolves its worse across the board.
I don't think I could shoot a limit of grouse in a week where I used to limit out shooting them with a .22 offhand when I was 12. The first years I applied for goats in the 'root 75 tags, good for the entire west side, 1 goat tag now. The FWP defied the science and goat management that has been available the whole time and shot the snot out of them. Less moose permits, less sheep permits.
I'm having an impossible time defending a department that has made thing drastically worse in my lifetime...and the only changes they want to make is if it increases killing animals and increasing opportunity. They are NOT powerless to make changes, changes that should have been made decades ago. Their inaction and complete lack of changing anything is 100% why we're here.
Nothing is going to change most the people on this post agree we need to change something but nobody is going to agree on what. Furthermore the general public and fish and game aren’t receptive to change and then there is cwd. Deer hunting on public is going to suck for the foreseeable future.
