Personally I think the big game side of our dnr is a bunch of idiots. The deer in SE Minnesota can be high density in numbers in certain areas and in those areas management tags are available to help keep the herd size in those areas in check. Things seems to be fine with that system until five years or so ago. Then a bunch of high dollar jackasses from an eastern county got it into their heads that point restrictions would be a good idea for the WHOLE of AREA 3, which is all of SE Minnesota so they could shoot big heads every year. And the dnr fools fell all over each other trying to get this proposal passed, which it did. The new rules were no male deer with less than at least 4 points on one side could be taken. So today we have a deer herd in this zone 3 that's rife with cwd and has such a lopsided male/female population that its hard to find a decent sized doe anymore and dink bucks are everywhere. The whole zone sucks. There was nothing wrong with the deer herd in any of the zone 3 until these dinks started with their big head every year campaign. So, do I think the dnr is doing enough regarding structure and quotas? F no. And by the way, Minnesota's big game specialist came right from Colorado a few years back after it was rumored that he almost ruined the CO elk herd with his "out east" ideologies. As far as I am concerned, NY can have him back as that's where he's apparently from.
As for the northern half of the state where the wolf population is ridiculous high, the deer and moose in some areas are a figment of the imagination, but the dnr insists things are just fine....good numbers. The trouble is, the dnr gets some of the survey info from outside groups for moose/deer and wolves. And of course they're all ears to that outside crap. What the state dnr needs to do is tell the feds that THEIR frigging wolves are eliminating Minnesota's deer and moose populations in that part of the state and that if the feds don't do something to reverse the lopsided wolf numbers , the state will turn a bling eye to those who want to help reduce the wolf numbers while afield hunting the non-existent deer.
As for the urban deer here in Rochester, archers can apply for control permits for the early archery season after they pass a shooting competency test and the permit allows them to hunt in certain residential areas, but I don't think many archers take advantage of this. The rural residential areas are really a joke. These people by large pots and build. Then the have the landscapers come in with high dollar shrubs that deer apparently have a liking for. When the deer destroy the shrubs, the dnr will reimburse them for the loss and it starts all over again the next year. And of course the homeowners in these outlying areas are of the NO HUNTING ilk so nothing ever really takes care of the population issues other than cars and trucks. And now MOTORCYCLES. I don't know how many cyclists have died in the last year because of collisions with deer.
I appreciate your insight, Tom. Colorado has had antler point restrictions in place for many years but I can't think of any management units that have a lopsided bull to cow ratio. We have this in effect for our mule deer as well. It sounds like your DNR is coming up short, from your point of view and I can sympathize as there are many decisions and policies in play with Colorado' game management that I don't agree with. However, the issues I have concerning Colorado Park and Wildlife have to do with predator management. Colorado has an interesting law that referendum votes can be put before the general voting populace if enough signatures are collected. And that is how we lost our spring bear season and are no longer allowed to hunt bears over bait and can no longer run bears with hounds. The voters of Colorado literally took away an effective management tactic from the wildlife biologists that set seasons and method of hunting. And now our bear population is booming. And bears eat a lot of elk calves and deer fawns in the spring. I have a few other concerns regarding CPW, but at least we are in agreement regarding this wolf introduction matter. But I am relatively certain that this issue is going to make the ballot in 2020 and the same type of people that voted to end our spring black bear season will vote for wolves. Colorado is a blue state now so that isn't a difficult conclusion to come to...
.
