Strategic planning for deer management FWC's plan

[masonjarlid]

Strategic planning for deer management (http://www.myfwc.com/commission/2008/Feb08/docs/DeerMgmtPlanPresentation4C3.pdf)

Strategic Plan for Deer Management in Florida 2008-2018 (http://www.myfwc.com/commission/2008/Feb08/docs/DeerMgmtStatPlan4C3.pdf)

Go to the above links to check it out. What do you think of it?

[Bullfrog 31581]

Some things I'm ok with and other's I'm still skeptical about.

I like the idea of individualized Deer Managment Units. That can let the FWC design management plans based both on the particular habitats of various areas and the wishes of the locals who hunt those areas the most.

I'm still skeptical of the overall idea that there is a problem with Florida's deer herd. Overall I think there are more deer than there ever have been. Florida is not nor ever will be the midwest. We can have big bucks coming out the wazoo and hunters still won't see any more than what they are seeing now. Its biology and habitat that stop hunters from seeing deer, not the amount of deer in the deer herd. I do agree that there is are way too many does in some areas.

On the other hand, I've come around to the point that I think I can live with a bag limit. So long as they let us kill more doe's, a three buck bag limit would be very reasonable. I don't think its necessary, as most hunters here don't kill a buck per year anyhow, and there aren't enough that kill more than two or three to adversly effect the deer population. The most it will do is stop the smallest percentage of dog hunters from taking 20+ deer a year, as a few of them do. That might leave some more bucks to spread around.

The number 1 reason we are loosing hunters is habitat loss and high land prices. It really is unreal how much hunting here changed in 10 years. $500 per year used to get someone year-long access to 30,000 acres of private land. There was no shortage of huge hunting clubs to join at affordable prices. Now its $10,000 an acre for little 20 acre tracts.

I really wish they would consider outlawing high fences. Those big hunting clubs that remain are starting to high fence thousands of acres at a time and claiming the wild deer populations that get trapped behind the fence as their own. Wild deer belong to everyone in the State of Florida, not just the few who can afford to buy and fence several thousands of acres. Restricting the movement of the animals isn't fair to the taxpayers and it can't be healthy for the deer.