I would say that it because you are hunting a corn pile and the bucks are not using it in daylight hours. The was easy, got a tough one?

21 MR. DITCHKOFF: ...

8 Alabama's estimate is currently
9 1.8 million. Not to take anything
10 away from the number that was just put
11 out, they are put in a difficult
12 position where they are asked how many
13 deer are in the state? What is the
14 sex ratio? And they are forced to say
15 this is how many deer there are
16 because that's their job. I'm going
17 to say right now that every state does
18 that and every state is essentially
19 making up a number. There is no valid
20 way currently to estimate the number
21 of deer on a piece of property, piece
22 of real estate like we are talking.
23 We are struggling to be able to do it
1 on 9,000 acres. We are having to do
2 it state wide.
3 So we are really dealing with
4 numbers here, talking about sex
5 ratios, talking about hunting and
6 harvest. We don't -- need to harvest
7 there is not a basis to begin with. I
8 know this kind of throws a whole curve
9 ball at the committee because you want
10 to simplify this process, but we need
11 200,000 or 300,000. There is no basis
12 to start.
13 Even if we do have a number,
14 there is no way to estimate what
15 carrying capacity is, so you don't
16 know where your goal, where are you
17 trying to shoot for. It's just not
18 that simple.
19 I don't know how to put it in
20 more clear terms.

pp. 76-77 Minutes of the CAB Meeting, May, 2007

NightHunter,


Can they do that by reading the data in their offices in Montgomery?

Will it be sufficient to comply with the requirement for setting seasons described by our legislature:



Is collecting data about deer that have already been killed the same surveys our lawmakers were describing?

Yekrut,


Do you really expect me to take the word of someone who declares I'm wearing a tinfoil hat as proof of anything?

My dad was born and raised in Tennessee, and I have plenty of relatives still living there there. The name Maxwell should sound familiar in TN.

TN laws and rules are irrelevant to this discussion. So are your accolades for what happens in TN.

Alabama has its own constitution and its own laws. I live in Alabama and I hunt in Alabama.

When in Alabama and hunting in Alabama, do as our constitutions and our laws dictate or get out and go where you will be happy.

Again, there are multiple pieces to the puzzle, not just the harvest data itself in year one but once they combine all the pieces they will be able to make those decisions. My personal belief is that each district supervising biologist will be responsible for collecting browse, fetal, population (spot light/thermal) and heard health (necropsy) surveys to get other detailed data to go along with the overall harvest data. Just the harvest data is a great place to start but once you compile it all you can paint a great picture of the overall herd. It takes all that to truly make decisions on what to do if/when you encounter a problem.

There's nothing like having a major issue and you have no idea what happened or what led up to it. Then you have no idea how to prevent it from happening again.

NightHunter,
Now read my post above your last one and tell me whether you think it is feasible to "manage" a statewide deer population using all the QMDA criteria you have talked about.

damn . what can i say to that ?????


you still didn't answer my question though .

.

NightHunter,


Are you arguing that our deer were not conserved, protected and increased because we did not have this data collection rule in place up until the present?

Surely you don't believe that.

We had the same conversation years ago at the Southeastern Deer Study Group Meeting. That's why I say there are tons of pieces that go into it.

He is right. We can't estimate carrying capacity for the state but it you see weight trends decrease for years at a time, that tells you there is more deer than the habitat can support well. We know what healthy deer should weight at certain age classes in defined areas. So we can make educated decisions.

We are struggling to be able to do it
on 9,000 acres.

We had the same conversation years ago at the Southeastern Deer Study Group Meeting. That's why I say there are tons of pieces that go into it.

He is right. We can't estimate carrying capacity for the state but it you see weight trends decrease for years at a time, that tells you there is more deer than the habitat can support well. We know what healthy deer should weight at certain age classes in defined areas. So we can make educated decisions.

It's the money....all the phone companies. I swear that has to be it. Data charges and people having to get internet at camp to check in deer so now charter is on board. Damn dell is going to make a killing off of the new laptops. It's a conspiracy I say. A govt conspiracy to stimulate the tech economy and bring more jobs to alabama.

I respect Dr. D and consider him a friend but I don't know his situation on the 9000 acres so I can't comment on it but I have no problems managing our tracts of that size.

It may depend on goals.

How do you get those weights if the State doesn't require you to put those on your license... Doesn't that have a lot to do with management... We are allowed to kill two spikes and a four point...granted ..four on one side.. But how do you manage a population when gathering only a portion of the information needed.....

Ding..Ding....DIng.... So all properties are the same......