Response email from DFG on Owens Valley Elk Hunt

[rodngun]

The following response is from an email I sent regarding my concerns....



Greg,


Thank you for you comment regarding archery elk hunting in the Owens
Valley. Let me try my best to explain some things. Here is the
situation. Overall archery tags this year will be slightly decreased
from last year (30 to 25). This decrease will be in the Owens Valley.
Owens Valley is the only herd in the state that has a maximum herd size
set in fish and game code. They are very close to that maximum size,
but the elk are not distributed evenly across the zones within Owens
Valley. DFG needs to increase the antlerless harvest within certain
zones. The Region has proposed to add two new hunt periods which will
begin prior to the old hunt periods. The region wide either-sex archery
tags did not allow DFG to harvest animals within the zones that need the
most reduction and also did not allow for a sex specific harvest. The
Tinemaha and West Tinemaha zones were archery only zones in the past,
the Region has proposed some minor modification boundaries within these
zones which will safely allow rifle hunters to hunt. The muzzle loader
tags proposed are for Bishop and Lone Pine during Period 1 for a total
of 7 tags.
In a nutshell an increased harvest in a short period of time is needed
within certain zones in the Owens Valley, the best way to do this is
through antlerless hunting. Overall tags are proposed to go from
roughly 30 to 80 with the increase being in antlerless tags in specific
zones. There are still 6 antlerless and one bull tag for archery-only in
the Tinemaha and West Tinemaha zones, and an Independence archery-only
bull tag.

Archery-only elk tags currently are over 11% of the elk tags issued
within California but account for just over 7% of the applicants for elk
tags (not including the point only applicants). There are no
regulations saying you can not hunt with archery equipment during a
general weapons hunt, so that is always an option. I understand your
concern and in the future I see no reason why we can not increase the
archery tags but it needs to be in perspective with all the hunters of
California.
Your comments will be addressed as part of the package that the
Department gives to the Fish and Game Commission who is the authorizing
agency.

Sincerely


Joe Hobbs



Joe Hobbs
Associate Biologist
California Department of Fish and Game
Elk and Pronghorn Coordinator
Wildlife Programs Branch
1812 Ninth Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 445-9992
(916) 445-4058 Fax

 

[Steve K]

Seem fair to me, sounds like all the rest of the hunts in Califorina you just play the number like every body else. (same odds)
Give them a chance there plenty of Archery tag's, hell, I'll bet some people would argue that the Archers have the best of it and for what its worth I'm one who thinks the DF&G is doing a pretty good job and I have max points also.
Steve K.

 

[Zbearclaw]

I guess it's safe to assume Steve is not a bowhunter.

DFG's numbers are flawed, I guarantee many of the hunters applying for rifle elk tags are bowhunters, though 100% of those applying for the archery hunts are bow only guys as well.

Flawed use of statistics, as in every election, every political or environmental issue ever.

The Owens Valley Archery either sex was the best tag in the state, until now I had given DFG the benefit of the doubt for their shotty management of this huge state's critter resources because much of their power is limited by this huge state's reality avoiding voters, however this oversight, brain-lapse, or whatever you want to call it shows that while their power is still limited in key areas, I personally doubt things would be much different if they had complete control over managing the state's resources like most states.

Too bad there are guys working their butts off to get P&Y to get a Tulie program, sounds like it will end up being a category where the only entries will be post dated.