Is there a problem

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caretaker
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Is there a problem

Post by caretaker »

I asked this on the sister site on the Ask TWRA and the Serious Deer Hunting. I am putting this under East Tn hunting although it does affect much of middle Tn. as well.

Is there a problem with the health / numbers of the heard in Unit A thru Z except for Unit L? Unit L seems to have an over abundance of doe/anterless and is being addressed with a couple of weeks of doe / anterless hunting weeks at the end of the season for private land owners. While in the eastern half of the state the TFWC / TWRA decided to break down Unit B into sub units C - Z restricting anterless / doe harvest. They also did away with anterless harvest per county within Unit A and B. Also a two doe / anterless limit has been placed on juvinile hunters on juvi hunts. Last season a two buck limit was imposed and everyone jumped on the trophy hunter agenda either for or against. When these new restrictions were passed a lot of us thought uh-o more trophy hunter agenda but I am not buying into that. I want to know flat out is there a problem with the numbers/ health of the heard in Unit A - Z except for Unit L. Is that the reason for these restrictions. Has the heard in Unit A and B been over harvested in the past and are we now playing catch up. Also if this is the case why not just come out and tell us Unit B and Unit A hunters up front.
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MUP
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Re: Is there a problem

Post by MUP »

Well, from what I remember, being posted back before the 2 buck restriction even, was that the TWRA biologist's concluded, and presented to the "then" TWRC, that the deer population was healthy, and continuing to grow and maintain herd health, thus prompting the TWRA to recommend to the TWRC that the limits remain the same. This , to me, says that there are ulterior motives behind all these new RESTRICTIONS being handed down from the twfc now, and can't imagine any other reasoning at the present time other than "save the bucks" so they have a chance to grow into what some folks deem the acceptable age and size to "harvest". Just my 2 cents.
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caretaker
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Re: Is there a problem

Post by caretaker »

y scn » Sun Aug 07, 2016 10:06 am

Sorry, but I was not there last year to hear any of the discussions concerning the new units, so I don't know the reasoning. I don't think we have anyone from the biological side of TWRA that is posting on the site at this time. I would suggest calling the Region 4 office and asking to speak with either their big game biologist or manager over the wildlife section to get their input on where the deer herd is at in your area.
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sdw
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Re: Is there a problem

Post by sdw »

I don't know anything about it and don't live in TN but I see two possibilities as an outsider with limited knowledge of the situation. And this is just an outsiders point of view for why there may be restrictions if they weren't necessary. Y'all are welcome to jump on me and call me names

1st scenario I see as an outsider - I know a lot of hunters here in AL that go to Kentucky to hunt. Could they be limiting the deer to try to grow more trophy bucks to make deer hunting more attractive to out of state hunters? They could bring a lot of revenue taking some of the out of state hunting from Kentucky. I know there are plenty of folks that also go to TN to hunt, but it seems to me I run into a lot more hunters that go to Kentucky.
2nd scenario I see as an outsider - I have heard it's hard to find a lease in East TN. Is it possible that they are afraid of the impact on the population with so much land being utilized for hunting?

Again, I know nothing about this. Just my thoughts as an outsider. As long as the population can sustain the previous season limits I think it's a shame to make unnecessary restrictions, especially for youth. Hunting with my 14yr old girl is what I look forward to the most.
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caretaker
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Re: Is there a problem

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SCN did go on to expound on his response to me in the serious forum. It is sad that a former field officer is out of the loop. I had hoped that he could shed some light on something that has been troubling me. The 30 acre tract that I hunt is bordered by even larger tracs that do not allow hunting. The season before last we only harvest two deer on the property. This last season no deer were taken and I only saw two on the property all season. I had contributed this to alack of acorns. I will also add that a smaller trac a mile or so down the ridge had very little deer sign as well. This being said another trac 12 miles or so away had acorns and also deer. Maybe I am over thinking and concerned over nothing but these new regs have me a pondering. We will see what this new season brings.
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Diehard
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Re: Is there a problem

Post by Diehard »

It doesn't matter what they do, they are not basing it on sound biological data. The harvest data they have for East Tennessee is heavily skewed. Most of it came from Catoosa and Oak Ridge WMAs. Very little from the counties. As a matter of fact some counties had 0 (zero, nada, nil, zilch, etc.) deer aged at a checking station last year.



The agency has no idea what is being killed each year, pure and simple. We get less and less data each year, and what we do get is put in by the hunter through Internet check in.

I don't know how to post my graphs on here, but if anyone wants to see the trend over the last decade I will gladly email it to you. Just drop me a PM.
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MUP
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Re: Is there a problem

Post by MUP »

Send them to me via email Robert. Text outbound.
[Image We score trophies, but every hunt is, to some extent, a way of measuring ourselves.
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