I've lived in other states and it's great. There's none of this bullshyte. You just grab a copy of the regs and go hunt when you can. There's nothing remotely this political anywhere else. Other state departments do their best to provide the most opportunities they possibly can to facilitate their hunters having a great season. They're not a bunch of moral drama queens that contemplate how they should use their position of power to push ethics on the people they're supposed to be working on behalf of. That isn't the right way to manage wildlife and it is the most inefficient way. Why guys like Landwehr engages in public input from a bunch of idiot hunters and thinks he has a moral authority to try to gauge potential impacts of seasons is beyond me.
What I want to see in MN is very simple, it's very fair, and it's extremely efficient.
If a season is legally allowed and if there's no concerns for the population of the species being hunted, the season is held for the maximum amount of days with the maximum limits allowed. How much easier would that be for everyone?
When some idiot from the Wood Dork Society calls Landwehr concerned about the limit on woodies going from 2 to 3 he can now answer, "We were allowed to do it, the current population shows no concerns not do it, so we did it. That's how we set seasons. I'm sorry you're concerned but that's how we operate and we must stick to that."
Or Nylin calls on behalf of the MWFags over a teal season, "Sorry B-Rad, you know you're my BFF, but we were allowed a season, the current population shows no concerns for having a season, so we're going to hold a season. Simple as that Brad. I can't go against how we operate and set seasons, if I did, what am I supposed to tell the wolf crowd when they start bytching? I personally think it might be a little much to add 16 extra days of teal hunting but you know how we set seasons and my personal opinions and ethics should not and do not have any part in that process."
All the bullshyte is removed from the process. If down the road the sustainability of the population comes into question at the rate of the current season then you scale it back.
These azzholes act as if harvesting local ducks is like harvesting California Condors and there's only a finite amount they're trying to not run out of. Instead of irrationally worrying about what local ducks can handle just hold the seasons you're allowed and if their numbers dip then scale it back. Local ducks will rebound if temporarily over harvested after switching to more conservative regulations. The biggest factor in how many ducks raise a brood in MN is habitat. If a hen nests on a nice wetland and gets shot one year, a new hen will eventually replace her spot on that wetland and it probably won't take real long. If a hen nests on a wetland and it is drained and converted to agriculture or development she isn't coming back regardless of how conservative you set your seasons.
Nershi wrote:How come everyone assumes kids cripple a lot of birds?
There are two types of cripples; one that you're able to put down and retrieve and one that gets away to surely die later. For this discussion I'm talking about the ones that get away.
With that being said, I assume kids cripple a lot because when I was a kid I crippled a lot and the kids I've taken have crippled a lot. YWD is especially bad because all the birds that get crippled have to be put down by a kid that usually doesn't know what they're doing and often has to fumble around to get more shells in their gun to dispatch a duck or goose that will be gone before they successfully accomplish that. These are birds any experienced hunter would have no problem putting down. Plus almost every kid is an awful shot. They just are. I wasn't any good either. Any kid that can consistently kill the shyte they're supposed to kill is the rare exception.
Which is why it might be better to allow the adult mentors to also hunt on YWD. Two things would happen. One, less cripples would be lost. Two, drastically increased participation overall with the biggest increase coming in kids that would probably never otherwise be exposed to hunting.
You don't think the duck hunting bachelor or college guy would be knocking on doors trying to find a kid to bring along so he could get to duck hunt an extra day before the season starts? Single mothers hide your kids. The Big Brother Foundation would see a drastic surge in volunteers in late summer. This would be a good thing. Right now YWD consists of Dad's bringing their kids out that they would have brought out anyway without YWD. You might actually bring some new blood into the sport by giving an incentive to partake for the guys without kids...plus less cripples.
