news
A group of 32 key natural resource opinion leaders met May 9-11 in Oklahoma City to provide recommendations on how to better manage the state^s growing deer herd. The meeting was another step in an ongoing process that the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is using to gain consensus on deer herd management and hunting regulation changes.
The committee represented every major group with an interest in deer management - from landowners and agriculture organizations like Farm Bureau, Farmer^s Union and Oklahoma Cattleman^s Association, to media representatives, to hunter organizations such as the Quality Deer Management Association, to state wildlife professionals including biologists and game wardens. Recommended changes will be presented to the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Wildlife Department^s governing board, at an upcoming Wildlife Commission meeting. Commissioners can implement all, part, or none of the plan, but have expressed their support for involving stakeholders in the process of formulating deer management recommendations. Some recommendations may require legislative action, and some of the strategies will require additional Wildlife Department funding.
Before arriving at specific management recommendations, the committee adopted the following mission statement: Manage Oklahoma^s deer herd for both quality and quantity to provide a healthy deer herd, managed specifically by habitat zones through education of both landowners and hunters.
In support of achieving this mission, the committee recommended the following five steps be taken:
Step 1: Rezoning. The group recommended a subcommittee of ODWC district law enforcement chiefs and regional wildlife supervisors create new deer management zones based on habitat types and social considerations.
Step 2: Maximize Doe Hunting Opportunity. Options to consider to maximize doe harvest include increasing the aggregate bag limit on does; allowing hunters to take two does during the primitive firearms and modern gun seasons; improving the Sportsmen Against Hunger program; establishing a January doe-only archery season; establishing three-day doe-only management gun hunts.
Step 3: Reduce Buck Aggregate Limit from Three To Two. While the committee believes there is a problem with the overharvest of young bucks, one that is especially acute in northern-tier counties, the committee^s majority recommendation was to implement this strategy to balance the harvest and improve herd health.
Step 4: Address Landowner Concerns. Work to reform liability, trespass and posting laws. Other key strategies recommended allowing hunting leaseholders to prosecute trespassers; reforming poaching laws to provide for stiffer penalties; implementing a walk-in hunting program to provide additional acres of hunting opportunity; and create a landowner advisory board for each deer management zone.
Step 5: Increased Education and Communication. Strategies under this step include distributing information through all Wildlife Department channels such as the hunting regulations, website, etc; implementing cooperative efforts to disseminate information on deer management between the Department and state agricultural publications; expanding landowner technical assistance offered by the Department; expanding Operation Game Thief; and creating a jointly-supported deer management website.
One of the significant issues that was discussed but did not make the committee^s final recommendations was increasing the deer gun season to 16 days. Consensus sentiment among committee members was that hunters first be provided the maximum opportunity for doe harvest within the current framework without increasing the number of days in the current deer gun season.
For example, hunters in northwest Oklahoma will be able this fall to harvest a doe any day during both the primitive firearms and modern gun seasons, but those hunting in most counties south of I-40 currently only will be allowed six days of muzzleloader doe hunting and two days during the modern firearms season. Furthermore, a 16-day season would be counterproductive to shifting harvest pressure from bucks to does, unless antlerless opportunities were increased accordingly.
"Overall I think we were all a little surprised at how much agreement there was among committee members on most of the issues," said Mike McCormick, executive editor of The Shawnee News Star and chairman of the 21st Century Deer Stakeholders Committee. "Obviously, a number of the strategies for each of these five key steps will need to be more thoroughly evaluated and given further consideration. One of the committee^s first recommendations was that we stay intact and stay active. We recognized that as the plan is implemented, there will need to be some flexibility to make adjustments as the plan^s accomplishments come to light."
McCormick said the group has set up several subcommittee^s which will convene this summer to begin work on areas that will help support the plan once it is implemented. He added that most committee members hope to attend the Wildlife Commission meeting when the recommendations will be presented, which will happen later this summer.
The committee^s consensus recommendation was that plan changes go into effect for the fall 2001 hunting seasons, although the Commission may choose to implement portions of the plan earlier.
"Two challenges kept resurfacing throughout our deliberations," said McCormick. "The Department lacks adequate funding to implement all plan recommendations, and we also recognize that there will be people who do not agree with all aspects of the plan and want to challenge its implementation.
"On those issues, the committee hopes to convince the Legislature to make Wildlife Department funding a priority, and we will strive to help overcome any roadblocks to the successful conclusion of this process."
Uploaded: 5/23/2000
Uploaded: 5/23/2000