CWD Survey? (Calling SCN)

Anyone else get this survey and complete it?

SCN: Does it make sense to post the survey here?

I received the email with link to survey, but haven't completed it yet.

Some pretty significant amendments being considered.

My concern is the fear of CWD is being used to "justify" changes
that TWRA-Commissioners wanted to make long before CWD was found.

As an example, the most controversial aspect surrounding these changes
is regarding the August "velvet" buck hunt.
That was started with little discussion mainly as a venue to attract non-resident hunters?
And it happened before any CWD was found in TN.

So, this year, they propose the August buck hunt goes from archery to rifle,
and it be two (2) "bonus" bucks that don't count against the regular statewide bag.
Also, this special trophy hunt is now extended to public WMAs (wasn't last year).

This may be much a ruse to go back to the high-buck limits of pre-1998?

To those who are thinking, ok, but this is only in a handful of counties, not in mine,
think again. CWD will likely soon be documented whatever county you're hunting.

The survey itself was designed where almost anyone, regardless of opinions on the various proposals,
will be answering the survey as though they agree with all the proposals.

Such as, "Will you likely kill more deer with a 4-buck limit and more days to hunt?"

But will we kill more female deer?
That question is not on the survey.

Were not we previously told deer density was a big issue
and it needed to be reduced to reduce the threat of CWD spreading?

How's the best way to reduce ongoing deer density?

Yet the biggest single proposed change (from a deer kill perspective)
is to add a buck-only rifle hunt in August?

What about all we've been told about too many deer "congregating" in any one place?
What about all those older females that will continue to reproduce, and be killed at a lower rate than before,
if we increase the buck limit?

My understanding is the increased buck limits proposed will reduce the doe harvest.
Is that the goal?

Put it this way:

If you go out in August and kill two (2) bucks with a rifle,
will you be likely to kill more or fewer female deer during the traditional deer hunting dates?

That question is not on the survey.

There were many questions that could have been asked on this survey,
but were not.

For example . . . . . . as "yes" or "no" answers . . . . .

1) Do you believe the ongoing deer density is mainly a function of doe harvest?

2) Do you believe most non-resident hunters who show up for the August buck hunt,
will come back in the Fall to kill a doe?

3) Do you believe the non-resident deer gun-hunting license should include the ability to legally kill "a" doe
in the Unit L rifle season?
(Now, 4 bucks in select counties, but still not "a" doe.)

4) Do you believe a basic gun deer hunting license (for TN residents)
should allow the killing of at least "a" doe?

5) If you kill more bucks this year, will you likely also kill more female deer this year?

6) Regarding non-resident hunters who participate in the CWD "hot" counties August gun hunt,
if they come back to deer hunt Tennessee in November, do you think most will choose to deer hunt Tennessee
"Inside" or "Outside" the CWD "hot" zone counties?

I received the survey, but am a non-resident and don't hunt in the CWD zones so I have chosen not to respond at this time. I figure TN folks ought to be the ones determining their hunting rules and not non-residents. Some interesting proposals for sure though.

done

I completed the survey. I thought is was thorough enough. I'm glad they listened and decided to allow us to provide feedback before changing the rules. If you don't take the time then don't complain about the outcome. I admire them for trying to keep more hunters interested in deer hunting in the CWD zone. Once you lose hunters, it will be hard to get them back. Most of us are at the age where we don't like change, but a change is coming thanks to CWD and we all must adapt. This upcoming season is the most critical in Tennessee deer hunting history, don't you think?

Life time license here and no survey ,not sure how they determine who gets what :roll:

My sister in law got the survey, she has hunted once in her life.

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mike243":2qbwfm11 said:

Life time license here and no survey ,not sure how they determine who gets what :roll:

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Not sure either, but my survey was delivered via email.
I suspect if you don't have an email address on file with TWRA, you didn't get the survey.

If you haven't checked the email you have on file with TWRA,
that might be why you haven't seen it.

huntintn":2bqo2jyt said:

My sister in law got the survey, she has hunted once in her life.

Sent from my LG-K371 using Tapatalk

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I received mine via text. You might check the website and see what the preferred method is for contacting you.

fairchaser":xmzucn4t said:

This upcoming season is the most critical in Tennessee deer hunting history, don't you think?

Click to expand...

That sounds like one of the questions on the survey.
How could anyone answer any way but "yes" to that?

My issue is I believe our detriments may come more from TWRA's proposed changes than CWD itself,
just as it has in so many other states which have had CWD for many years, even decades.

MOST of the changes are good, like not transporting carcasses outside the hot zone, like not importing carcasses from other states, like offering free or low-cost testing for harvested deer.

But the biggest single regulatory change to our future deer hunting hinges around the August Trophy Buck Hunt,
which was pushed thru without any survey BEFORE any CWD was found.
Remember, this was pushed thru last year, with virtually no public discussion or vetting.

It is now being proposed greatly expanded, imo, under the guise of dealing with CWD.
Double the days, make it rifle instead of archery, make it two bonus bucks (ups the buck limit to 4).
How will this effect the average deer hunter, particularly those hunting public lands?

Who exactly initially pushed this trophy buck hunt (in August) last year?
The same factions are now wanting to expand it, little to do with CWD,
but everything to do with catering to a select minority of TN's deer hunters.

MOST TN resident deer hunters have little interest in deer hunting in the summertime,
especially when it becomes detrimental to their traditionally timed Fall/Winter deer hunting.

So, yes, I do believe the upcoming year is a critical pivot point to the future of TN's deer hunting and deer management.
So was 1998.
CWD is bad; but so is misleading the public about the main reasons behind the summertime deer hunting.

Here's the bottom line:

We're talking about great potential for there to be a higher buck harvest during a single weekend in August
than we've traditionally had on the opening weekend of rifle season in November.

Worse, they're even proposing making it two weekends,
so that could mean more bucks being killed in August than in November.

But how does this deal with CWD?

It really doesn't, does it?

And again . . . . . .

To those who are thinking, ok, but this is only in a handful of counties, not in mine,
think again.

CWD likely will soon be documented in whatever county you're hunting.
It would have been found, possibly years, sooner in those hot zone counties
if TWRA had been intensely testing for it in the past like they did in 2018.
There will be more intense testing statewide in 2019.

These "hot zone" regs could easily go completely "statewide" within a couple years.
All that would take to "justify" this would be finding CWD in some eastern counties and some farther north counties.
That will happen.
Just a matter of how soon.

TheLBLman":emqacpl4 said:

And again . . . . . .

To those who are thinking, ok, but this is only in a handful of counties, not in mine,
think again.

CWD likely will soon be documented in whatever county you're hunting.
It would have been found, possibly years, sooner in those hot zone counties
if TWRA had been intensely testing for it in the past like they did in 2018.
There will be more intense testing statewide in 2019.

These "hot zone" regs could easily go completely "statewide" within a couple years.
All that would take to "justify" this would be finding CWD in some eastern counties and some farther north counties.
That will happen.
Just a matter of how soon.

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X 2 . We have had it for several years in west tn

ronnycl":388m51f6 said:

TheLBLman":388m51f6 said:

And again . . . . . .

To those who are thinking, ok, but this is only in a handful of counties, not in mine,
think again.

CWD likely will soon be documented in whatever county you're hunting.
It would have been found, possibly years, sooner in those hot zone counties
if TWRA had been intensely testing for it in the past like they did in 2018.
There will be more intense testing statewide in 2019.

These "hot zone" regs could easily go completely "statewide" within a couple years.
All that would take to "justify" this would be finding CWD in some eastern counties and some farther north counties.
That will happen.
Just a matter of how soon.

Click to expand...

X 2 . We have had it for several years in west tn

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I firmly believe they knew CWD existed before they pushed through the August Velvet Hunt. You have some real good points LBLman.

Matador":2x4739kk said:

I firmly believe they knew CWD existed before they pushed through the August Velvet Hunt.

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I would use the term "thought" instead of believe.
I thought CWD presented in Stewart County at least 3 yrs ago,
but Lord have mercy on us if it gets "confirmed".
Kinda like the cougar sightings.
They're just cases of mistaken identity, or just "escaped captives", until & unless DNA testing proves wild origin.
Only then are they "confirmed".

No, I do not think CWD had anything to do with a summertime "trophy" buck hunt being created about this time last year.

TN's August "velvet" buck hunt was created mainly to compete better with Kentucky for non-resident license sales.
Kentucky has had an archery-only "velvet" buck hunt for many years.
Their season opens September 1st. TWRA created it in TN last year to open a week earlier than KY's.

But instead of just opening TN's archery season earlier (like KY)
TWRA advertised it as a "trophy velvet buck" hunt,
and set the date for August, before KY's archery opener.

But some big differences with KY's:

KY has a 1-buck limit, which is more accomodating in allowing this earlier hunting.
You kill a velvet buck in KY, that's your buck for the year, you're one & done.
(And no, I do not want their 1-buck limit.)
KY's "velvet" buck hunting was designed just to be an earlier beginning to their "either-sex" archery deer season.
It's not really just a trophy buck hunt, but rather just an earlier opening to their archery season.
Again, in KY, it's an "either-sex" hunt, not a "buck only" hunt.

KY also does not even allow the use of crossbows for this early archery season, or "velvet" buck hunting if you want.
By contrast, TWRA is now proposing we allow centerfire rifles, and raise the buck limit from 2 to 4 (actually more).

This is the most dramatic proposal in Tennessee's deer regs since 1998
when the statewide buck limit went from 11 to 2.

Never mind, CWD has likely been in Southern West TN for years before it was "confirmed" in late 2018.

With more extensive STATEWIDE testing in 2019,
you should expect CWD to be confirmed in more counties.
But that doesn't mean the sky has to fall.

Can give you another behind the scenes jewel of information:

Have you noticed an increase in the number of turkey hunters on public lands this year?
(Please, don't blame this on Catman.)

Many avid deer hunters are also avid turkey hunters.
Many avid turkey hunters are also avid deer hunters.

Anything that increases the non-resident hunting for either deer or turkey in TN
also increases the non-resident hunting for both deer and turkey.

TheLBLman":v2orgxbp said:

Here's the bottom line:

We're talking about great potential for there to be a higher buck harvest during a single weekend in August
than we've traditionally had on the opening weekend of rifle season in November.

Worse, they're even proposing making it two weekends,
so that could mean more bucks being killed in August than in November.

But how does this deal with CWD?

It really doesn't, does it?

Click to expand...

This right here is really scary. I don't doubt that we could kill more bucks in Aug than Nov. So what happens if they confirm CWD in East Tn and northern counties, are they gonna implement the extras two bucks for the entire state. A. 2 and a 1/2 yr old would be a trophy for sure in 2-3 years. I sure hope they weigh all decisions made and do not let the money income blind them. We could really see the "good ole days of deer season" as a thing of the past. Its already changing.