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Long Beards & Spurs
Does Promoting License Sales Match TWRA Mission?
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<blockquote data-quote="TheLBLman" data-source="post: 5154556" data-attributes="member: 1409"><p>I'm afraid there are no simple answers to these opening questions.</p><p></p><p>The situation with turkey hunters (and turkey hunting lands) is vastly different from the situation with hunters in general. Same can be said for waterfowl hunters and waterfowl hunting areas.</p><p></p><p><u><strong>The circumstances are very fluid, constantly changing</strong></u><strong>.</strong></p><p></p><p>A few decades ago, we had more rabbit & squirrel hunters than deer (or turkey) hunters.</p><p>Never mind today there is no shortage of great places to hunt squirrels & rabbits, and there should be more squirrels & rabbits per hunter than in times past.</p><p></p><p>More recently, relatively more of the hunters have shifted more to turkey & waterfowl hunting, creating more pressure there.</p><p></p><p>But at the same time, hunting in general (both the number of hunters and the number of hours per hunter spent afield annually) has been <em>DECREASING. </em>Most overlooked may be the collective hunters hours spent hunting annually, as this is not reflected via the number of license sales.</p><p></p><p>With our current wildlife management models in most states, certainly TN, we need a certain minimal level of hunter participation to "manage" our statewide deer herds. As we have already seen in many municipalities and even some states, once the hunters collectively become unable to control deer populations, that control may become a "job" for government employees, not hunters.</p><p>At that point, the future of hunting (as we know it) becomes more bleak.</p><p></p><p><u><strong>Remember, the super-majority generally has more "say" in what happens than the super-minority</strong></u><strong>.</strong></p><p></p><p>Hunters and hunting is generally declining more than increasing, and already a majority of Americans don't hunt, and most of those non-hunters really don't care about what we hunters may perceive as problems with our hunting.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, both hunting and fishing seem to be getting "replaced" with other forms of outdoor recreation ---- other recreation that compromises traditional hunting & fishing activities. It becomes a sad situation for turkey hunters when turkey season is reduced so that hikers and atv users won't feel "uncomfortable" with people out shooting at turkeys in the same places they're hiking & riding.</p><p></p><p>You want to know much of the truth as to why we're trending towards less hunting on many public lands, like LBL? It's not all accidental that the dates are being changed, the number of days being reduced, the available opportunities reduced (like no more "bonus" game, 1-buck limit, etc.). While some are blaming "trophy-ism" with the deer management, the truth may be more about increasing the opportunities for other forms of outdoor recreation.</p><p></p><p>It's kinda a fine line between having enough hunters and having too many?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TheLBLman, post: 5154556, member: 1409"] I'm afraid there are no simple answers to these opening questions. The situation with turkey hunters (and turkey hunting lands) is vastly different from the situation with hunters in general. Same can be said for waterfowl hunters and waterfowl hunting areas. [U][B]The circumstances are very fluid, constantly changing[/B][/U][B].[/B] A few decades ago, we had more rabbit & squirrel hunters than deer (or turkey) hunters. Never mind today there is no shortage of great places to hunt squirrels & rabbits, and there should be more squirrels & rabbits per hunter than in times past. More recently, relatively more of the hunters have shifted more to turkey & waterfowl hunting, creating more pressure there. But at the same time, hunting in general (both the number of hunters and the number of hours per hunter spent afield annually) has been [I]DECREASING. [/I]Most overlooked may be the collective hunters hours spent hunting annually, as this is not reflected via the number of license sales. With our current wildlife management models in most states, certainly TN, we need a certain minimal level of hunter participation to "manage" our statewide deer herds. As we have already seen in many municipalities and even some states, once the hunters collectively become unable to control deer populations, that control may become a "job" for government employees, not hunters. At that point, the future of hunting (as we know it) becomes more bleak. [U][B]Remember, the super-majority generally has more "say" in what happens than the super-minority[/B][/U][B].[/B] Hunters and hunting is generally declining more than increasing, and already a majority of Americans don't hunt, and most of those non-hunters really don't care about what we hunters may perceive as problems with our hunting. Meanwhile, both hunting and fishing seem to be getting "replaced" with other forms of outdoor recreation ---- other recreation that compromises traditional hunting & fishing activities. It becomes a sad situation for turkey hunters when turkey season is reduced so that hikers and atv users won't feel "uncomfortable" with people out shooting at turkeys in the same places they're hiking & riding. You want to know much of the truth as to why we're trending towards less hunting on many public lands, like LBL? It's not all accidental that the dates are being changed, the number of days being reduced, the available opportunities reduced (like no more "bonus" game, 1-buck limit, etc.). While some are blaming "trophy-ism" with the deer management, the truth may be more about increasing the opportunities for other forms of outdoor recreation. It's kinda a fine line between having enough hunters and having too many? [/QUOTE]
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Does Promoting License Sales Match TWRA Mission?
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