Calling all land owners in the East Kootenays! (MU 4-20)

Got Juice? said:
You can disagree all you want, but the badger pop is alive and well. They do not reproduce every year in case you did not know. If you went to the last Cattlemans meeting and the meeting about crown ranges 3 weeks ago, habitat maintenance was one of the bigger topics. Were you there? No? If not, why not? Then ask yourself if are you part of the solution or the problem :)

I hear lots of talk from people who like to run the mouth or complain, without becoming involved by going to these meetings and getting educated :)

People like me in the field with livestock are out every day, and have a pretty good idea of what is out there. I do agree poisoning is contemptible at best, and it kills more than the gophers. The collateral damage is huge. Hence the reason I encourage and ask other farmers to hunt on their land, so they learn to reach for their phone and call me before reaching for the strychnine or other poisons.

Last year, I could not even make Gopher Stew (yes I eat 1 batch a year) but it was unsafe due to spotted liver disease (tularemia (sp?) )

Plowing gophers under does not work. The plows work to a maximum of 18-20" and the wishek discs only run 12-14" Gopher burrows run far deeper. Yes some get munched, but their colonies interconnect enough so they stay ahead of the equipment.
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If the population is alive and well why has there been no hunting or trapping season in something like 50 years? Why has a dump truck full of money been spent tagging and tracking, bringing badgers up from Montana and Idaho, running a hotline to report badger sightings, putting in badger crossings etc?

Why can't one shoot gophers on Crown Land anymore?

Plowing gophers under removes their food supply.

I can tell you that 3 of 4 colonies I used to shoot are gone. I believe 1 was poisoned by the farmer and the only explanation for the other 2 is disease, unless they packed their suitcases and went somewhere else.

I've had lengthy conversations when reporting my sightings. The badgers in the north end of the trench were not reproducing at all, that and the large home ranges are signs of scarcity.
 
MiG25 said:
If the population is alive and well why has there been no hunting or trapping season in something like 50 years? Why has a dump truck full of money been spent tagging and tracking, bringing badgers up from Montana and Idaho, running a hotline to report badger sightings, putting in badger crossings etc?

Why can't one shoot gophers on Crown Land anymore?

Plowing gophers under removes their food supply.

I can tell you that 3 of 4 colonies I used to shoot are gone. I believe 1 was poisoned by the farmer and the only explanation for the other 2 is disease, unless they packed their suitcases and went somewhere else.

I've had lengthy conversations when reporting my sightings. The badgers in the north end of the trench were not reproducing at all, that and the large home ranges are signs of scarcity.
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In BC you NEVER have been able to shoot gophers on crown land without a permit. Ever.

Some badgers do not reproduce more than once every 3 years.

Have you noticed the rabbit, mole, vole, rodent populations? It is not food they lack.

Sad to hear some of your colonies are on the decline. Some were drowned 2 years ago from our rains in early spring, Tualeremia also took it's toll on gopher populations as well. I should know, I eat them :)

I 100% agree poison should be outlawed though. Collateral damage is excessive.

Some of the badger issue is lands access by recreational bikers... and the sh_t they leave on the trails, and dens that they disturb.

I am unaware of trapping badgers :) I did not realize there was a season for it 50 years ago, so I have nothing constructive to say about that either way.

Most farmers/ranchers are near zero till since we do not want to lose topsoil. Tilling and Discing only occurs once every 5 years, so you can't blame gopher decline on that. Stubble is our friend, it keeps seed,soil, and fertilizer from blowing away.
 
I'm skeptical that there are Black Footed Ferrets in BC.

I'm also skeptical that the badger population is doing well, they are possibly the rarest land mammal in BC and their *primary* food is the Columbia Ground Squirrel aka gopher. Say what you will but the large home ranges are absolutely a sign of scarcity: for the females scarcity of food and for the males scarcity of females.
 
MiG25 said:
I'm skeptical that there are Black Footed Ferrets in BC.

I'm also skeptical that the badger population is doing well, they are possibly the rarest land mammal in BC and their *primary* food is the Columbia Ground Squirrel aka gopher. Say what you will but the large home ranges are absolutely a sign of scarcity: for the females scarcity of food and for the males scarcity of females.
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You can be skeptical but ranchers are out on the range (horseback and ATV) far more than the average 5 acre land owner. But the ferrets are here.

The Badger pop is doing well. It is holding steady at least on our ranges, and the crown ranges we access. Other areas, that might not be the case.

Perhaps something in your environment is causing a decline, probably a factor you are not considering or not aware of?

Attending a few MNR Meetings can be helpful, the field biologists love to answer questions. Since we have animals in their territory, we REPORT what animals we observe on the ranges for the biologists to look at and confirm :)
 
Got Juice? said:
Ministry of Natural Resources
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Never heard of them.

I assume your talking about the smart people at Forestry. The ones that cost the taxpayers of this Province $100 million by selling timber that belonged to CP.

Now if there are Black Footed Ferrets, even more reason not to shoot gophers.
 
MiG25 said:
Never heard of them.

I assume your talking about the smart people at Forestry. The ones that cost the taxpayers of this Province $100 million by selling timber that belonged to CP.

Now if there are Black Footed Ferrets, even more reason not to shoot gophers.
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I do not shoot in that field if it makes you happy :) I was surprised last spring and summer. Spending a lot of time on Kook in a boat at anchor watching wildlife. We have a lot of animals present if one is patient enough to sit and watch for them.

We are pretty lucky to live in this area


Yes, we have MNR... they keep changing their name :) https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hts/tsa/tsa05/

The one on theatre road is kmown as 'front counter' the one up by mainroads is the operations center.
 
Also, page 50 of the hunting regs will show you that you can only shoot gophers on private land with permission. Hunting them on Crown Land unless you are a leaseholder is strictly Verboten.

Of course you can always apply for a permit :)
 
c-fbmi said:
j_06..............The OP very specifically asked about squirrel hunting in the East Kootenays, where I live. Then in his second sentence he refers to the no closed season and no bag limit on Columbian ground squirrels AKA gophers. The reason I queried him is because these are two totally different types of hunting..........one is for tree rats and the other is for gophers. Squirrels I eat and gophers I don't, is another big difference.
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I'm a newbie when it comes to hunting, so I had no idea that the Ground Squirrels were also considered Gophers. I'm simply looking for an easy first hunt to do with my .22 after I move. I thought hunting "squirrels" might be a good bet, but in the Hunting & Trapping Synopsis under Region 4 it states the only "Squirrel" you can hunt is the Columbian Ground Squirrel. Since everyone seems to be differentiating Columbia Ground Squirrels from the ones that live in tress...is there an open season for tree dwelling squirrels? If so - what is it and what is that species of squirrel called?
 
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