Mandatory Hunter Success Reports are Due!

[BIGREDD]

The MNR is under budget restraints just like all the rest of the ministries and there just is not any money for head counts and research like there used to be.
The MNR relies heavily on hunters and the mandatory reporting for deer, bear and moose to better manage the resource.
I wonder how many of us in Ontario actually fill out the Mandatory Hunter reports they send us...
I know I always fill them out and usually send them a couple of pages of my complaints or suggestions. I know for a fact that these responses do get read and these reports are a usefull management tool!
Many hunters including myself lobbied hard for the extra deer tags and seasons for quite a few years and these ideas are slowly taking hold in many areas. These increased hunting opportunities are largely due to mandatory reporting by hunters across the province.
I have a few ideas and suggestions that I am working on for this years mandatory report.
Firstly I was quite happy with the change to the late season Primitive Weapon (Muzzle Loader/Archery) deer seasons from a controlled hunt to an open season in many areas. Also the addition of multiple tags allowed many hunters to extend their deer season.
I think that there should be more changes made though.
Multiple tags are great but without lengthening the seasons hunter success is still severly limited, and the deer herd will continue to expand. I believe that the MNR should extend the late season for the month of December... for Muzzle loaders as well as Archery.
As it is now the deer are still pressured from the gun hunt in these high population areas and only a few hunters are filling their tags during the first week of December. If this late season were to be carried over for the month there would be more hunters able to hunt during holidays and the deer would recover from the rut and the gun season and be more active feeding.
Most of the hunters are on private land so the inclusion of Muzzle loaders would not impact archers much, if at all.
I also think they should drop the seperation of the archery and M/L tags and just offer two or three either or tags for both weapons. I think it is dumb to have three tags if you can only use them in certain windows of oportunity.
Leave the Gun tag as it is for use in any season.... but make the additional tags legal for the early archery season and the late Muzzle loader/Archery season. I believe this would simplify things for hunters and the MNR alike... it would also go along way in better managing the deer herd.
Whether you agree with me or not I urge you to fill out your mandatory report... tell them what you think... it benefits us all.

 

[Kenny_G2]

I always fill mine out but I wonder if there are others out there that lie through there teeth like I do.

Example, I saw 25 moose/deer/bear, shot nothin, and saw 25 wolves and didn't shoot any of them either (hehehe ) since I don't have the $10 wolf tag.

If MNR isn't willing to atleast pay for the postage, after I have given them over a $100 for the licenses, I say here is what I think of your survey.

 

[lildave]

For the last two years I have hunted in Quebec, and this year in Ontartio.

In Quebec you are required to register your deer, at the local registry station and have the antlers marked before you do anything else with it.

On top of the 230 ish non-resident fee to hunt in quebec, I had to pay 5.00 on top of that to register the damn deer !

The registration, included showing them on the topo maps where and when you got it.

I thought it odd, that we don't have something like this in Ontario to manage the deer census.

lildave

 

[gth]

For the last two years I have hunted in Quebec, and this year in Ontartio.

In Quebec you are required to register your deer, at the local registry station and have the antlers marked before you do anything else with it.

On top of the 230 ish non-resident fee to hunt in quebec, I had to pay 5.00 on top of that to register the damn deer !

The registration, included showing them on the topo maps where and when you got it.

I thought it odd, that we don't have something like this in Ontario to manage the deer census.

lildave

The difference is in Quebec they have growing herds of moose and deer. The Ministry actually wants and expects you to be succesfull. They also care about managing thier herds for optimum "use", not optimum tag dollars.

 

[Mumptia]

Not required for moose and deer here in AB.

Mountain Cat is a register I think.

Is all of Ontario hunting registered? Chickens included?

 

[JohnC]

Not required for moose and deer here in AB.

Mountain Cat is a register I think.

Is all of Ontario hunting registered? Chickens included?

black bear are now mandatory report (by post card - not registered).

only wild turkey must be registered in Ontario.

additional deer tags are mandatory reports

moose & deer basic (first tag) reports are done on a random basis I believe (could be wrong on this for moose as I have been surveyed every year on moose, but only once on deer)

haven't received any other surveys.

 

[BIGREDD]

I always fill mine out but I wonder if there are others out there that lie through there teeth like I do.

Example, I saw 25 moose/deer/bear, shot nothin, and saw 25 wolves and didn't shoot any of them either (hehehe ) since I don't have the $10 wolf tag.

If MNR isn't willing to atleast pay for the postage, after I have given them over a $100 for the licenses, I say here is what I think of your survey.

I have to wonder why you would lie on a mandatory hunter report.... what would this accomplish .... you are definitely not part of the solution.

 

[BC Bigbore]

We get hunting questionaires sent to us here in BC also. I've always reported my activity whether successful or not. I'm another one who adds additional comments even though it isn't mandatory. The more accuracy they recieve from hunters, the better the model they can build to determine future hunting objectives. If information is missing, the Wildlife branch has no choice but to err on the side of caution to avoid over-harvest. This results in less open seasons and more Limited Entry Hunting with less opportunity for hunters...KF

 

[Kenny_G2]

I have to wonder why you would lie on a mandatory hunter report.... what would this accomplish .... you are definitely not part of the solution.

The more accuracy they recieve from hunters, the better the model they can build to determine future hunting objectives. If information is missing, the Wildlife branch has no choice but to err on the side of caution to avoid over-harvest. This results in less open seasons and more Limited Entry Hunting with less opportunity for hunters...KF

I would argue that even when armed with the "right" information the Ontario MNR Wildlife Branch err on the side of caution, hence my desire to pad my numbers. If you look at the number of moose tags available in Ontario you will notice they only go down, atleast thats what I have noticed for the areas I hunt and we definately have a black bear problem that the MNR has solved by giving me a 1-800 number to call and the wolf population is exploding which is now being properly managed by making me buy a special permit to shoot one of these vermin.

So forgive me if I see little point in being part of the solution. If the MNR can't see that my VOLUNTARY (since only the Bear one is really Mandatory in Ont) questionaire is a little cooked up then that just confirms to me that they are in fact a bunch of dumba$$e$ who wouldn't know what to do with accurate information if I did give it to them.

Plus the fact they don't pay for the postage still burns me

 

[BIGREDD]

I would argue that even when armed with the "right" information the Ontario MNR Wildlife Branch err on the side of caution, hence my desire to pad my numbers. If you look at the number of moose tags available in Ontario you will notice they only go down, atleast thats what I have noticed for the areas I hunt and we definately have a black bear problem that the MNR has solved by giving me a 1-800 number to call and the wolf population is exploding which is now being properly managed by making me buy a special permit to shoot one of these vermin.

So forgive me if I see little point in being part of the solution. If the MNR can't see that my VOLUNTARY (since only the Bear one is really Mandatory in Ont) questionaire is a little cooked up then that just confirms to me that they are in fact a bunch of dumba$$e$ who wouldn't know what to do with accurate information if I did give it to them.

Plus the fact they don't pay for the postage still burns me

Your logic of padding the numbers to get more Moose tags is absurd. How is giving out more tags for a declining Moose herd going to improve your success?
As far as the black bear problem goes you and I both know the Politicians have ignored the biology and the recommendations from the MNR. Our elected leaders stuffed this down our throats for political expediency... not the MNR.
The bear hunt is not the only Mandatory report... the Moose and Controlled hunts and others are Mandatory also.
Your assumption that the MNR staff and biologists are either stupid or naive is clearly indicative of the inanity of your position.
Oh yeah and you know what.... just send it without the 50 cent stamp... if your report does not get there it will be no loss.

 

[senior]

"I wonder how many of us in Ontario actually fill out the Mandatory Hunter reports they send us... "

There seems to be a strange relationship between the guys that don't fill out their deer result cards & the guys that do! The ones that don't, don't seem to get doe tags near as often as the guys that do:confused : At least it works that way up here in the camps I know!

After 15 years of NO moose tags, I wrote a very nasty reply about what I thought of the fairness of the system a number of years ago, recieved a cow tag next year & another a couple years after that again

It seems some-one does look at them anyway!

 

[Kenny_G2]

Your logic of padding the numbers to get more Moose tags is absurd. How is giving out more tags for a declining Moose herd going to improve your success?
As far as the black bear problem goes you and I both know the Politicians have ignored the biology and the recommendations from the MNR. Our elected leaders stuffed this down our throats for political expediency... not the MNR.
The bear hunt is not the only Mandatory report... the Moose and Controlled hunts and others are Mandatory also.
Your assumption that the MNR staff and biologists are either stupid or naive is clearly indicative of the inanity of your position.
Oh yeah and you know what.... just send it without the 50 cent stamp... if your report does not get there it will be no loss.

For starters, I don't think the moose herd is in decline. I have seen more moose in the last 5-8 years then I ever did before, not scientific I know but it is what I see. In fact I just hit one last week with the car, I wonder If I have to calim that one on my questionaire

MNR has arbitrarily dropped the tag numbers (atleast they tried to here in WMU 13 until NOSA - our local alternative to OFAH - stepped in, I know they did drop numbers in other WMUs though) because they didn't have data and could not afford to do moose surveys, defending it as taking the conservative approach in the absence of doing their job. IMHO the proper way to manage a moose herd is not through VOLUNTARY (because if they were mandatory I shouldn't have received a moose tag this year) questionaires but aerial surveys and field sampling.

I never thought I would see the day BigRedd would be defending MNR Whats next, OFAH and Liberals are the best thing to happen to Ontario hunters?

I never assumed MNR staff and biologists are either stupid or naive (although some are) but I do think the MNR system does not let individual staff to do the right thing. MNR is a very policy driven organizaiton and all staff must toe that line. I have worked with enough MNR staff to know there are bright people there (and they are also a dumping ground for the duds who couldn't make it in the private sector but follow direction well), unfortunately when your boss is a politician logical decision making and the need for data go out the window.

I will never agree with your position that a properly filled out questionaire helps with proper management of wildlife populations. I will fill out my questionaire as I feel appropriate, an cough up the 50cents, and move on to think about next years hunt. All the Best, Kenny G

 

[BIGREDD]

No worries Kenny... I know that in your area the Moose tag allocations are done with economics in mind... more than management. I am not defending the MNR but I also know a lot of the biologists and front line workers... Peterborough... you know!
I don't think that we should assume a confrontational attitude with regard to management and I don't condone misinformation as a tool of protest!