World Finals Wraps Up Dirt Season

http://www.ipetitions.com
/petition/vermont-spikehorn-petition/

I don't think of myself as begging very much, or at all for that matter, but let us just call this a plea to all of you out there who care about the QUALITY of the hunts that you have available to you in this state. I say that because I believe, fervently, that we have done more to improve that quality in the past 5 or 6 years with the SPIKEHORN BAN than any other single thing that we could have done. And though I do believe that sanity, provable science, and biological correctness should govern our Fish and Wildlife Department in this area, I have seen enough emotional politics in my day to make me very cautious about taking anything for granted about the deer herd of this state. Indeed, even in the areas of the previously mentioned "science", there seems to be much guessing about just what it is responsible for our "poorer quality" yearling bucks. Certainly enough guessing, I suppose, to make me want to show, scientifically, why those who believe that smaller bucks are the result of poor genetics are wrong. I think that I have done that, as all my research says so, and, in any case, I can see no way that a biologist could sample any specific buck from the youth harvest and determine that that particular buck was genetically inferior to any other in the harvest. All that we can gather is that there are some that are smaller and have smaller horns than others. All the experts that I have either read or talked to seem to concur that mostly this is the result of either poor habitat or late birth. We may be able to control habitat, though it seems that it is a major struggle in this state to get more logging permitted and authorized, let alone encouraged. Birth dates, however, are certainly not controllable by man so the reality is that we end up having little control over most of what determines a deer's yearling size. That being the case, why, then should we worry so much about it? Pretty much, it is what it is! Pretty much it has been established by experts in the field through collar tracking and photo ID that those very small yearling bucks, if they survive their first winter, will express as more mature and greater antlered bucks in their second and third years. That kind of mutes any movement to remove them earlier, it would seem.

The politics of this issue, however, does have a bearing on the Fish and Wildlife Department. That department is controlled, as are all, by the Legislature, the Commissioner, and the Governor. Two of those are elected by all of us out here, and one of them is appointed by an elected official. Also the entire DEER HEARING process was a creation of the Legislature so that the Department and the Fish and Wildlife Board, also an appointed body representing all counties of the state, could have some responsiveness to the wishes of the general hunting public of this state. In short, the Legislature did not want the Department or the Board operating in a vacuum and not listening to the general public. Neither the deer herd nor the regulations governing them belong to the bureaucracy. They belong to the citizens of the state and in many respects have to defer to the wishes of the majority of its citizens. Since we can't have a referendum on every issue for every person, the DEER HEARING process has been an attempt to gain that consensus necessary for management and changes. Is it a clumsy process? Probably so, but we are imperfect beings and can only try and give it our best shot. So that is what I am doing here. I am encouraging, as I have done in the past, every hunter in this state to try and attend one of these hearings, when they are announced. I am also encouraging all of you to be vocal in stating your feelings about the success of this program---NOT SHOOTING SPIKEHORNS.

There is a glaring problem, however. The participation at these hearings, though sometimes higher than others, is usually very low in comparison to the number of licensed hunters in the state. So if you took a reading of those testifying for or against any particular issue, while either side may gather the oos and aahs of the crowd, in the final analysis it would represent a very small minority of all hunters. Fortunately or unfortunately, you can't be counted unless you are there, so those attending the hearings end up getting a greater say and greater input than the rest of the hunting public that does not attend. I have argued and suggested, for years, that the Department use the licensing process to gather input from hunters, with a simple survey given with any license application to gain a much greater crossection of hunter opinion. I do not know why, but they just will not use this method. It would seem to indicate that they are content with less input rather than more and that troubles me.

That is why the title of this article is a petition that I have started along with my friend and great hunting companion, Frank Kurant, Jr., and why I encourage all of you that feel similarly to visit the site and sign the petition. I also sincerely ask you for any help that you may give me in seeing that this is as widely distributed as possible. You may also Google ipetitions.com and when the general site comes up, just use the search engine on the site and type in spikehorn---that will bring up the category of Vermont spikehorn petition and when you click on it the petition will pop up. It is also a great vehicle to see just how many of your friends have signed and track the progress of the petition. The last thing I am saying is that this substitutes for attending a hearing, but there are many, many hunters that either do not attend because it just isn't their cup of tea, or they are out of town, or they are too remote to make a meeting or whatever. No matter what the reason, you can express an opinion here on this site and I encourage you to do so. And I will be very grateful for all of you that do so.

I want to make it clear that other than "MR I WANT TO SHOOT SPIKEHORNS", I haven't heard much groundswell of support for any change to the ban, but there is a lot of residual sentiment from Haskell's time (our former Deer Team leader) about antler beam diameters and small yearling bucks. In a recent conversation with Commissioner Berry, he told me that the department was focused more right now on hiring a new Deer Team Leader, which has taken longer than anticipated due to two previous searches for "just the right person" with appropriate skill sets. The commissioner said that he didn't anticipate that ANY changes would be recommended until the new Team Leader was well in place and had a chance to get grounded in the stats. My only question is "what stats" and how would they affect any decision? That is precisely why it is my desire to get as much input as possible from you all, both the "feet on the ground" testimony and the traditional personal opinion that has always been a great part of our hunting heritage here in Vermont.

Caution to all of you Ice Fishermen!! While there is enough ice in many places to support foot traffic, I would strongly caution all of you to be VERY, VERY, careful when even considering whether to use ATVs on the ice----and DO NOT venture out with SUVs or TRUCKS!! It is just not safe enough to take the chances and the currents in Champlain in these weird temperature fluctuations can vary the ice from 6 or 8 inches to thin layers of an inch or two within just a few hundred yards of distance. And Yes---the Perch are biting near Eckley's on Bomo---towards the middle in 30-40 ft of water and stronger early and late. Also good reports at McCuin's Slang at the Champlain Bridge.

Have some fun---get a great meal---but we do not have to "robo catch" all of them. You know if we all take a thousand fish just because we can, we will have little reason to complain when they all are gone!!

Again----be safe---sign the petition---and until next week, good sports.

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