J for the USA

Well I finally made up my mind. I decided on East over West. I put in for 2005, 2003, 2017, and 2007. 3 out of 4 are in the Blues. I put Observatory in there as third because the Wenaha East is mostly wilderness and that will take some extra effort to make work. I guess the things that won out were the rain factor, as well as the branch bull restriction--Overall I think I'm a little less likely to get an elk on the East vs. the West, but better chances at a big trophy. If I don't get drawn (I have low points so I'm not expecting to), I'll probably hunt the thick Northeast where there are any bull/any elk units.

Thanks to all those who chimed in. Good luck with your draws [:-] God bless.

summit daWg

I did what We (ALL as individual submissions this year as opposed to group)have been doing for 12 years now and we'll all see what 144chances does for a measly3 permits. Colokckum A....only one choice
I did get calls from 2 different gentlemen from 2 different offices (Wenatchee,and Yakima) telling me of very low Bull to cow ratios due to
hunter success and winter kill. Didn't really seem to blame poaching or tribal hunting. Actually didn't seem to want to discuss either issue much.
We discussed possible fixes which I'll get into at another time.Permit only units are not being considered-But "True Spike" has been discussed as an option. More road closures are not being considered (thank god) Nor was expansion of the existing reserve. I did hear of satellite reserves??
I told them if they want more escapement they need to leave a few more trees and stop the rampant logging in many places up there.

BrutalAttack

Sounds like a smoke screen to me. But I'm not an expert, nor do I have access to any of their updated data.

I will just say this:

While this past winter was quite harsh compared to the 10 year average, we haven't had a severe winter that would have impacted populations over a widespread area since 1996. They wouldn't know much about winter kill at this time anyway, not until they do their flight surveys in late 2008-early 2009.

When they say "hunter success", that doesn't mean a whole lot considering most units are permit only for branched antler. So, why would hunter success be a problem if they are deciding how many tags to issue? If they are allocating bull tags to an area, and banking on the fact that only 40% of them will be filled, well that's just stupidity on their part.

It's been proven time and again in many studies that hunter success and thus elk mortality increases as road density increases.

What they should have said is: "We have several areas with very high road density, and this increased access is leading to higher than average harvest and increased opportunities for poachers." They won't talk about poaching or Indian harvest because they have probably been told not to, as these are both obvious problemsand hot button issues they can do little about.

They have little control over timber harvest on National Forestlands. However, doing some things to limit hunter access, such as temproad closures wouldgo a long way toward increasing bull survival through the hunting season.

WA elk are subject to an incredible amount of hunting pressure. WA is also popular for poachers and Indian harvest because they can see long distances and most roads are fully open year round to some kind of mechanized travel, compared to neighboring states.

This is perfect for spotlighting and/or shooting from you're vehicle/the road.

It's not an accidentthat ID and MThave a large amount ofmandatory/year round road closures andhave had goodsuccess managing theirelk populations.

summit daWg

By "hunter success' they are saying that not enough spikes are making it through the year to increase the bigger bull numbers.
Since we started hunting the colockum...70% of the roads have already been closed permanantly. Except for the fact that many times we have enocountered those who " can't read the language the signs are printed in" driving these closed roads.
How about letting the weather close roads to people by making the season LATER in the year- worked great up until the '80's!
As for logging , this is all mostly state land (DNR or WDFW) land being logged up there.
Thank God we don't have the Canadian Grey to deal with in this area!!

Jlloyd31

we put in for the taneum last year and i shot a cow. had about 45 to chose from. i don't hunt for elk unless i get drawn. who cares about a big bull... taste like tire rubber anyway!!!

J for the USA

I've met an increasing number of hunters like that. Put in for E WA and see what happens. If they don't get drawn, they stay home. I couldn't believe that at first but for season after season of getting skunked while the Indians go on poaching I'm beginning to see why. Good luck with the draw--I'll post here when I find out.

Diehard0123

As I have said on other forums, WDFW is all about generatingcold hard cashfor the state coffers. They rely too heavily on draw tags to generate cash for Olympia. The WDFW is not about wildlife management it it's sole purpose is to make money and by keeping certain areas as spike only or 3 pt min. they create an oppertunity to generate extra money for Chrissy and her cronies by offering draw tags.This is why the fisheries is such a mess and why the state went to hunters having to purchase thier Turkey tags separate from the small game licence this year. Its all about the Green and not about the game.

J for the USA

State spending in the biennium budget has increased 31% under her holiness. 31%!!! Who here wouldn't mind 31% more money for hunting toys

I had the privilege of meeting Dino last week and having a chat with him. He talks about spending that matters--roads, jails, etc. He has earned my support.

J for the USA

Oh yeah, I didn't get drawn either []

Looks like you need to wait 6+ years to get a good bull tag in E/WA.