MDHA letter to DNR - Good read

[Mayfly]

MDHA finally steps up. Its nice to see that the MDHA is finally listening to the majority and taking a stand! Great letter to the DNR. Worth a read 

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MINNESOTA DEER HUNTERS ASSOCIATION
460 Peterson Road
Grand Rapids, MN 55744-8413
218.327.1103
Toll Free: 800.450.DEER (MN Only)
Fax: 218.327.1349 www.mndeerhunters.com
 
Tom Landwehr Commissioner
MN DNR 500 Lafayette Road
St. Paul MN 55155
Re: MDHA Recommendations re Deer Management Dear Commissioner

Landwehr:
 
May 9, 2014
 
With the fall hunt of 2013, the 2014 Emergency Winter Deer Feeding and the Deer Hunter Listening Sessions fresh in our minds, I wanted to take this opportunity to forward to you several observations and recommendations from MDHA regarding immediate and future deer management considerations.

First, once again, thank you for allowing state funding of the Emergency Winter Deer Feeding effort. Your decision led to a well-executed effort with enthusiastic participation by 969 passionate volunteers servicing 1,123 feeding sites with 1,056,000 pounds of deer feed over a 7 week time-frame. Preliminary estimates indicate approximately 16,200 deer were fed at a rate of 1.5 lbs/hd/day, translating into an estimated 17% of the deer population within the 13 approved Deer Permit Areas being reached (calculated with permit area size and density statistics). MDHA will submit to DNR a final report by June 30th with all of our findings, calculations, validations, and recommendations for future feeding events.

Since the six Deer Hunter Listening Sessions of March and April, I presume the Wildlife staff has had time to review, digest and assimilate the comments of attendees. Toward that goal, I previously forwarded to DNR staff my notes of the sessions as well as a compilation of feedback submitted to MDHA’s website survey. For the purpose of this letter, the major messages that hunters brought forward were:
 

• Hunters want to see more deer.
• Hunters want DNR efforts to increase deer numbers to start immediately.
• Hunters feel the current deer goal populations are too low and are skeptical that the current estimated deer population is correct.
• Hunters are frustrated and confused as to why many permit areas seem to be consistently managed at levels below stated goals.
• Hunters feel intensive harvest is a management tool only for extreme situations.
• Hunters are willing to have less opportunity now for the sake of increasing the deer herd.
• Hunters want greater hunter input in the deer goal setting process.
• Hunters appreciated the information shared by DNR at the sessions and asked that DNR increase local outreach and communication efforts to share similar and additional information with regularity in the future.

There was much more shared by hunters, but the above sums up much of the take-away message.
 
MDHA’s recommendations are much the same as those of the hunters. Our members also feel that the deer population and population goals are currently too low. As a result, following are some MDHA recommendations directly related to Minnesota’s immediate and future deer management and potential deer management opportunities.
 
1. MDHA recommends that DNR discontinue use of “intensive harvest” and “managed” designations of permit areas in 2014 and 2015, at least. The only exceptions to this should be in area 601 (Twin Cities Metro area), in disease control situations, or in metro/urban/city hunt areas where deer numbers must be thinned for safety reasons.
 
2. MDHA recommends that in Moose range (extreme NE MN) the DNR conduct its deer management in conjunction with deer goal numbers. In MDHA’s estimation this should be accomplished with “Bucks Only” designation or potentially very limited “lottery” designation. While the “lottery” designation would allow youth to enjoy the opportunity to take an antlerless deer, the major feedback being received by MDHA on this matter is for DNR to restrict harvest to “bucks only” to allow deer numbers to rebound more quickly.
 
3. MDHA recommends that DNR implement an annual survey of bow hunters as well as firearms and muzzleloader hunters to receive annual hunter observation data. This tool is currently being utilized by Iowa DNR (archery hunter survey) and MDHA is in the process of developing a survey for MDHA members with our goal of implementing it this fall (2014). MDHA will provide DNR with our collected data analysis annually. The goal of MDHA’s survey will be engagement of members through collection of their field notes (time afield, deer observed, other animal species observed, etc.) as well as collecting potentially useful hunter input via trend analysis as the data stacks up year by year.
 
4. MDHA recommends that DNR provide additional training and support to Area Wildlife staff toward working with farmer complaints of deer depredation. It is apparent that many if not most farmer complaints could be dealt with, and potentially mitigated long term, through abatement methods short of landscape reductions in deer numbers. Habitat enhancement, land acquisition, food plots, special youth or handicapped hunts, special easements, targeted shooting permits, etc. are only a few such options available that could better satisfy the concerns of farmers as well as hunters and area residents.
 
5. MDHA recommends that DNR increase local community communications by directing Area Wildlife staff to create annual reports of their local accomplishments and that these reports and their information be presented to local community groups and press. This is already being done some area offices. Randy Markl of Windom annually accomplishes such a report that is a prime example of what should be publicized. Increased local communication through the reports and increased local interaction through public meetings and presentations will be key toward improving DNR public relations, breaking down current barriers of distrust or feelings of alienation, and building productive relationships with community and stakeholder groups.
 
6. MDHA recommends that DNR define and set in place strategic initiatives toward identifying traditional winter deer yards across the state, assessing the quantity and quality of adjacent food sources including browse, and implementing scheduled food source maintenance and improvement management. Wintering cover for deer is most needed in times of severe winters as we have just had. It is at those times that we realize how inadequate or incomplete our knowledge of those resources currently are. In the north, the loss of upland white cedar yarding areas continues at a steady to increasing rate as northern corporate forestry interests harvest the cedar in conjunction with aspen harvest upon those same parcels; all this with no plan or expectation for white cedar regeneration. In the ag lands of the state, deer wintering areas are increasingly without adequate adjacent quality food sources, thus leading to increased opportunity for instances of stored forage depredation by deer. Rather than fixing the problem by reducing deer numbers, MDHA proposes fixing the problem through strategic initiatives to answer habitat requirement needs.
 
7. MDHA recommends that DNR consider targeted management of select state parks and statutory game refuges for potential trophy deer hunts with separate and distinct hunting licenses sold for each hunts. This should be considered for currently closed areas as well as current lottery hunts like Camp Ripley. Such hunts would provide trophy opportunities on select public grounds, additional deer license revenue to DNR and allow hunters the potential to take more than one buck in Minnesota. Such hunts would also allow those hunters of public lands an opportunity to hunt lands managed for trophy animals without placing added restrictions upon local private or public lands. Toward that end, DNR staff would find it necessary to initiate and solicit greater communication, feedback and input to and from Camp Ripley Military Natural Resources staff as well as the staff of other potential locations. It would also include a dramatic change in deer management prescriptions upon such lands including managing for more deer, more bucks and bigger bucks, as well as marketing the ideal of opportunity to hunters. It would also be advisable to incorporate preference points for fairness so unsuccessful applicants gain advantage for subsequent years of hunt application.
 
8. MDHA recommends that DNR meet with MDHA staff in July or August for the express purpose of detailing future Emergency Winter Deer Feeding procedure and policy.
 
In their totality, MDHA’s recommendations to DNR are being forwarded as our input for incremental, proactive, beneficial steps that can be taken by DNR to improve deer populations, improve DNR/hunter relations, improve community outreach and understanding, and improve future deer management in Minnesota. No one recommendation is key. Instead, they each are part of a much larger accumulation of steps and strategies necessary to bring DNR, hunters, landowners and communities together on this issue for future benefit and future relationships.
 
Thank you for taking the time to consider our recommendations, and thank you for all DNR does for our natural resources.
 
Whitetails forever,
 
Mark Wm. Johnson Executive Director
mark@mndeerhunters.com
work 218-327-1103, ext 13 cell 218-259-0319
Cc Denis Quarberg, MDHA State President