Getting neighbors onboard with big buck mgmt

[Smalls]

But we are talking about Louisiana. Any examples I used of other state regulations were just that, examples. This conversation has been about deer regulations and management in Louisiana.

When have I proposed new regulations? Never. I never said we should move to lower limits in some areas. I stated that some areas have lower carrying capacities than others. The deer population is not evenly spread across the state. So if the harvest limit is based on the statewide population, you could potentially cause an overharvest in some areas.


My argument has been, and still is, that if the evidence is there that a particular area cannot support a given harvest level, it should be adjusted.

Any argument about enforcement being more difficult with differing limits across different zones is absurd too. How does Texas do it? They have a statewide limit, and then certain counties have limits that may be less than that. The agents are still afield, just enforcing a different limit in an area. The only way I see that getting more expensive is on the consumer side. You don't have to charge $34 a tag. I don't understand how that is relevant. Enforcing an area specific limit should not be any different than enforcing a statewide limit. Please explain why it is.

Lets take an example. You have a statewide limit of 6 deer. 10 clearly defined areas. 4 of those areas have a 4 deer limit because of lower populations. What makes this so much more difficult and expensive to enforce?

Also, for the record, I have never said anything to the effect of opposing different season lengths by area either.

[MathGeek]

Originally Posted by Smalls

My argument has been, and still is, that if the evidence is there that a particular area cannot support a given harvest level, it should be adjusted.

Any argument about enforcement being more difficult with differing limits across different zones is absurd too. How does Texas do it? They have a statewide limit, and then certain counties have limits that may be less than that. The agents are still afield, just enforcing a different limit in an area. The only way I see that getting more expensive is on the consumer side. You don't have to charge $34 a tag. I don't understand how that is relevant. Enforcing an area specific limit should not be any different than enforcing a statewide limit. Please explain why it is.

Lets take an example. You have a statewide limit of 6 deer. 10 clearly defined areas. 4 of those areas have a 4 deer limit because of lower populations. What makes this so much more difficult and expensive to enforce?

I've explained this already, but I'll try again.

No one is going to have all four or all six deer with them in the field, so field enforcement of a seasonal limit is impractical. In contrast, the same objective of lower harvest can also be achieved with fewer days of open season in the areas with lower carrying capacity. A closed season is much easier to enforce in the field than a season limit. If someone has 1 dead deer out in the field during a closed season, they are clearly in violation. If someone is hunting deer out in the field during a closed season, they are clearly in violation.

Making a case that someone harvested 6 deer in a zone only allowing four is much harder. The case depends on the hunter himself to have accurately completed all the information on each deer kill on the proper form, and having accurately reported the location of each of the six kills. Effectively enforcing laws that require tracking down the minutia of the wheres and whens and paperwork of 4 to 6 deer kills is more labor intensive than busting someone for hunting during a closed season. When effective enforcement is much harder, some folks may be more inclined to work around the regulations, rendering them less effective.

The same is true in fishing. One could regulate the harvest of a given species, by capping the total number that could be harvested in a given year. But this approach is much harder to enforce than daily bag limits and limiting open dates.