CPW Harvest Reports

[ChachiSnips]

Researching for first trip out in 2024, hoping to do 1st Rifle draw. Looks like the stats that CPW publishes came out in March last year, is that timing what we should expect? Hoping to learn how hunter numbers and harvest numbers were impacted by the winter kill. Know cow tag numbers were cut and expect significant harvest drops but almost more interested in if hunter numbers moved much to other units. Figured it all will play a role in where I could look but won't have much time between release and when draw applications are in. Any thoughts from the crowd?

 

[LongWayAround]

Throw their harvest numbers in the trash. There is no requirement to report harvest. You might get called or emailed for a survey.

Pick a place you can draw and want to go to.

 

[ChachiSnips]

Knew it was survey-based, but thought it might still provide some trend insight, but maybe not. Was just reading some other posts essentially saying the same, that the reports are meaningless. Still interested on if there would be much shift in where people chose to hunt and impact then on the different herd numbers, or if people generally just stuck to the areas they knew. All new to me so interesting to try to dive in and understand a much as I can.

 

[Jaquomo]

The published stats have absolutely no validity. Without mandatory reporting, they are simply extrapolating, and they know many hunters deliberately lie on surveys for various reasons. Also, the private land/outfitted success rate is always significantly higher, so surveyed hunters from that pool will skew the numbers further depending upon the ratio of private to public.

My draw unit historically has one of the lowest success rates for rifle and archery in the whole state. Road hunters - I mean, "muzzleloaders", historically track virtually the same as archery. Suddenly one year, the published archery success rate tripled. Yes, tripled. Yet the lead game warden for the unit, who is also a fishing buddy, told me the only elk he checked in a camp that season was an illegal spike (and he was out and about constantly). I asked him where that high success rate came from and he laughed and said, "I have no idea".

But that published success rate was picked up by Huntin' Whore and the other 'services", and the next year app numbers went way up based on the recommendations that this was a sleeper unit with high success.

 

[ChachiSnips]

Appreciate the insight.

 

[sivart]

blows my mind that there are stills states that don't require harvest reports. How the hell are they supposed to manage the resources without this info

 

[Erict]

Mandatory harvest reporting is just another tool wildlife managers (and others) can use to estimate true harvest when combined with all the other tools. I'd say it's way more useful to show trends.

NY has had mandatory reporting for a long, long time and look at where we stand now - 46.4% reporting rate last year. Additionally, whenever a state implements harvest reporting, or changes it up (like when NY added an app in 2017 to allow reporting), a new "fudge factor" has to be computed.

Should mandatory reporting require everyone to report the outcome of their season, or just those who took game? Should one be prevented from purchasing a license the following year if they didn't report on a prior year's license? I'd like to shake the hand of the first person to come up with a foolproof and accurate mandatory reporting system. For now, I think having the numbers is better than not having them.

 

[Jaquomo]

Yes, reporting on both success, non-success, number of animals taken, etc.. should be a prerequisite for buying a license the following year. This can all be automated, and the technology is not complicated. It can all be done easily by hunters, and tabulated and graphed easily with a simple program.

The process for reporting to cross-reference prior to license purchase is already in place, to prevent hunters from buying resident licenses in multiple states. A good programmer can modify this to track those who report (or not) in about five minutes, and set up a license block for the next year.

The last sentence on your chart tells the real story - "rough approximation" obtained by multiplying incomplete data by a wild-ass guess.

 

[Jethro]

Should mandatory reporting require everyone to report the outcome of their season?

Should one be prevented from purchasing a license the following year if they didn't report on a prior year's license?

Yes and yes. NM has that in place and the overwhelming majority of hunts have reporting rates 85-100%

 

[ChachiSnips]

I know the thread evolved and I've read several others touting mandatory reporting too. In Ohio all big game harvests are "tagged" electronically with an automated phone system or online. Can't be much added cost to that, but stops short of full mandatory reporting regardless of success. Always wondered what percentage of kills are actually reported since if you process on your own there's no way of DNR knowing. A full reporting mandate (harvest or not) could provide a ton of useful data. Of course still need to rely on data reported being accurate...

 

[cnelk]

Here’s another way the CPW does Harvest/Population reports.

Why Coloradans might see low-flying helicopters this winter

Coloradans might notice low-flying helicopters in the coming months. Colorado Parks and Wildlife says they’re a key tool for understanding animal populations.

kdvr.com