This all started when the CPW did not take into account how fed up the resident are with the quantity and quality of the resident herds. They, and hunting magazines ,may be able to hide the truth, but from locals? So they weren't getting enough resident applications for 1st choice archery to fill the 65% allocation to residents. Once it went into the 2nd draw, all their allocation guidelines went out the window. When the final number of allocated tag came out and it showed non residents getting the 65%, there were some pissed residents. And the emails were burning the fiber optics.
I was in on some meetings with the CPW regional office several years back. The archery tag OTC numbers were going up to fast, with there becoming too many bow hunters in the field. Their theory is that the bulls were getting pushed away from the cows and not breeding them.....i agree some, disagree some, Anyway, there was getting to be 2500 plus bowhunters in the unit i hunt. Through putting it on a draw. they have got it down around 700 or so. But rifle 2nd and 3rd season is still OTC, and CPW says that is untouchable because of the revenue generated..
Many residents want the CPW to start managing their herds, elk and mule deer, with an emphasis on quality as much as quantity. All the guys I talk to would sacrafice a year of not hunting, and would even pay more if there are quality animals to hunt. So, if they cut non resident tags, and cut tags as a whole, tt should increase the health of the herds, and the non residents who do draw, should see a major uptick in the quality of the bulls and bucks. There is the political side of this....resident vs non resident, prices paid etc. As long as whatever the CPW does brings about healthier herds, that's all I care about. When our local herds were getting down to 40-50 percent of what they were 10 years ago, major, drastic change is needed. The CPW sometimes does bone head things. They limit tags in some units, which means more hunters just switch over to an OTC unit, and in 5 years those units are where their limited units are now. Go figure.
