Quote:
Originally Posted by leeelmer
Several years ago i had a conversation with a couple of head bios in Edmonton
Their response was that white tail deer were not native to Alberta historically and that were considered a invasive species to our province. Mule deer were native and that the government would continue to issue lots of tags for white tails and would not stop. There are very low on the priority list to keep numbers up.
Now this is info i recived but am unsure if the rest of the government thinks the same way. But it does seam to corilate to what is happening out there.
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Whitetail are not considered invasive to the province. But, they are considered to have expanded their range north and west into areas that they wouldn't have historically occupied, due to human activity in the area, particularly seismic and pipelines, which do not regenerate to forest once cleared. This has lead to an increase in deer numbers that is seen as unnatural, and the subsequent rise in predator numbers that will inevitably follow an unnaturally high prey population. This has then lead to a decline in other species that are taken as secondary prey by the predators, especially the caribou, which have been in serious decline. Predator control is being implemented to try and stop the decline in the short term, but isn't seen as a long term solution, since it is a) difficult to do sufficiently, even with helicopters and gps collars and b) incredibly expensive. Reducing the prey numbers through increased hunting is one effort being used, as is habitat restoration and new regulations intended to limit the amount of permanent disturbance created by industrial development (sharing pipeline right of ways, smaller seismic corridors, forestry and oil road sharing, etc).
Personally, I see this as an opportunity for hunters to be part of the conservation solution. There is a serious problem when it comes to caribou, and we have the ability to be part of the solution. People often talk about how hunters are on the front lines of conservation, and when we have the chance to prove it, we should. Whitetail are a sneaky and resilient species, they are in no risk of being exterminated.