Mandatory Hunter Harvest Survey Poll

[Keeleclimber]

For the sake of data collection...

Would you support a mandatory hunter harvest report?

Yes or No

[elkhunter11]

Only if every single legal hunter, licensed or not was forced to participate. Unless everyone participates, the data is not complete, and it loses value.

[elkhunter1234]

I would gladly support mandatory Hunter harvest the second they implement mandatory First Nation harvest reports..

Jim...

[Keeleclimber]

Currently our wildlife managers are using "estimates" and computer generated numbers to determine the hunting regulations and allocations. Can someone explain how efficient or accurate this is?
Any hunter input has huge value.
Many hunting states require mandatory hunt reports to help base management decisions.

[packhuntr]

Not sure what good could come of it. SRD for the most part has no clue what exists, because our tax dollars are seemingly better used to fund all the fun things we watch govt burn it on. We have game and fish populations that are being decimated by unchallenged unchecked natives etc. What purpose would spending more money on a mandatory compliance or a registration system here have? Or anywhere with these issues for that matter? It would be useless data. Completely useless, for ever.

[catnthehat]

A mandatory harvest survey?
How in the World would they know if the surveys were honestly filled out??!!
Cat

[fish_e_o]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

A mandatory harvest survey?
How in the World would they know if the surveys were honestly filled out??!!
Cat

Harvest registration

[packhuntr]

Cat id say, if not for the massive volume of distrust that exists toward SRD, and had many things in the past been handled like many US state F&W dept's do er,,, there would be ZERO concern about the legitimacy of any info passed along by hunters and anglers.

[cowboyhunter]

Originally Posted by elkhunter1234

I would gladly support mandatory Hunter harvest the second they implement mandatory First Nation harvest reports..

Jim...

X2

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

A mandatory harvest survey?
How in the World would they know if the surveys were honestly filled out??!!
Cat

I was one of the volunteers doing the phone surveys many years ago, and when a few of us compared our data, I had by far the lowest reported success rates. The other volunteers would ask if the person got his moose, and just record yes if the person responded yes. I would always ask if the person used their moose tag, and quite often the story would change to no, a hunting partner actually shot the moose, so his tag went on the moose.

[packhuntr]

Originally Posted by fish_e_o

Harvest registration

No game wardens in the field as it is. Bet theyd love more paperwork.

[last minute]

Originally Posted by elkhunter1234

I would gladly support mandatory Hunter harvest the second they implement mandatory First Nation harvest reports..

Jim...

I don't think that would ever happen

mandatory First Nation harvest reports..

and why should it be

[fish_e_o]

Originally Posted by packhuntr

No game wardens in the field as it is. Bet theyd love more paperwork.

I think we can both agree we need more

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by Keeleclimber

Currently our wildlife managers are using "estimates" and computer generated numbers to determine the hunting regulations and allocations. Can someone explain how efficient or accurate this is?
Any hunter input has huge value.
Many hunting states require mandatory hunt reports to help base management decisions.

F&W Policy could. I wish they would release the evaluation to the public.

Word is that much of the harvest data currently used to determine hunting regulations and allocations (i.e. archery Draw MD and Moose) is "statistically" INVALID. But was used anyways....


Thanks for the diversions.

[Outdoorfanatic]

Harvest reports will always have minimal value as long as Treaties and Metis can do what ever when ever. The latest Outdoorsmen mag boast about Harvest reports being hugely valuable as exampled by the Wainwright Base and Suffield Base hunts because those hunts register every single animal before it leaves the base. The catch is that even Natives have to check in and check out, so the info there is 100%. Those are the only areas where Natives have too participate in the same manner as the rest of us.

No to manitory reports until all participate the same way.

[waterninja]

No

[guywiththemule]

Why bother having any wildlife harvest details(or any wildlife conservation or management for that matter) in Alberta, if only part of the hunting population of people in Alberta are going to participate in said conservation of wildlife.

[flyguyd]

Idaho does it. Simple online form, if you dont fill it out you dont get tags next year. Resident or n8n resident ; doest matter

[oldgutpile]

I think the surveys are only partially valid as long as they figure in an estimate of the native/metis harvest. They will never get it accurate, and there will always be that crowd that never shot a thing every year, just to get through the survey faster!
I said NO, just for the fact that I would never want to see the "or else" implemented, as part of the "mandatory" factor. If someday I forget to fill out the survey, and then next year I go to fill in for draws and it comes up " sorry, you didn't fill out your survey last year". Too much beuracracy to apease already.

[Kurt505]

I don't believe the people collecting this data could find their ass with both hands tied behind their backs based on how they collect and use the data they have now to make their decisions.

[fish_e_o]

Originally Posted by Kurt505

I don't believe the people collecting this data could find their ass with both hands tied behind their backs based on how they collect and use the data they have now to make their decisions.

the only hope is that they do with this data that they did with the sheep data and release it to the public

[densa44]

If there is no data they will pick the lowest estimate of the harvest. That may be why we have more WT around here than rabbits. I have never seen a native hunting where I live. The ones I do know don't hunt.

One reason we have millions of snow geese is that the limits were too low for way too long.

In the absence of data you will have what is called a SWAG, scientific wild ass guess!

Any data is better than that.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Kurt505

I don't believe the people collecting this data could find their ass with both hands tied behind their backs based on how they collect and use the data they have now to make their decisions.

They use highly scientific methods to determine tag numbers.

[Kurt505]

Originally Posted by fish_e_o

the only hope is that they do with this data that they did with the sheep data and release it to the public

Not without a fight they won't! I tried getting answers on the moose surveys from the 500 zones. I think the closest they've come to collecting any real "foot in the feild" data is beating around the bush when I asked for answers. The moose population around my area has seen a steady increase over the past decade, but they decided to put archery moose on draw only.

[SamSteele]

The problem with the surveys was always participation and accuracy. I don't see a good way to improve accuracy. For participation, why not offer a credit towards your next license purchase with a completed survey? Say $5 off? Or maybe a 10% off coupon for one of the Albertans outdoor retailers?

SS


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[iliketrout]

I replied yes, but I share the same concerns about the legitimacy of the survey data and accuracy of the FN harvest, but I feel that any tool that helps improve the population management is a help to our strained F&W group. It takes 5 mins of my time and I have no reason to lie.

How about you have to return your unused tags at the end of the season...making the assumption that a non-returned tag was filled. Lost tags would likely be minimal and also declared so I don't think that would skew the data. I know, there will be many batches of tag soup that cannot be made, but I think that's a sacrifice worth making. We would still need some sort of questionnaire for the general tags to confirm what zone a harvest was in. It's akin to registering a kill, which I would also be ok with. I have nothing to hide and in the grand scheme of things, it's not a concern to me for the government to know how many animals I've harvested if that info is used for improvement game management.

It still doesn't address the FN harvest or poaching impacts, but at least it would tighten up some of the data.

[hal53]

SRD's "game management" was highlighted during the horrible winter of 2010-2011...in February the deer management consisted of the F&W officers reporting anticipated winter kill . In February of that year, in one of the areas the officer reported likely 20-25% , which is the norm, as the winter grew worse, and we got double the amount of snow in March than we had all winter he revised his estimate to 60-65% and possibly more, the reply he received was " it's too late, the draw info is at the printers already"..... sound management at it's finest

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by elkhunter1234

I would gladly support mandatory Hunter harvest the second they implement mandatory First Nation harvest reports..

Jim...

Makes perfect sense and doesn't have to infringe on aboriginal rights at all. Just need to know how many animals are being harvested. (though I guess they could protest it on the same grounds that we protest long gun registration)

That said, don't some first nations do this now? I seem to recall reference to it somewhere.

We complain constantly about fish and wildlife and their management or mismanagement. Won't fix all the problems, but at least they should start with the best data possible. We go through this for the census now.

[Roughneck Country]

Instead of just writing off the Natives why not work with the bands tell them why the information is valuable and get each band to collect the data from their members. Easier said than done I know but this us and them attitude isn't getting anyone anywhere. Step 2 would be to get the bands to impose quotas on their own people since the province can't do it

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by Roughneck Country

Instead of just writing off the Natives why not work with the bands tell them why the information is valuable and get each band to collect the data from their members. Easier said than done I know but this us and them attitude isn't getting anyone anywhere. Step 2 would be to get the bands to impose quotas on their own people since the province can't do it

Worth a try (again) but very unlikely to succeed in face of the diverging interests.

IN general, these ideas are simply a non-starter at this point.
There is no multi-nation Indian organization that will lobby to put restrictions on subsistence hunting. On an individual Nation level, other than on Nation land (reserves), the Band has no say on what an individual does in regard to their hunting rights.

Of an even bigger concern which I have brought up here before, there is a growing movement within many Indian nations to gain full control of wildlife management and harvest. In essence, the goal is for First Nations to decide how many animals can be taken and by who. First Nations will allocate and sell hunting licences to Non-treaty people for use within their "Traditional" areas.


In realistic terms, provincial wildlife managers and licensed hunters need to accept that Indian harvest will not be recorded nor limited. Regardless, we need the best data possible to manage both wildlife populations and user group allocations/special seasons under these circumstances.

F&W is already using data that they have determined to be statistically invalid for making management decisions. A more accurate system of calculating licensed harvest and hunter effort regardless of Treaty hunting involvement would be an improvement.