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[Deer Hunter]

The Alberta Fish & Game Association
6924 – 104 Street,Edmonton, AB T6H 2L7
Phone: (780) 437-2342 Fax: (780) 438-6872
email: office@afga.org Website: www.afga.org
AFGA Disappointed in Lack of Equity for Albertans
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Edmonton March 2, 2015)Alberta’s largest conservation group, the Alberta Fish & Game Association (AFGA) expresses its disappointment in the manner that the recent elk overpopulation hunt at CFB Suffield hunt was organized. Elk herds have increased to an estimated 8,000 animals in recent years and have had a negative impact to surrounding landholders and the habitat itself thus creating a difficult situation, one that all parties involved agree to the need for intervention.
Hunting is the first and best way to manage wildlife populations regardless of the possible complications and related controversies that this would create. It is the responsibility of Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (AESRD) to manage wildlife populations within the Province of Alberta and in so doing they set season dates and harvest limits.
AFGA president, Wayne Lowry said, “We do not support a massive cull to correct this overabundance however we do support the longer term elk management strategy of reducing the overabundance first by stopping the rapid growth of the herd, and second by a regulated herd reduction strategy”.
He added, “We strongly support the collaboration of both AESRD and CFB Suffield in achieving these herd reduction goals and look forward to the increased hunting opportunity for all Albertan’s on a fair and equitable basis which will create additional opportunity to enjoy the outdoors with family and friends.
However, this was not the case at Suffield and AFGA is disappointed in the way that this particular hunt was managed by exhibiting a level of discrimination towards Alberta resident hunters accustomed to waiting, by way of a priority system, to hunt elk in areas like Suffield in excess of 10 years. To date, only antlerless elk were allowed to be harvested by Alberta residents while First Nations were invited to come and harvest as many elk as they wanted, regardless of antler presence. The preliminary hunt data supports the claim that they were specifically targeting trophy quality antlered elk; 350 antlered elk vs 150 antlerless—a tactic that will not reduce herd size.
The Alberta Fish and Game Association is a not-for-profit volunteer organization proud to serve Albertans in the promotion of the wise use of our fish and wildlife resources and the conservation of their habitats on an equitable basis keeping the fish wildlife and habitat they depend upon in the forefront. The AFGA has been active since 1908 in working towards these goals and has a province-wide membership of more than 24,500 individuals spread among 90+ Clubs.
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CONTACT: Wayne Lowry, President, (403) 756-3433
Martin Sharren, Executive Vice President, (780) 437-2342

http://www.afga.org/pdf/NR2015/NR-20...ield-Elk-1.pdf

[Deer Hunter]

hunt was managed by exhibiting a level of discrimination towards Alberta resident hunters accustomed to waiting, by way of a priority system, to hunt ....... in excess of 10 years

Disappointed? Well then they know how the residents feel when it comes to non-resident hunting, outfitter over allocations, draw wait times, archery tags to draw, landowner tags and now the Indian harvest at CFB Suffield.

Well what are they going to do about it? Why all of a sudden are they against the Indians? What about the other non-equitable users/abusers?

[rednuck]

Originally Posted by Deer Hunter

Well what are they going to do about it? Why all of a sudden are they against the Indians? What about the other non-equitable users/abusers?

I thought it was rather well worded to not come across against the Natives, but rather to express disappointment in how it was handled for Alberta's hunters.

[Leafy]

The CFB fiasco is the worst display of incompetence I have ever witnessed....

We have yet to see ALL the fall out of this disaster and the negative affects on our group... I fear the worst is yet to come and other models of management will be introduced and we all will loose.

One solution, remove these rats and allow this area to salvage what we can before it is too late...

[huntwat]

Whining.
That's how I see it.
Suffield is not Alberta land.
We residents were LUCKY to be invited onto Suffield to harvest cow elk.
Keep it up and ONLY natives will be invited to cull the herd.
The hunt was a success, as it went as planned. Maybe not as many culled as they wanted, so maybe MORE tags for residents next year.
Would you rather they fly over with helicopters and annihilate the herd as they did with culling the deer a couple years ago?
I guess its hard to please everyone.
Like I said in an earlier post, this may have saved the lives of other ungulates that we residents have the opportunity to hunt.
Also, it is no different in any other place in the province. Natives can hunt what, when and where they want, within the law.

No, I'm not a native.

[calgarychef]

I'm glad to see them making a statement. There should be equality for everyone in these cases.

[play.soccer]

First Nations took 354 bull elk

Non FN took 0


What a time to live in a "equal rights" country like Canada.

[skidderman]

Originally Posted by Deer Hunter

Disappointed? Well then they know how the residents feel when it comes to non-resident hunting, outfitter over allocations, draw wait times, archery tags to draw, landowner tags and now the Indian harvest at CFB Suffield.

Well what are they going to do about it? Why all of a sudden are they against the Indians? What about the other non-equitable users/abusers?

You can add the fact that we have to submit a draw to get a lousy three walleye. What a joke that is!!!

[skidderman]

The one thing I do not agree with is that those that were already drawn get an equal chance the next time.

[Red Bullets]

It is sad that AFGA only has 24,500 members. There are more than 110,000 licensed resident hunters in Alberta. Hunters need to support AFGA more in memberships. AFGA is the organization that has helped bring us to now, over many decades.

(Even the AO Forums have more than 50,000 members. Maybe the AFGA should have a forum just their paid members.)

As far as Suffield, IMO... the soldiers stationed at the Base should have had the herd cull set as a military ground operation. The meat should have been processed locally and fed to our soldiers.

[nube]

It is drawing a bit line between natives and non. This has made racism even worse now as well. This is just the start as well. The way things are going this province won't even be worth buying a tag in for hunting in the future. I have personally spent less than a week in the last 2 years hunting in this province. It's a waste of time unless you want to shoot a doe for a piece of meat to eat

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

It is sad that AFGA only has 24,500 members. There are more than 110,000 licensed resident hunters in Alberta. Hunters need to support AFGA more in memberships. AFGA is the organization that has helped bring us to now, over many decades.

(Even the AO Forums have more than 50,000 members. Maybe the AFGA should have a forum just their paid members.)

As far as Suffield, IMO... the soldiers stationed at the Base should have had the herd cull set as a military ground operation. The meat should have been processed locally and fed to our soldiers.

Having dealt with the AFGA as an executive of the second largest club within the AFGA, I have had a great deal more experience with the inner workings of the AFGA than most people have. I won't go into details on an open forum, but I will say, that our club, withdrew from the AFGA in 2014.

[Red Bullets]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

Having dealt with the AFGA as an executive of the second largest club within the AFGA, I have had a great deal more experience with the inner workings of the AFGA than most people have. I won't go into details on an open forum, but I will say, that our club, withdrew from the AFGA in 2014.

Sorry to hear. It is the fracturing of the outdoor community that contributes to the dilemma. It seems so many organizations have their own mandate and agenda and it is becoming harder to work together.

[rednuck]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

As far as Suffield, IMO... the soldiers stationed at the Base should have had the herd cull set as a military ground operation. The meat should have been processed locally and fed to our soldiers.

Where were you with these great ideas when the horses still roamed the block? if the army had just eaten them the elk would of never been released.

Also not to sure how the British would feel about eating elk.

[Red Bullets]

Originally Posted by rednuck

Where were you with these great ideas when the horses still roamed the block? if the army had just eaten them the elk would of never been released.

Also not to sure how the British would feel about eating elk.

The British will eat anything corned. or mince it and put it in a pie.
just in fun

[buckman]

Originally Posted by nube

It is drawing a bit line between natives and non. This has made racism even worse now as well. This is just the start as well. The way things are going this province won't even be worth buying a tag in for hunting in the future. I have personally spent less than a week in the last 2 years hunting in this province. It's a waste of time unless you want to shoot a doe for a piece of meat to eat

Must be nice,most of us have no choice but to hunt here in Alberta!!!

[Prairiewolf]

Originally Posted by Deer Hunter

http://www.afga.org/pdf/NR2015/NR-20...ield-Elk-1.pdf

Why make this statement on March 2nd, long after the cull had been conducted? Seems like a Monday morning quarterback response which won't sway anything in terms of future management decisions nor will it influence those who are in positions to make those decisions.

The cull was probably the right thing to do in terms of first steps for getting the herd population under control. Remember, the cull applied to cow elk. The fact that natives have supposedly taken 354 (?) bulls recently doesn't reflect the management plan - that's native rights and is a separate issue altogether. I, like many others, feel this cull could have been organized in a better fashion (who needs two cow elk in February? Would more opportunity have been a better approach? Etc.).

In my opinion, the real issue is this: why did the population get to the levels where this cull became the best option? How should the management of this area be adjusted so the herd is properly managed and hunter opportunity (and government revenue) is optimized?

[Matt L.]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

Having dealt with the AFGA as an executive of the second largest club within the AFGA, I have had a great deal more experience with the inner workings of the AFGA than most people have. I won't go into details on an open forum, but I will say, that our club, withdrew from the AFGA in 2014.

And that's unfortunate in that our voice is weaker as a whole now.

[Elk Hunter17]

Originally Posted by nube

It is drawing a bit line between natives and non. This has made racism even worse now as well. This is just the start as well. The way things are going this province won't even be worth buying a tag in for hunting in the future. I have personally spent less than a week in the last 2 years hunting in this province. It's a waste of time unless you want to shoot a doe for a piece of meat to eat

X2 in the last five years I've spent more time hunting in other provinces.

[rednuck]

Originally Posted by Prairiewolf

In my opinion, the real issue is this: why did the population get to the levels where this cull became the best option? How should the management of this area be adjusted so the herd is properly managed and hunter opportunity (and government revenue) is optimized?

That one's easy, a free range elk herd with no predators gets out of control quickly. During the first hunt elk with release ear tags were taken, that's a ton of baby calves. The military expected the herd to peak at 800, that probably took 4 years. Up until these last few years the only management was the season around the base, shooting the fence jumpers, this does not get enough of them nor is it during the times the elk leave the base most often.

They knew this was a problem earlier, the issue is the military did some terrible things out on CFB Suffield. They really needed to take careful consideration into allowing mass access. However with a few years under their belt there should be no reason this can't turn into a CFB wainwright style mainstay in our hunting draw book.

[dmcbride]

Originally Posted by Matt L.

And that's unfortunate in that our voice is weaker as a whole now.

Yep, to many special interest groups fighting for there own piece of the pie and not working together to make hunting better for everyone.

Instead we have groups trying to ban weapons that other groups use, Groups fighting for there own special draw, groups locking down land that only members can use, just to name a few. We also have each other attacking the way other people hunt, because it isn't the way that they do it.

IMO, it is time to put our petty differences a side and stand as one. AS HUNTERS. Only then will we have a voice that will be heard.

[nube]

Originally Posted by buckman

Must be nice,most of us have no choice but to hunt here in Alberta!!!

You all have a choice to hunt wherever you want. All it takes is a little work. Heck you can go to Montana on a speedgoat hunt pretty much every year for pennies. Get a side job and make a few $$ and take a look around at the oportunities out there. There are a lot of cheap hunts you can do for under $5K and it is not hard to work a little extra or find a way to make $5 every year if not every 2-3 years

[seven0eight]

Since it is unlikely the AFGA is going to be able to overturn the treaties, the constitution and the Supreme Court of Canada, we probably just need to grin and bear it... whether you like it or not, those rights aren't going to change anytime soon. Best not to fuel the flames for the lowest if the low who revert to racism and end up making the whole of the hunting community look bad in the process. I'm an AFGA member, but they don't speak for me on this one. Not a hill I want to die on, thanks.