Guest Column: Avoid does, cows to get herds back to normal

Hunting and the coming season … I have to speak out.

Two years ago this hunting season, I was grieved and angry when I saw the hunting regulations list a doe season at the beginning of the regular deer and elk season, and then also at the end of the fall/November “rut.”

I thought, “How could they be so stupid to let hunters kill the few impregnated does left when we are hurting big-time for a decent population of deer and elk after such a hard toll the previous winter had taken on them, not to mention the ever-increasing protected predator force that most certainly helped deplete the herds in all of our beloved northwest territory?”

Then the next year (last year), there it was again in the regulations, same as the previous year! I was shocked, angered and simply devastated in spirit for the "ungulate" herds.

I am no fool, and I can certainly see and hear for myself what is happening to our disappearing deer count! I have called the people who "manage" our wildlife and and to no avail pointed out such observations as I see in my woods and on mountains I visit during the early days of the hunt as an archery season observer.

This year – again – represented a complete disregard for our deer herds in my estimation, as the lack of their sound or sight of running hoof is extremely obvious.

I know, you as well as myself, get stirred within us when we begin to sense and see a "horn" appear on one of our town’s yearling bucks, or if you've been lucky enough to actually see a full-size buck as September winds down.

But now, I have a sobering suggestion … that we take matters into our own hands – as one prominent local hunter wrote about in the paper not long ago. Your points were right on.

My proposal is for this year, until we can get "our herds" back to normal. This  may or may not be a sacrifice to hunters this season, I don't know. And some may disregard this as something you don't want to consider. But expecting that most will or already have gotten your tags for the 2009 season, I propose that we all use utmost discretion, restraint and integrity and not take any does (or cows for that matter), either in the early season, and especially not in late November when females will be "with young" – which is always the case.

God knows there are enough obstacles for them to survive our sometimes harsh winters, with the ever-present dangers of starvation should the winter go bad for the fourth year in a row. There are also the terribly vicious killings by an over zealous wolf-pack force, and an advocation for them, that I believe has "filled to overflowing" three times the wolves that these already diminishing herds have to deal with, not to mention, to be burdened with the ever protected increase of grizzlies in their ranges.

Heck, I haven't even mentioned the cougars or the black bears that take considerable amounts of fawns and calves as well from the spring and early summer on.

In other words, their ("our deer and elk") survival to healthy populations could be greatly enhanced by our active role this year. Everything we do now will help for the future of deer, elk and moose populations if we "do something by not doing anything" this year. That is, don't kill our does and cows, even if you have a tag. It could hypothetically increase our herds by "2-4 times for each one doe you preserve.”

It's possible, if 20 hunters passed on their usual doe kill early or late in the year that they were accustomed to taking just because they want to say to their buddies, family, strangers or friends “I got my deer this year,” they could preserve 40-80 deer or elk back into our woods for next year.

Then, I have a further proposal. If we all get a bear tag or a wolf tag and actually help remove those predators from our woods we have helped manage the deer and elk population even more. Don't get me wrong, I love the bears and wolves for their presence and the fact that they are exquisite creations of God, as much as anyone else, but have you ever witnessed or simply heard the stories of those who have seen the devastation some predators inflict on their prey?

It is horrifying how wolves kill and leave half-eaten animals alive! By the way if you find one of these suffering creatures due to such carnage, don't call the “you know who's … they will just tell you to let it be.” That's the way they manage the wildlife.

This is an actual report as to what they told a friend of ours recently when they had obviously seen a wolf-torn "living-dying" deer!

And did you know that a bear methodically canvases mountain or wood, just to find the helpless innocent newborn fawns and calves. That’s another of the threats to our deer herd increasing. I have seen a black bear do this – it must be terrifying for the little things. Again, the grizzlies do the same and of course they more gluttonous. And the cats take muleys and whitetail all winter long as well, etc.

Can't we, you and me, help them recover?

Last year I had five or more big bucks in easy rifle and bow range that anyone in orange would have shot, but I have seen this trend in decreased populations for three hard winters now and so I passed on shooting even the big 5-points.

The deer are scarcer than "they" are telling us. And besides, they create the hunting regulations sometime in February, eight months before hunting season. Meanwhile, the wolves are ravaging, and the bears and mountain lions are killing and killing to feed their new young, which by the way for the wolves can be 1-12 pups for one wolf pair.

Do you get the picture? Have you already known these things? And by the way, I am not only a poor writer about all this, I am also a poor source for the true depiction of the true stories regarding our deer and elk. There are some serious websites out regarding the Montana and Idaho wolf packs that bring all this to light much clearer than I can, but I simply must speak out about what I see.

One last thing. I heard this story regarding a family in town, that not only did they get five does two years ago when we had "barely a deer left in the woods," but, they did it again last year, too! This was appalling to the guy who told me about it and infuriated me as well since in my experience in the woods, from September to the end of November, I only saw about five or six good bucks and very few frightened does.

In one section of the woods where I have hunted were one doe and two fawns. By the end of the first section of deer/doe season there was one yearling left … never found them after the rut, so don't know if even that little doe was killed or not.

As a hunter I can't help getting ready for the season like you all, and in fact have already been on quite a few bow hunts this September, but I have set it in my mind to not take a doe or even a cow, as they are the producers of herds for our next year. I may even pass on the bucks as I did last year and two years before that as well.

I hope you will all consider the same. God be with us all in the woods and out. Have a great season.

Sometimes a great hunt is just the experience of being in the wild, seeing a great trophy and applying self-control – not making a kill at all.

(Dennis “Denny” Wilcox moved to Libby in 1991 and has been hunting in Lincoln County for the past 17 years.)