Are the NW-12 County MARs a Success?

[ridge]

Are the NW-12 County MAR’s a Success?

The truth benders are trying to convince us that MAR’s in the NW-12 County area are a smashing success. Quote, “The overall buck harvest success rate has increased each year under APR’s.” Is this true? Let’s take a look. (Data from Annual Deer Harvest Survey Reports)


Hunters All Seasons, five-year avg. 2008-2012 110,295

Hunters All Seasons 2013 110,812

Hunters All Seasons 2014 104,863

Hunters All Seasons 2015 104,674


Antlered Bucks Harvested, five yr. avg. 2008-2012 25,758

Antlered Bucks Harvested 2013 20,815

Antlered Bucks Harvested 2014 20,798

Antlered Bucks Harvested 2015 22,544


Antlerless Harvest Five Yr. Avg. 2008-2012 18,105

Antlerless Harvest 2013 24,389

Antlerless Harvest 2014 20,690

Antlerless Harvest 2015 19,186


Hunter Success Rate, five-yr. avg. 2008-2012 23.5%

Hunter Success Rate 2013 19%

Hunter Success Rate 2014 20%

Hunter Success Rate 2015 21%


MAR’s in the NW-12 County area has been a complete disaster. Do not believe the hyperbole! The antlered harvest, the success rates and hunter participation are STILL well below the pre-MAR’s levels. Yes, yearling harvest has gone down but the numbers show that antlered buck harvest of 2 ½ and older, have NOT made up the difference. Hunter participation has dropped as well as success rates.


By using percentage of harvest instead of real unbiased numbers from the ADHSR’s, as well as manipulating check station data by supplementing it with other collection sites favoring big bucks, the pro-MAR’s supporters have tried to show that the harvest of big bucks have exploded. This is not the case, in fact, it is just the opposite. Has the percentage of 2 ½ year old and older bucks, compared to yearling bucks gone up? Absolutely, but only because the harvest of yearling bucks has been drastically reduced by these unpopular MAR’s regulations. Overall buck harvest has been lower than the pre-MAR’s five-year average, all three years and I will venture a guess that they will again be lower than the five -year, pre-MAR's average in 2016. (This data will come out in June or July this year)


This data is for the NW-12 county DMU. It follows closely the Leelanau, 045 DMU results, showing that in all reality, MAR’s do NOT work for ALL hunters. I believe that if the re-survey of the NW-12 DMU is conducted in an unbiased process, it will fail. And when it does, let that be the end of MAR’s in Michigan forever.


If hunters want to practice antler point restrictions, let them do it on a voluntary basis. With 87% of deer harvested on private property, this should not be a problem. Your land your rules, my land my rules. That has been the accepted practice for eternity. Why do you need to tell other landowners what they can do on their property? I support organizing co-ops of like-minded hunters to accomplish harvest goals. I think Michigan’s co-op coordinator is doing a wonderful job and I support her wholeheartedly. Where you lose my support, is when you start agendas that suppress the hunting practices of other hunters to enhance your own.

A concerned wildlife resource advocate,

Curtis Stone

Michigan S.M.A.R.T. Hunters

3-2-17

[daappleknocker]

The pro-MAR's crowd are crowing about the 76% acceptance rate for MAR's regulations in the NW 12 county DMU. Really?

For four years the MAR's regulations have driven traditional hunters away from the NW 12, and some right out of the woods. These hunters are NOT included in the re-survey as they did NOT hunt in the NW 12 last year.

For four years the NW 12 has benefited from nomadic hunters going to the NW 12 to harvest a big one. Those hunters ARE included in the re-survey.

Even with this hunter manipulation, hunter number are still below the pre-MAR's numbers in the NW 12 county DMU.

The 76% re-survey numbers are a fraud, a manipulation and therefore corrupt. I know it, you know it and they know it. The MAR's survey process is intentionally rigged toward the advancement of MAR's regulations. But, it is a very successful fraudulent process and they will continue to promote it until they have mandatory restrictions statewide.

[hartman756]

May 6, 2017 14:25:20 GMT -5 daappleknocker said:

The pro-MAR's crowd are crowing about the 76% acceptance rate for MAR's regulations in the NW 12 county DMU. Really?

For four years the MAR's regulations have driven traditional hunters away from the NW 12, and some right out of the woods. These hunters are NOT included in the re-survey as they did NOT hunt in the NW 12 last year.

For four years the NW 12 has benefited from nomadic hunters going to the NW 12 to harvest a big one. Those hunters ARE included in the re-survey.

Even with this hunter manipulation, hunter number are still below the pre-MAR's numbers in the NW 12 county DMU.

The 76% re-survey numbers are a fraud, a manipulation and therefore corrupt. I know it, you know it and they know it. The MAR's survey process is intentionally rigged toward the advancement of MAR's regulations. But, it is a very successful fraudulent process and they will continue to promote it until they have mandatory restrictions statewide.

Yep, drive hunters out of the area that don't like MARs and then claim victory when the only hunters left to vote  are hunters that want to force their regulations on every one  just like some states surveying active hunters and then using those responses to claim this or that reg wasn't the cause of their seriously declining hunter numbers  That is the problem of social science , if you quit or were forced to move to another area your input is invalid even though the reason is because of a certain reg. But the QDMers have made it clear they are happy with hunters quitting or dying as it means more for them.