Over harvest of calves is a…

Over harvest of calves is a fallacy. I have hunted moose since grade 8. I am now 65 yrs and although I have lived in central and southern Ont most of my life I lived in NW Ontario 12 years as well. In all those years I only harvested 3 calves! Even though I hunted hard most weekends and 2 to 2 1/2 weeks at a time when living in S Ont. Having a calf licence when not selected for an adult tag gave myself and others hunt with the opportunity to still hunt moose. I see that WMU 63 isn't mentioned for calf tag during the 1 week hunt.
With these new proposed changes, there leaves a lot of chance for unlawful moose hunting to occur. In all the years i have hunted, I have only been checked by a CO in the field only 3 times! There are too few enforcement officers in the field to make this effective. Many people I have hunted with over the years have either given up the sport or are now hunting in Quebec or Nfld. because they can purchase a NR moose licence over the counter and still enjoy their sport. Ontario is loosing many sportsmen and the revenues to other provinces because of the way Ontario manages their big game.
As big game mangers you must seriously consider a few other things that fall into the equation. 1. Adult Bears take many calves in the spring. With the elimination of the spring bear season for so many years, the bear population increased exponentially for all those years, therefore the number of calves eaten by bears increased likewise each year. If you wish to increase moose, allow more than one bear per hunter per season to get them back in check. This will have an immediate effect on moose recruitment. 2. Forest and timber cutting practices. Most mills in the north have been shut down for a lot of years. If there is no or little timber cutting, there is less ultimate moose habitat. The regen that cutting produces is really good habitat for moose for many years afterwards! if mills open up and cutting resumes, moose will also bounce back. Softwood sales needs to be looked at from both a provincial and federal level. Its political. they must see this to help out with the efforts to increase Ont moose populations! 3. Where logging operations do occur, the regen management is to seed or to plant, along with aerial spraying herbicide to knock down broad leaf aspen, birch, willow, and alder. All which moose love as browse during all seasons after a cut. Stop aerial herbicide spraying to release the conifer species. 4. Fire suppression. In recent years - 20 - 30 years - fire suppression management is to get on it asap when they see smoke. Bomb it and get the crews on it right away. Let more fires burn in natural succession to create moose habitat. Especially in remote areas or in areas where cutting has occurred but planting hasn't been done yet. As we all know, you need fire to release jack pine seeds from cones. That's natural and the seedlings that come in are as thick as hair on a dogs back. No money expended for regen. And it creates good moose habitat for many years!
By cutting out the calf season in S Ont other than by lottery, you will also eliminate many hunters who now hunt the southern WMU where calves can be hunted w/o a special tag!
This new point system will mean that you might get an adult tag every 10 or 20 years! There still will only be a defined lesser number of tags available for each WMU. There will be a lot of hunt camps going up for sale in the coming years, unless there is deer in the same unit. You will be driving out the long time moose hunters into other provinces and also giving up the moose hunt.
It will become what many countries and states now have: very limited tags, and only the white collar people will be able to hunt moose. PLUS you will have many more illegally harvested moose and moose hunters out there! More moose surveys are needed to get a more accurate estimate of moose numbers in each WMU! Plus mandatory reporting of road kills, railway kills, and first nations harvests.
Above all this, there is more pressure placed on the small number of CO's we have out there, who now are swamped with desk work and office work, and less field work, for which they are needed.
A commitment of more field CO's (not office personnel with CO badges) is needed for the province. Not more regulations!
The cancellation of the spring bear hunt created a new type of hunter, which we all know, but mention it only in silence and whispers, the "Shoot, shovel and shut up" hunter, that hunts bears for sport, "defense" and for farmers. And it continues today even thought he bear hunt was reinstated.
Some of your planned changes are in line with moose numbers in central Ontario and NE Ontario. But does not make any sense in NW Ontario and some of the southern WMUs!
More moose surveys are needed to get a more accurate estimate of moose numbers in each WMU! Plus mandatory reporting of all road kills, railway kills, and first nations harvests to get moose numbers correct.
Open houses should be in more locations than the few that were offered last year. i.e. Kemptville, Kingston, North Bay, Ptbo., Dryden, Kenora, Owen Sound, SS Marie, Timmins, Nipigon. Have a traveling road team to do this to get more input.
Thank You
Granted