Proposed for 2020 New bow…

Proposed for 2020
New bow season and quotas
• Creating a new bow season with a separate tag allocation in WMU’s 46, 47, 49, 50 ….61, 62 , 63
I am not opposed to this proposal. However the biggest complaint in most of these WMU’s including the one I hunt in (WMU 61) is the lack of adult tags. The current 4-5% success rate for getting an adult tag has frustrated many hunters. The perception that fewer tags will be available to gun hunters due to a separate allocation for the bow hunters will not please many hunters. The intent is to create new hunting opportunities. This may happen, however I suspect most hunters taking advantage of the bow season will be hunters who currently hunt in the gun season.

Proposed for 2021
New selective harvest approach
• I am ok with the proposed new selective harvest approach. Population monitoring and reporting will be critical. The intent is to put in place tools that will allow populations to increase. It will be extremely important to have the data to show that the new system will bring positive results.
• I am fine with an application fee to apply for a tag and not require the purchase of a tag to apply
• I am fine with the proposed point based system to be eligible to purchase tags.
• I am fine with eliminating the group applications and the northern resident draw
• The point system will take a few years to get sorted out as hunters reach the desired number of points and forfeit points back to zero.
• I am fine with moose tags being sold separately and hunters being able to buy a moose license and not a tag.

The new proposed system is quite complex. It will require a great deal of explaining.

• I am very much opposed to reducing the distance party members can be from a tag holder from 5 km to 3 kms. 3 kms is not very far, especially on Crown land where hunters are using a network of access roads and trails after a forest harvest. I don’t really see how this is going to reduce harvest, but it will increase the potential for violations. You will get into the bizarre scenario of CO’s running around with GPS units trying to catch hunters beyond the 3 kms. Currently most charges are the result of hunters trying to be honest and cooperative not realizing they will be charged and certainly not realizing the exorbitant fines for conviction. My sense is this proposal will encourage hunters to be dishonest. The reality is that the kill site is known, but the location of the tag holder is not known unless the hunter willingly offers that information. There is no on-the-ground evidence of where they are standing. All groups have good communications so this proposal will force hunters to ensure the tag holder contacts the shooter and then reports they are well within the 3 kms. I see no benefit to this proposal and lots of problems with it.

• I am also against reducing party size. It is my understanding this is more of a social issue than a sustainability issue. It is also an issue the MNRF inadvertently created with the guaranteed group size to qualify for tags. In the south where we hunt we have a number of blue collar workers who have limited vacation time or are self-employed. The camp is less than an hour from Belleville, Trenton and Bancroft. Hunters are coming and going all the time and it is hard to know how many you will have on a given day. Also, hunters if they are smart, will take stock of their numbers and if over the 10 hunters they will designate some hunters to be in a separate group, ensuring they have a tag. There is nothing preventing them from hunting in the same area. I guess this could be eliminated if the they have to have a list but this can get restrictive and could limit opportunities for some hunters. I see no need for this proposal and I see no benefit. If there are social issues, then deal with that as a separate issue.

As mentioned the new system needs a huge communications effort. If it is perceived as too complicated by hunters there will be negative feedback and you may lose more hunters.

Although this is not part of the proposed changes, I strongly urge the MNRF to go back to the Monday opening for the moose season in central Ontario. It would eliminate the need for hunters to take the Friday off previous to the Saturday opening to get to the camp. It would also reduce conflict. The current Saturday opening in central Ontario creates conflicts and safety concerns with other users of Crown land during mid-October when the weather is perfect for recreating. We’ve been encountering large groups of ATV’ers on the trails and access roads on the opening weekend. This creates an unnecessary safety concern not to mention the added disturbance in the forest. Going back to the Monday would also eliminate back to back moose and deer seasons for 4 out of 7 years. The Saturday opening was intended to coincide with the opening of the calf season in the north. That rationale was always very weak as it was always unlikely hunters in the south were going to flock to the north to hunt calves. However, with the above proposed changes introducing a calf/cow and calf tag system as proposed would totally eliminate the need for the current 4th Saturday opening.