Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Birth of a deer camp

Well, all you cat hunters can come to Iowa. We have the same long-tailed cats that you do, but here they can be shot on sight. Bears too. No limit, no tag, no caliber restrictions, no method restrictions. Anyway you want'em, you can kill'em.

I know a few guys that try tracking the black helicopters at night - sort of like the other guys that follow the hatchery trucks.

No crazy person has shot at me lately though one stupid deer hunter did a few years ago. He missed, fortunately (or not, depending).

Or internet biologists.

Man, there must be several hundred of those types around here Everyone is a biology expert.

I lit this match, and it was a little tongue-in-cheek. I have a degree from the UW - Stevens Point College of Natural Resources, one of the bigger programs around.

I think Brent is right about the dedication and commitment of most DNR Biologists and employees in general. Most of them have to scrape by on short-term jobs/assignments with little pay and few/no benefits until they get a permanent position. There's easier money to be made, so the ones that stick really are committed. The hard science they perform is necessary to provide proof and reliable data for mangement decisions, etc. Some of it might seem like minutiae but it's where real discoveries are made.

Tom is also right in that there has seemed to be such a dismissive attitude from many state DNR offices about citizen input. I'm sure there are BS calls all the time, but when the anecdotal evidence adds up, or if the DNR employee has gotten to know the people in their area and they know who to trust, then they have to believe that something is going on. I think there are people (farmers, loggers, hunters/fishers/gatherers) that spend most of their time on the land that regularly see things that would amaze most of us, biologists and technicians included.

Fish and wildlife management is a tough game. Multi-faceted, fluid, with numerous unpredictables, and funded by a group that sometimes doesn't know what it really wants, I don't envy the job. But those who do sign up for it need to understand what they've taken on and who they need to work with. I think Wisconsin's "Deer Czar" idea was a good one, and it may point to ways to rebuild the trust that's been lost between the DNR and the people. Rebuilding that trust, and more willingness to give and take, might keep them from the slippery slope of legislated management goals and practices.

Now, can we talk about game wardens that wait for a crime to be committed or create opportunities to violate (read "Robo-Deer") rather than work to prevent a crime in the first place?

and "Cheers!" to Uncle Dusty

NOW MUFFY! WHERES DUSTY'S HOUSE!

Looking good Uncle Dusty !!! ( from NDs pic )
Thoughts and prayers continue for you and your family .



The puddy tats . A fine line they need to walk , say yup we have one and get folks all upset , vs making sure there is a breeding population and letting folks know so they can be prepared.

How do you handle that?

I wonder what the ROI is on the Robo Deer? They cost a bunch to make. Do they make up the $ in fines?

Well, I didn't shoot him - or at him even. Duck loads at 75 yards vs scoped slug guns wasn't much of a match. The rest - you don't really need to hear. Have to trust me on that.

Brent,I for one am glad that no harm came to you.I'm sure you handled it in a forthright and decisive manner.
I will beware of agendized puddy tats.Thanks for the admonition.LOL.

Stan in SC

I get the general idea.

One of the only reasons I'm in the forestry field and not the wildlife biology field is I was smart enough to see how weirdly biased the public was against biologists. I get general support from my customers. Sometimes more than I want.

I do tire of the "agenda" or "don't know what they're doing" BS that Minnesota and Wisconsin are particularly proud to offer to professionals who frankly are trying their best to get you what YOU need. I don't see an agenda. Sometimes they work pretty hard to protect sportsman from themselves - and it's warranted.

For goodness sakes. If you wanted to be a wildlife biologist, why didn't you pursue that? It was available to you. Get to know the ones's you have and I think you'll have a different opinion.

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+1,000,000 Especially that last sentence.

I can't resist.....
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What is everyones thoughts on wolves?
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BANG!

Couple things. 1) I said before, agenda was the wrong word in this case and I apologize for that.

I didn't say they don't know what they're doing. But at times the DNR, has flat out lied to the public. They've ignored suggestions and many times take a "high horse" attitude toward the folks that pay their salaries. I haven't noticed it as much in MN but in WI it was and still is a problem.

MN DNR is going a bit nuts on the boating regs recently though with things like pulling over boaters on the highway into "check stations" to look for weeds. I won't even get started on it, if you want to discuss it, start another thread and I'll be more than happy to partake in it.

2) I did want to be a biologist. I was enrolled in UW St.Point and was recruited to play on the football team. Then I had a change of heart when I did more research and decided it wasn't worth my time to invest all that time in school, and earn what the agencies were paying grads. I also didn't think I'd get to hunt and fish as much as I wanted to do. It turns out I was right on both accounts. They pay got better and the retirement is good, but I get that part anyway.

I'm sorry if I offended you Craig, it wasn't my intention.

Dave, I'm sorry your thread went off the tracks and headed in this direction.

Tzone,

Now that's why this is my favorite thread. Folks can disagree about all kinds of important (and trivial) matters, but there is always someone who mans up and acts like an adult, when things start to get a little out of hand. Mind you, I didn't think things were all that out of hand anyway.
I was kind of enjoying the back and forth. I sure wish I could have a chance, however remote, of seeing a big predator in my neck of the woods (OH). If I saw a bear or cougar while I was sitting in my stand, first I'd pee my pants and then I'd tell everyone who would listen, no matter who said I was hallucinating!

Oh I don't think it was out of hand, but it was headed in that direction and this thread isn't about that. There are 100 other ones on this site I can argue with someone on.

Have a good night dudes...and Ma and Muffy.

mornin! I don't think it was out of hand either, but it is a touchy subject regardless of the state. and honestly, both sides are right. mostly has to do with who they have interacted with in the past.

anyway, I need some help with something.
I've been watching a doe whos ears are messed up
here is a pic, does anyone know what might be causing this?

it look s to me like they could have froze off. I had a cat that it happened to once.