Re: WI Conservation Congress Next Week
[Re: AJE]
#6514240
04/09/19 09:53 PM
04/09/19 09:53 PM
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 871 Northern WI
Line Jumper
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 871
Northern WI
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I wonder if the pathetic participation is due to laziness, people not caring, lack of awareness, people feeling too busy, or maybe people figuring Conservation Congress is worthless. It would be nice to know, this was my first and learned about it coming up on here. I went to the DNR web site the day of the hearings and I had to search for the location info and questions. They couldn't even dedicate a little web page space to advertise the hearings. Maybe the people giving them are tired of it and want it to end. That may be why they are pushing the online voting, I can see no good coming from that. I am originally a Mud Duck, so the Conservation Congress was new to me and I never took the time to learn the importance. The online voting will make it like all voting in WI were the big cities have the votes and the rural areas don't mater much. Too many people so far removed from the land they don't have a clue who foots the bill for wildlife and fisheries management. It's time to cut this state in half!
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Re: WI Conservation Congress Next Week
[Re: Pike River]
#6514251
04/09/19 10:06 PM
04/09/19 10:06 PM
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Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 10,112 WI - Wisconsin
AJE
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 10,112
WI - Wisconsin
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I do think it is seen as an inconvenience by many DNR staff, Line Jumper, but I don't know as they are to blame for the crazy new online vote format.
I've been avid at this Conservation Congress thing for a couple decades. It is interesting to hear what some of the newbies think.
Maybe CC has aged beyond it's usefuleness, I have no idea. I intend to keep participating.
While it has always been welcoming to everyone, I don't think its intent was ever for some of these anti's to get on board and try to rattle things up.
Last edited by AJE; 04/09/19 10:18 PM.
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Re: WI Conservation Congress Next Week
[Re: nimzy]
#6514543
04/10/19 09:43 AM
04/10/19 09:43 AM
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 10,511 MN
Steven 49er
trapper
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trapper
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 10,511
MN
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We also voted against the 3 zone rat cluster.
I just bit my tongue 😛 Ah, cmon, let er rip tater chip
"Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon". Milton Friedman.
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Re: WI Conservation Congress Next Week
[Re: bblwi]
#6515001
04/10/19 07:53 PM
04/10/19 07:53 PM
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 871 Northern WI
Line Jumper
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 871
Northern WI
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One consideration regarding the length of the fisher season would be which option may help get the better estimates of the population, expansion of area etc. The longer seasons with fewer permits and further time span between getting a permit or shorter seasons with shorter time spans between getting permits? If the same number of permits are issued each season with longer seasons there may be more incidental fishers caught by later season canine and coon trappers. Do incidentals reported and not reported sway populations minimally or moderately. I would think that longer seasons in moderately dense fisher areas would lead to more incidentals. Also with more fisher being seen in the central north part of the state more people trapping fishers reside in those areas and also have many other fur bearers they are trapping as well. In the early years of fisher seasons many of the trappers with permits were deer hunters living south of the fisher zones and trapping a few days or times in the north. We are now seeing fisher trapping more of a residential harvest situation and that may well need a different approach which I am sure will be researched over time.
Bryce Huh! I know I am a little slow but how would a longer fisher season affect incidentals on the coyote an coon line? The only way I can think of is said trapper had a fisher tag, and kept trapping coyote and coon until the fisher tag was filled, the last day he could have incidental fisher after tagging the first. I still say until we get rid of some bobcats we will not get our fisher back.
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Re: WI Conservation Congress Next Week
[Re: AJE]
#6515143
04/10/19 10:17 PM
04/10/19 10:17 PM
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 871 Northern WI
Line Jumper
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 871
Northern WI
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Do bobcats and fisher not coexist well? Serious question. I don't know. The best explanation for our lack of fishers is an abundance of bobcats . Whether it is competition for food or cats killing fisher I don't know. I have heard rumor NE MN has seen problems with bobcats killing fisher. All I can say is we are loosing our fisher and cats are everywhere.
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Re: WI Conservation Congress Next Week
[Re: AJE]
#6515148
04/10/19 10:19 PM
04/10/19 10:19 PM
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 871 Northern WI
Line Jumper
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 871
Northern WI
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I don't think DNR knows why the fisher population has slid in some areas. That's not a nock on DNR, I just don't think anyone knows for sure. I agree 100%
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Re: WI Conservation Congress Next Week
[Re: Pike River]
#6515162
04/10/19 10:29 PM
04/10/19 10:29 PM
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Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 10,112 WI - Wisconsin
AJE
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 10,112
WI - Wisconsin
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The southern zone bobcat quota has increased every year since we 1st got a season, and yet people seem to be seeing more bobcats than ever. I wonder if the southern quota will increase again this year.
WDNR has been collaring bobcats. The research gained will be interesting. Too bad they can't collar a fisher.
Last edited by AJE; 04/10/19 10:30 PM.
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Re: WI Conservation Congress Next Week
[Re: AJE]
#6515920
04/11/19 08:18 PM
04/11/19 08:18 PM
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 871 Northern WI
Line Jumper
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 871
Northern WI
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The southern zone bobcat quota has increased every year since we 1st got a season, and yet people seem to be seeing more bobcats than ever. I wonder if the southern quota will increase again this year.
WDNR has been collaring bobcats. The research gained will be interesting. Too bad they can't collar a fisher. I caught an incidental cat in 2017 and they came and put a collar on it. It was an older adult female, they said they would send me the tracking results periodically, which they did one time, it only lasted another month and was harvested.
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Re: WI Conservation Congress Next Week
[Re: Pike River]
#6515971
04/11/19 08:58 PM
04/11/19 08:58 PM
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 10,511 MN
Steven 49er
trapper
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trapper
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 10,511
MN
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There has been some evidence gathered in MN as reported by our biologist that predation of fisher by bobcats is occurring and possibly enough to affect fisher populations where cat numbers are high. https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mcvmagazine/issues/2014/jan-feb/bobcats.html While the biologists don't believe bobcats alone have much impact on the deer population, Erb has evidence the growing bobcat population might be affecting another furbearer—the fisher. A study Erb is conducting has shown fisher populations have declined in the core bobcat range.
"This notable fisher decline is not apparent in the northeastern part of our fisher range or along the southern and western periphery of fisher range," Erb says. "There, fishers appear to either be stable or, in some areas, increasing."
But in the core bobcat area—which largely overlaps the core fisher area—fisher numbers are down. The two species undoubtedly compete for some prey, and Erb has documented many fishers killed by bobcats.
"This mortality is a double-whammy because the fishers that have been killed tended to be adult females, and it is occurring during the fisher denning season," Erb says. "When the adult is killed, her whole litter dies."
The study is ongoing, and Erb says he still has many things to learn. "The fisher population declines aren't simply related to bobcats," he says. "I think there are other factors, including overharvest and some forest management issues. But I do believe the increasing bobcat population is certainly a part of what we are seeing."]
Last edited by Steven 49er; 04/11/19 08:58 PM.
"Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon". Milton Friedman.
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Re: WI Conservation Congress Next Week
[Re: Pike River]
#6516315
04/12/19 10:40 AM
04/12/19 10:40 AM
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Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 2,815 WI
WIMarshRAT
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 2,815
WI
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49er, that was brought up in WI a couple of years ago. WI was going to lead an effort to study it(adaptive management), but unfortunately, the state couldn't get the stakeholders on board. They were going to open up the cat harvest in an area and see how the fisher population responded.
Folks were worried about those folks that had spent 6-10 years waiting for a cat tag only to have their area opened up to a more liberal harvest. I guess none of those folks would be happy if they could get a cat tag the next year too. LOL
Last edited by WIMarshRAT; 04/12/19 10:41 AM.
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...it's about learning to dance in the rain!
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Re: WI Conservation Congress Next Week
[Re: Steven 49er]
#6516455
04/12/19 02:21 PM
04/12/19 02:21 PM
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 11,217 Armpit, ak
Dirt
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 11,217
Armpit, ak
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Trapping bobcats is sport.
Who is John Galt?
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