I have lost all my faith and respect for the DNR.
They are a bunch of bureaucratic a-holes who don't give a damn about us or wildlife. As long asthey get a paycheck every week their happy, andthey continueback to their job, managing wildlife from their cozy, warm offices.
I think you have just summed up how a lot of folks feel.I would only disagree slightly. I do think the people who work for the DNR are, by and large, serious about what they do and also are acting out of what they believe to be the best of intentions.
That, by the way, is part of the problem.
Anyone else remember the saying about the road to perdition being paved with good intentions? Government bureaucracies, by their very nature, take on a life of their own that is often in direct contradiction with what they were intended to do. The way I see it, the DNR is now inflicting hunters with what I will call "Friendly Fire Syndrome". (Before I go on let me be clear: I am not in any way minimizing the harm suffered by soldiers who have been victimized by "friendly fire", nor am I suggesting thatthe harmhunters are suffering is equivalent that of our military.) Basically, in much the same way that troops are often injured or killed by their own artillery or air support, we as hunters are suffering a similar fate in that we also are getting hit with unintended consequences. Vehicle/deer collisions are up,...or crop damage claims, or suburbanites are having their shrubs eaten...take your pick...so let's lower the deer population targets. The zeal to "control" the deer herd then takes on a life of its own. Why, the DNR cannot simply trust landowners to control their own deer, it is up to the benevolence and superior intelligence of the DNR to tell them how much to control the deer population. After all, the lord of the manor needs to instruct the lowly serf, right? More funding heads the DNR's way (or in the case of our current governor, that is less money he will raid to "balance" the state budget), more people are hired to assist in "deer management", and a self-sustaining bureacracy is born. Now, how do we keep it going? Well, we never tell the Conservation Congress, or the legislature anything like the following, even if true:"The deer herd is lower than in past years and is at or below the carrying capacity of the land in many parts of the state.". Instead,they use terms like "excessive", or "crisis" to describe the state of the deer herd in the state. If that does not work, then try to dust off the image of CWD running wild and wiping out the herd statewide ( forget the fact that it has been a fact of life in western states since the early 1970's and there are now more whitetails than before the outbreak was discovered). And the justification for such a shrill tone? Why it's for the hunters' own good! (Besides, we at the DNR like the idea of more funding being kept at our agency so that we can continue to do other "good works".
We aren't dealing with a rational branch of government!
mr.mc54...as stated above...isn't your statement somewhat of a contradiction in terms?
