Their money. Their lawsuit. Their right. Their call. There is VERY strong evidence of their claims of insufficient breeding data to support the extremes of the program. Anyone can see that easily by glancing for one moment at the annual reports. Its rediculous. I just don't think they will be granted exactly what they are seeking based on that.
What doesn't make any sense to me is why the PGC switched from deer density goals that were established based on 20 years of research and 20 years of field data, to a system based on the number of embryos/doe when they knew that the sample sizes were too small to yield statistically valid data on a yearly basis.Now ,the PGC makes yearly decisions on antlerless allocations based on 3 year averages rather than year to year data. Therefore, they can't adjust allocations due to reduced recruitment due to a severe harvest or higher than expected antlerless harvest. That is unless they are really managing the herd based on the actual deer density rather than on breeding rates and forest regeneration.