In the 2G doe mortality study, 8% and 15% of the adult does that died died from hunting mortality. Yet 2G is held up as the "wiped out" WMU Tags are at the lowest levels in a decade per quare mile yet some hunters still blame the doe tag numbers. Obviously something else is going on up there.
I'm blaming doe tag allocation numbers. The reason being that we here in the former southern Tioga and Potter counties south of Rt 6 went through a herd reduction program during the 90s. I think it was 1997 that the PGC allocated 20K tags for Tioga. They knocked the living crap out of the herd and for a few years hunting was pretty tough. When doe tag allocations were lowered in subsequent years, the herd made a comeback in habitat that was supposedly shot. Then came Gary Alt. Need I say more?
In my areas of operation, habitat is not controling the herd. Predators and hunters with doe tags are..