Ulysses-

As a one-time Altie, you, if anyone, should understand that antler restrictions are NOT a turn-key operation. They are an introduction to a new way of thinking, as PGC is trying superimpose new QDM science over fifty years of a "more is better" mentality.

This is a new thought-process. At the start, people will go through different phases of acceptance and rebellion. They will poach, refuse to conform, fight, boycott, fret and whine. IMO, that's where we are now. People hate change.

People who have started to see the results have undergone a change in opinion. They are learning. Those who the new system has adversely affected (the big forest hunters) will take some time to come around. The forests will replenish their floors with native plant species, providing a stable food source for generations of deer in the future, and the herd will recover accordingly. It's already starting - the habitat in the Allegheny Nat'l. Forest looks better than ever. The deer were spread pretty thin, so the vast majority survived. The population will grow, and next year will be better. I am confident.

While an average deer may only live 2 1/2 yrs., we are trying to bump the average buck's lifespan into the 2 1/2 - 4 1/2 range. 3 years of AR is clearly, in my mind, far too short a timespan to blow it off as being unsuccessful. It's sorta like Reaganomics.

I just think you're making a kneejerk reaction, and it could cost us all if too many jump on the bandwagon and this plan gets scrapped.