ORIGINAL: SteveBNy
DB - the problem I see is we do not know for sure at this point and once in place, the season will stay. And the potential for it to grow in numbers participating and to become an antlered season also is huge with will only serve to increase the effect.
As I said in my above post, mz could become a 37 day season by allowing use of the tags in regular gun and extending it for 14 days. A tremendous increase in opportunity and NO impact now or ever on the bow season.
Steve
It has ZERO to do with the convienience of bow hunters. You are on the totally wrong plane of thought.
Their reasoning behind the early MZ season is control based. They want to better manage the deer numbers. If they were simply trying to meet the goals of MZ hunters, they would have an early doe AND buck season.
To sit here and think the DEC has hunting "convienience" in mind first is like taking the climber up the tree without the bow. Sure you get to see stuff, but nothing goes down.
The first and primary goal is to manage the deer numbers. AFTER that is met, then they worry about secondary goals.
Hence, the only logical way to attack that is to say that the deer take by bowhunters after the early MZ season will be severely lowered, limiting the ability to control herd population.
But, the DEC's response is logical to that. They will say....."Why do you think we put an early doe only MZ season in?"..............Answer: Because bowhunters are not controlling the herd as well as a week long doe only MZ season would. And I have to agree on that one, unfortunately.
I really do not want the changed seasons, I'd accept this past one with an additional week to 3 weeks on the end for MZ only. I think that would be fair, and would get some deer downed.
However, that will never change...why? Snowmobile people are lobbying against it. They pay a large part of the state's enviornmental bill with their fees, and the state has to listen to them to a point. Their goal is to have NO hunting days tacked on at the end of the current season. If their money was removed, you would feel the pinch as a hunter in your license fees.