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Nyboy
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40 lbs per deer doesn't sound a lot for a family of 4.
Reintroduction of Wildlife Good or Bad
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Ridgerunner
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Each state will be different. Our limits on deer and what you can take and what licenses you need in Arkansas vary according to bow, black powder, or regular gun seasons and other things. The limits are less than Journey's and they encourage taking does instead of just bucks to help manage herd size.
You asked for an opinion on whether reintroduction is good or bad. We don't have the same habitat or environment that was here before Columbus and others started sailing the seas. Things have changed. Predators have changed. Due to invasive plants or imported diseases certain food sources may no longer be available. The chestnut blight destroyed a huge food resource in the Appalachians. Areas that were old forest no longer are. Some areas that had a lot of open ground are now forested. You may reintroduce them to a geographic location but that doesn't mean you are reintroducing them to their old habitat. Reintroduced species may or may not survive or thrive. Some may require extensive management to keep the numbers from exploding to unhealthy levels.
Whether or not you consider this good or bad will depend on your perspective. Do you actually see any effects personally. It's a lot easier to support reintroducing grizzlies or mountain lions if it's not in your neighborhood. If the reintroduced animals are competing with your livestock for limited food or water resources or harbor diseases that can affect them you may not be all in favor. If you have to build strong fences to protect your garden or lawn you might have a different viewpoint.
I'm not categorically opposed to trying to introduce some species but that's more of a case by case basis. There will be consequences, some planned and some totally unintended.
You asked for an opinion on whether reintroduction is good or bad. We don't have the same habitat or environment that was here before Columbus and others started sailing the seas. Things have changed. Predators have changed. Due to invasive plants or imported diseases certain food sources may no longer be available. The chestnut blight destroyed a huge food resource in the Appalachians. Areas that were old forest no longer are. Some areas that had a lot of open ground are now forested. You may reintroduce them to a geographic location but that doesn't mean you are reintroducing them to their old habitat. Reintroduced species may or may not survive or thrive. Some may require extensive management to keep the numbers from exploding to unhealthy levels.
Whether or not you consider this good or bad will depend on your perspective. Do you actually see any effects personally. It's a lot easier to support reintroducing grizzlies or mountain lions if it's not in your neighborhood. If the reintroduced animals are competing with your livestock for limited food or water resources or harbor diseases that can affect them you may not be all in favor. If you have to build strong fences to protect your garden or lawn you might have a different viewpoint.
I'm not categorically opposed to trying to introduce some species but that's more of a case by case basis. There will be consequences, some planned and some totally unintended.
ninnymary
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Ridge, I like how you explained your position. It is so calm and realistic to you. Not at all pushy or offensive. I appreciate your attitude very much.
Mary
Mary
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valley ranch
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Reintroduction of game animals, Sure, Good.
Wolves ~No!
That's 40-60lbs of cleaned flesh, none or little bone, that's not bad, more in mule deer. Never weighed dressed, wrapped deer.
Wolves ~No!
That's 40-60lbs of cleaned flesh, none or little bone, that's not bad, more in mule deer. Never weighed dressed, wrapped deer.
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ninnymary
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Journey, how long does your deer last you? How many would you wish you could get a year?
Mary
Mary
journey11
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We come out with about half of it in steaks/stew meat and half ground meat. I tend to go through the steaks and stew meat quicker. The ground meat is used in place of beef in recipes and is much leaner/healthier. The flavor is a little different, no fat and sweeter, but not much difference after you add sauce or spices. If I have a lot of extra ground meat left over by the next season, I like to make summer sausage.
If DH gets at least 2 deer, that will last us through the year. I like for him to get 3 or 4 so I can make jerky or give some of the extra to people I know would love to have some. A whole deer made into jerky reduces down to 3 gallon ziploc bags and that gets eaten pretty fast! In years where I have bought a quarter of a beef (comes out to about 70 lbs of meat) it's the other way around and we end up going through the ground meat faster and I will have several cuts left over into the next year. We like the venison better because it is leaner and healthier and for the way I cook it is more versatile.
I've only had elk once in a burger and it was delicious! If they were to introduce elk in my area, I wouldn't complain; but now that I think of it, I wonder if they ever were native here or not? Gonna have to google that.
I imagine they'd do better whether here or in NY, etc., to raise elk on large, fenced ranches like they do buffalo/beefalo and sell it as an expensive gourmet meat.- Thread starter
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Nyboy
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http://pittsburgh.about.com/cs/pennsylvania/a/elk.htm Bet they where, your not that far from pennsylvania
journey11
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Well, I'll be... They've got an elk reintroduction program started here too, albeit in the southern part of the state in the mountainous coal counties. http://www.wchstv.com/news/features...introduction-Effort-203868.shtml#.Vo1xwFIYHAk
My BIL works for the DEP in Logan County. I'll have to ask him what he knows/thinks of it.
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Nyboy
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I really like the idea of hormone and antibiotic free meat, that lived a natural life.
Jared77
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7+ deer for us between 4 hunters/families means about 30+lbs of burger plus 10-ish steak meat. We process our own and we cut some roast into steak, and the obvious loins and obvious steak is trimmed. The trimmings from the steak, rib meat and everything else edible goes into the "burger bucket" to get ground into burger. We pick them pretty clean and font waste any. That keeps us in red meat till the next November.
Plan was to do venison stock this year but have had a lot going on so I didn't have the freezer space to save anything.
That and the really warm weather this year meant we didn't get many.
Out/up here we have similar regulations like Journey posted.
Michigan had turkeys reintroduced here to boost the local flocks. Now we're #7 in the nation in total turkeys harvested. We have a spring and fall season to hunt them they are so prolific.
Ridge us right on its about habitat. Pheasant numbers in Michigan have seriously dropped off and despite a strong Pheasants Forever presence they don't seem to be making a difference. Grouse and Woidcock here though despite having much smaller support thrive here. The people who support them put the effort in to make sure they have quality habitat.
Same with the waterfowlers. They build wood duck nest boxes or get the Boy Scouts or other service based organizations to help them and with the help of biologists strategically place them and maintain them for next years would be parents. The wood ducks here thrive because of that effort.
And yes they are good eats.
Reintroduction is always a mixed result. Sometimes it works like Yellowstone and wolves and other times it's a horrible mess like the Big Horn sheep they've tried a few times to reintroduce out west in their "native landscape". Those sheep were just an expensive meal for the local predators.
Elk live in Michigan too. The herds are small and it's very carefully managed. It might work in your area or it might not. It's a privately funded venture so I get the "why not" approach that I'm sure the state has about it.
Too often though decisions are made with emotion rather than science when it comes to the management of wildlife. I know in many states dove hunting us allowed. In Michigan a measure was passed some years back to legally classify them in Michigan as a "migratory bird" so they wouldn't ever be allowed to be hunted.
It might work. I get the desire to reintroduce them but unless other measures are taken to ensure they get a strong foothold in that area (thinning the whitetail deer herds a bit) I don't think it will be successful. It's really too bad but it's the reality of the situation.
Plan was to do venison stock this year but have had a lot going on so I didn't have the freezer space to save anything.
That and the really warm weather this year meant we didn't get many.
Out/up here we have similar regulations like Journey posted.
Michigan had turkeys reintroduced here to boost the local flocks. Now we're #7 in the nation in total turkeys harvested. We have a spring and fall season to hunt them they are so prolific.
Ridge us right on its about habitat. Pheasant numbers in Michigan have seriously dropped off and despite a strong Pheasants Forever presence they don't seem to be making a difference. Grouse and Woidcock here though despite having much smaller support thrive here. The people who support them put the effort in to make sure they have quality habitat.
Same with the waterfowlers. They build wood duck nest boxes or get the Boy Scouts or other service based organizations to help them and with the help of biologists strategically place them and maintain them for next years would be parents. The wood ducks here thrive because of that effort.
And yes they are good eats.
Reintroduction is always a mixed result. Sometimes it works like Yellowstone and wolves and other times it's a horrible mess like the Big Horn sheep they've tried a few times to reintroduce out west in their "native landscape". Those sheep were just an expensive meal for the local predators.
Elk live in Michigan too. The herds are small and it's very carefully managed. It might work in your area or it might not. It's a privately funded venture so I get the "why not" approach that I'm sure the state has about it.
Too often though decisions are made with emotion rather than science when it comes to the management of wildlife. I know in many states dove hunting us allowed. In Michigan a measure was passed some years back to legally classify them in Michigan as a "migratory bird" so they wouldn't ever be allowed to be hunted.
It might work. I get the desire to reintroduce them but unless other measures are taken to ensure they get a strong foothold in that area (thinning the whitetail deer herds a bit) I don't think it will be successful. It's really too bad but it's the reality of the situation.
