mikep35 Report post Posted December 29, 2006 If you want to shoot a spike, shoot a spike. If you want to hold out for a 110" boomer, then hold out. To each his own. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
audsley Report post Posted December 29, 2006 Regarding elk vs. mule deer, I think the idea that elk are the cause of declining mule deer herds on the Rim and White Mtns. is greatly oversold. I believe instead that changes to the forest and reduced browse are the principal culprits. I suspect elk play a role that varies in importance depending on what else is going on, but I don't think elk are the primary reason for Arizona's mule deer decline. Instead, try forest service policies, at least for the Rocky Mtn. mule deer. With desert mule deer, it's drought, overgrazing, habitat fragmentation and predator pressure in the face of all these other problems. It's true that elk have been spreading into areas where they didn't exist historically, but Game & Fish has been aggressively trying to extinguish pioneering elk herds before they can settle in. Parts of Unit 27 near the Rose Peak area is one example, and the Kaibab is another. Game & Fish does not want elk in every place in the state where elk might decide to re-locate. I've heard that the burned areas of the White Mtn. Apache reservation are experiencing a deer herd recovery. What we need is a lot of controlled burning to put the forest back in its former condition, and some rainfall to follow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
