BigGameHoundsmen.com

Guys, I am starting a new thread to discuss hound issues in the state of Wyoming. I am very disappointed to say, the Wyoming Houndsmen Association, has suffered from a severe lack of interest and participation. We could all point fingers and lay blame, but the fact is, if people don't show up and atleast try, then the fault lies with all of us. I will admit to not being pleased with the way each and every issue was handled, but the issues aren't always about individual wishes and ideas. The biggest complaint I would hear from members when I would talk to them was, lack of communication. Whether that was real or perceived, I will leave that up to everyone else to make up their own minds.

No organization can hope to accomplish much without help and participation from its members. Speaking in general terms and playing very loose with the stereotypes, houndsmen are a curmudgeonly group who are more introverted than extroverted. For whatever reason, they tend to shy away from putting on clean clothes and going to a meeting in town. HaHa. I get it. Paying constant attention to what is going on in state legislatures and with G&F rule making gets really old. We get tired of having to fight the antis. We get tired of arguing with our fellow houndsmen and friends when trying to determine which direction is best. It seems like, as houndsmen we have to stand a constant post and maintain vigilance in hopes of heading off any laws or rule changes that will have a negative impact on our sport or time in the woods. For a bunch of guys who just want to be left alone, we shouldn't have to be on constant alert, but that isn't the reality of hound hunting these days. We are up against people who have more money than us and they feel their emotions make better management tools than sound science and common sense.

Too many times, I will visit with houndsmen who are upset about proposed rule changes or upcoming legislation that will throw even more restrictions on the sport of hound hunting, yet when asked how many people they called to let their protests be known, they will look like a deer in the headlights. As houndsmen, we have got to get it through our heads that we cannot stay in the woods, never going to a meeting, and then expect things to stay the way we want them. As far as the antis are concerned, we are very low hanging fruit. We have proven ourselves to be unwilling to stand together and fight. That is why they like pursuing the hound issues. As a group, we are easy pickings.

There are some major battles coming toward us and we all need to be sure we have each other's back. I was talking to a friend the other evening who is on the board of the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association. He was giving me the details behind a push the HSUS plans to make in the state of Maine. They have already said how much they plan to spend on their efforts there. Once they finish there, they are planning to concentrate their efforts on the states of Michigan and Wisconsin. If the antis ever find success in knocking over those three states, the rest of us may as well get ready to hang it up.

Wyoming is sparsely populated and the houndsmen are far outnumbered by elk, deer and antelope hunters. As a group of sportsmen, we don't even hardly make a blip on the radar in this state. Staying home and not making any efforts to perpetuate our sport or educate the public on what we do only makes it that much easier for us to be cast aside in favor of the antis, or the hunting groups with more money. The kicker is though, we don't have to have alot of money if we will just show up. That is what is needed. Go to the public meetings. Make contacts. Call your game wardens and biologists. Let everyone know what you want. Call your hunting buddies and fellow houndsmen.

We can all see what needs done and we all have some ideas on how to fix things. We just have to get with other houndsmen and determine which method of approach is most likely to succeed. We have to make sure we are reasonable in what we are seeking and we have to make sure we have educated ourselves with the data and information that will support our arguments.

This stuff isn't easy. Working with different personalities and trying to find common ground where everyone agrees is even harder. If we want to keep hunting though, we have to do it and we can't leave it up to someone else. I am not trying to get on anyone's back and I am not pointing any fingers. I'm simply laying it out so that people can see that the future of this sport is up to all of us. As far as the Wyoming Houndsmen Association is concerned, I did not start this thread to disparage that group or its actions in any way. I am not sure if it is even a viable organization any longer, but that is neither here nor there. I do not wish for this thread to turn into any arguments about that group. The purpose here is to try and keep everyone updated on what is going on as far as Wyoming hound hunting is concerned. We have a few items on the agenda in regards to lion hunting and quotas and I will be going into those issues later this evening when I have time to lay everything out for folks to read. It is my hope that hound hunters will start making a few calls so that we can get together and make some positive changes in our sport.

Have a great day.
Tex

Great article. I hope you write one like that at least once a month or so to keep us posted. I would like to read about hounds in Wyoming. It is a great state. I hope you can keep it that way.

This past Saturday we had a small meeting with a few houndsmen here in northeast Wyoming. The president of the South Dakota Houndsmen Association showed up as did, Justin Clapp, who is a biologist with Wyoming Game & Fish. The main purpose of the meeting was to get input from the houndsmen in this part of the state and to discuss a couple issues that have been front and center with residents who hunt lions in the Northeast Management Region.

The Northeast Management Region is made up of Hunt Areas 1, 24, 30 and 32. A big point of contention that residents have been complaining about is the traffic and congestion in Hunt Area 1 (HA1). By the time our meeting came about, G&F had already been discussing this issue internally due to all the complaints they had been receiving from resident hunters. There were several different possible solutions that had been talked about, but only one, it seemed to the area's houndsmen, that would have much hope of alleviating the problems.

The proposal that will be made to the G&F Commission on behalf of Wyoming's resident lion hunters, is to implement a non-resident sub-quota. This means that NR's will only be allowed to harvest a certain percentage of the overall harvest quotas for the HA's in this management region. As it is, lion hunters are required to call in before each day's hunt to make sure the quota in a given area has not been reached. If the new proposal is put in place, a NR hunter will have to make sure the non-resident sub-quota has not been met before they begin that day's hunt. If it has, they will then have to move to a new area to hunt. This type of system is already in place for some of the elk management areas and also some of the deer areas too, I believe. It is hoped by resident lion hunters that progress can be made with this proposal for the NE Management Region. And I need to be clear that it is only the NE Region that will be affected by this rule. Our state game rules only come under review every three years, so this time frame should give both hunters and the G&F ample time to see if this new rule change will help make for a higher quality hunt with less congestion for resident hunters.

Another rule change that is going to be pushed, is to require all persons actively involved in a lion hunt to have a valid lion tag. This proposal came about due to non-resident hunting parties having several vehicles involved in a hunt, but only having one or two valid tags. As it stands now, it is almost a race to find a track and when one is found someone will sit on that track while allowing their buddy with the tag time to come from the other side of the mountain, or even to allow another member of the party time to run to town and buy one. It is the belief of the resident hunters, if you are going to hunt, you need to have a tag. Just because your buddy has a fishing license doesn't mean you can stand next to him catching and releasing. It is the same difference.

Resident hunters have been making contacts with G&F as well as other area houndsmen in order to let opinions be known. We are also trying to get the word out in order to garner some support from those who are tired of fighting for a place to hunt in the Blackhills. As it stands at this moment, there is quite a bit of support behind both of these proposals.

The Wyoming Game & Fish has two Public Information Gathering Meetings (PIGM's) scheduled this month. There will be one in Sundance on April 25th and another on the 27th in Casper. I encourage houndsmen to call your G&F representatives and let them know you support these measures in an effort to enhance the hunting opportunities for Wyoming houndsmen.


Tex