Editor, the Gazette:
Regarding an ad in the Jan. 10, 2018 issue of the Gazette: Whitetail Population Decimated!
Robert’s message is dead on. The whitetail deer population is down at least 90 per cent from my time guiding non-resident hunters late ’80s early ’90s in the Grand Forks, Christina Lake and Greenwood areas.
Two meetings at Rock Creek, one attended by MP Richard Cannings and the other by NDP MLA and Cabinet Minister, Katrine Conroy heard a loud message from the audience that the mule and whitetail population numbers are down dramatically since the new millennium.
Granby Guides and Outfitters cannot run a guide service for non-resident hunters because of the dramatic collapse of the whitetail population. The hunting season on the whitetail buck is so long very few young bucks live long enough to become breeding bucks.
One generation on, both B.C. NDP and B.C. Liberal Parties have acknowledged the province’s wildlife resource has been ruthlessly exploited.
Professional Reliance has been a complete failure! Population estimates and harvest success statistics are complete strangers with Trust but Verify.
In my opinion, not one credible attempt has been made by our provincial government biologists to connect with credible hunters, outfitters and trappers who know the real story.
The negative comments attacking Robert DiPietro’s message are hardly surprising. One of the reasons the province’s wildlife resource is in serious trouble is the mindless, irresponsible, statistical dribble the BCWF has used to verify and increase hunting opportunity that was subsequently accepted by the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources.
Former B.C. Premier Christy Clark had her mea culpa moment in her June 22, 2017, Throne Speech when she said: “implement a wildlife management plan that ensures sustainable populations and protects our biodiversity.”
When is the BCWF going to have their mea culpa moment (we are to blame) and admit their Hunting Opportunity Agenda was one of the significant reasons the province’s wildlife resource is in serious trouble?
Barry Brandow Sr.