Bucksnbows,
I used to be a supporter of the Div. but nolonger and HAVE to ask just what DO THEY MANAGE? Grouse, All but gone, Deer managment, little more than a political joke migratory foul, do what the feds say and thats that, small game, Oh please any jerk can raise some chickens and dump em in a feild.
Oh I forgot perform as taxie drivers for bears yet another joke.
The Div. let it DIE who needs em to let the WMA's grow up in nonnative invasive plant species that they introduced them self?
IMO you could cut the Div. F+W in HALF and most folks (and that includes hunter and anglers) would notice NO DIFFERANCE in this state.
NOW tell me How am I so wrong?
All good points, but let me tell you what I know that the division is doing on each.
For grouse, they are now doing clearcuts on some WMA lands just for grouse and woodcock. Our problem is a lack of habitat and they are beginning to address that.
Deer management is a very tough issue in this state simply because of our high (highest in the nation) human population. It is very tough to manage deer in urbanized areas, I agree that they are not perfect, but what would you do differently to our deer herd and still attempt a good, balanced herd?
Waterfowl is at the direction of the feds. Period. You can't expect NJ to break federal laws and do whatever they want. I no longer duck hunt, all my lands are now housing complexes so I'm admittedly up to speed on waterfowl, but the feds set the regs.
The bear hunt was not stopped by the division, it was stopped by the politicians in Trenton. The division very much wants a bear hunt, from the director of F&W all the way down the line. Maybe with a new Governor, we will once again hunt them.
The invasive plants you speak of are most likely Russian Olive, a huge mistake made in the 70s by the division and other state's divisions. I was in meetings on just this with biologist from the division in Sept. and I know they are moving forward with eradication efforts using RoundUp like products and a special mower/cutter to remove permanently this plant from many WMAs. That effort is still early, let's see what they can accomplish before hanging them out to dry. They made their mistakes - nobody is perfect - now let's see how well they can fix them.
As for our non-native pheasants, what do you want? NJ hunters still want to hunt for them, stocked or not so they provide them and quail for a steep permit price. IMO, I would focus a lot more on habitat for bunnies (most WMAs are good rabbit habitat) and grouse and woodcock which are our native small game species along with squirrels.
I guess I'm more of an optimist than some. Are things perfect? Heck no, but it's what we have and it's better to get involved and make some change than abandoning hunting and fishing like so many here threaten to do which will only make things worse for those of us who still pursue the out of door experience.
