Earn-A-Buck alternatves survey

[Ron]

This committee was formed by the Natural Resources Board in response to the EAB restriction being suspended indefinitely. The Earn-A-Buck Alternative study committee is charged with formulating season structures and incentives to increase antlerless deer harvests during all seasons in areas that may have populations above prescribed goals. You might be asking why the NRB would form a committee to come up with ways to further reduce the deer herd? I know I asked the same question. As a committee member we were told that we could not expand the charge of our group to focus on the reasons many hunters are unhappy about the current deer management plan and that discussions of improving the accuracy of population estimates and increasing the over winter goals were "off the table". Committee members had the play the cards we were dealt so in keeping with the scope of this committee, we came up with some ideas that will hopefully reduce the need for such thing as EAB in the future.


Committee members want to gather public input on the proposed ideas so a public survey has been created to give you a chance to view the options and provide input. Once the results from this survey are collected, our committee will be using that data to gauge the support of the season structures we have developed and adjust them according to your input. This survey will go live on Sat. July 25 at noon. If you go to the survey now, you will be told to come back on the 25th. In order to meet our deadline, this survey will only be available for a very short time, ending on July 28th, . This survey will include a comment section and you may wish to let the NRB know your views about herd management and the issues causing hunter frustration. Please make sure to pass this survey along to all of your deer hunting friends so we can maximize the amount of public input.

Below is the link to the survey main page

deerherd.editme.com/PublicComment

Thanks for taking the time to assist our committee by providing your input

[Ron]

Dont forget to take the survey and tell your hunting friends to take it as well. The survey is only open for 4 days.

[Ron]

Correct, we are still finalizing the wording of the questions. Our group work for 4 hours last night getting the survey ready. We will be working all day today and even tomorrow morning to get it right. I just wish we were given more time to do this right. I still don't understand the rush but will play the cards we have been dealt.

[Ron]

Due to strong public interest and continuing media coverage, the NRB Committee has decided to continue collecting online public comments through Friday July 31, 2009 (rather than closing Tuesday July 28).
However, the Committee will begin reviewing the responses provided by noon Tuesday July 28, 2009. Response data will be updated daily until Friday for the Committee to review additional responses and comments.


The public comment survey can be accessed via the link www.wiherdcontrol.org.


A summary of the overall responses will be posted to the website by the end of the week of August 3, 2009.