Blog

I am going to use this space to write about current events. These are just my opinions and do not represent any others. I will always be respectful to others opinions and listen to what they have say as long as they are respectful of mine. I pride myself on respect, whether it be for the animals I harvest or other people around me. I am never quick to judge and am always learning. 

February 2023- 

My decision to put more into sharing our story really came to light late January. I am an introvert, I love being at home or near my home far too much. It was time I begin putting myself out there. The fear of what people think has always lead me to run away from social situations or posting my personal thoughts. After starting to realize that I am who I am and people can take it or leave it, I want to be more involved in the outdoor industry. It also gives me an excuse to get out and do more. I am currently looking into becoming more involved in the stakeholder groups to have a voice in the decisions made about our environment. Before I was the kind of person who would complain among my family and friends but never do anything about it. I did not know I enjoyed writing about my adventures until recently and am hoping it will continue. It seems if you are passionate about something it makes it so much easier. I have a large number of big dreams, I can envision a archery shoot similar to TAC or MAF in Alberta, We have the landscape we have the ski hills.

 I have recently continued my goals at the gym getting there at shortly before 4:30 am and getting an hour workout in before having to drive an hour to my site. I am supervising a oil and gas battery build near Three Hills Alberta. While I enjoy the work I do, my mind is often lost in planning or dreaming about my next adventure.  My mindset that Cam Hanes has instilled in me is TRAIN HARD, HUNT EASY. Put in the work. 

Supplemental Whitetail Doe Tags 

Just want to give my personal opinion on the supplemental doe tags you can now shoot in WMU 320. I reside in this WMU and have lived here all my life. It is a tough pill to swallow when you know any hunter can come out and shoot 3 deer in your area. If everyone that is coming out hunting harvests 3 does that will not take long for the population to be greatly impacted and I want there to be deer for my kids and their kids to enjoy.  The deer numbers that I have seen have already begun receding at a fast pace. I know this time of year the deer do not move much so you do not see as many but even in peak times of year the deer numbers just are not what they once were. I have heard multiple scenarios as to why these tags have been released but the most common one is that CWD is making its way west, which I do not doubt but the logic of kill them all before they get a disease just does not seem right to me. Again this is my opinion and I need to get more involved with the groups that make these decisions and then maybe I can be persuaded to see things from a different point of view. 

Wolve Population In the Foothills 

The wolf population in WMU 318 is getting out of control.  Not long ago (10-12 years ago), one frosty morning we counted 42 moose in 6 km of logging road in the swamp. Now you can go a whole season with only seeing 1-2 moose. The wolves are getting to be everywhere, drive down any logging road out that way and I will bet you it is packed with wolf tracks.  The toll it is taking on the ungulate population is substantial. Recently one of the wild horse groups posted videos of a pack of 13 wolves in the area we like to hunt and have hunted my whole life. They are smart and hard to hunt. Always on the move, I think it is all just luck to find them, then to get a shot off.  There are 2 trappers working the area that get the occasional wolf.  Our recent shed/wolf hunt we unsuccessful as we were on foot and had missed the pack by a few days. Their tracks went right through where we set up our camp for the night. Although we didn't have any luck we got to try out my new Lite Outdoors tipi tent and stove. 

Mule Deer Draws WMU 320 2022

After researching the outfitter vs. residential antlered Mule Deer allocations for the 2022 hunting season I think we need to take a look at our system.  After the AEP put archery antlered Mule Deer on draw it has shown some good growth to the size of Mule Deer in our area, this is great to see. It is just the numbers that do not make sense to me.  There were 10 residential draws awarded, 100% of priority 6's and 23% of 5's were drawn. The outfitters received 24 tags for this zone in 2022. This is including the Covid relief, even without this relief the outfitters standard number is 18. Why is this? How is it that correct numbers for residents? I understand how much these non resident hunters contribute to our economy and am all for them having and taking the opportunities that are provided to them, I just think that their opportunities should not exceed a residents.  Should there not be a percentage of resident tags allocated to the non residents? In the AEP's Shared Harvest-Alberta's Approach to the Sustainable Allocation of Hunting Opportunities streamed on Dec 7 ,2021 it was said that outfitter allocations try to be 10 %  of allocations.  This is supposed to be revisited every 5 years to give the outfitters some stability in their business, which I also have no issues with. From what I can find on Alberta websites we have not done this in 7 years and sounds like there is no plan on doing it. 

January 3, 2025 

It has been awhile since I have added to my blog, Sitting here on this windy cold day I think this is the perfect opportunity. While not much has changed in the way of Mule deer allocations in Alberta I wrote another letter to AEP this past fall with not much in the response from them. 

This passed hunting season was exciting and the individual stories are posted in the adventures tab of the page. 

2025 Goals- My main goal this year is to harvest a mountain Mule deer with my bow. I have been trying to do this for the last couple years and came very close this past year. I did not spend much time scouting out there, it seems we spent more time scouting the East country for Antelope. While I should get my trophy Antelope draw this year I still think I will spend more time in the mountains looking for a mature Mule deer. 

I could also get my antlered elk draw this year.