Quote:
Originally Posted by Birchcraft
Pad on my ignorance torkdiesel but what is an SMU?
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SMUs are groups of WMUs. Fish and Wildlife/biologists have a target number of animals they feel can be taken out of an area (not a WMU) The problem arises when game counts are down in one WMU and up in another that fall in the same SMU. The swayed numbers of allocations from one WMU to the next compared to resident draws is where the problem lies.
In a perfect world non-resident allocations would be on the 10% rule. 100 tags total for a WMU, residents get 90 and non-residents get 10. If the total number of animals killed needs to be reduced then both should be adjusted for the next year. You can't take an allocation away for the year of the hunt, but you can for the next year.
I also don't think they should take away allocations from the outfitters, I think they should be suspended until the numbers come back. 2-5-10 years, whatever it takes. I think this would help limit some of the backlash and anger coming from the outfitters right now. Allocations and business isn't cheap, we all know that. But please don't be surprised when people fight to protect their livelihoods.