GOAT GET ‘EM
So you wanna hunt
BC Mountain Goats?
Co-Hosted with Rocky Mountain Goat Alliance
Hunters for BC and the Rocky Mountain Goat Alliance are pleased to co-host this webinar on mountain goat hunting that includes a panel of BC goat hunting gurus.
This interactive session where you can learn from the fellows that get out there on a regular basis in pursuit of these majestic monarchs in the nastiest of terrain that BC has to offer.
We cover key items including physical and mental preparation, e-scouting, partner selection, hunting tactics for the summer, fall and winter seasons, goat behaviours, identifying a mature billy and retrievals plus a short Q&A at the end.
Hunters for BC
FIELD JUDGING BLACK BEARS
Special Guest Bobby Milligan, Milligan Outfitting
Bobby Milligan joins us to present our Field Judging Webinar. Learn the physical characteristics of sows & boars, learn how to field judge size and some of the behaviours you may observe in the field.
Hunters for BC
ADENOVIRUS HEMORRHAGIC DISEASE IN BLACK TAIL DEER
Dr. Caeley Thacker, British Columbia’s Wildlife Veterinarian
A disease outbreak occurring in deer in B.C. Adenovirus Hemorrhagic Disease (AHD) is an acute, infectious, usually fatal viral disease of deer species. Since September 2020, coastal blacktailed deer on several British Columbia (BC) Gulf Islands (confirmed on Galiano, Mayne, Pender, Salt Spring) and southern Vancouver Island (from Coombs to Sooke) have died from this disease. The information below is important for the public and hunters to learn more about this new disease and its implication on deer populations, hunters and public health.(1)
(1) ADENOVIRUS HEMORRHAGIC DISEASE IN DEER BRITISH COLUMBIA WILDLIFE HEALTH FACT SHEET
Hunters for BC
DR. JEFF WERNER
Dr. Jeffery Werner is a wildlife ecologist with the BC Government and an adjunct professor with the department of Ecosystems Science & Management at the University of British Columbia. Jeff’s work focuses on how human-caused changes to forested habitat can influence population dynamics of resident wildlife. This presentation will focus on how our treatment of forests may help or hinder the fate of moose in north central British Columbia. Jeff combines aspects of systems theory, risk management, and human behavior to expose how deeply held myths about resource use sometimes create barriers to responsible wildlife management.
Hunters for BC
DR. GARRY MERKEL
An overview of the Provincial initiatives underway to improve management of wildlife habitat in B.C.
Hunters for BC
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE
Presented by Cait Nelson, MSc., Wildlife Health Biologist
CWD has been found in ungulates 50km from the British Columbia | Alberta border. Learn more about chronic wasting disease prevention, surveillance and response in B.C.
SURVEILLANCE & RESPONSE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
Hunters for BC
This webinar video available for purchase only.
“Coyote Management – Livestock & Ungulate Protection”
The coyote is a highly adaptable species, and one of the few that has expanded its North AmericanThe coyote is a highly adaptable species, and one of the few that has expanded its North Americanrange over the past century in pace with the spread of human settlements and developments.(1)
Coyotes kill an estimated one to threeCoyotes kill an estimated one to threepercent of all domestic sheep ewes and four to nine percent of all lambs in the United States each year.This wily predator has also caused havoc on poultry farms in some areas and occasionally at beef anddairy ranches during calving time. Further, profiteering from growing urban sentiments about “living inharmony with nature,” coyotes have become an increasing threat to domestic pets in many urban areas.(1)
In terms of relationships with other wildlife, in some areas coyote predation has been demonstrated toIn terms of relationships with other wildlife, in some areas coyote predation has been demonstrated tobe the largest source of fawn mortality for ungulates such as bighorn sheep, deer and pronghorns. Theyalso compete for local food resources with several other carnivore furbearers including bobcats, lynxes,foxes, weasels, raccoons, minks, and martens, and also prey on the young and sometimes the adults ofall of those species. In addition coyotes almost certainly prey upon several species of endangered orthreatened small mammals and amphibians (e.g., mountain beaver and Oregon spotted frog), particularlyin the Lower Mainland where the habitat is extremely fragmented and where coyotes have only recentlybecome more abundant and widespread than in the past.(1)
Hunters for BC
“Southern Interior Mule Deer Project”
Presented by Chloe Wright, M.Sc., PhD Candidate
“Southern BC Cougar Project”
Presented by Siobhan Darlington, M.Sc., PhD Student
Both research projects have a significant amount of trail cams as part of the ongoing studies. These trail cameras require maintenance & repairs, batteries, SD Cards & bear guards! We are asking you to give generously to support research & science of our wildlife right here in B.C.
Please donate! Every $25 donation received will be entered to win a Focus Hunting hoodie & Hunters for BC swag! Donate $50? You’re entered twice! Let’s support wildlife research projects!!
Hunters for BC
“Social Policy vs. Science”
Hunters for BC
“On prey and predator abundance: lessons from history”
However, not only wolves, but mountain lions can also cause predator pits. Moreover, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game developed a concept similar to predator pit under the title “Low Density Dynamic Equilibrium or LDDE”. Flourishing big game populations are the consequence of the following factors: where trap lines were patrolled by dog sled, and areas where pack- and riding horses were overwintered, wolf populations were severely reduced, allowing a rebound of ungulate species. Studies in Yellowstone National Park show that one wolf requires 16-22 elk per year. Conversely, the death of one wolf allows 16-22 elk to live. Historically, predator control officers removed wolves from settled landscapes, while fear of hydatid disease and rabies resulted in broadcasts from plane of poisoned bait. Abundant wildlife populations were thus a function of predator control.
Predator pits are unnatural as they are the result of differential survival of large predators following human-caused Pleistocene extinctions. Tigers, leopards and lions can effectively control wolves, and together with other large predator species such as saber-toothed cats, jaguars, predacious bears, cave-hyenas and dire-wolves kept grey wolves at low levels. On the other hand migratory ungulates such as reindeer/caribou and bison have been able to escape the predator pit phenomenon.
We conclude that Post-Pleistocene wildlife and biodiversity in North America and Siberia will thrive only through intense, knowledgeable, hands-on management, primarily of carnivores. Protectionism, on the other hand results in the virtual absence of ungulates in areas of unimaginable size as witnessed today in Siberia, and parts of North America, wherever wolves, grizzly bears and mountain lions are protected and freed from any management.
Hunters for BC