Field Reports: Deer hunters set priorities

Idaho mule deer hunters want larger bucks and a chance to hunt every year, according to an Idaho Fish and Game Department.

Hunters said the most important part of deer hunting isn’t filling a tag, but spending time with family and friends.

Random and Internet surveys of 4,800 hunters show that 69 percent of them always chose being able to hunt every year as a priority over being able to kill a big buck, Brad Compton, state big-game manager, said. “That came out loud and clear.”

The agency is using the survey in its draft mule deer management plan, which will be released in November.

Compton said he sees a three-tiered hunting system for mule deer:

“General hunts where no hunting tag is required;

“Hunts managed for size and quantity of bucks but where hunters have a good chance of getting a tag;

“Trophy hunts, where the number of hunters is restricted to produce larger bucks.

Idaho Statesman

SKIING

Slopes get grayer

The customer base for ski resorts is getting older, according to a study released this month by the National Ski Areas Association.

The trade group’s study shows snow riders’ average age was 36.6 years old last season, up from 33.2 in the 1997-98 season.

While the number of skiers and riders 45 years old and older grew, there were proportionate drops in younger age groups.

The survey also showed that skiers and snowboarders tend to be much wealthier than the overall population and are more likely white. About 61 percent are male.

The number of customers between ages 45 to 54 rose 5.5 percent over the last decade, while the number of customers ages 55 and older doubled in that time, the survey said.

That suggests the industry is achieving its goal of retaining aging baby boomers, but it eventually must adjust to offset future losses in ski visits.

However, smaller, cheaper ski areas near cities, regarded as “feeders” for destination resorts, are flush with youngsters, said Ski association President Michael Berry. The number of dedicated snowriders also is rising, the survey suggests.

Associated Press

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

Griz by the bagful

Bear managers in northwestern Montana have been busy, trapping and relocating 10 grizzly bears in a single week in mid-September.

Six of the bears were attracted by fruit trees, three were captured near a Condon-area business after being attracted by spilled grease and another was trapped in the area of recent cabin break-ins.

South of Noxon, an adult female with a male and female cub were attracted to the Pilgrim Creek area by plum trees. The bear was outside any of the grizzly bear recovery areas defined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services.

“No one had any idea that there was a breeding female grizzly there,” Williams said.

In recent weeks, at least 15 problem black bears and grizzlies have been euthanized and more than 30 have been relocated in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

Associated Press

FISHING

Collegiate bassing

The University of Oregon has at least one team that takes to water like a duck.

UO is among 86 teams from 48 colleges and universities in the 2007 Boat U.S. National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship near Dallas.

Most teams are from the Midwest and South. Only Oregon and Arizona State are fielding teams from west of the Rocky Mountains.

Intercollegiate bass fishing is a club sport at UO rather than a certified team sport.

Like many professional bass angling groups, the two-year-old club scrambles for most of its money.

“I walk into the office and get grief every time I present them with a receipt for $6 worth of worms,” said team member Gregor Crowl.

Portland Oregonian