Minnesota Whitetail Alliance
By Ted Wawrzyniak
Minnesota QDM has recently been involved with the Bluffland Whitetail Association and Farmland Whitetails in creating an Alliance that will give us all a stronger voice with the DNR and the Legislature. Many more groups will be involved in this Alliance, but we wanted to start with a very small group to put our ideas together. So far, we have had two meetings and we are now ready to bring together several other groups. This is something that has taken root and will really start to grow this winter. I will have an update for you in the spring newsletter, but until then here is what we have proposed that the Alliance represent:
Our Mission:
Representing deer hunters statewide through their local organizations to increase the age structure of whitetail bucks through focused deer management and education.
About us:
The ‘Minnesota Whitetail
Alliance’ (MWA) is the collaborative effort of independent outdoor groups and
individuals throughout Minnesota who wish to join forces in order to promote
deer management practices which improve, protect and ensure the future quality
of Minnesota’s deer herd and deer hunting.
The intent of the founders of the MWA, first and foremost, is the commitment to the improvement, and restoration, of the buck age structure within Minnesota’s deer herd. We formed because we saw one objective common to all deer hunting groups. Although all groups that endorse the MWA will have many more objectives they wish to achieve, the MWA will give each group a stronger voice when it comes to dealing with buck age structure. No group has to change the things they believe in. They just need to agree with the philosophy of the Alliance within their own current beliefs, regardless of what their other beliefs may be.
The Minnesota Whitetail Alliance will promote and support deer management programs which will result in adequate female harvests while preventing the current “over-harvest” of antlered bucks each year in Minnesota. The main objectives are to stabilize Minnesota‘s herd growth while simultaneously increasing buck age structure.
This philosophy has proven effective for population management successes in many other states. It also, in turn, protects the habitat and overall herd health, in addition to providing an improved representation of bucks in the medium to older age classes. The result is a high quality hunting experience for “all” hunters to enjoy.
The Minnesota Whitetail Alliance is committed to achieving these positive objectives:
1) Broaden age structure of the antlered population.
2) Adequately control and or maintain Whitetail deer populations through sufficient antler-less harvest or restriction of antler-less harvest as needed.
3) Increasing Hunter recruitment with emphasis on Youth opportunity and Youth recruitment into the deer hunting community.
4) Working to increase hunter access with specific programs designed to improve relationships between landowners and deer hunters.
5) Maintain and maximize recreational opportunity while putting more emphasis on hunter ethics and quality deer hunting experiences.
The alliance supports the use of modern management techniques to achieve the stated objectives.
The alliance supports education but realizes that for goals to be achieved education must be combined with modern management techniques.
The alliance supports more specific management regulations for each area of the state designed to achieve goals.
Our Concerns:
Even though antlered bucks now make up a very small percenttage of Minnesota’s total deer herd, each year antlered bucks also make up a “majority” of the Minnesota deer harvest. Meanwhile, the females, which constitute a vast majority of the herd, remain a
minority of the total deer harvest. This seems in direct contradiction to Minnesota’s current population management needs. The Minnesota Whitetail Alliance believes this needs to change to for the following reasons:
Reasons for
change:
1.) Decades of heavy buck harvests, in conjunction with relatively light doe
harvest have resulted a steady increase in Minnesota’s deer population. Current
estimates are at 1.3 million deer, and growing. Minnesota’s current deer management
requirements call for the stabilization of herd growth, however, focused buck
harvests have not, and will not stabilize herd growth. Effective population
management requires adequate doe harvest. New initiatives and management
strategies are required to reach that objective. The MWA stands ready to tackle this
issue.
2.) Furthermore, decades of heavy buck harvest have also greatly diminished the buck
age structure throughout Minnesota, thereby severely reducing hunter opportunity for
the many who choose to harvest mature bucks. Additionally, this diminished number
of mature bucks throughout Minnesota’s deer herd over the last several decades has
also severely reduced “every” Minnesota deer hunter’s
chances of taking “the buck of
a lifetime.”
Taking the “Buck of a lifetime” is an exciting element of deer hunting which is, and
has always been, an important cultural aspect of the deer hunting tradition.
Therefore, the Minnesota Whitetail Alliance believes that a realistic opportunity for
hunters to achieve such should be considered in when making deer management
decisions.
We don’t believe that we should be ashamed of the fact that we want to see larger bucks. We by no means support “Trophy Deer Management”, but we don’t think we need to defend our view of at least wanting the chance to see a mature buck every once and a while.
Our Structure:
Each organization which endorses the MWA will select a representative to sit on the board of the MWA. They will get one vote. This board shall decide which groups to approach to seek their endorsement. Each board member (and hence, each group) will get one vote. There will be a formal membership to the MWA. There are no dues and nothing will be published by the MWA. The MWA merely serves as a vehicle to unite deer hunters in the state of Minnesota and give them a stronger voice.