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A total of 90 Delta Junction bison hunting permits were issued this year, down from 140 predicted by the Drawing Permit Supplement newspaper this spring.
The decision to reduce the number of permits was based on post-calving surveys which showed fewer bison calves in the herd, probably a result of Department efforts to reduce the size of the bison herd over several years.
The management goal for the Delta herd is 360 bison after the hunting season is closed. Hunter success has declined over the past few years, and the herd slowly grew to about 400 animals after hunting. Last year in an effort to allow
hunters to take more bison, the Department opted to issue "either sex" permits, which have a higher success rate than single sex permits, but commonly result in a skewed sex ratio.
Delta Area Biologist Steve DuBois said that Department staff considered issuing more single sex permits, but that would have compounded existing problems of hunter crowding and private landowner conflicts.
"We're still not quite at the population goal, but much closer than before," DuBois said. "We plan to stabilize the herd and get back to issuing single sex permits in
2010."
The management goal is set with input from hunters, farmers and other members of the public to provide the greatest opportunity to hunt and view bison while reducing bison-caused damage to agricultural crops.
The permit supplement newspaper is printed in April, before the postcalving surveys. Actual numbers of permits to be issued are set after the surveys in June. The decision to reduce the number of permits issued was made in June
before the drawing took place in mid July.
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