Introduce new bull moose LEH subzones, and split existing bull moose LEH season dates

The public is invited to comment on the proposed hunting regulation described below.

Status: Proposed

Region: 7A

Management unit (MU): 7-13 to 7-15, 7-24 to 7-29, 7-38

Regulation type: Limited Entry Hunting

Species: Moose

Closing date: 16:30, March 22, 2024

Decision statement: Pending

Current regulation

LEH Synopsis (2023-2024):

 

Code	Area	M.U.	Zone	Season Dates	Class of Animal
4321	Prince George	713	n/a	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
4322	Prince George	714	n/a	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
4323	Prince George	715	n/a	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
4342	Prince George	724	n/a	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
4343	Prince George	725	n/a	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
4344	Prince George	726	n/a	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
4345	Prince George	727	n/a	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
4346	Prince George	728	n/a	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
4347	Prince George	729	n/a	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
4351	Prince George	738	n/a	Aug 15 – Oct 9	Bull
4352	Prince George	738	n/a	Oct 10 – Nov 5	Bull

Proposed regulation

Divide M.U hunt areas into LEH zones:

Code	Area	M.U.	Zone	Season Dates*	Class of Animal
TBD	Prince George	713	A	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	713	B	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	725	A	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	725	B	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	725	C	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	726	A	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	726	B	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	726	C	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	727	A	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	727	B	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	728	A	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	728	B	Sept 10 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	738	A	Aug 15 – Oct 9	Bull
TBD	Prince George	738	A	Oct 10 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	738	B	Aug 15 – Oct 9	Bull
TBD	Prince George	738	B	Oct 10 – Nov 5	Bull

*Season dates would be dependent on approval of proposal 2024.2.1; dates as provided are independent of that proposal.

**Separate decision, but intention would be to split authorizations equally among zones (and seasons, if proposal 2024.2.1 is approved).

 

Split existing LEH season dates:

Code	Area	M.U.	Zone*	Season Dates	Class of Animal
TBD	Prince George	713	n/a	Sept 10 – Oct 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	713	n/a	Oct 6 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	714	n/a	Sept 10 – Oct 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	714	n/a	Oct 6 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	715	n/a	Sept 10 – Oct 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	715	n/a	Oct 6 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	724	n/a	Sept 10 – Oct 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	724	n/a	Oct 6 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	725	n/a	Sept 10 – Oct 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	725	n/a	Oct 6 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	726	n/a	Sept 10 – Oct 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	726	n/a	Oct 6 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	727	n/a	Sept 10 – Oct 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	727	n/a	Oct 6 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	728	n/a	Sept 10 – Oct 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	728	n/a	Oct 6 – Nov 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	729	n/a	Sept 10 – Oct 5	Bull
TBD	Prince George	729	n/a	Oct 6 – Nov 5	Bull

Rationale

Divide M.U hunt areas into LEH zones:

Splitting WMUs into LEH zones distributes hunting effort across entire WMU without reducing overall harvest opportunities. There would be no impact on guide outfitter harvest; moose quota can be used anywhere in the guide territory that is open to hunting.

The number of authorizations is anticipated to be split equally among the LEH zones, which were delineated to ensure significant moose habitat in each subzone. LEH zone boundaries were delineated with the intention of splits being 1) enforceable and recognizable on the landscape (i.e. following major geographic features); 2) maintaining mainline resource road access to all new subunits; and 3) not splitting zones along mainline resource roads that would still provide access to adjacent zones and therefore not address crowding concerns. Furthermore, areas identified as having crowding concerns were considered in defining splits.

An area-based approach is one way to reduce hunter crowding. Previous authorizations were an average of 1 hunter per 49 km² (range of one hunter per 18 – 128 km²); combining a season split (separate proposal; Table 3) with LEH zones would decrease the average to 1 hunter per 176 km² and all subunits would have hunter density expected to be lower than 1 hunter per 37 km². Decreasing hunter density in these ways may have a positive influence upon hunter experience.

Split existing LEH season dates:

The majority of LEH applicants hunt during the rut (early October); splitting the season temporally reduces the total number of moose hunters on the land base at a given time (Table 1). The number of hunters is expected to be approximately half in each season, as both seasons overlap peak rut activity and are long enough (3+ weeks) to provide flexibility for scheduling successful hunting trips. This is anticipated to reduce hunter crowding without reducing hunter opportunity. Current LEH authorizations are anticipated to be divided in half for each LEH season within each MU zone, with the same number of authorizations overall available and therefore licensed hunting opportunity will not be reduced. No impact on guide outfitter harvest; moose quota can be harvested any time in a legal hunting season.

Previous authorizations were average 1 hunter per 49 km² (range of one hunter per 18 – 128 km²). With a season length division, this changes to average 1 hunter per 97 km2 (range of one hunter per 37 – 256 km²).

Split seasons have been implemented elsewhere in Region 7A to address hunter crowding. Current moose LEH opportunities in the northern Omineca (737, 738, 739, 740, and 741), and the Parsnip River (723 and 716) already have split seasons to reduce hunter crowding in mountainous areas with limited road access (northern WMUs) or where an inflated number of authorizations were established with the objective of reducing moose densities (Parsnip). Comparing hunter success in the split seasons in 723 and 716 and the single season in the surrounding WMUs (707, 717, 724, 729, and 730), suggests that splitting the season provides no statistical difference in hunter success. However, decreasing hunter crowding may positively influence hunter experience. The length of both seasons (>1 month) is still sufficient to allow hunters flexibility and good opportunity for success.

Additional information

Proposed moose LEH zones in portions of the Omineca Region