We talked a little about this in another thread on this forum, but I kinda thought it deserved it's own thread. My dad and I, as well as a couple of buddies, were lucky enough to get drawn for two hunts through TPWD this year. Neither were big hunts (both just spike/doe), but we were happy to have a chance to hunt together, and also put meat in the freezer, since we didn't find a lease this year. One of the hunts we were drawn for was Fort Boggy SP. I was excited because it looked like there were no hunts there last year, but the year before they had nearly a 100% success rate (6 out of 7 hunters killed a deer, I believe). Now, I saw this success rate, and thought it was kind of strange that they were having multiple hunts there this year, with a lot of hunters each time after only having a few hunters there two years before, but I figured they know what they're doing. Anyway, the four guys in my group have all taken vacation for this hunt, which is supposed to be next week, Oct 18-20. Last night, barely a week before the hunt, we get an email from TPWD saying that they had made a "serious clerical mistake", because Fort Boggy only contains 1200 acres of huntable land, and having too many hunters poses a danger to both the hunters and employees, as well as brings with it the risk of overharvesting deer. Which I completely agree with. The question I have is, if you know these things, why would you draw that many hunters to begin with? And once you did, why did it take two months for you to figure it out? TPWD is full of experienced biologists and park rangers. TPWD conducts hundreds of hunts a year. This mistake seems impossible to make. The most frustrating thing is that, without having a lease to hunt, the $80 permit I purchased that is going to be refunded to me was worth a lot more than $80 to me. Without a lease, I can't just use the three days vacation that I took (and will not be able to cancel) to do some midweek hunting. It's not an option. Thankfully, TPWD has made it all better, in the form of 1 (ONE) whole extra preference point in the category of spike/doe. Which will make no difference because if you apply to several of the spike/doe hunts, which we do, you'll get drawn pretty much every year or two. I think 10 preference points in the category of my choosing would be a fairer compensation, but that's just me. They've also promised impacted hunters a "certificate for use on any state park." So I guess we'll see what that's about. If they want to put me up for a couple of days in a cabin I'd say that's fair, but if they're planning on sending us a $14 1-day pass or something, I'd just as soon they keep it.
So, now that the rant is over... who all was affected by this? Has anyone experienced anything like this before with TPWD? Am I wrong to be as upset as I am based on the circumstances, and the timing?
So, now that the rant is over... who all was affected by this? Has anyone experienced anything like this before with TPWD? Am I wrong to be as upset as I am based on the circumstances, and the timing?
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