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ESU's are a very good thing! Are Keni River Kings the same as our Chinook? Are coastal Steelhead the same as Idaho Steelhead? Are Fall Chinook the same as Spring Chinook? Are Mule Deer the Same as Blacktails? (they are technically the same species) No none of these are the same and Ide hate to think of what would happen if they were all managed the same.
Lets use your quote,
"It also throws out any scientific genetic proof that the species is different. This is very troublesome. I can claim that blacktail in my region breed at a different time than the ones in the valley. They grunt differently and tend to act a bit different than yours do. Therefore, my numbers of animals are down significantly so they could qualify for an endangered list even though genetically they are exactly the same."
Basically yes they can, and do, but with less hassle. This is why there are different seasons and regulations for different units. It's even more extreme on the east side where we have a draw system. They can limit the number of tags and types of tags given out in each unit. And yes they can find genetic differences it just depends on how "hard" they look.
Another quote
“The scariest part of this, is that it can be applied to every region and species in your area. Just imagine what they could come up with to close your favorite river. It wouldn't be hard to prove one salmon is different from another because of the time of year it returns. Find a strain in one of the tributaries that has a low year for returns and classify it as endangered. You're shut down....... "
I guess the really scary part is this has already happened. On the Columbia you can keep wild fall Chinook but only hatchery springers and they structure the seasons to allow upriver escapement of endangered up river brights.
I would hardly call ESU’s a bad thing.
-blake
Lets use your quote,
"It also throws out any scientific genetic proof that the species is different. This is very troublesome. I can claim that blacktail in my region breed at a different time than the ones in the valley. They grunt differently and tend to act a bit different than yours do. Therefore, my numbers of animals are down significantly so they could qualify for an endangered list even though genetically they are exactly the same."
Basically yes they can, and do, but with less hassle. This is why there are different seasons and regulations for different units. It's even more extreme on the east side where we have a draw system. They can limit the number of tags and types of tags given out in each unit. And yes they can find genetic differences it just depends on how "hard" they look.
Another quote
“The scariest part of this, is that it can be applied to every region and species in your area. Just imagine what they could come up with to close your favorite river. It wouldn't be hard to prove one salmon is different from another because of the time of year it returns. Find a strain in one of the tributaries that has a low year for returns and classify it as endangered. You're shut down....... "
I guess the really scary part is this has already happened. On the Columbia you can keep wild fall Chinook but only hatchery springers and they structure the seasons to allow upriver escapement of endangered up river brights.
I would hardly call ESU’s a bad thing.
-blake
