An Open Letter to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Mismanagement Service: I recently attended a meeting on Chronic Wasting's Disease (CWD) hosted by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Mismanagement Services, where they told us the deer in the Uncompahgre Valley had recently contracted CWD and possibly had as high as a 7-10% infection rate. Badi news for the deer and those of us who like to watch or hunt the Mule deer. At the same meeting, they told us the deer herd in this area had withered from 52,000 Mule deer in 1980, to under 15,000 in January 2019. My word! That's a 70% loss or reduction in our deer population! Funny thing was, it really didn't bother the wildlife officials much- as long as the buck to doe ratio stayed "right" Huh? You have lost 70 % of your herd and the concern is to keep the buck to doe ratio correct? I personally was appalled! What could have happened to our deer herds? They said loss of habitat, CWD, and a few other diseases I hadn't heard much about was the reason for the decline. I wond.ered, what about predators- bears, mountain lions, and coyotes? The speaker assured me, no worries, they're not to blame. The funny thing is that the deer demise seems to coincide with us protecting our predators and their escalation in population. What a coincidence! Have you watched the news lately? The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Mismanagement Service has already had to ill over 80 bears this year for getting into trouble. Seems there are too many on the mountain and some have come to town. This has quite frankly gotten completely out of hand. In 1980, when the deer herd was strong, there was intense predator management in this area by the livestock producers, but today their hands have been tied. Bears and mountain lions are now mostly protected and the deer herd numbers have fallen in the toilet. These numbers, according to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Mismanagement Service exactly coincide! They won't tell you that, but their own data shows it. Another interesting fact they shared at this meeting was, in 1980, when there were 52,000 deer, we had very little game damage in the valley by the deer. Wonder why the deer stayed on the mountain back then? There wasn't a bear, a mountain lion, or a coyote behind every bush waiting to eat them for dinner is why the deer stayed on the mountain! If we as hunters, outfiters, and outdoorsmen who want deer in the valley don't get together and pitch a fit, very soon we will have no deer. I wonder if they are aiming for a O to O buck to doe ratio? am going to pursue this issue vigorously and I wouldn't mind a little help, if anyone would step forward. Jack Flowers Log Hill Mesa Ouray County An Open Letter to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Mismanagement Service: I recently attended a meeting on Chronic Wasting's Disease (CWD) hosted by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Mismanagement Services, where they told us the deer in the Uncompahgre Valley had recently contracted CWD and possibly had as high as a 7-10% infection rate. Badi news for the deer and those of us who like to watch or hunt the Mule deer. At the same meeting, they told us the deer herd in this area had withered from 52,000 Mule deer in 1980, to under 15,000 in January 2019. My word! That's a 70% loss or reduction in our deer population! Funny thing was, it really didn't bother the wildlife officials much- as long as the buck to doe ratio stayed "right" Huh? You have lost 70 % of your herd and the concern is to keep the buck to doe ratio correct? I personally was appalled! What could have happened to our deer herds? They said loss of habitat, CWD, and a few other diseases I hadn't heard much about was the reason for the decline. I wond.ered, what about predators- bears, mountain lions, and coyotes? The speaker assured me, no worries, they're not to blame. The funny thing is that the deer demise seems to coincide with us protecting our predators and their escalation in population. What a coincidence! Have you watched the news lately? The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Mismanagement Service has already had to ill over 80 bears this year for getting into trouble. Seems there are too many on the mountain and some have come to town. This has quite frankly gotten completely out of hand. In 1980, when the deer herd was strong, there was intense predator management in this area by the livestock producers, but today their hands have been tied. Bears and mountain lions are now mostly protected and the deer herd numbers have fallen in the toilet. These numbers, according to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Mismanagement Service exactly coincide! They won't tell you that, but their own data shows it. Another interesting fact they shared at this meeting was, in 1980, when there were 52,000 deer, we had very little game damage in the valley by the deer. Wonder why the deer stayed on the mountain back then? There wasn't a bear, a mountain lion, or a coyote behind every bush waiting to eat them for dinner is why the deer stayed on the mountain! If we as hunters, outfiters, and outdoorsmen who want deer in the valley don't get together and pitch a fit, very soon we will have no deer. I wonder if they are aiming for a O to O buck to doe ratio? am going to pursue this issue vigorously and I wouldn't mind a little help, if anyone would step forward. Jack Flowers Log Hill Mesa Ouray County