Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
"Art, the scenario the OP presents is basically non-existent anywhere in modern America."
Which is exactly why in my first post I pointed out the false premise of the OP.
"I believe the key word in that statement is Factually."
With well over a century of family history in farming and ranching, "factually" as I used it is child's-play simplicity. It doesn't matter what species of herbivore is of interest. Carrying capacity is carrying capacity.
"...the patience to let natural selection deal with the issue..."
How long is "patient"? In the central Texas hill country, a half-century hasn't been long enough such that any natural selection has made any improvement.
"How factual is it that an average person can estimate game populations driving down the road @ 70 MPH?"
Can't. But observing a browse line in trees/brush is a lead-pipe cinch; most any rancher can do it. That shows range conditions.
Then there was the night on a highway north of Ozona when I had to stop and wait a moment before going very slowly through a herd of well over fifty whitetail which were wadded up from borrow ditch to borrow ditch. Or the evening on the way home from Luckenbach via Blanco and saw well over a hundred whitetail (by head count) in a five-acre oat patch; mostly does, about greyhound size.
Which is exactly why in my first post I pointed out the false premise of the OP.
"I believe the key word in that statement is Factually."
With well over a century of family history in farming and ranching, "factually" as I used it is child's-play simplicity. It doesn't matter what species of herbivore is of interest. Carrying capacity is carrying capacity.
"...the patience to let natural selection deal with the issue..."
How long is "patient"? In the central Texas hill country, a half-century hasn't been long enough such that any natural selection has made any improvement.
"How factual is it that an average person can estimate game populations driving down the road @ 70 MPH?"
Can't. But observing a browse line in trees/brush is a lead-pipe cinch; most any rancher can do it. That shows range conditions.
Then there was the night on a highway north of Ozona when I had to stop and wait a moment before going very slowly through a herd of well over fifty whitetail which were wadded up from borrow ditch to borrow ditch. Or the evening on the way home from Luckenbach via Blanco and saw well over a hundred whitetail (by head count) in a five-acre oat patch; mostly does, about greyhound size.