Just out of curiosity, what are the benefits for the landowner for MLDP properties? I know the benefits for the hunters, extended general season, no antler restrictions, "better" game management, etc. Except the longer season part, I think everything else is accomplishable without MLDP.

Being in an antler restriction county, we got on it to cut these kind of deer out.
The top one is one I was going to get my boy to shoot this year. The bottom one I shot in 2020.
Edit to add: Our doe season is also only a month long, so MLDP extends that by almost 3 months total. My brother in law's place only allows a week long doe season if memory serves me.

But to answer your question, you kind of answered it yourself.
"...extended general season, no antler restrictions, "better" game management, etc. "

advantages for the Land Owner ... well, that's a double edged sword depending on how the LO looks at things.

Some LO are just looking at the money portion, in theory, being MLDP could be a selling point for higher lease fees (longer season for the hunters, state provided tags, no AR, potentially more quantity than hunting license tags, potentially better deer, etc. .. mostly all advantages for the hunters)

In reality, improved herd due to better management based off surveys for the future (depending on lease rules/agreement and how it's followed)... but it does take time to see the improvements.

the LO gets nothing much out of the advantages that the hunter sees/gets other than potentially more money and getting the herd in check.

just my humble opinion

ZK, that first buck needs shot, AR or not, drag it to the train station if nothing else

On a family and friends only place, like mine, if you need to hammer the does, you gotta have a lot of family and friends and have them out to use their tags. I went MLD (Harvest) and hold a youth hunt and an adult hunt through the TWA program. 'Don't have to do surveys on the Harvest option.

If MLDP is the cat's meow of management programs and is as great as the state wants everyone to believe, why isn't the entire state on the MLDP program? MLDP would just become the new season and the limits would be established by the surveys that are required. Seems like from a management outlook, this would up the stakes and make the entire state become better managed. Just curious.

Because there's a whole LOT of folks with the mindset of "if it's brown, it's down." That's not how deer management works. Shoot, we've had people on our MLDP place that had that mindset. They didn't last too long.

I signed up for MLD for mainly AR restrictions. My ranch is HF.

As a LO I signed up to maximize the genetic potential of the deer on the ranch. I don't believe its possible to legally accomplish those goals in a regular season. Once these bucks hit 3/4 in age they get pretty smart and can disappear for weeks at a time. The extended season gives us time to analyze the bucks and be selective. We're not perfect by any stretch of the imagination however not having to cram it into 6-7 weeks eases the stress. We talk all the time about our deer, and I've probably already gone through 300K pictures since July when they started to really show some frame. Even with all that I've got a couple that are camera shy and only have 2/3 bad photo's of ghosts.....

We take a very conservative approach (drives my biologist nuts) however our results I think are very special. Our ratio is tight and we lose one or two to fighting a year. Our feed bill is atrocious but then when we scout now in preparation of the family coming in I know there will be many smiles.

Z made a comment above I'd like to address. I've hunted South and West Central Texas for almost 40 years (both lease and own). If your serious about managing for quality (body and antler) then you need to remove anybody from your group that has the mindset "if it's brown, it's down" ! That person can undo or destroy your management plan in one season especially if your hunting a smaller acreage place. It costs a lot of money to lease hunt these days and people tend to talk big until a 4yr old 140 inch ten walks out in front of them. That's the perfect buck that should be protected for at least two more years. You'll never have any big deer if your lease partner hammers that immature deer! Now that your thinking I can't kick my wife's brother off the lease then one solution is he hunts with you and you become the guide and educate him and coach him why he can't shoot that deer. I know easier said then done......... But like I said better figure it out or you'll never have any truly big deer.

Are you a landowner?

Not a landowner. Just hunt a place that's MLDP, but we are only allowed to hunt the general season. Not in an AR county either. It feels as though my only benefit is not having to use "my" tags.

Well...if you pop a doe, you don't have to haul the head around. The MLD tag is proof of sex.

One of my timber company leases was put on this beginning this season as part of a collective of five or six timber company leases that are all located in the same general area. The one drawback from us hunters POV- we have nine members and were given four buck permits and four does permits. My guys are taking it as an opportunity to rid ourselves of the narrow racked bucks that are typical of east Texas. As one of my guys put it- there hasn't been a year yet that four bucks and four does were killed in the same season.

Biggest benefit is not being dependent on hunter tags aka # of hunters. There is no defined number of hunters where as if you try to manage deer to biologists recommendations you most likely will need more hunters hit your numbers, with that said if you are in one of the counties with low deer densities, it gets you past AR’s

One thing to remember is if you are MLD you have a signed agreement with TPWD that allows them to inspect your ranch at anytime

The BoBo hit one of the nails on the head. Have to take eight outta my pasture this year and don't have to be dependent on tags of others to get it done.

They can come inspect our place at any time. We always utilize a TPWD employee (they be free) when doing helo surveys (every other year) and frankly, we just don't have anything to hide.

The benefit is taxes.

I supplemental fed with food plots back when it used to rain. I haven’t had sub soil moisture in 4 years.

Now, I protein feed with mineral blocks, provide water with stock tanks and put out various pellets. I save my receipts and take pics for proof.

Without the wildlife exemption, I couldn’t afford to own it.

Actually, the wildlife would do just fine without my efforts.

MLD and wildlife valuation are two different things. I get them confused too.

I still wonder why if MLD is the go to program (number of does and bucks to kill with extended time to do it, which has been backed up by a survey by TP&W) why the entire state would not benefit from being on MLD? Maybe I am a tad slow, but if it looks like any property over a certain acreage would benefit from a bag limit that suits that property. Why is it just a voluntarily program and not the state of Texas season deer hunting dates and harvest numbers?

Yes, im an land owner here in central texas, our farm is under MLD control, all does harvested my be tagged with our
tags from TPWD. No bucks on this MLD land. Bucks harvested may be tagged with hunters own tags per the county
requirements. 13" wider spread per TPWD antler restrictions. Also your log on back of your license is not needed to be filled out, For last 12 yrs its worked out pretty well for
us! Have no use to harvest bucks, they are nice to see, my main concern to control the pigs on our place.

What if you owned 100 acres and the survey showed your place gets ZERO Buck or Does tags. As a LO hunter, you see a 170 class buck, and the state says you can't shoot it because you have to tags. How do you feel about the program now?

No survey required with the MLD Harvest option.

I'm glad it's optional and a LO can choose. This is Texas.

It is a complex equation. I don’t think the state of Texas will ever go that way other than voluntary. MLD tags are issued by tract, based on population dynamics, and quality and quantity of habitat present on the tract the tags are issued for. Harvest criteria is set up for sustainable harvest based on carrying capacity of the tract the permits are issued for. The larger landowners pay the most taxes in rural areas where most hunting takes place. Their tax dollars fund a large portion of state agencies annual budgets and the MLD program can accommodate what their goals may be. Mostly larger landowners, or co ops of medium size and smaller landowners forming a large aggregate are the majority of properties enrolled in MLD. The MLD program gives the guys with large parcels more flexibility to manage the deer herd more intensively. Many small landowners are not receptive to the MLD program. On MLD, their harvest is limited to a sustainable harvest calculated from a baseline of the population their place will support in conjunction with local herd dynamics. In layman’s terms, blanket MLD would assign harvest criteria to all the small landowners that coincide with the carrying capacity of their place. Guys that seek out and purchase small tracts adjacent to large landowners that are doing all the right things to capitalize on what the surrounding landowners have put in place would be substantially restricted in their harvest. Small landowners are far more numerous than large landowners. Their vote is targeted by politicians. So there is significant push and pull for and against the MLDP. The unintended result of that convoluted equation is the biggest winners often shake out to be the contractors who erect high fences.

I am ready to ditch our MLDP.....

I would bet that there are some landowners that do not want to put up with hunters for another 3 months or so and that is why they do not make a change to MLD. Of course more money for MLD also could make them change their mind.