BuzzH
Well-known member
help this problem? Giving welfare ranchers the right to lock up more public lands will surely make this go away:
From yesterdays Billings Gazette.
March 13, 2003
Last modified March 13, 2003 - 12:19 am
click to enlarge image
Drop in hunters blamed on lack of access
Bob Krumm
WYOMING OUTDOORS
Last week I stated that one reason there were fewer young anglers and hunters was that parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles weren't taking neophytes on hunting and fishing trips. I also said that there were too many distractions with television, computers, video games and extracurricular activities at school.
Only one person, a grandfather, agreed with me that the school activities kept him apart from his grandkids. The resounding majority of respondents told me I had it all wrong. The reason why they weren't taking the youngsters afield was lack of access. This was especially the case in hunting situations.
"It's getting harder and harder to find a place to hunt. Why we can't even hunt the railroad right-of-ways any more," one fellow wrote. What little public access there is is so crowded that I don't want to expose my kids to the madhouse conditions. Consequently, I have pretty much given up hunting, period."
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What caused the drying up of public access to private lands? The overwhelming majority of my e-mail attributed it to outfitters leasing the land. It seems as though outfitters have pretty deep pockets and can afford to lease thousands of acres for their well-to-do out-of-state clients.
Some of the e-mails also said that they couldn't blame a landowner for wanting to make a buck because times were tough.
I often wonder what would have happened to that landowner that was down and out if the outfitter hadn't come along. Would the landowner still allow the public access to his land? Would he allow free hunting and fishing or would he charge a trespass fee?
Another question I constantly ask those who vilify outfitters is how many places have well-to-do locals leased up? How many doctors, lawyers and other well-off professionals have locked up places? How many have bought lands for their personal enjoyment and shut the gate to public access?
Outfitters have to list the lands they lease with the board of outfitters -- the leased lands are a matter of public record. It is not so for the private clubs and individuals. The money can be slipped under the table so the landowner doesn't have to report it on his income tax.
I'm not saying that there aren't a bunch of outfitters out there who would lease up every available acre if they could afford it, but I am also saying that there are plenty of clubs and individuals who would do the same thing and let the outfitters take the blame.
Here are some ideas for improving access that I have mulled over in my mind for a while:
Number one is that any landowner that doesn't allow some verifiable public access should not be granted any crop damage payments.
Number two, if private groups are leasing lands, they should have to report that to the game management agencies.
Number three, regardless of who is leasing the land, the last quarter of the season should be reserved for the public. After all, the game and fish belong to the citizens of the state, not the landowner. Yes, I believe in property rights, but I also believe in citizens' rights.
I also believe that the states should do more to acquire access to public lands. It is high time that the thousands of acres of federal and state lands that are surrounded by private lands be opened up to the public. I get tired of those lands being used as someone's private domain when they are public!
Wyoming has an excellent program, Access Yes, that is funded by voluntary donations by fishermen and hunters. Each time a hunter or angler buys a license he or she can donate a dollar amount to the Access Yes program. Each year the fund grows larger and the number of Walk-In Fishing and Hunting Areas has grown commensurately. For those people in Wyoming who gripe about lack of access and don't contribute to the fund, I say put up or shut up.
Well, now that I have riled up nearly all the readership, I will quit and find a quiet foxhole until the firestorm subsides. That is, if I can find some public access to get to that foxhole.
Bob Krumm, of Sheridan, is the Wyoming outdoor correspondent for The Billings Gazette. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
From yesterdays Billings Gazette.
March 13, 2003
Last modified March 13, 2003 - 12:19 am
click to enlarge image
Drop in hunters blamed on lack of access
Bob Krumm
WYOMING OUTDOORS
Last week I stated that one reason there were fewer young anglers and hunters was that parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles weren't taking neophytes on hunting and fishing trips. I also said that there were too many distractions with television, computers, video games and extracurricular activities at school.
Only one person, a grandfather, agreed with me that the school activities kept him apart from his grandkids. The resounding majority of respondents told me I had it all wrong. The reason why they weren't taking the youngsters afield was lack of access. This was especially the case in hunting situations.
"It's getting harder and harder to find a place to hunt. Why we can't even hunt the railroad right-of-ways any more," one fellow wrote. What little public access there is is so crowded that I don't want to expose my kids to the madhouse conditions. Consequently, I have pretty much given up hunting, period."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What caused the drying up of public access to private lands? The overwhelming majority of my e-mail attributed it to outfitters leasing the land. It seems as though outfitters have pretty deep pockets and can afford to lease thousands of acres for their well-to-do out-of-state clients.
Some of the e-mails also said that they couldn't blame a landowner for wanting to make a buck because times were tough.
I often wonder what would have happened to that landowner that was down and out if the outfitter hadn't come along. Would the landowner still allow the public access to his land? Would he allow free hunting and fishing or would he charge a trespass fee?
Another question I constantly ask those who vilify outfitters is how many places have well-to-do locals leased up? How many doctors, lawyers and other well-off professionals have locked up places? How many have bought lands for their personal enjoyment and shut the gate to public access?
Outfitters have to list the lands they lease with the board of outfitters -- the leased lands are a matter of public record. It is not so for the private clubs and individuals. The money can be slipped under the table so the landowner doesn't have to report it on his income tax.
I'm not saying that there aren't a bunch of outfitters out there who would lease up every available acre if they could afford it, but I am also saying that there are plenty of clubs and individuals who would do the same thing and let the outfitters take the blame.
Here are some ideas for improving access that I have mulled over in my mind for a while:
Number one is that any landowner that doesn't allow some verifiable public access should not be granted any crop damage payments.
Number two, if private groups are leasing lands, they should have to report that to the game management agencies.
Number three, regardless of who is leasing the land, the last quarter of the season should be reserved for the public. After all, the game and fish belong to the citizens of the state, not the landowner. Yes, I believe in property rights, but I also believe in citizens' rights.
I also believe that the states should do more to acquire access to public lands. It is high time that the thousands of acres of federal and state lands that are surrounded by private lands be opened up to the public. I get tired of those lands being used as someone's private domain when they are public!
Wyoming has an excellent program, Access Yes, that is funded by voluntary donations by fishermen and hunters. Each time a hunter or angler buys a license he or she can donate a dollar amount to the Access Yes program. Each year the fund grows larger and the number of Walk-In Fishing and Hunting Areas has grown commensurately. For those people in Wyoming who gripe about lack of access and don't contribute to the fund, I say put up or shut up.
Well, now that I have riled up nearly all the readership, I will quit and find a quiet foxhole until the firestorm subsides. That is, if I can find some public access to get to that foxhole.
Bob Krumm, of Sheridan, is the Wyoming outdoor correspondent for The Billings Gazette. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
