Help landowners

[CPetersonWYO]

Some vandals struck a landowner near Casper Wyoming. Compromising public hunting access. Click the links for story and a go fund me if you feel compelled to help. Pretty frustrating.


https://buff.ly/2z9EQJr

gf.me/u/du3raz

 

[wytex]

We've been battling poachers and trespassers for years that cross from state sections. Found 2 poached elk last weekend and one, a cow was just drug into a creek and left to rot. Nothing taken from the carcass.
Lack of respect for private land is why much of it gets closed off. Owner used to let folks cross his small sliver to get into a state section but with numerous trespassing and poaching incidents he locked the gates. Now all get to walk in which actually helps the hunting, we will unlock for game retrieval.
A group of guys from Pennsylvania get access in when they need it because of their respect, most hunters are great but the few butth###s ruin it for all.

If you see something amiss report it .

 

[belshawelk]

So............. I will try this one more time. Each time I try its met with hatred and anger ( to me its ignorance)

As a landowner AND PUBLIC LAND hunter I have talked about this before and this battle will only intensify. For 30 years I hunted as only a public land hunter and as a dumb farm kid learned early on to leave any place better than you left or ( or at least cleaner if you can)

Then I go and buy a piece of property and start to see the erosion of respect that we always dealt with the farm when I grew up. I own a piece of property in eastern Oregon I bought for hunting. I now hunt 50% of time on it and 50% of the time on public land. My property and my neighbors provides access to thousands of acres of BLM. When I bought it I had no gates just some cattle fences and I was fine if someone wanted to access the public or retrieve their game if they came in from another direction. BUT, then my fences get cut, trees cut down for firewood, garbage left behind, quads tracks all over the hills and pastures and many pictures on my cameras of trespassers. So up goes a gate, roads blocked and no trespassing signs and now I have to monitor my property.

Why is it frustrating? because ( here comes the fight) landowners like me are the ones who spend our own money on food sources, providing water, shelter and winter habitat for the very animals we ALL get to hunt on public land. I, just like everyone else puts in for preference points so I can hunt public units. I am all for public land staying public, but lets not hate the ones who have worked their whole life and saved just to buy a little piece.

 

[Addicting]

So............. I will try this one more time. Each time I try its met with hatred and anger ( to me its ignorance)

As a landowner AND PUBLIC LAND hunter I have talked about this before and this battle will only intensify. For 30 years I hunted as only a public land hunter and as a dumb farm kid learned early on to leave any place better than you left or ( or at least cleaner if you can)

Then I go and buy a piece of property and start to see the erosion of respect that we always dealt with the farm when I grew up. I own a piece of property in eastern Oregon I bought for hunting. I now hunt 50% of time on it and 50% of the time on public land. My property and my neighbors provides access to thousands of acres of BLM. When I bought it I had no gates just some cattle fences and I was fine if someone wanted to access the public or retrieve their game if they came in from another direction. BUT, then my fences get cut, trees cut down for firewood, garbage left behind, quads tracks all over the hills and pastures and many pictures on my cameras of trespassers. So up goes a gate, roads blocked and no trespassing signs and now I have to monitor my property.

I worked with a ranch manager this year and got to see this side first hand. We did a fencing removal project with her so the elk that migrate thru the ranch don’t get hurt and damage property navigating all those miles of fence. After taking down the fences and opening all the gates it was like a free ticket to trespass to many hunters. I can’t tell you how much trash I picked up that was left. I was pretty disappointed in the reputation those individuals gave to the whole hunting community. Here is a lady who didn’t have to do anything to support hunting or RMEF but did it on her own accord and assmunches took advantage of that. I don’t blame landowners at all if that is the way they get treated. I can just hope that my actions bring credit to those who still respect and appreciate thier gratitude.

 

[zachthebowhunter]

So............. I will try this one more time. Each time I try its met with hatred and anger ( to me its ignorance)

As a landowner AND PUBLIC LAND hunter I have talked about this before and this battle will only intensify. For 30 years I hunted as only a public land hunter and as a dumb farm kid learned early on to leave any place better than you left or ( or at least cleaner if you can)

Then I go and buy a piece of property and start to see the erosion of respect that we always dealt with the farm when I grew up. I own a piece of property in eastern Oregon I bought for hunting. I now hunt 50% of time on it and 50% of the time on public land. My property and my neighbors provides access to thousands of acres of BLM. When I bought it I had no gates just some cattle fences and I was fine if someone wanted to access the public or retrieve their game if they came in from another direction. BUT, then my fences get cut, trees cut down for firewood, garbage left behind, quads tracks all over the hills and pastures and many pictures on my cameras of trespassers. So up goes a gate, roads blocked and no trespassing signs and now I have to monitor my property.

Why is it frustrating? because ( here comes the fight) landowners like me are the ones who spend our own money on food sources, providing water, shelter and winter habitat for the very animals we ALL get to hunt on public land. I, just like everyone else puts in for preference points so I can hunt public units. I am all for public land staying public, but lets not hate the ones who have worked their whole life and saved just to buy a little piece.

I don't know why people would throw hate your way over this. You do bring up a good point about providing for the animals we all hunt. To me it seems like people get too into the thrill of killing something and will do anything to do it (like trespassing and such).

 

[mixedbag]

Why are you all discussing slob hunters.The article says they doubt any hunters were involved??I agree,it takes a special kind of scumbag to destroy another man's property for no other reason but jealousy. I was thinking about drawing a tag and hunting this HMA next year.I hope it stays involved in the program.I wouldn't put this past an antihunter in attempts to shut down the property

 

[VikingsGuy]

I too own land that is a gateway to land locked public land (in MN) and a public land hunter myself. The problems raised in this discussion go both ways. For every ass-hat hunter that litters on somebody else's land or tears things up with an ATV, there is an ass-hat land owner (or outfitter acting on their behalf) who tries to claim broader land than is rightly theirs or tries to keep public game on their land artificially during the season. General civility and respect for others has fallen off a cliff in the last 25 years, and while sad, it shouldn't be surprising we are seeing it in the outdoors as well. It's hard to hold either side wholly accountable, as both are doing damage in a tit-for-tat race to the bottom. But in the end, I hope that the good will of the majority will outshine the growing but still minority group of ass-hats. To that end I applaud the original post and will pay a visit to the go fund me site.

 

[JM77]

Thanks to the OP who posted this. This Hunter Management Area is in my backyard and the landowners have been extremely kind in allowing access all the years they have. These vandals are the lowest forms of life in what they did to this property. I have already made my contribution to this and ask anyone who hunts deer and elk in Central Wyoming to do the same. Sportsman are showing a lot of class here.

To those who decided to use this thread to bash on slobs, this isn't about you. This is about the effort of decent sportsman trying to right a wrong.

 

[Walkathon]

It sucks that people vandalized their place. I donated to the go fund me. I've no problem helping people that open up their land for others to hunt in these programs. Looks like they are making great progress with the funding. Thanks for posting.

 

[belshawelk]

Good points by VikingsGuy( wrong team but good point) Some landowners are jerks also. One of the landowners near me pulled a gun on a legit public land hunter who went to retrieve his elk shot on public, but died on private. This was a couple years ago before OnX and he had no way to know who the owner was from the mountain.( its was fenced and obvious private) He should have came off mountain called the warden who could have put in contact with the owner. This ended up being guns pointed and sheriffs involved with a youth hunter who was with his dad. Something really stupid could a happened over a dead animal.

Dont get me wrong, these same FEW idiots throw their trash and destroy public also. We all own public so its the same deal. Sometimes we get so involved in our hunting we don't take the time to report.

 

[wytex]

JM77 that's my bad. I led this thread a stray.
Hopefully the go fund me will make a difference for the landowners. Perhaps a local group could organize a day to help with repairs and clean up .

 

[CPetersonWYO]

Strange I didn't get emails notifying me when all of these posts were added. Haha. Glad to see it inspired some conversation and to see some folks were as compelled as I was to show the gratitude and respect we should all hold for land owners (especially when they volunteer access to legally permitted individuals). But regardless, it's our responsibility as hunters, anglers, foragers, and outdoor recreaters, to be the voice of our chosen past time. Sometimes, we as individuals, are the only face land owners and "spectators" or "non participants" can put to outdoor recreation. We need to be ambassadors to everyone. Thanks everybody. I need to remember to log in more frequently.