Public land uses

[Mudranger1]

So I've been on the fence kind of about this whole issue of public land and its uses. and today as was out with a group of guys from work(none of which are hunters or outdoorsman) I had me thinking even more about multiple uses for our land. Now I love getting back in the woods and being where no one is and no signs of life are(which in reality there is always signs people have been there before) but I often am torn on just where the line is. I mean think of all the places that would be off limits and never seen by great numbers of people if someone hadn't put that road in, or heck even say a trail. I guess what I'm trying to get at is this...Our Public Lands may one day be saved by the person that got to experience Pikes Peak by driving up the road and seeing the beauty and magic of such an astounding sight. Think about that. a few pics from the journey today.

 

[elkduds]

Thanks for the pics.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Agreed.

Same goes with folks who love wildlife, but don't hunt. We all do better when we build bridges instead of burning them.

 

[Southern Elk]

That would be a cool place to train. Where is that?

 

[Mudranger1]

That would be a cool place to train. Where is that?

just west of Colorado Springs

 

[elkduds]

Google Manitou Incline. Bring your credit card for parking.

 

[Southern Elk]

Google Manitou Incline. Bring your credit card for parking.

That's really cool.

 

[Sytes]

Wow! Those pics make me think of the song, Stairway to Heaven.

My personal hope would be for a more unified call within the various outdoor enthusiasts... foot, hoof, sled, wheel... The infighting and stereotype based "elitists" presents the division. It is the scale of common ground... a larger public land unified front scale weighed with the level of disturbance to the flora and fauna of our public lands. Seems some groups have picked their fights.

 

[CampRipleyLF]

All conservation of wildness is self-defeating, for to cherish we must see and fondle, and when enough have seen and fondled, there is no wilderness left to cherish.
Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) - A Sand County Almanac 1949

The protection of wilderness and having this untouched land for our children and their children to explore is essential to sustaining the value of wilderness. When there is no wilderness left, then who will advocate for it. A life style that was once this country will be dead.

 

[Mudranger1]

All conservation of wildness is self-defeating, for to cherish we must see and fondle, and when enough have seen and fondled, there is no wilderness left to cherish.
Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) - A Sand County Almanac 1949

The protection of wilderness and having this untouched land for our children and their children to explore is essential to sustaining the value of wilderness. When there is no wilderness left, then who will advocate for it. A life style that was once this country will be dead.

I'm in no way way discounting wilderness in any way shape or form...I love them...but part of my point is this guys in my run group have lived in Colorado for over 50 years and are pure city dwellers. We bicker over trail running(my preference) quite often lol. And at this point I am willing to bet 95%+ of Americans have no idea what a wilderness area is...I didnt before moving to Colorado. And maybe not before reading Cam Haynes book on backcountry hunting...so how do you sell public land and wilderness so we can keep exploring

 

[Mudranger1]

And tall learn to speak in laymens terms on my posts lol

 

[LaSportsman]

I think there is a balance. I love Smokie Mt National Park. It was my first national park and only one as a child. As an adult I started hiking and learned that something like 90% of visitors never get more than a half mile from a parking lot (trail head).

The roads create interest but trails protect wilderness. We need to partner with mountain bikers, hikers, etc but trails not stairs or roads. Both have a purpose but a vista is sufficient for most people. What we need is translating appreciation to political action understanding by politicians.

Somehow we have to get politicians to understand that public land is for the public, not big government that hurts the people. Btw, I am against big govt but we need to get politicians past sound bites. I still see one of the big problems being Folks from the east and south that don't understand the value and free use of public lands. I made public land synonymous with a national park as a kid. Read, no hunting and lots of restrictions.

 

[Mudranger1]

Very good response there... I too grew up going to Smokies it's a great place but not the west

 

[JTHOMP]

Thanks for sharing. I too have recently had the same realization within the last couple months. Largely in part to being a part of this site. While in college and early work experience in environmental/natural resources we took many trips to various types of public lands, and for the most part I couldn't stand it. Going walking as a large group on natural trail (usually a canal bank or old logging road) was very boring especially when it would be some of the same places I've hunted. I think pride often gets the best of us. In hindsight, my attitude about those experiences was bitter and not beneficial to others that never got to experience the same things as I had.

Couple weeks ago a friend and I went "hiking" for what I consider the first time in my life. Louisiana has one wilderness area and that is the trail I chose to checkout. While on the trail we came across a couple and a guy by himself. The hunter in me still had the initial disappointment when turning the corning and seeing someone. I could tell in conversation the couple had little outdoor experience, and was glad to help explain a few things. And I'll admit it was refreshing to have a conversation other than "Which way are you going? Ok, I'm going this way."

 

[widnert]

I have tried to explain the OP's viewpoint to others in the past as well. More about getting new hunters involved in back country hunting, without the complete suck of a multi-mile forced march in tough terrain to get there. For some reason, many public land hunters refuse to accept that public land doesn't just belong to them. During Montana's archery season, "most" public atv trails/OHV roads are still open. I use them. Mainly, so the wife or any newby hunting friends that happen to be along, can get to the places I've found in the back country easier. This makes the hunt more enjoyable to them, and.......keeps them coming back for more. Presumably, to get them enjoying the experience enough that they're willing to backpack in later in rifle season, when the roads aren't open. First, help the newcomers to enjoy the back country experience before asking them to tackle a tough hike and then get frustrated with a near-miss encounter on a huge bull-elk. And then, marching all those miles back out to the truck.

Public lands belong to the public. That's not only you but, your neighbor, the family down the street with 3 little kids and the 80 year old guy across town that can't hike 20 miles in a day anymore. Keeping public lands locked up as road-less, trail-less, whatever-less is just selfish. Yes, some areas (eg. wilderness areas) should be designated and remain such. But, trying to tell me that all public lands should be locked-down unless you want to hike in with 20lbs on your back, well, my sense of fairness stops me from agreeing with you on that one.

That also goes for banning all public lands to all kinds of transportation. Mountain bikes, atvs, motorcycles, horses, pack-llamas, donkeys, you name it. All should be able to enjoy these public lands. These folks are paying for public lands just the same as you are. Sometimes more (think OHV sticker rqmts for vehicles, etc). I've even seen trails here locally banned from the use of horses for goodness sakes. Really? Pretty sure hoofed animals have been using these lands for probably as long as man has. Some might say even longer. I "think" the trails can handle them. It turns out, it's just people wanting to restrict usage down to only what they enjoy doing. As I said above, selfish.

The OP is right. <Rant Over>

 

[Zach]

The work they did on The Incline looks good! I need to get my fat arse over there and check it out.

 

[Yellowstoner]

Holy cow, what a project on those stairs. Hope they could cart them down the hill rather than up!

 

[elkduds]

Before the stairs were there, it was an incline railroad.

 

[el unit]

Wow! The staircase and railway are awesome! Cool pics, thanks for sharing.

 

[COEngineer]

The OP and all the replies have included some balance, I think, which is critical. No one wants all the public land to be wilderness, but I think we all recognize that having some wilderness is important too. From my perspective, I think the tiny percentage of public land that is roadless/wilderness is a good start, but I would like to see more, or at the very least not lose any of what we have now. I spend most of my hunting days in designated wilderness, and even there, solitude is extremely hard to come by. Last year, we backpacked in six miles and saw just as many people as we had the year before when we only went in 2 miles, which leads me to believe that we have already reached a saturation point. I now think one would have to go to AK or Canada if you really wanted to have a day alone in nature.