Action Grams
MWF Wants to Know About Your Access Challenges and Gracious Hosts Afield in the 2009 Season
Here we are in the midst of our 2009 hunting season. Some of us are eating fresh liver or tenderloins; others need to be satisfied with “track soup” until the sign gets fresher… MWF wishes a lucky day afield to all.
Each year sportsmen encounter problems getting to their favorite spot. Roads thought to be public suddenly are blocked by locked gates or other obstruction. Others are confronted on public land and accused of trespassing. MWF’s highest priority is public access to public wildlife and public land and along with several of our affiliated sportsmen’s clubs work through the agencies to address access problems. Also, MWF hears more and more stories from sportsmen legally accessing public lands only to be told they had trespassed in some manner or another.
We want to hear from you, if you’ve experienced a problem. Understand that land management agencies are responsible for travel planning decisions within their landscapes but those routes do no good if your access to that public land is blocked to benefit the private parties who border the public lands and use them exclusively. Conversely, many of us, if not most of us have had a very warm reception from some of our hosts, landowners who have gone out of their way to make our day more pleasant. We also would like to collect those anecdotes about positive experiences with landowners, or game wardens, or other hunters.
Hunters and anglers usually enjoy talking about their experiences; feel free to respond to this email and share your encounters from this season. MWF is specifically interested in what formerly were useable roads that now are locked or if you have been approached while recreating on public land by someone accusing you with trespass and interfering with your hunt.
Additionally, in recent months, MWF has been exploring the legal ramifications about stepping from one parcel of public land to another across the corners where they touch – corner hopping - looking for clarity!! Current law is vague; none can be found to address this activity either positively or negatively but some agencies regard it as illegal and trespassing, on the other hand, other agencies don’t address it at all and leave the legal decision up to county attorneys. If you personally used public lands that connect at the corners and have had any interactions with others while out there; please share them with us. Stay tuned as we continue to examine this issue.
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