Sailfish_WC wrote:Tennhunter3 wrote:Personally I don't feel any state should allow private property owners to block a landlocked wma property. Basically the landowner would own the entire wma all to themselves. So the state buys it the landowner infront controls all the state land. That isn't fair to the state, game and fish or public hunters.
The state , ,game wardens still need access to that wma it is part of what they purchased with citizens tax dollers. I could see some huge lawsuits over this. Even threatened to sue someone myself over this happily it didn't go that far. We all deserve to hunt public land.
As a property owner I wouldn't like people walking all over to access public but I do feel that anyone who ask should be given a path they can walk into public the way my state does.
Giving hunters a 2 foot wide path to walk isnt that big of a deal.
I can see both sides.
Hundreds of people going through your land every year, doing who knows what.
Then, again though, it is public land and the public should have access
It's pretty apparent to me that what needs to happen is that the various Government Agencies that manage these landlocked parcels (Forest Service, BLM, etc.) need to be held accountable to allocate some of their generous funding to acquire legal access easements from neighboring landowners.
"You don't want people walking along your fencelines to access the Public land? Completely understood. So would five thousand dollars soften the pain of you having footyprints all over your little desert?"
If reasonable terms can't be reached, the landlocked parcels should be sold and that equity used to purchase other similar parcels that DO have legal public access.
I know, some are going to cry that we shouldn't be selling off any more public lands.
And to a point I agree.
But if they aren't accessible, they aren't Public!
The guys that would cry the loudest if that happened would be the Private landowners that have prevented Public access over their land simply so they could have a nice little Government-funded "Refuge" sanctuary for deer and elk right next door to their properties.
Well, boo hoo...