Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Sale of public lands and drilling everywhere

And around the block we go again. Full spectrum use of public lands, yes. But.

I've hunted small parcels of regrowth pine from former logging areas, which had been done in a careful practical manner. In those areas, roads had been made, and in time faded into the overgrowth. it wasn't on steep hills. That was many years ago.

And I've hunted areas right next to oil wells, and former oil operations. Those areas were not in the middle of a migratory route. Exxon had done an exemplary job of cleaning up prior to leaving an area North of Evanston, Wy. And the hunting was pretty good even while they were in operation, because of good practices used. This was many years ago. I'm not "either/or" in my thinking. What I've seen more recently is oil, gas operations that aren't as careful in planning, in spite of having MORE technology available to be careful. Its about money greed.

Its about the money. Same thing about logging. Removing trees from mountains, and steep hills that have poor anchoring of fragile topsoil can result in mudslides when the heavy large snowpack melts. I don't abide large scale high country mountain logging and new logging roads that then wash out the sides of mountains. Nothing can be planted quickly to hold the topsoil.

I don't trust states to take control of more public lands, because it would be all about the money, especially in these economic times. I guarrantee they won't be careful.

I've hunted public lands with acres of cattle/sheep grazing. I have no problem with that, as long as those areas aren't overgrazed by more livestock than allotted, and they're out of there when they're supposed to be out of there. And, NO NEW ROADS to grazing areas. Only existing roads.

Bottom line:

We already have lots of roads on public lands, and I've used them. We don't need more. We need wilderness, roadless areas more. I've cited why in previous posts. To add, at 66Yr old, I'm less likely to hunt the roadless areas in the coming years, but I'm supremely aware of the importance of roadless/ wilderness, in the lives of younger hunters and hunters/fishermen of the future.....because I'm 66yr old. I've learned a few things in those years.

Well said, 'gal. I'm approaching the age when I won't be able to hike into my favorite areas and haul out an elk.

But I'll be happy just knowing those areas are still there for others.

Very well said and sums up my thoughts almost exactly.

I'd add that I'm not a fan of logging when its poorly done which I've seen more than my share in the east. Loggers typically have close to zero regulations and use almost no E&S controls. You run a coal mine next to a logging operations and its almost criminal the differences in sediment control between the 2 operations. The solution is not to use less E&S.......

I also agree with your statement that we have enough roads through USFS. I hunt CO, WY, MT for elk every year, not all 3 together but whichever catches my interest for a particular year. The issue I have in WY is the non-resident rule against NR in wilderness areas which forces me onto the 'rest' of the NF. Its hard to get more than 1 mile off a road in non-wilderness areas in western and southern WY. I've never hunted up around Jellystone or the Montana border, mainly because I don't want to deal with grizzly's. I'd like to lay out a map with Dave on the Medicine Bow NF and have him tell me we need more roads through it. The areas I've been in and looked at in the Bridger-Teton didn't look a whole lot different. Same goes for NF in region 4 in Montana.

If I was king, I'd likely evaluate the road systems in the areas I mentioned and shut down some. I'd also increase the penalty for riding 4-wheelers on closed areas. I see it every year. Had a jackass drive around the gate on a private parcel in Medicine Bow west of Saratoga 2 years ago. He drove right past the gate, onto private property, and 'scouted' from his 4-wheeler for the remaining 3/4 mile of road. He was staying in a camp ~ 2 miles down the road from us. Wonder if the private landowner is feeling all warm and fuzzy about elk hunters and more roads? Kinda doubt it. It will be posted in coming years because of idiots like that, making it unaccessible for the rest of us.

... and another.

BRAD -
Good for you! Not sure about everyone else's
State but my State of Oregon does not have
a consistent enough record of managing anything.
Our public lands are in the sights of all kinds of
special interest groups. That includes a variety of
large landowners who are working hard on inside
lame trade deals for not only landlocked parcels
but anything that looks checkerboard and has Elk
on it to a massive mountain biking lobby that wants
to party full time on all of our wild lands.

Medicine Bow Routt?
Used to live there, BW. Site of probably one of the biggest tragedies in a long time, starting with the Diamond Park windthrow in 1996 or so, that started a spruce beetle epidemic. That set the stage for some terrible fires later on, and it's not over yet.
Never mind all that lodgepole dead on the stump from Winter Park all the way north -- foresters saw it coming, but the hippie lawyers did a heck of a job abusing federal "environmental" laws...
BHA exists, and is funded precisely, to provide a false narrative of "hunter and angler" attitudes to a gullible, complaisant media. Go ahead and join, geniuses.

Dave, thanks for commenting, the rate of new members signing up slacked off in your absence.

Much obliged.