With this gov't shutdown, I've seen a lot of mixed information about what federal land is closed to public access. I'm supposed to be hunting CO Unit 74 next weekend and want to make sure there won't be access problems if the weenies in Washington are still bickering like children.

Closing NF lands in Co would be like trying to close 1/2 the state. Don't think that will happen

I didn't think so either, but I'd sure hate to drive out there and find out I was wrong. Closing NF land would also be nearly impossible to enforce.

No, but in a political move, USFWS refuges are shut down for hunting and fishing. Also, many Forest Service and BLM campgrounds are shut down.

Thanks. I did see that the Wildlife Refuges were shut down, along with many camp grounds. I'm glad to hear the NF lands are not closed.

Nope......not here...general season elk opens the 5th...

I'm rolling West tonight for Wyoming.....no closure of NF lands that I'm aware of.

I called the DOW up yesterday about this. They said if it isn't gated you can go on the land.

This is just for Colorado.

Along those lines, you may have heard that the WWII memorial was shut down even though it costs nothing to operate. A similar thing appears to be happening in the San Luis Valley. Saturday is the opening day of waterfowl season. Word is that both federal refuges will be gated. Now there are offices at each refuge, but I've never found anyone occupying them and they are outside the habitat areas anyway. Regulation enforcement in these areas is not done by the USFWS but by the state CPW so it appears this is strictly a political, "Make it Hurt" move.

Think about it. With no employees on the job who would enforce closures.....? Bring bolt cutters or a cordless grinder.

Local paper said hunting would not be a problem of federal lands..

I heard that Yellowstone was now open for hunting.

Would someone check for us??

There are a few yellowstone hunting experts out there, I'm sure. That country it way too big for someone not to give a whirl.

I wonder how much vandalism, criminal trespass, theft and poaching are taking place and how many are getting caught. Law enforcement folks are generally given the indispensable label.

Sad question.... My federal lands that I pay for in cash today and my forefathers before me paid for in blood are not closed to me nor should they be to you. If you conclude they are closed to you, go play golf with our white president. He's keeping his course open the last I heard.(he's no more white than black or the inverse but most say he's black so I'm just trying to provide balance)

Great post!

The only federal lands in Idaho that are closed are those that are maintained, like campgrounds, a few boat docks, etc. All unmaintained land is open and WILL be hunted.

Gonna poach too there plainview? mtmuley

My position is even if they claim the National Forest is shut down I'm going anyway. I'm bow hunting deer in the Sam Houston Natl forest now. Like the WW2 Memorial most of the shut downs are total political BS. Obama is going to spend more of our money trying to police the shutdowns than it would cost if they were open.

When they gate the public beach and tell me I cannot access it to fish I go around the gate. I have nothing but respect for private property but Federal lands belong to We The People.

The more of us that show up like the WW2 Vets the harder it is for Obama to shut things down to try to make news. This is our Freakin Country! I'm hunting Natl Forest Tomorrow.

The bassturds closed the few campgrounds for the deer opener here in NV!

The scorn is directed right at the Mulatto dictator, and none at the Republicans who are just trying to put some brakes on this runaway train wreck. There were a lot of well-armed guys ready to open season on the Senate.

Sigh.

My point was, if there is no one on the job, then who is going to be there to hand you a ticket for accessing a road that was legally open before October 1st? I don't poach. But I have no problem rolling through the Obamanazi's locked gates.

Let's keep our standards high. Regardless of the sickeningly low standards adhered to by our "representatives" in Washington. We start cutting gates during the shutdown and you can bet your last dollar we will soon see dozer piles where the gates used to be.

I completely agree. Hunting Federal land, like all hunting, is a PRIVILEGE and should be treated as such. I don't like how state permits are distributed for hunting on federal land but I still won't go shoot anything I please. The high road is the right road.

For the record. The Tea party (republicans) shut down the government.

They most certainly did not. All monetary bills must originate in the house and they did exactly that. The house republicans passed a budget bill that would keep everything going except Obamacare. The senate Dems and the whitehouse are the ones who have shut it down. All the senate needs to do is pass that bill and then handle O-care separately. The orders to shut it all down have come from Obama, not the house.

Please elaborate...

Sure. The republicans want to shut down Obamacare. It's not going to be done, because it's passed into law. The Tea party could care less about law, and tried to put in in their budget. Of course the Dems refused it, but did vote in the senate for a budget with the republicans numbers. The republicans refused to vote on it, because it would have passed. They didn't want it to pass, so by not voting on it the government had no funding, an closed.

The Tea party held the government hostage by insisting some changes to Obamacare. That is not the way to get a law changed, but they didn't care. They've done their best to put the blame on Obama, but they haven't fooled the majority. Polls are showing the Republicans are to blame for the shutdown, and they're right.

I'm not a fan of Obama, or Obamacare, but the republicans are wrong in how they went about this. You don't let people suffer by shutting down the government to try and change a law you have no chance of changing.

Of course Obama has to enforce the shutdown now. He has no choice.

All the Republicans have to do is vote on the budget that the senate gave them, and the shutdown would be over. Nobody is forcing anything on them. Just take a vote on a budget that is their numbers in the house which they are the majority. That means a lot of republicans need to vote on it for it to pass.

Simple as that.

No- the Senate shut down government. The House passed a spending bill, as denoted in the Constitution. The Senate has not taken up the bill sent from the house. The Senate Majority leader has failed to take up the bill(s). To be 100% accurate, it is the Senate that has shut the government down. If the Senate were to act and the president vetoes, then he is responsible for the shut down. It is were the process stops where the shut down occurs. What we have here is the Senate and president successfully getting the media to report that the republicans and those "radical tea party members" are responsible, supported by the libtard media.

The bill the house sent the senate also had the Obamacare changes in it. Of course the senate wouldn't vote on it. The bill the senate sent to the house was clean of anything but the budget. As it should be.

You don't get to change a law (obamacare) when hashing out a budget. That's not how it's done. I'm sure you're aware of that.

So, by your thinking the House has to cave in to the wishes of the Senate? Both sides are being obstinate, but that just reflects how divergent the objectives are. Why can't the Senate agree to changes in OCare? When something as large as Obamacare is so poorly understood and the ramifications not understood, why should the House fund that? Why can't the Senate accept the delays that were offered until the details are worked out and understood?

Obamacare has problems, and maybe it should be delayed. However, it should be done this way. It should be done through the regular channels.

The point is, nothing is being shoved down the republicans throats. Let them vote for the senate bill, and see what happens. They have the majority on their side.

The bottom line is the republicans are afraid Obamacare will work, and are trying to close it now, before everybody see's it works. If it fails it will be easy to close it, but if it succeeds Obama looks good, and they can't stand that.

Ok, i'm not running away from this. I had planned to go scout a new area after lunch, and I just ate.

Later.

I don't see what the 'regular channels' are. I'm sure there is some truth to what you say about the motives, but I don't think anyone understands it well enough to say with any certainty that it can work without bankrupting us. Why take that risk. Delaying it until it is thought out and refined would be prudent. The problem is I don't think you can turn these entitlement-like programs off once they are established.

I'd go scout an area instead of discussing Obamacare too! I just packed my bags for a Wed flight to CO.

wow, do you have it wrong. the budget bills originate in the House of Representatives, and funding for obamacare is part of the budget. if the Representatives do not want to include funding for obamacare, they are under no obligation to include it just because the Senate wants it. if the Senate wants funding for obamacare, they have to negotiate for it. they do not get to dictate what gets passed in the House.

That is 110%c accurate.

You guys nee to do more research. The funding for Obamacare has already passed. It's already in effect.

There's another point you seem to be missing. The budget that the senate passed is the budget the republicans asked for. The republicans are saying no to yes we accept your budget.

The republicans want to squash Obamacare to make Obama look bad. That's their whole agenda. The pitiful part is they're willing to shut the government to do it.


http://www.alignamerica.com/node/62

Only 15% of the government is shut down, just the stuff to piss off the most people.
Why the hell do we have 'nonessential" people sucking up a paycheck anyway?
Most of the things they shut down took more people to guard and patrol it than it did to run.
You can really see the true colors of our dictator shining through.
Stand your ground Boehner!

He's not standing his ground. He's scared shi-tless of losing his job.

Thank goodness lame duck King Ombuma will be losing his job.

Yes, he will. I'm worried who will replace him. It could get worse. Hopefully not.

I hate to say it, but Hillary might be the one.

Bullcamp and Whiptail...... bullshiz.....

�A society that will trade a little liberty for a little order will lose both, and deserve neither� - Thomas Jefferson (but what did he and his compatriots know about government?)

Good luck with that boys! If no one takes a stand at some point, well, no one will.

How's that working out for ya?

So your idea of taking a stand is to trespass and poach?
Or are you going to get into a firefight with an officer of the law?

If I find out the NF I have a tag to hunt elk in November is closed then I'll send my tag in for a refund and won't travel the 2200 miles. I'll also make sure my vote in the next election reflects my disappointment. This is how civilized people behave.

The Constitution is clear - the Fed is not allowed to "own" lands.

Blackbrush, I don't advocate knuckling under to the imperial federal government but I know how the USFS works when it comes to closing off areas. You go cutting gates and destroying govt property they will use that as an excuse to go hog wild and close off huge areas, not just the target area. They need to be dealt with through official channels. Bitch to your congressman and senator.
USFS is always looking for an excuse. Don't give it to them.

Maybe I'm missing your point but it seems pretty clear the United States is allowed to own lands.

Article IV, Section 3
The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States;

http://www.doi.gov/shutdown/fy2014/upload/FWS-Fact-Sheet.pdf

I called the state boys this morning. They said that-

Mark (state guy)"... they are closing National Parks, campgrounds, and anything that has water or electricity..."
Boomy- "..so they aren't shutting down the roads going up into the mountains?"
Mark (state guy)"..no they are not suppose to. They should all be open.."

Anyone that thinks this country can still be fixed by voting is dumber than a sack of hammers.

Today the Idaho Fish & Game said that all federal land is open for hunting. The few exceptions are campgrounds and other maintained facilities.

That is within the context of admitting new states into the union.

Well...... Ok..... I'll write a letter. I'll make a phone call. I sure don't want go out of my way by driving across the country to only have to come back home bc some bureaucrat strung some yellow tape and says I can't ride my 4-wheeler into the national forest...

Seriously? Some people need to wake up. People need to get off their asses. Learn history. We're way past niceties. The vets amongst us know better - those that have seen action that is.

Again, I ask, how's that been working for you? How's it working for the WWII vets that want to see an open air memorial that's in their honor in DC? You can't drive up the hill in SD now to glimpse Mt Rushmore from afar. Well..... ok.... don't knock over or go past a cone.... They might even put more cones up and then what would we do?

We fat lazy Americans won't get off our couches unless we get seriously bit in our asses. I'm not saying I have the answers or know what to do. I just know we can't keep being pussies. It's the definition of insanity.

How bad a bite is it going to need to be for me or any of us for that matter?

Interesting times...

You're preaching to the choir.

Go make that post on the FatRus forum.

Most Are Ready Now.

I won't be locked out or told I cannot access national forest land. Thing are so far out of hand it may take nothing short of determined civil disobedience to begin to take back the government. I have to wonder how much bullshit people will allow this president to pull before saying no more. Most of our elected officials don't have the balls to stand for freedom and the constitution... they're too worried about covering their own asses.

I hope the government shut down is permanent.

take drinking water with

http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=52673

Brilliant.

COLORADO IS OPEN FOR HUNTING

DENVER - Colorado is open for fall hunting with more than 23 million acres of public land that are not affected by the federal government shutdown.

"Colorado is known worldwide for its pristine hunting and fishing areas,� said Gov. John Hickenlooper. "Some federal refuges are closed here and in other states, but Colorado has elk licenses available and hunters are welcome this fall to hunt on other public land."

Colorado is the only state that offers over-the-counter rifle bull elk license for resident and non-resident hunters. The licenses are valid in more than 90 game management units during the second or third rifle seasons. The second rifle season runs Oct. 19 - 27 and third rifle season is Nov. 2 - 10.

Colorado has more than 260,000 elk in the state and hunters are important to help manage those large herds. In addition, hunting provides a $1.8 billion boost to the state's economy each fall. State officials have been notified that National Wildlife Refuges in the state and some military installations may be impacted by the shutdown but those lands make up less than one-half of one percent of the federal land in the state.

"It's unfortunate that hunters are receiving mixed messages from the federal agencies," said Steve Yamashita, Acting Director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife. "While all of the National Forests in Colorado are open, the shutdown has confused sportsmen across the country and we're trying to make sure people get the right information. Colorado is open this hunting season."

Individuals hunting Colorado's public lands are advised that some of the formal campgrounds may be closed or have limited service but dispersed camping is allowed in most areas. Hunters should be prepared to pack out their own trash and bring their own water.

The early snow in Colorado has local hunters excited after several years of warm, dry fall weather. Cold, snowy weather concentrates big game herds and moves them out of rugged areas toward lower elevation winter range. That movement means better hunting conditions.

"Hunting in western Colorado has been tremendous so far," said JT Romatzke, an area wildlife manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. "We have had great late-season rains, and bulls rallied to the rut during the last couple weeks of archery season."

Hunters are being reminded that snow can mean muddy roads and cold temperatures. But mud and snow shouldn't keep hunters from venturing out to try their luck. Despite some potentially mucky terrain, Romatzke anticipates a fruitful season.

"We are looking forward to what could be one of the best hunts we've had for a few years," he said. "We just need the hunters to come get them."

###


For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.

So...it would apply to those states that entered the union after the Constitution was ratified? Like 37 of them?

Sycamore

As far as I've seen, all that's closed is national parks. And by golly guess what, they manage to have someone actually ticketing U.S. taxpayers for going into their own parks!

I hunted Sequoia National Forest Friday, Saturday and today with no problems but just down the highway the "park" land had the access roads blocked.