Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire State, or Federal Owned Land Where You Live?

60% of Idaho is public, mostly BLM and Nat Forest. Almost all of it's open for hunting. That's about 51,000 sq miles of hunting land.

You a Burner V?

The part that confuses me, and it's hard to get answers over the phone with the game wardens. I apply for tags in Wyoming. There are quite a few units you could draw antelope in the first or second year. You look at the website, and those units say (*difficult public access). You look at the unit maps and they will have several blocks of public land from 3-8,000 acres that nobody can legally hunt. The maps have roads all over, but I guess they are oil/gas company or private roads. Seems like if the state or BLM was going to have all that public land, they would have an easement to it, maybe 1 parking lot, or on the roadside, and if someone wanted to hunt the far side, well it's walk in access only. At least it would be used that way, you'ld have to be willing to put in the work, but it could be used.

I've read about the trespass fee's to cross ranches. Haven't had any luck there on even getting a list of ranches that participate.

As far as local hunting goes. I see more people hunting my place than when I go to public land.

It normally doesn't bother me, but 1 year I had a guy open the gate, drive right by me in his diesel all the way out to a cleared point. He sat behind the wheel drinking beer with his gun out the window, 1 person got out and went in the woods, and a 3rd hopped in the bed of the truck and drank beer on a 5 gallon bucket....

Had another guy call the game warden on us for trespassing on "his" property. Told him to "go ahead and call", what did i have to worry about, place has only been in my family since it was homesteaded. Game warden really got a kick out of that guy.

Oregon about 52% public land mostly USFS and BLM. Here in the SE corner, most counties are about 70% public. Wonderful for hunting and fishing opportunities.

Also, no one can own or post ocean beaches.

No way weasel, no way.

Perhaps in my crazy youth (I can neither confirm or deny that I may or may not have "inhaled").

Now I seriously dislike massive crowds of crazy people. I go to the desert for the reason you see in my signature line, not to be surrounded by thousands of folks.

I don't even like being inconvenienced when they come through town on the way from the cities to the North and West of us. The local chamber of commerce loves them though. Big signs outside the restaurants, ads for the Rabbit Trax gas station in the newpaper and such have started already or will shortly.

If you are, I sure wish you the best in enjoying yourself and the party.

Geno

Lots of public land to hunt in Arkansas. National forests and state management areas. Much of Southern MO north of us is state or National Forest land.

Renegade,
White and red oaks, hickory, yellow poplar, maples, etc. the SF is all woods and my property is woods, creek bottom and old pasture, all on rolling hills. Nearest agriculture is a couple miles away. I worked in Terre Haute South of Newport for 31 years.

Lol, not my cup of tea either. Working for NDOT has led to some interaction with attendees, some of the vehicles I'd not drive around the block for fear of a breakdown. A coworker has a tire shop in Austin, a burner bus had a flat tire. Of the 10+ folks riding nobody wanted to pay $30 for the repair but offered to pay with "peace & love" so he started to take the tire off, shortly enough the money appeared, not without some rude gestures and name-calling.

Sorry for the hijack!

A large percentage here in Wyoming....but, I’m too lazy to do the research for the exact amount. For us personally.....state land on one side, and BLM on the other. We have neighbors on each side, far too close.....about 400 yards! memtb

In much of the west the trust land was set aside for the schools. The income from leasing it out goes to the school systems.

The public can hunt anything that has a road access. Rules also are in place that while using these lands you must stay on established roads or trails.

Tracts with no public access can be hunted with permission of the lessee.

The guv let's us call it privately owned land but in the end it's all owned by the government. We just pay rent on it.

Someone’s been paying their property tax 🤷🏻‍♂️

Si

When you add up all the city, county, federal and tribal lands, (all non-tax paying) it gets up to a high percent.

Looks like Utah is 3rd on the list...........75%....that's just fine with me......

as I always say.......this land is your land........this land is my land

(click linky)



https://www.summitpost.org/public-and-private-land-percentages-by-us-states/186111

Pay attention to what Flintlocke says, he lives in the epicenter of litigationist stupidity. The Greens have destroyed the ability of the Forest Service to do anything cost-effective and habitat-positive. Ambulance chasers (and stupid Bubbas) soured private landowners on public use, what it all boils down to is the decline of common sense and respect.
I;m amazed that Valsdad will bring up the Green lawsuits and still want the Feds in control of what are, in the end, local landscapes. Sure, back when the mission was multiple use, heck yes, it was wonderful. But now, fire and disease is running rampant, something which to me is just criminal.
I fully support turning over management of the "suitable" non-preserved federal estate to state interests. Not the ownership, just the management. Trust me, state trusts know how to make a profit while managing good habitat conditions and good public access -- for a price, but it's a REASONABLE price that covers the cost of the use.
It blows my mind that hunters will spend thousands upon thousands to equip and transport themselves to someplace and then howl like a scalded cat at the idea that they might have to pay a day fee. When it was "free," that's because timber sales and grazing income and mining permits and all the other productive uses in the multiple-use categories PAID for recreation infrastructure/access.