The Billings Gazette in Montana just wrapped up a four-part series on the struggle for public hunting access on and across private land, and it’s similar to what's happening in Idaho.
There’s a classic clash between private property and public wildlife, and it doesn’t bode well for the average hunter, or the future of hunting.
Idaho Department of Fish and Game's Access Yes program was partially modeled after Montana's successful "Block Management" program, which pays landowners for public access. But Montana and Idaho are facing the same problem – outfitters, private clubs and wealthy hunters are willing to pay landowners more than F&G can afford to maintain public access.
Idaho is different than Montana because we have a greater ratio of public to private land. But Idaho hunters are also seeing more no trespassing signs every year, and large landowners like Potlatch, which is the state’s biggest private landowner, are starting to charge access fees.
It all adds up to more money to hunt private lands or more competition on public lands.
It also points to an interesting paradox. Hunter numbers are slowly declining, but competition for game seems to be more fierce and expensive.
Check out the whole Billings Gazette series at http://www.billingsgazette.net/h/blogs/outdoors/?page_id=1016
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Bad clash
I grew up hunting for most of my meat up in northern Idaho. I moved to Boise over 10 years ago and have yet to find anywhere that I can hunt without driving at least 3 hours.
You are not looking hard...
or you should hunt birds.
The good ole days....
I was reared in Eastern Montana back in the sixties when we had access to two either sex deer tags and a month or better to hunt. The private landowners were glad to have us harvest the animals because they consumed valuable cattle forage. But just as has happened in the past the east gradually poisoned the west. Out-of-staters from east of the Mississippi and some from the midwest came to our hunting paradise and saw an opportunity to make money. That's all it took and that's all it will take in Idaho. MONEY talks and it's loud. And it worms it's way into our politics too. The days of taking your son or daughter out for an afternoon of hunting establishing tradition and ritual and even some mythology are gone never to return. We're all less for it.
How can it be stopped? It can't. I went back last year to visit an old classmate of mine that I hadn't seen in twenty years. He had taken over his Dad's ranch as an only son so he wouldn't have to be subject to the draft. I asked how they could be doing so well and they explained to me their primary income is from charging hunters and anybody else that wants to get on their land. Oh...by the way...the hunters are hunting elk planted by the fish and game people about 15 years ago. They had to pay the rancher because it was said they would further deplete the forage. Now they use them to make money. I told both of them they were not the kinds of people I wanted to call friends anymore and left. I won't be going back.
Thanks Grandads and Dad and Mom. Thanks to my Aunts and Uncles and cousins. Thanks for the memories. I regret that my children will know of your precious gift only through my "yarns" and pictures. I am ashamed of what the west is becoming.