And here lies the problem. We as sportsmen, continue to argue among ourselves. We do not have a unified front when it comes to hunting, access or a real unified voice when it comes to state legislative sessions or game commission meetings. For the most part, hunters are a working class people and cannot make it to important game commission meetings, county commission meetings or voice our opinions at State Legislative committee as these take place during weekdays during normal working hours. Most working class people tend to save their leave for personal trips, either hunting, family vacation etc. The people on the other side of the isle tend to have lots of money, volunteers to represent them at these venues and a very unified stance regarding issues surrounding wildlife, hunting, national monuments, wildernesses etc. Sportsman groups to some degree have done a good job, but in reality, their thoughts and agendas don't always align directly with the majority of sportsman at the local everyday level.
As far as posting private property goes. If a landowner does not wish someone to enter "their" property, they should post it "legally" against trespass. It is no different than locking the doors to your house so someone can't just walk in. I bet most here lock their truck door when they enter the grocery store so those in our communities will not steal personal property out of their truck. There are, and always will be members of every community that will disobey those signs and choose to enter posted private property and give hunters a bad name by doing so. As far as the OP, there are people that are hypocrites, as they do not want hunters but complain about the problems they now endure due to no management of predator populations. Times have changed, pretty apparent when a lot of business no longer even offer a public restroom. People, for the most part, don't like other people much anymore when it comes to lots of topics.
On access to public lands. We have lost and will probably continue to loose access to public lands in the future. Every state is different and even within a single state, every county is different. Comments above regarding road closures is true. We have lost roads on national forest, but we still have access to those national forests. Whether it is accessible by foot or vehicle it is still accessible. I get it some people do not have the physical capabilities to enter by foot anymore. I have watched my dad go from hunting on foot to pretty much staying in the truck or parked on a hill side these days. But in the end, we (sportsman/outdoor enthusiast) still have access. We can get into the weeds and worry about what one individual may or may not be able to do with their own physical limitations, but the bigger picture is what the group as a whole is able to do. Where I live, if you look at county road maps from 20 years ago, there was a lot more "legally" accessible public lands (BLM/State) lands than there is today. Through time, County commissions have closed roads for one reason or another and access to thousands of acres of public lands is lost. It still shows up on a map as "public" lands, but there is no way you are accessing it by vehicle or foot legally. Some private landowners may let you through, but over time, some jackwagon has ruined it for everyone else and now only paid hunters get in there.
In my line of work, I have dealt with these issues a lot and there is no simple, easy fix to it. The best thing we can do as sportsmen is stand together and quick bickering amongst ourselves.
Man, I really wrote more on this subject than what I planned on. If you made this far I guess it was worth reading.
As far as posting private property goes. If a landowner does not wish someone to enter "their" property, they should post it "legally" against trespass. It is no different than locking the doors to your house so someone can't just walk in. I bet most here lock their truck door when they enter the grocery store so those in our communities will not steal personal property out of their truck. There are, and always will be members of every community that will disobey those signs and choose to enter posted private property and give hunters a bad name by doing so. As far as the OP, there are people that are hypocrites, as they do not want hunters but complain about the problems they now endure due to no management of predator populations. Times have changed, pretty apparent when a lot of business no longer even offer a public restroom. People, for the most part, don't like other people much anymore when it comes to lots of topics.
On access to public lands. We have lost and will probably continue to loose access to public lands in the future. Every state is different and even within a single state, every county is different. Comments above regarding road closures is true. We have lost roads on national forest, but we still have access to those national forests. Whether it is accessible by foot or vehicle it is still accessible. I get it some people do not have the physical capabilities to enter by foot anymore. I have watched my dad go from hunting on foot to pretty much staying in the truck or parked on a hill side these days. But in the end, we (sportsman/outdoor enthusiast) still have access. We can get into the weeds and worry about what one individual may or may not be able to do with their own physical limitations, but the bigger picture is what the group as a whole is able to do. Where I live, if you look at county road maps from 20 years ago, there was a lot more "legally" accessible public lands (BLM/State) lands than there is today. Through time, County commissions have closed roads for one reason or another and access to thousands of acres of public lands is lost. It still shows up on a map as "public" lands, but there is no way you are accessing it by vehicle or foot legally. Some private landowners may let you through, but over time, some jackwagon has ruined it for everyone else and now only paid hunters get in there.
In my line of work, I have dealt with these issues a lot and there is no simple, easy fix to it. The best thing we can do as sportsmen is stand together and quick bickering amongst ourselves.
Man, I really wrote more on this subject than what I planned on. If you made this far I guess it was worth reading.
