doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Are Hunters Getting Respect?

There's good to hear, RPr. Woodsmen hereabouts have noticed that where there is even a modicum of supervision or lots of eyes things are better. We've also noticed that ATVs---four-wheelers and skidoos---have introduced a whole new sensibility, of driving everywhere in the woods. Their manufacturers' ads in the outdoor magazines particularly extol their performances in brooks and streams. From the air last year, I counted 29 ATV machines in their glory, spinning their winches, turning a wet spot into a slough. It was a portage but no longer. At another spot, ATV traffic was so heavy and destructive that friends moved their hunting camp which had been there for 50 years.

I have to agree with you, King Brown.
In this part of the world I have seen first hand spent shells littering the countryside, game taken out of season, shot game left to rot, rude and obnoxious shooters harrassing landholders and locals for access, opening fire before the correct times, seen hunters' vehicles tearing up fragile environments etc etc. It gives the lie to shooters' claims to be true environmentalists, naturalists and ethical hunters. Many truly do some excellent environmental work and behave impeccably, and are really keen and knowledgeable naturalists, but too many are ratbags (perhaps a greater proportion than exists in the wider community); I fear that hunting and shooting fraternities have come under so much negative scrutiny, and developed such a defensive siege mentality, that we will be unable to honestly acknowledge such behaviour and work to root it out.
RG

We absolutely must police our own ranks. A few bad apples spoil the whole barrel and unfortunately, we have more than just a few. Let's not lie to ourselves, we have all witnessed this with shame in our hearts but most of us haven't stepped foeward and confronted those callous slobs. Well, they're dragging us all down. We all will answer for their behavior - witness more and more posted land year upon year. You don't think the landowner has due cause? You think the landowner is being unfair? What did we ever do to bring this about? We did nothing and continue to do nothing . . . about the slobs among us!! Report them to the athorities, report them to the landowner, confront them, shame them, but while you do, teach them, show them what they are doing to all of us. This is not a "holier than thou" attitude; this is not class distinction; THIS IS SELF-PRESERVATION and tell them THAT too. And, just as importantly, be a mentor. Get kids involved, girls too. Your wife or daughter, your neice or girlfriend or a co-worker. Get kids outdoors away from the TV or gameboy or whatever it is that is polluting their minds. We need more responsible outdoorspeople now more than ever if we are to survive.

What I was trying to relate was in the money we spend, a part of which is used to save habitat and fund groups that benefit the game, such as Ducks Unlimited.
In Pennsylvania, these old coal mining areas, which haven't been mined for years and the owners are long gone are being purchased by the Game Commission through funds received from the hunting licenses purchased each year.
A huge strip mining area was just purchased, after it was reclaimed by the coal mining company, the first thing the Game Commission did was run off all of the ATV's from that piece of land. They were destroying it and making it useless for hunting. So I don't know what's happening in other States or for that matter other Countries, all I know is and all I care to know is, it ain't happening here!!!

In Nova Scotia, the public directly or indirectly does not pay to restore mining lands. It's a legal and legislated obligation of the mining companies. Why should sportsmen pay anywhere to "make good" industrial landscape disturbances? Why do Pennsylvanis hunters put up with it? In Nova Scotia, it's also a legal and legislated obligation of forestry companies to pay for forest management to high international environmental standards on public and private lands from which they derive their wood. With no modesty, I was the gunslinger on that one.

King Brown, The Federal Bureau of Mines regulates coal mining operations which must post a bond in order to mine. The bond is for the reclaimation project at the end. In Pennsylvania, our coal mines are so old, dating back to the Civil War and beyond 1860, that their operation were unregulated. New mining companies have to post this bond as they are more or less under Federal regulation.
However, the land has come back, due to mostly shaft mining but no one seems to know who owns it so the State's Game Commission either inherits it or buys it. And if our Game Commission regulates it you either hunt on it or you better stay off of it!!! I love it!!!

King, in my experience sportsmen are certainly not footing a reclamation bill. In Tennessee, the sportsman's money may be going toward the purchase of previously reclaimed land OR land that is still in need of reclamation. BUT, in all instances (to my knowledge) the land is all but given away, especially in the case that it is still in need of reclamation.

IMHO there likely is no better way to spend a sportsman's money, at least in Tennessee. These purchases/gifts of old mining operations give the sportsman access to tens of thousands of acres with prime wildlife habitat.

These lands may have been available in the past but likely required the user to sign a lease or purchase a membership, the lands were not policed for poaching and other detrimental activities by sportsmen and non-sportsmen alike, and the lands were not managed at all and certainly not for healthy wildlife.

treblig and tnwestes, that's good to hear. Sportsmen's money should not subsidize companies that extract our natural resources and run. Corporate responsibility must include remediation as a cost of doing business, the same as labour, heat, light, advertizing, capital investment and marketing.