Wisconsin Hunting Reports/Discussion
State Park Hunting
12/23/12 @ 8:37 AM
Displaying 1 to 14 of 14 posts
I can't believe some of these posts. bottom line, if the land is paid for by tax payer money, any tax payer should be able to use it for hiking or hunting. don't want your dog in a trap, keep it on a leash. dogs should be leashed on public land anyway. some land may be too small for fire arms hunting and that is fine. however, bow hunting should be allowed anywhere. most hunters will be off the beaten path anyway and the hikers would not even see them. I know of a state park that boarders a busy highway. dead deer along that boarder all year long. it would be nice to be able to kill some of those deer with my bow and save money for the insurance companies filing claims of car kills.
One more....
If there are 7 million acres of public land with only half of that being hunted should we worry about additional public land? Based on those calculations only half of newly opened state park land will be hunted. Im guessing that the half hunted will likely be well away from people that spook the animals.
Final thing...The traditional gun season is 9 days long. The majority of deer hunters only go out during the 9 day season. If my numbers are correct that gives hikers 346 days in the woods where there are no deer hunters.
If your worried about turkey hunters DONT. As a turkey hunter I cannot own enough camo. One false move and the turkeys are gone. There will be no run ins with turkey hunters. Any turkey within 200 yards of a hiker is gone.
Traps....say what you want but the majority of species trapped are not where hikers are (especially in an area where trails are maintained)
As for dogs and traps...Again, I go back to the its just not going to happen. Your dog has to be on a leash.
Finally, ironically many state parks currently allow hunting in certain areas. And guess what? to the best of my knowledge there have been 0 issues.
7 million acres? How many of these acres are up north? Come hunt public land down south. There is little and the land that is available to hunters is packed. Yes, I know just go north but shouldn't I be able to enjoy the outdoors without having to drive 4-5 hours? If my facts are right Devils Lake State park is the most traveled to state park in WI. A quick search online shows that it is made up of 40000 acres. Out of these 40000 acres how many acres are used by hikers during the peak summer months - very little? Now go out there at the end of November (deer season) and tally the number of hikers around the lake. There are none.......
In all my time hunting public 'anything' I have had 2 hikers stand next to me talking out loud, not knowing I was there ... until I said "excuse me, could you whisper please?" She screamed at the top of her lungs, which was OK since I figured their noise spooked every deer and I was ready to move. No campers. No birdwatchers. No picnickers. And I'm in the SE, where the woods become a pumpkin patch @ Thanxgiving. These are the only people I'm concerned with after having one deer stolen and being shot at, among other things.
Btw, the 'half' that I'm talking about are the acreage of big swamps and pretty much any hunting areas more than a couple 100 yards off the road ... just sayin'
Although I live within walking distance of a State Park and would love to be able to take some of the local deer, even if I I'm limited to where the campers / hikers are and before the WDNR let the sharpshooters get 'em, is this really necessary? I mean, 7 million acres already! I'll bet 1/2 is swamp and not hunted as it is (according to my maps). This seems to be nothing more than greed and selfishness. Next thing will be 4-wheeling, logging and filling in the wetlands.
It's like the kid with 100's of toys, yet wants the other kid's toy. Let the hikers and campers have the State Parks. We have the 7 million acres.
Id like to know who these "hunters" are who think this idea is a bad idea. The only real concerning part would be the nine day gun season. Ive read some reports that some were worried about dogs getting in traps, etc. My only thought is the new rule says that trappers have to be 100 feet off trail. Last I read dogs have to be on a leash in state parks. Even with a 30 foot leash there is a 70 foot buffer. I do think its a great idea. I suppose if you have 50 plus private acres you are fine. Those of us that hunt on public land with guys being every 20 yards welcome the idea.
I have no problem with there being more hunting and trapping allowed in State Parks. However, I think there has to be some type of balance struck between the various user groups. This would not be an issue if the bill that was passed had been more thought out.
It was too vaguely worded that left it open to things changing, IMO.
I completely agree with the previous post re: wasted timber and lack of logging and proper management of the land in State Parks and Forests. Problem is that it would require a pretty big increase in general funds to the DNR in the next budget. How likely it is that anyone thinks that will happen?
Tim
I go to several state parks every year and there are times when hunting isn't a good idea but on the other hand many times there are no people in the park so hunting does have a place so lets leave that to the experts and not cave to the Madison screamers that showed at the hearing. I wish the department of natural resources would look into the forestry aspects relating to state park property, the waste of our natural resources is shameful. I spend may hours in Wyalusing state park and shake my head at all the lumber wasted in the park, logs cut and let lay to rot. This wood should be sold to offset the operation costs. Yet if you enrole in a MFL the DNR forester tells you that you have mandatory cuttings and the DNR gets a cut of the profit yet they let state owned forest resources waste.
Displaying 1 to 14 of 14 posts
