public lands under SIEGE!!!

[donb0078]

Hi, all....this is really getting depressing. All the public lands are under siege wether it be BLM, EPA, DNR and the list goes on. They've even closed down trails in Alaska that lead to existing gold mine claims cutting off entire areas for multiple claim sites, that have been there for hundreds of years. Their more open to horseback, hiking trails. not much for prospecting example your allowed "for now" to search for gold in national parks all your allowed is a pan and #2 shovel I mean really?? Not even a hand sluice spring flooding does more for soil erosion than a person with a hand sluice. I found that out last year in N Carolina when I began truely prospecting for gold. Have you ever noticed how when you go to a park that they kinda cater to horses? Everyone has to use that parking only and there's a road that wraps around the whole area w/no parking and the area your wanna hunt is a 100yds from the road on that end of the park but 3 miles from the parking? The only group of people fighting for continued land use that I know of is the GPAA and then theirs individuals but we get ran over all the time. I can understand a landowner getting mad at you for trespassing...I have 80+ acres in KY and I can't stop people from running over it, it happens on a regular basis so I just have to deal with it but public lands that tax dollars pay for?? That alone should provide a buffer zone of some sort. To speak of private land owners (sigh) I went to Texas (from Ohio) last year with some stops on the way...to hunt for the elusive blue topaz (the state gemsotne) down there. I drove about 5.5hrs from Dallas where I had business, to a private property that the landowner would allow me to hunt. When I got to his house, the yard was a mess looked like a dump zone and I didn't want to trespass so I stopped at one of his neighbors houses about .25mi away to find out what was going on, she told me that he had passed away less than a year ago and his son sold it to a sand and gravel pit! He owned a lot of property, NOW its (absolutely NO TRESPASSING) to my dismay, I aimlessly drove around looking for the particular rock that it forms in hoping to find some roadside property to do a search. Theres only about 25mi or so, of land in the whole state to find this gemstone, one place is a pay to dig at an old Tiffanys mine that if it had any real value they'd still own it. I had all my eggs in that one basket because I didn't know any of the property owners and most had their land posted if I could even see a house on the property. There pretty spread out down there...I started a new thread on this topic because people its not just guns their after, they want EVERYTHING!!, and if you have your blinders on and it's not effecting at this moment at least consider the future when it may. The little guy doesn't stand much of a chance these days between uptight land owners and public lands restrictions. If we don't stand up for our own rights who will...oh yea should a landowner give you permission to do some hunting on their land PLEASE be mindful of their land, respect it and others will be allowed to enjoy some fresh air there just like you got too. I lost my rights to salmon fish on private property in Frankfort, Michigan on Betsie River close to lake Mich. because people wouldn't pick up their trash and I always brought out more than what went in with me, I had been fishing that spot at that time 5yrs running
Thanks , Don

 

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[Tom_in_CA]

well, they have to protect that land from rabble-rouser abuser miscreants like you and I! haha. No seriously now: there's still no shortage of public land one can waltz around on. True, it'll never be like it was in 1850, where you could walk 100 miles in any direction, and never hit a fence. Or if you did, it was merely there for cattle corrallment, and didn't mean you could cross through or over it, as long as you shut the gate.

 

[donb0078]

I resemble that remark!! Happy hunting!

 

[donb0078]

When I first came to this area there was a total of appx 2500 people now theres over 30k and they just keep coming. the woods i hunted as a youngin' now have million dollar homes and they don't even want me to have a hunting dog...one even told me i should have it bordered somewhere...i said tisk tisk something shiny and white for you to smooch or something like that lol

 

[hvacker]

There is a land grab. Sometimes it looks harmless but isn't from a prospector, hunter or other activity that might turn a rock over. Fortunately for now Obama didn't place a ton of public lands into monument status like was being pushed recently. Probably not a camper. That change of status would have prevented most or all of what we call our recreation. Can't touch monument lands.
There is a move in my State to ask the Fed to deed a bunch of public land to the State. I would much rather deal with the BLM or Forrest Service than the State. It seems there are two schools of thought. One to use the land and another to protect the land. Protectors often say don't touch, don't recreate, don't prospect, don't dredge etc. Take only pictures and leave only footprints. I can understand that in a sensitive environment like a wild cave but not a river bed.

 

[donb0078]

Yea it's mind boggling isn't it? What is the purpose of having public land if the public can't use it except to walk ride bikes and such. I worry all the time about trespassing so I like to use public land a lot but restrictions do get in the way reducing my enjoyment drastically, not to mention I travel mostly since Ohio is devoid of the stuff I'm mainly after. Most places I go I don't know the people there especially when I go prospecting and public land has restrictions like no hand sluice #2 shovel and pan only.

 

[donb0078]

About the river beds...scientist have done a lot of studys and the effects of dredging, the study's indicate that its actually benefical but the EPA ignores the findings because they don't coinside with their agenda

 

[TheNewCatfish]

What most people are unaware of, (unless you spend lots of time on public lands), is that these State and National Rangers aren't nuthin but a bunch of good ole' local boys keeping public lands off limits to outta state tourists. There are local psychos and whacko's out there runnin around on public lands pulling guns on tourists and the Forestry Department and BLM's arn't doing anything to apprehend these dangerous perpetrators. Their excuse is, "Well everybody knows Bobby Joe. He hasn't killed anybody yet, has he" ? I've had several of these NUTS pull a gun on me, (none of em having any legal basis for their actions) and not one complaint EVER resulted in ANY action being taken. Two of these guys are permanent fixtures at Point Bar, Colorado and the Gila National Forest in NM. Yet no action is being taken to curtail their assualts on people. Not by the authorities. They're just locals themselves. Why should they side with a tourist ? It's just another case of our tax dollars being wasted for protections which DON'T ACTUALLY EXIST IN REALITY.

 

[donb0078]

Wow guess I've been lucky most I've seen were pretty nice, You were prolly getting to close to something they were hiding like a still or pot or something...I could see that happening...better luck this year