Youre full of crap. I'm sick of hearing this BS all the time. I know plenty of lawyers and doctors in Bham, Mobile, Auburn, Huntsville and Montgomery as well as even more big time financial guys in those same cities that have really jacked up the rates in certain areas of the blackbelt, just as much, if not more than out of staters. Fact is, in most cases, Bama residents are some of the worst offenders. Word gets out about some huge bucks being killed in a certain area (and they hear about it, due to living and knowing people all over the state) and they have their staffs do some quick research and then they go down and offer the landowner a wad of cash (a group B'ham lawyers offered the landowner double what we were paying in Marengo for 4K acres about 15 years ago, local landowner broke our lease and leased it to them. Told us he was sorry but couldnt turn down that kind of money). We couldnt match that kind of $$ and 10 yrs of work, managing and growing those bucks was gone. I know a couple Bama guys that have "feelers" out with multiple taxidermists to be on the lookout for properties that consistently give up great bucks. Worst guy I ever knew about doing it owned his own trucking company. He finds out you killed a couple 150+ on a specific property a couple years in a row and he'll try to get it out from under you and the price doesnt matter. He lives in central Bama and I'm not naming names. It's not out-of-staters, it's anybody with serious money. There are several timber companies based in AL and owned by AL resident families and they've got 3-5% annual escalation clauses built into every single one of their leases and have been doing it since the early 90's. They lease to a lot of Bama residents. In fact, probably 80% Alabama residents for one that I am very familiar with. When the price per acre has increased 3-5% for the past 30 years, land that used to lease for $4-$8/acre is now $20-$30/acre and if a timber company is getting that kind of money, all the local landowners expect to get paid that for theirs too. Nothing is being taken from you. If you're a Selma local, it is your local landowners that are leasing it to these other people at these high rates. Just tell them not to do it and lease it to you instead. LOL It's not "your land"!! If you owned 20,000 acres, you wouldnt be complaining, you'd be hunting what you wanted to hunt and leasing the rest of it for absolutely as much money as you could get for it, state of residence of who you leased it to, be damned. Your tax dollars dont go for jack chit on hunting land. The only taxes related to that land are paid by the local Alabama resident landowner that is leasing it, not you, and he's like everyone else in the world, trying to make as much as he can. Sorry youre getting left out but you've got two options. Convince a local landowner you know to lease you property at 1980 rates or let you hunt for free, or get a better paying job or win the lottery, so you can buy your own property or lease some out from under someone else. Then you'll be the one everyone is complaining about. Dont hate the player, hate the game. Another thing, New Orleans salaries are crap and the cost of living is not remotely high compared to B'ham, Atlanta, Huntsville, or even Mobile. My beef with the LA guys is that I've never met one that has ever seen a single deer he didnt want to kill. I'l also say that I agree that lease prices have gotten ridiculous but so have prices on trucks, houses, furniture, groceries and everything else. It's called inflation, it hits all areas and it spares nobody.