However, they are adding more land to the WMA every year. Even though there is no access to it.
Which land has been added that has no access? At Skyline or somewhere else? Just curious.
I was referring to the newest addition to Skyline at the foot of crow mountain. It is an area called Goshen hollow. Just added it but there is no access other than a VERY narrow strip that touches co rd 33 on top of crow. Trying to park here and walk off the bluff and all the way to the good land in the bottom would be insane.
This is not the only place either.It seems that Forever wild does not want motorized traffic on their land. We have 3500 acres of prime land they bought from PRV lodge, but you have to park on the edge of the property line and wade across the paint rock river if you want to hunt it. There is just no feasible way to get to the majority of this property if you park there and walk in. There's a TON of land on skyline that just can't be accessed on foot by hunters. These mountains are brutal.
Here's the problem with this. Me and you have to walk in if we want to hunt any of this even though there are good roads all over it. However, there are plenty of people who have to use these same roads to access their property. This creates a very good scenario for the people with property adjoining the walk in only areas. The guy who owns 40 acres on the back side of this 3500 acres now has 3540 acres that he can legally hunt.
Few years ago me and a buddy walked from hwy 79 down to the bottom of the walls of Jericho tract turkey hunting. We got on a bird and were slipping around an old road trying to get closer. Turned a curve and walked right up on a guy sitting on a stump listening to the bird we just located. We told the guy we were sorry, that we didn't think anyone was in the area because there was not a vehicle parked anywhere along the road on top. Turned out, he had a key to the gate in the bottom of the walls of jericho tract because of some land he had leased in the area.
I don't blame these guys at all. I would do the same thing if I had adjoining land. I just think the number one goal of public hunting land should be to make it better suited for the average tax paying citizen who can't afford to buy or lease land of his own. I'm afraid there are other motives.
I'm very thankful to have all this public land where I live, but it is not being managed or utilized to it's potential. Skyline could easily be the best WMA in the state, but it's not. This bothers me.
Sorry for the long post.
big price.