Public land
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onpoint
Active member
Last year, in the Mobridge area, almost every piece of public land shown in the atlas was mown, harvested, or grazed down to nothing. They should get an agreement with the farmer to leave bird habitat uncut if they're going to register land as open to the public. If the farmer is going to harvest it or graze it down to the roots, that's fine, it's their land, but don't list it as land open to the public.
The thing that you have to remember is that it is open to all hunting not just pheasants. I have a cousin that put some pasture land in to walk in area, I think he got a buck an acre and probably had a thousand acres of rolling praire with large sloughs in the low lands. Every year he would open all the gates so the deer hunters could have access. Every year he had to fix fence where deer hunters drove through the fence in hot pursuit of deer. So he put it into walk in to help pay the fencing costs. Well a guy saw it on the map and went there to hunt pheasants and saw that he had grazed his pasture so he called the game warden and told him that it was grazed. The game warden came out and told him that because he grazed his pasture he would only pay him fifty cents an acre. So he told him to keep his fifty cents and to take the walk in area signs down. Imagine at that time grazing land like that was worth $30 an acre and the guy is supposed to not graze it for a dollar an acre. Hard to stay in business that way. Now the gates are closed his son hunts deer there and catches trespassers there quite often. Also remember that last year was a very dry year and feed of any type was hard to come by.
That stuff around Mobridge was good for nothing, I guess it's possible deer might sprint across it on their way to some place to bed down, or might possibly be out there early in the morning or evening. Only possible hunting opportunity I could see would be goose hunting in the cut cornfields.
onpoint
Active member
One question, many say feeding the poor, providing food stamps and health care for those who are struggling shouldn't be their problem. If one thinks like that? Why should a farmer having a shortage of hay or pasture land be our problem? Maybe he's trying to raise more animals then his land allows. Maybe he will have to cut back, till less and pasture more. People talk about subsidizing things like the building of sport stadiums for a private owned team with tax payers money. When that's exactly what us tax payers are doing with farmers. I simply think land set aside for public hunting/habitat should be off limits period for subsidizing a private owned business.
In the example I just cited a man who owned some land agreed to let people walk onto his land if they wanted to hunt there for a dollar an acre. He did not agree not to graze it. He would be foolish to give up the value of his own lands production for a dollar an acre when the grazing was worth $30. So is he a bad guy for paticipating in the walk in program when people were already hunting deer there without permission? It would also make some very good waterfowl hunting. As far as I am concerned they can close the dept. of agriculture now. They won't because they want the control. As for food stamps and feeding the poor, Jesus said we would always have the poor. I don't think the government should be the one feeding the poor, that is the job of the church. I know we are way off base here but you brought it up. My point is not all walk in land is for pheasants. As far as haying and grazing in a dry year that is half the reason that I enroll land in CRP. If you want that to go away so will some more CRP. For me it is part of the incentive, CRP does not pay enough by itself to be worth while.
moellermd
Super Moderator
Because that is the agreement that the gov made with him. Why should we be upset with a person exercising there rights within a mutually agreed upon contract.
fsentkilr
Active member
I agree, I wish they would shut down UDSA and do away with all government programs. Like you said, they won't because they don't want to give up the control. The government wants to micromanage every little thing, there is now way they will give up control of the food supply. It sounds like the direct payments are going to be history, so I guess that's a step in the right direction.
onpoint
Active member
They are haying and grazing WPA's and other public owned lands. One year out of the last five years, that the area near my place hasn't been cut or grazed to the roots. I simply quit buying a license. I'll chase ducks instead.
fsentkilr
Active member
Remember the WIHA's aren't just for pheasant hunters. Some of the pastures that don't have good bird hunting, can be a good place to call predators or shoot deer. Some of the ponds the cattle water at could offer excellent duck hunting. Some of the best duck hunts I have been on, have been on remote small farm ponds.
519vx
Member
Spot on. I couldn't agree more. No game lives in pastures.
I am sorry 519 but well managed pastures are very productive game producers. That is why DU, PF and other organizations are trying to take control of that type of land with the sod saver provisions. Even in a dry year they are very benificial, but in a wet year they are fantastic.