Hey Guys, so the Late walk in access brochure came out yesterday and the properties that are listed south of Stratton are less than half of what they were last year. Is that normal for the accessible land to change so much? I am hoping that they just didn't list all the properties and there will be signs on them this year. I will be making a trip east to drive the back roads before season opens to find out.
Walk in Access south of Stratton
- Thread starter EddieMc
- Start date
Wildcat2017
New member
Hey Eddie, this is normal, however, I have found walk in fields that weren't listed on the map too. The farmer puts up the signs after or doesn't tell the state. Of course the inverse happens too. The map shows a field which does not exist 
Uplandhunter67
Active member
I swung by some areas north of Idalia that were shown on the maps. One was just dirt and the other was cut hay. Neither was marked as WIA. So I doubt they are in this year. I wish they would go digital like NE and KS. Those states will tell you that the digital maps are the most up to date and if it shows there it's in.
Looking at the new maps there seems to have been quite a bit of property lost from years past(I keep digital copies of previous years for comparison). Also looks like fewer properties in a lot of good areas... Looks like they are spending all the money for WIA in Yuma county though... Guess Holyoke is really vying to be the pheasant capital of Colorado.
Looking at the new maps there seems to have been quite a bit of property lost from years past(I keep digital copies of previous years for comparison). Also looks like fewer properties in a lot of good areas... Looks like they are spending all the money for WIA in Yuma county though... Guess Holyoke is really vying to be the pheasant capital of Colorado.
merriammonster
Member
I noticed the same thing guys. Super big disappointment, I’m canceling my trip to the Burlington area and heading north with the masses. �� I really wish Parks and wildlife would continue to broaden the scope and not shrink it. Their is going to be even more massive over crowding come opening weekend. Aghh!!!
Is dissapointing, but if you read the first pages, the bigger problem shows up...
It says thousands of acres of crp expired and were converted to crop land. They disenrolled many properties simply because they are not viable to hunting any more.
Additionally, there are still notices for farmers interested in enrolling their land, so my guess is they have more money to lease quality land than available quality land to lease.
Moral is... we need to keep supporting p.f. and writing congressmen about the farm bills if we hope to keep chasing roosters...
It says thousands of acres of crp expired and were converted to crop land. They disenrolled many properties simply because they are not viable to hunting any more.
Additionally, there are still notices for farmers interested in enrolling their land, so my guess is they have more money to lease quality land than available quality land to lease.
Moral is... we need to keep supporting p.f. and writing congressmen about the farm bills if we hope to keep chasing roosters...
Logical
Member
In the area I hunt, there were not any WIA for a long time. Now, one landowner is the only one in the program. Many landowners in the area are pissed-off at the hunters who enter their land without asking, so they don't want to encourage hunters in the area by enrolling in WIA. So, in addition to loss of CRP, trespassing hunters are also part of the problem. Too many don't "Ask to hunt private land". Don't be part of the problem, or there may not be any land open to the public.
Wildcat2017
New member
Logical, in the 20 years I have been hunting NE CO I too have seen this, hunters trespassing, leave their trash behind incl carcasses, shooting clay pigeons and leaving the shells and of course the broken clays everywhere. What are they thinking??? I found a new WIA field one year and it was awesome. I knocked on the owners door and thanked him for opening up his land to us, he said he appreciated the sentiment but won't do it again the following year. His reason, trespassing hunters on the rest of his property and folks leaving trash and driving across his land?? I was hunting it one time and large group of folks with dogs, wives and kids were pushing it. They shot everything that flew. I confronted them and none of them claimed to speak english. They left but I called the DOW anyway for whatever good that will do He was true to his word and it was closed the following year. I tried to gain access but he said no.
He was true to his word and it was closed the following year. I tried to gain access but he said no.merriammonster
Member
None of the fields I focused on last year were crp except one. So I don’t think the “expiring crp” theory works here. I believe this is more about a shift of focus to the northern counties. The towns up there seem to be more receptive to the positive economic impact by “out of town” hunters. A lot of the Farmers around Holyoke really seem to get it.
sig_mech
Member
Let me see if I can clarify this for you. CRP is a federal program that receives its funding through the Farm Bill. The federal government pays farmers not to farm their land but does dictate to the farmers what cover crop they can plant on that acreage and how to maintain that cover crop. Farmers enroll their acreage for a period of I believe to be 10 years. When the ten years are up the farmer can either choose to re-enroll that land or to plant a agricultural crop on it, however, due to cuts in the Farm Bill the money available for the CRP program is getting to be less and less.
The WIA program is run by the state and specifically by CPW. CPW will pay farmers a stipend to place their CRP land in the WIA program, however, CPW gets most of this money from the sale of licenses and donations, both of which have been drastically declining in the past years. CPW not only has to find farmers that are willing to enroll their land in the WIA program but it also has to choose the best available land that gives us, the hunters of this state, the best opportunity to harvest game. Less money in CPW's coffers means less WIA available to us. You need to understand that not all properties listed in the WIA brochure will support all game species in the state. Some of these properties are chosen for quail, some for antelope some for turkey and some for deer. It is up to you to find the WIA property that best suits the species you want to hunt. (BTW-a phone call to your local CPW office can and will wield a wealth of great information.) Believe me when I tell you that CPW has hunters in mind and is doing the best they can with the limited resources it has. Once CPW enrolls the farmers land in the WIA program they will post all the proper signage to designate that the property is in the WIA program.
As for your other concerns: Farmers are not required to put their property in the WIA program. The WIA program is a yearly one and farmers are allowed to remove their property from the program at the end of the yearly obligation. Yes, farmers can and will pull their property out of the program if they continuously have to deal with hunters and others who show a blatant disrespect for the property, can you blame them??? I sure as heck can't. So how do you/we fix this? 1) program your phone with the number of the CPW office closest to where you hunt and call them if you see someone doing something that is unsafe or just plain wrong. 2) Find the owner of the land you would like to hunt and contact him well before the hunting season starts. Volunteer to help him in any way you can and build that trust and friendship, you just might gain a healthy respect for what these guys deal with every day of their lives. Farming is not easy. 3) Its a lot easier than it used to be to find out who owns that awesome looking plot of private land that has become a sanctuary for every pheasant in a 5 square mile area. Burn some shoe leather and do your homework. You will be handsomely rewarded.
25 years ago I started out like a lot of you newbies out there. I did the Burlington and Yuma pheasant hunting programs and became a better hunter because of these programs. Now I have more private land than I can hunt in a week, I have made a ton of new friends, helped a lot of good farmers and earned the respect of them as well. You can do it too.
Oh, by the way, if you want to help preserve our hunting opportunities then seriously think about joining Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, RMEF or any other sportsmans group that works to preserve habitat. Happy hunting boys!
The WIA program is run by the state and specifically by CPW. CPW will pay farmers a stipend to place their CRP land in the WIA program, however, CPW gets most of this money from the sale of licenses and donations, both of which have been drastically declining in the past years. CPW not only has to find farmers that are willing to enroll their land in the WIA program but it also has to choose the best available land that gives us, the hunters of this state, the best opportunity to harvest game. Less money in CPW's coffers means less WIA available to us. You need to understand that not all properties listed in the WIA brochure will support all game species in the state. Some of these properties are chosen for quail, some for antelope some for turkey and some for deer. It is up to you to find the WIA property that best suits the species you want to hunt. (BTW-a phone call to your local CPW office can and will wield a wealth of great information.) Believe me when I tell you that CPW has hunters in mind and is doing the best they can with the limited resources it has. Once CPW enrolls the farmers land in the WIA program they will post all the proper signage to designate that the property is in the WIA program.
As for your other concerns: Farmers are not required to put their property in the WIA program. The WIA program is a yearly one and farmers are allowed to remove their property from the program at the end of the yearly obligation. Yes, farmers can and will pull their property out of the program if they continuously have to deal with hunters and others who show a blatant disrespect for the property, can you blame them??? I sure as heck can't. So how do you/we fix this? 1) program your phone with the number of the CPW office closest to where you hunt and call them if you see someone doing something that is unsafe or just plain wrong. 2) Find the owner of the land you would like to hunt and contact him well before the hunting season starts. Volunteer to help him in any way you can and build that trust and friendship, you just might gain a healthy respect for what these guys deal with every day of their lives. Farming is not easy. 3) Its a lot easier than it used to be to find out who owns that awesome looking plot of private land that has become a sanctuary for every pheasant in a 5 square mile area. Burn some shoe leather and do your homework. You will be handsomely rewarded.
25 years ago I started out like a lot of you newbies out there. I did the Burlington and Yuma pheasant hunting programs and became a better hunter because of these programs. Now I have more private land than I can hunt in a week, I have made a ton of new friends, helped a lot of good farmers and earned the respect of them as well. You can do it too.
Oh, by the way, if you want to help preserve our hunting opportunities then seriously think about joining Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, RMEF or any other sportsmans group that works to preserve habitat. Happy hunting boys!
I have been calling land owners for the last two weeks and have gained permission onto some really nice places south of Stratton. All the landowners that have given me permission did so with the understanding that I would watch out for any hunters that might be trespassing and make sure they know they cannot hunt there and never drive my vehicle on the property. These landowners said that they had never been asked for permission to hunt and that they really appreciated the fact that I got in touch with them and asked. By the way they are all small parcels mostly quarter sections and two full sections but they add up to over 3000 acres of private land CRP that I can hunt. All the large farming operations that I have contacted have said NO! I think that they get hounded a lot. If you get a list of landowners and start calling you can get permission.
sig_mech
Member
Nice job EddieMc, that's the way to do it! Now keep it going brother! Cultivate those connections and help them to grow. Call those land owners and ask them if they would like you to post some No Trespassing signs for them, if they say yes it will only cost you a few bucks and you'll show them you care about their property. If they say no it will still show them you care about their property. Win - win dude. Also, quit thinking like a city folk and start thinking like a farmer. These small town folk go to church together, help each other out, watch their kids play sports together, eat at the same diner every morning and even know the same people. If you respect the owners you have permission from now I'm sure that they can help by giving you names and numbers of other land owners. You don't have to be lonely at farmers only dot com. City folk just don't get it. LOL. BTW, I see you live in WP, that's a little bit of a drive to Stratton. Be safe, see you in the field.