Twangg1

Ok.. here' s the scenario... two ranches I hunt on.. have for years... are laying fallow, not being farmed any longer. They lay along a major river here in WA... one is 14K acres and the other is 6K acres... they are adjacent. I' m thinking about leasing them for hunting of deer and birds. I have been thinking about an " association" of deer hunters... limiting the number strictly so as not to over tax it... it has some huge mulies on it... thinking about a pheasant/quail perserve on the flats... and duck and geese along the river....

Now, I' m asking... what do you think? Do you have any ideas? Please respond... Twangg

trapper T

MY suggestion would be to work with the Game Dept. and their written permisson access. By leasing it you are going to help those who want hunting to go to those who can afford it. Leasing it to a club just isn' t what the Hunting Heritage is all about. If you go the route I suggested you can still limit the number of hunters too. It would totally be at your discretion.. Help the real working man still have his opportunity to hunt instead of letting it go to the highest bidder. My two cents.

slee

I have to agree with Trapper T. While what you have in mind is a great thing in theory, it will only limit the participants who can' t afford the dues. Back in MS, most large tracts of hunting land are in club leases. Those who can' t afford the dues of these clubs are forced to hunt public land or get permission to hunt private land. I also understand there will be some income needed to maintain the properties and keep them suitable for hunting. To meet this end, you could divide up smaller sections and make them open by " permission only" . That way you could regulate the numbers hunting in the duck areas, the pheasant areas, and also areas for deer. You could get some help from the WDFW for management of the wildlife, and collect a very nominal fee from the people you give access to...basicly a trespass fee. If you don' t collect some revenue, you are not getting any return on your investment for habitat improvement, clean-up, etc. And as noble as your intentions may be, that doesn' t make much business sense. I' ve been in several hunting clubs, and it IS a business. When you take on the liability of allowing people on someone elses property under your permission, bad things WILL happen sooner or later. I' d check into liability insurance. You could set up a system much like the Kapowsin Tree Farm or some of the other " Permit Only" areas to get ideas. It sounds like it could be good, but I don' t know how feasable it would be to try without charging a fee. Good luck, and keep us posted.

trapper T

Slee made good points, maybe those who ask permission could be asked to donate either money or a little time for improvements. I know there are tons of hunters who offer services( mend fence, farm chores, smoked salmon) for a payback for letting them on your land.I don' t think you' d have any problem find some that would. And if they think your being greedy for asking,tell them why you went the route you did, to keep it open for everyone instead of some elitiest.

CalNewbie

I think you' ve got the seeds of a good idea there. You mentioned leasing and I' ll assume you' re interested in generating income from your property.

I understand the wish that private land owners would allow hunters access for no/minimal fee. As much as I' d like to make the aquaintance of landowner that would let me hunt his/her land for free I have to accept that its not being entirely fair. Some (not all) hunters are going into the woods with several thousand dollars worth of equipment (guns, scopes, binocs, rangefinders, knives, clothes, calls, scents, etc.) The guy who made/sold your rifle gets paid. The guy who made/sold your camo gets paid. The guy who butchers your meat gets paid. The taxidermist, the DNR, the ammo company, bootmaker, etc. get paid. Everyone in the hunting " food chain" gets paid. But there' s a notion that the guy who owns the land should give free access. The wildlife eats his crops (yes, your land is fallow), you pay the mortgage, the taxes, the insurance, maintain the land. You have a right to generate whatever income you feel is just from your investment. The bottom line is that this is your land, and your choice to make.

If its not about generating income but allowing hunting in a manner that properly manages the resources there are other options. Wisconsin has a program to encourage landowners to open their land to hunters by granting them a break on their real estate taxes. The state probably makes up more than the difference in the income generated by the sporting industry during deer season. I' ll presume that you don' t have sufficient hunting associates to make full use of the property (again, I' ve switched to the non-income generating scenario) you could contact an hunting club that would manage the property under some sort of set basis such as 2/3 of the opportunities go to club members, 1/3 go to a lottery system for non members, charity auctions, etc.

Just my thoughts.

Pointshoot777

Well a few here have made the assumption that you own this land. You only said that you hunted it and am thinking about leasing it for hunting. Perhaps someone else owns it now ? - - In any case, first youve got to determine what your personal goals are with this enterprise. That will help you figure out what youre going to need in terms of money/time/expertise in order to make those goals a reality. - - - And, unfortunately, in this age when lawyers bring frivolous lawsuits against McDonald' s for ' making their clients fat' , potential exposure to being sued by someone is something serious to consider. Even if youre right, you' ll pay big bucks to defend yourself. - - All this costs money despite those who think they should have free/cheap access to your land but wouldn' t work at their jobs for free. Good luck & Good Hunting !, - - Pointshoot

summit daWg

If you are thinking about an association-why not consider buying at least one of them?

pup

twangg washington fish and game does some sort of hunting managment land thing were they pay the property owner to let hunters on it to hunt my written permision and the owner gets to choose how many people he or she lets on. i know this because the farmer i work for does it. i will talk to him in the next few days and see exactly how it work then ill get back to you.