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WPA's closed?

Muthagoose
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walleye18 Community Regular

walleye18

Posted
Posted

technically the WPA and WMA's are closed.

I was at a U.S. Fish and Game District office in ND last week (9/26/13) to get permission from the admin secretary there to hunt on the land her and her husband own.

When I was there she informed me that if the government were to shut down, all the WPA/WMA land that is federally managed would be closed.

Now....there were suppose to be signs put up...it never happened where I am at. The Fed. Game Wardens are still working thru this gov. shutdown too.

I say - hunt them. We "the people" own those lands.

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carpshooterdeluxe Mentor

carpshooterdeluxe

Posted
Posted

technically the WPA and WMA's are closed.

I was at a U.S. Fish and Game District office in ND last week (9/26/13) to get permission from the admin secretary there to hunt on the land her and her husband own.

When I was there she informed me that if the government were to shut down, all the WPA/WMA land that is federally managed would be closed.

Now....there were suppose to be signs put up...it never happened where I am at. The Fed. Game Wardens are still working thru this gov. shutdown too.

I say - hunt them. We "the people" own those lands.

WMA's are state owned and not affected by the shutdown.

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rbs Proficient

rbs

Posted
Posted

They might be sign free but a $178 ticket if you get caught hunting them. The wardens are watching them! Not trying to start anything because I was thinking the same thing as you guys. I guy I work with had a buddy bowhunting on one and got the ticket.

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TylerS Mentor

TylerS

Posted
Posted

They might be sign free but a $178 ticket if you get caught hunting them. The wardens are watching them! Not trying to start anything because I was thinking the same thing as you guys. I guy I work with had a buddy bowhunting on one and got the ticket.

I'm not one to fight a ticket. Usually if I get hit for speeding or whatever, I pay the fine because it's easier than fighting.

HOWEVER, if I were to receive a ticket for hunting public land that I paid for with my duck stamp dollars, you can bet your patooty I'd fight it tooth and nail. It's just the principle of the thing. It's not right no matter how they spin it.

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CANOPY SAM Veteran

CANOPY SAM

Posted
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The wardens are watching them!

So they are officially closed to public use, but there is no formal public notification, and no signage indicating they are closed, but the wardens are watching and waiting to ticket people?

Wouldn't this be known as entrapment?

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a47mlb Collaborator

a47mlb

Posted
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HOWEVER, if I were to receive a ticket for hunting public land that I paid for with my duck stamp dollars, you can bet your patooty I'd fight it tooth and nail. It's just the principle of the thing. It's not right no matter how they spin it.

You're tax dollars pay for the roads you drive on, but that doesn't give free reign to do whatever you want on them.

It's been pretty spotty coverage for getting the word out. I can't imagine that one fed officer is going to be able to post every WPA in multiple counties as Closed, but those reading and on this site do know that the WPA's are closed. So, you can go to court if cited, and when the judge asks you under oath if you knew the WPA's were closed, your answer would be "Yes your honor."

Just saying......

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James_R Experienced

James_R

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You're tax dollars pay for the roads you drive on, but that doesn't give free reign to do whatever you want on them.

It's been pretty spotty coverage for getting the word out. I can't imagine that one fed officer is going to be able to post every WPA in multiple counties as Closed, but those reading and on this site do know that the WPA's are closed. So, you can go to court if cited, and when the judge asks you under oath if you knew the WPA's were closed, your answer would be "Yes your honor."Just saying......

..........It's not their land to close. We just pay them to manage it for us. Why do you assume that people will think they have free reign to do whatever they want to do on these lands? There's no Federal officers watching us in line at the supermarket yet people somehow manage to wait their turns at the checkout line in a civalized manner.
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CANOPY SAM Veteran

CANOPY SAM

Posted
Posted

The decision to close the WPA's seems a little silly. Without the "non-essential" personnel to assist with policing every location, how can they even hope to enforce the closings?

The Natural Resources, and US Fish and Wildlife folks are already grossly underfunded and thinly dispersed. They have their hands full just following up on tip calls, following thru on open wildlife cases, and routine, everyday responsibilities.

If this is really a decision based on liability, I just don't see how it would make much difference if they were opened, or closed. If someone gets hurt or killed on federal or state land, and they (or the family) really has a mind to sue someone over it, what difference would it make if the property were open for use, or closed? Especially if they're not marked with any signage? They're going to sue either way.

I typically don't get involved in political discussions if I can help it, but this decision just seems ill thought out, and foolish, but I suppose that shouldn't come as a surprise from our current politicians.

Saw a poll was done on the local news last night. 800 people were asked if they could vote to completely eliminate every member of Congress, and replace them with new people, would they do it?

60% said they would!!! A majority of the US population agrees. We need to take our government back from these good ole' boys, and hire people that will actually do the job!

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