blocked trail

[BuckKiller]

I hunt in area 170 and hunt on an old logging trail that is know used as a fire trail. at the end of this road was a trail that was made for four wheelers. the first weekend we used that trail for easier walking and dragging deer. when we went back the second weekend the trail was blocked by someone. all along the trail there was big trees cut down and purposely pushed over to block it. this made walking to our stands and dragging deer very difficult. other people in the area had the same problem. so i was wondering if anyone knows who did that and why??

I think the DNR may have done this but im not sure...

[Coach1310]

That doesn't sound like something the DNR would do. I would call them and make them aware of it just in case. It would take some big cahones for someone without permission to do it though.

[jigglestick]

I was hunting over in 197 during duck season on the west bank road and saw the same thing you are talking about.

I mean there were pines cut down. nice trees! 12 - 16 inches in diameter cut down all criss crossed on top of each other.

then north of the big lake, I saw more of the same [PoorWordUsage], only these trees weren't as big. looked pretty ametuer, but who ever did it was BUSY.

I know a couple guys over at the federal forestry. I'll see if they know what the heck is going on.

I do think it's the forester doing it, but I'm going to find out. this stuff was just done a few days ago.

[BuckKiller]

yeah they did it by me between weekends we had big birch and on nice sized oak tree cut down. kind of made me mad. we cleaned most of it up but i have a feeling they will just do it again.

but yeah let me know what you come up with

thanks jigglestick

[Christopher Quast]

Tim quit your whining LOL Just Kidding!!!!!!!!!

Somebody was probably trying to block wheelers from using it, because it was messing up their hunt

[ScoutII]

Could it have been the Land Owner? Or was this state land where the road is? Or maybe this was a trail made BY wheelers?

[Bear55]

It was probably some clown trying to keep people out and claim the land for themselves. I would check with the DNR but I don't they are behind it.

[tedl]

The DNR uses these trails in case of a forest fire so when they want to close a road they put up gates or those pipes with the locks on them.

[BuckKiller]

yeah this was on public land

i don't think it was other hunters because that trail was the only way into the woods unless you wanted to walk the thick brush... why would they block their way in? Maybe it was animal rights activist...darn peta lol I don't know... probably not. ill try tho get a hold of the DNR on of these days and ask them.

P.S. Chris go read your book for class lol

[spivak]

I doubt it was PETA. I still would thing it is some other hunter who is trying to block you from using that access. A sense of ownership of public land boils just slightly below the skin in all of us. Obama bin laden? I thought we were done with that stuff.

[BuckKiller]

I was just kidding about the peta thing but like i said earlier i don't think it was other hunters cuz it happened in more then one area.

[pinkfloyd4ever]

rig up a trail camera and see what ya find out

[ScoutII]

It was wet up there this fall, maybe someone does not want to see the trail rutted up. I spent a couple hours draining ruts so we could use the trail to areas we have.

[BuckKiller]

rig up a trail camera and see what ya find out

id be afraid of getting it stolen.

[tealitup]

Bigfoot was getting mad

[Pickelfarmer]

The DNR uses these trails in case of a forest fire so when they want to close a road they put up gates or those pipes with the locks on them.

That to me is even more upsetting. How's the DNR get that money to buy the land and build those roads? Isn't it from hunters like us? Then they block access to that land??????? That really, really gets me.

[ScoutII]

Well I guess it was windy out there this year.

[zepman]

Same thing happened to us this year in the 3B season. Hunting private land with shared access to one of the valleys we use to run the 4-wheelers to drag the deer out at night. Low and behold the other group put up a barbed wire fence running the entire length of the access opening. We had already secured permission from the landowner (as we have for the last 35 years) but the fence was put up on opening morning. The landowner was away for the weekend (funny) and without wanting to start something with a bunch of ***holes we had to access the valley from the other side. This was no small feet as we had to gain access from another landowner and run an extra mile or so on the bottom of a valley to retrieve our deer. Oh, yea, the access that they fenced off is also a state snowmobile trail which is clearly marked. Made things very difficult for us all week long.

[mn_archer]

I live in 170 and I'd bet it WAS the DNR. They do it all the time. A logger will go in, make a road or improve an old trail and the DNR will cut/push some trees over the trail.

The reason is they are trying to keep the trail in as good of shape as possible because they can sell the timber for more stumpage money if there is good accessalready in there.

I have gotten into arguments several times with the local foresters over this.

I know of one area where the logger put a very long road in. As soon as he was done the DNR put up a berm full of trees/stumps and the Ruffed Grouse Society put up a sign saying something about grouse management area and your tax dollars at work. Funny thins was the logger is a friend and when I asked him about it he said he had paid to put the road in, no tax money at work there-- lol

Gotta love the state beaucracy fellas-

michael

[Coach1310]

Thanks for the info mn_archer...didn't know that, but it makes some sense.

[MinDak Hunter]

Or maybe the RGS sign was for the clover and other seeding that had been done along the trail, at least that is what I have seen in the past.

[Lunker]

I've seen this on paper land and county land up in Itasca. Both cutting down trees and dumping piles of dirt to block the road. People tend to look down on road hunters, and I think this is an attempt at a solution of sorts. FYI I see a lot of deer road hunters and a ton of grouse road hunters in that area.

[Trashguy]

Hey Buckkiller, where are you hunting in 170? We hunt about 4 miles north of Remer & 1 mile east of Graves Lake in Chippewa National.

Thursday of opening week I heard chainsaws for over two hours, nail pounding & large trees crashing. I got [PoorWordUsage] and left my stand early to see if I could find out who was cutting. Got back to camp to find orange fliers on our truck windshields. They were from the forestry, which had information about some of the new rules on using the forest roads. I jumped in my truck and drove down the road a little and then I saw all the trees cut down, blocking many of the unmarked smaller trails, I then put 2 & 2 together and knew that the DNR had been doing all the cutting. I thought for sure someone was cutting shooting lanes and putting up permanent stands.

[BuckKiller]

Hey Trashguy,

we hunt on the forestry RD 2113 if you know where that is... best i can describe it is its where highway 65 and 52 cross ( about 6 or 7 miles east of boy river). probably not to far from you.

What did those flyers say?

[Trashguy]

Yea Buckkiller you are not to far from us at all. I fish Vermilion just off 65 north of where you are hunting a few miles.

Can't remember what was all in the flier, but I know the same info is on the "Chippewa National Forest" web site. Have been watching it for the last year or more, so I was not to surprised by what I read in the flier. I can find the link if you want me too.

How did you do hunting? We ended up with one 7 pt, (for the 3 of us) but saw very few deer. I bow hunted the same area and again saw very few deer in three weeks of hunting.

Last April/May (looking for mushrooms), I did see the remnants of quite a few deer in our small area that we hunt. Don't know if they were wolf or winter kills though.

I did see a few wolves bow hunting and that is pretty rare for me. Been hunting up there since 1971.

Regards,

Larry