BSK
Well-Known Member
DeerCamp's thread on the Meateater podcast, and the follow-up posts about Matt's arguments has me considering this problem. Without question, out West this is a huge issue. But even here in TN it's an issue. I keep seeing TNdeer member after member talking about how they're losing access to hunting land. Some of it is due to suburbanization of areas that used to be rural. Honestly, I see absolutely no recourse for this. More and more people want to live outside of urban centers and want to live a more rural or at the least, suburban life. This is not going to change, although at some point you would think we would reach a saturation level of suburbs.
The one major problem perhaps we could address is the locking up of large areas of land into "high-dollar" leases and clubs. In the past, timber companies used to own hundreds of thousands of acres of TN that were accessible to hunters for a $10-20 permit. However, many of those lands have been sold off. And many of those lands have been sold off into chunks that all become personal hunting preserves, which does not help the overcrowding issue. I know this because I work for a lot of these new landowners that bought their own 300 to 1,000-acre chunks of this once publicly accessible land. My family did this very thing many years ago - we bought a nice chunk of land specifically for hunting access and control. But what is the answer to this in a free market capitalist society? How do you entice a farmer or rancher NOT to lease their land to outfitters or clubs that will definitely take better care of the land than if it was open to the public? Those lease fees can be a nice addition in income, AND the landowner knows the property will be respected and cared for.
Ideas?
The one major problem perhaps we could address is the locking up of large areas of land into "high-dollar" leases and clubs. In the past, timber companies used to own hundreds of thousands of acres of TN that were accessible to hunters for a $10-20 permit. However, many of those lands have been sold off. And many of those lands have been sold off into chunks that all become personal hunting preserves, which does not help the overcrowding issue. I know this because I work for a lot of these new landowners that bought their own 300 to 1,000-acre chunks of this once publicly accessible land. My family did this very thing many years ago - we bought a nice chunk of land specifically for hunting access and control. But what is the answer to this in a free market capitalist society? How do you entice a farmer or rancher NOT to lease their land to outfitters or clubs that will definitely take better care of the land than if it was open to the public? Those lease fees can be a nice addition in income, AND the landowner knows the property will be respected and cared for.
Ideas?