what classifies wilderness area

jtm307

Active Member
Jan 12, 2016
165
6
Wyoming
I saw this a long time ago.

Time = Money
Women = Time * Money
Women = Money^2
Money = Root of All Evil
Women = (Root of All Evil)^2
Women = All Evil

Kindof funny, but there aren't many women in the Wyoming legislature, so I don't know how it applies here.
Two negatives multiplied makes a positive, so really, negative women are the root of all evil. ;)
 

mntnguide

Very Active Member
Non-residents really dont seem to understand that Outfitters are the biggest supporter of their hunting rights and abilities in most states. How do outfitters make a living....off residents?..NOOOO. But yet non-residents are the first to bash outfitters when something is there they dont like. Guess what, the law has been around for well over 30+ years, and it benefits ALL residents just as much as any outfitter. If you hate the law, then go hunt Idaho, Montana, Colorado etc... there is ample national forest/BLM/State in WY that anyone can hunt. Just because it is called wilderness doesnt mean it is better hunting. Opening day in the areas i used to guide in sure never felt like wilderness, hunters upon hunters all over every mountain 10-20 miles from the trailhead, Id hate to see what it would look like if all the Utards could start coming up here on their own. So im all for the law as a DIY Wy resident hunter. . Basically this issue gets brought up over and over all year long every year on every forum, Yes it is a Shi**y law for non-residents, but it is a law and has been forever so get over it and go hunting as there is ample places to do so.
 

Tim McCoy

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Dec 15, 2014
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At least NR's have great opportunities to draw WY tags. Ya, the wilderness thing sucks. Oregon does not have the wilderness rule, but does have very low NR quotas. I know which system I prefer.
 

kidoggy

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Apr 23, 2016
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if one doesn't like how one state treats non res, feel free to visit another state
 

mustang8

Active Member
Jan 30, 2017
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Central WI
This fall will be the first time hunting Wyoming, I think the bigger problem than the Wilderness area is the amount of land that outfitters are leasing up and essentially land locking large portions of public hunting areas. That I don't think is fair and not ok for Res or NonRes.
 

JimP

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Mar 28, 2016
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The only areas that I know that a outfitter can lease out and keep other out of is private land. You can also throw in the school trust lands but I am not sure on the laws concerning them in Wyoming.
 

mustang8

Active Member
Jan 30, 2017
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Central WI
The only areas that I know that a outfitter can lease out and keep other out of is private land. You can also throw in the school trust lands but I am not sure on the laws concerning them in Wyoming.
Correct, they lease up the land that surrounds public land and walla, essentially the public land is gone because you and I cant even get the ok form a rancher to cross their property to access the public. Ive talked to wardens out there and it is really peeing them off.
 

JimP

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Mar 28, 2016
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Don't blame just the outfitters, the private landowners could do the same thing and usually do.

It is then up to the Forest Service or BLM to arrange access through these properties. Usually there is another route to get into the areas that are blocked off. We have the same problem in Colorado and there is a whole mountain that is on Forest Service property that all access is blocked by private. But I also know of area that there is private in the bottom that blocks the access but there are other ways into the area. They are a lot longer and time consuming but there are ways into it.
 

mustang8

Active Member
Jan 30, 2017
284
72
Central WI
The boat thing is legal, I talked to wardens about that, but without being a local its pretty hard to tell if that is a feasible option or if your just wasting your time.
 

JimP

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Mar 28, 2016
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Jim, if foot travel is blocked or land-locked, then the only options are fly or boat...correct?
Pretty much unless you want to pay the outfitter or landowner for access. Boating could be a option but there is a piece of ground in Utah that is locked up because of a "Wilderness" area in Colorado. The only access to it is through the wilderness and you can't drive through it so you have a 10 mile hike to get to it. You could boat across the Colorado River but that could get expensive. Flying is a bad option since most states have a 48 hour no hunting clause in their regulations or even more.

Usually when you run up on these kind of problems it is just better to surrender and find another place to hunt. At least that is what I have done. Where I hunt you don't get hassled by outfitters or landowners or people that think that they own the land. You can actually enjoy the hunt.
 

BuzzH

Very Active Member
Apr 15, 2015
910
953
Lots of things getting tossed around on this thread...I know the answers to some of the things being asked.

As to flying into landlocked Forest Service...not legal unless to an established air strip.

BLM you can fly into, but if you're planning on landing OFF an established road, contact the local BLM office for details and let them know exactly what your intentions are.

In the case of landlocked BLM, State, and FS, it absolutely is NOT the job of those agencies to find legal public access to it.

Wyoming does not have any waiting period before you can hunt after using an aircraft to be transported into either BLM or State lands. But, its illegal between August 15 and January 31 to use aircraft (drones included) to scout from during that time frame. Nothing preventing the use of aircraft to access landlocked parcels though. Myself and a good Friend worked on the aircraft/drone issue here with the WYGF to ensure the regulation mirrored existing statute.

State lands in Wyoming are 100% legal to hunt as long as they are accessible or you have permission to cross private to reach them. Outfitters can not hold an exclusive lease to State lands in Wyoming. The one closure exception on State lands in Wyoming is in regard to safety, where excessive resource damage is occurring, or on State land that is in a cultivated fields. WYBHA is currently working on trying to gain foot only access for seasonal hunting on the cultivated State lands.

Another thing that hunters should look into is that under some BLM RMP's there are sections that deal with appointing committees to look into access to landlocked blocks of BLM. It would make sense to ask the BLM to form these committees if they haven't, and also to volunteer to serve on them. In some cases, past RMP's have identified landowners willing to set up some kind of easement to landlocked pieces, but the committees never form, and other pressing things take priority.

I think there are opportunities squandered to work with landowners to find easements into landlocked BLM, FS, and State lands. May take some $$$, but long-term benefits of a perpetual easement would be well worth it.

Of course, in some areas, it wouldn't work, has to be a willing landowner and some aren't interested in allowing an easement. In fairness, hunters aren't very pro-active either...we need to start trying to work together to find/fund easements if we want access. For too long, we've all expected others to carry our water on these issues.
 

nv-hunter

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Feb 28, 2011
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In the case of landlocked BLM, State, and FS, it absolutely is NOT the job of those agencies to find legal public access to it.

It is their responsibility to gain access to these lands not only for the public benefit but to be able to insure public lands are not being used improperly. Bad trades and land swaps has allow this to happen in many areas not too mention the fact that lots of times deeded access is locked for so many years is forgotten that its public access.
 

JimP

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I didn't say that the Forest Service or BLM needed to find access but meant that if anyone could gain access to the locked off lands then they might do it.

I also agree that hunters sometimes are their own worst enemies when it comes to getting across private land. They usually show up a few days before the season starts to try and gain that access. Perhaps if they showed up a few months beforehand it might work better for them. I know that of the dozens of times that I have asked a landowner for access to a area I have only been turned down a couple of times. And one of those times it was a outfitter that I talked to and not the landowner and he was a a-hole to everyone.