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thoughts on new coconino road rules

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It seems like there is a bunch of lazy whiners on here. So what the road into your favorite spot is closed. Park your truck and walk in. Judging by how many lazy hunters there are based on the comments, you wont have much competition if you walk. And the 30 ft camping rule applies to your vehicles and trailers, not to your camp itself. Carry your tent and gear further from the road, its not hard. And if its your toy hauler you are worried about having close to the road, dust shouldn't be an issue anyway, those things are made to be towed behind vehicles, so they should be dust proof.

 

Some of you guys just seem to want to whine and cry about this. Can you please tell me what's stopping you from using your legs? Lord knows with americas obeisity problem some of you could probably benefit from the the extra excercise.

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nothing by me was said about being lazy. I hike my rear off from sun up to sundown on every hunt I go on and not only do I hunt but we like to drive around and look at the beauty in the forrest. my father who recently passed was handicapped and walking (let alone hiking ) wasn't an option. he loved being outdoors. once again I agree with some closures but feel the amount of closures was excessive. and I feel their education about the closures needs improvement.

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The more I look at these FS road restrictions they seem like more anti-dispersed camping regulations than anything else. Though the Coconino does seem to have the most road closures, of the four NF's that have published their maps.

My initial anger over all this has subsided for now. I have a few spots that I like to hunt in unit 8 that are going to be an extra hour or so hike. But like others have said, hopefully that will mean I'll have less competition. I say that tongue-in-cheek because I know there will still be guys zooming past me on quads while I'm being a good guy and playing by the rules.

However, my dads favorite places in 6a and 5a are now out of reach for a man of his age and physical limitations. Im sure this wont make him too happy soon as I get my hard copy of the Coc map Ill have to go over it with him.

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It seems like there is a bunch of lazy whiners on here. So what the road into your favorite spot is closed. Park your truck and walk in. Judging by how many lazy hunters there are based on the comments, you wont have much competition if you walk. And the 30 ft camping rule applies to your vehicles and trailers, not to your camp itself. Carry your tent and gear further from the road, its not hard. And if its your toy hauler you are worried about having close to the road, dust shouldn't be an issue anyway, those things are made to be towed behind vehicles, so they should be dust proof.

 

Some of you guys just seem to want to whine and cry about this. Can you please tell me what's stopping you from using your legs? Lord knows with americas obeisity problem some of you could probably benefit from the the extra excercise.

 

I am just gonna take a guess here but ill bet your pretty young and have never thought about getting older and how that will effect the way you enjoy the outdoors. If my granfather were still alive, these new laws would have severly impacted hunting for him. Older folks and people who are disabled like to use the woods too. Someday all to soon you wont be young and mobile like you are today. Ill bet you think now that all these roads are closed that you are gonna have the woods to yourself. I think you are in for a surprise. People are still gonna ride atvs were ever they feel like it. Always have always will.

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Its not just about driving to your spot, or camping next to the road. There are lots of people that need firewood to stay warm in the winter. Where I live you either burn firewood, or pay for propane to be hauled in, which is unaffordable to many. The new rules are just causing good, honest people to have to decide on what they have to do to provide for their families. How can you say that is fair? Are dead trees in the forest considered renewable natural resources? I could argue this point on and on, but I just wanted to point out the fact that there are livelihoods directly affected by these new rules.

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I understand the concerns regarding people that have physical disabilities, and it is unfortunate, but thats part of being disabled. Should they really be able to drive wherever they want just because they cannot walk? No one is saying they cannot go in the national forests any more, its just certain roads within the forest, no different as if there was not a road there to begin with. Some of our most beautiful country in the state is only accessible via hiking trails, under your thinking we should construct roads to all these places so disabled people can see them too.

 

I understand that as I get older my hunting opportunities will become more and more limited due to mobility. That doesn't mean they should do things to accomodate me just because I can no longer get around like I used to. Some older hunters can no longer walk to remote canyons that hold the biggest bulls/bucks, should we make a road so they can? Some older hunters can no longer walk to a ground blind at a waterhole, should we make a wheelchair ramp to get to it?

Look getting old sucks, but its a fact of life. We all have an expiration date, and we all reach an age where we can no longer do the things we love. Just like a pfo football player has to stop playing the game when age/injuries catch up to them. You don't see them changing the rules of the NFL to allow older players to use golf carts to get around on the field do you? Why should hunting be any different?

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Re: anthonymathews

 

What is stopping those people from walking to retrieve their firewood. Why is it that I always see where woodcutters drove several hundred yards off road. And created huge deep ruts that won't go away for many years, just to get closer to their firewood? Should they just be able to do whatever they want because they need it to survive? That makes no sense. They should still have to play by the same rules as everyone else. If they can't afford to pay for fuel to heat their home then maybe they need to explore alternatives and/ or make different life choices. That kind of mentality that you stated is the same line of thinking that got us into this socialized healthcare mess. I don't agree that someone should be able to drive all through the forest gathering wood because their family might get cold, its a privilege that they can gather wood instead of propane not a right.

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How's that? I gave my opinion and provided examples and reasons for my opinion, you are the one resorting to name calling. You didn't do any thing to discount or disprove my side of the discussion, just called me ignorant. You want to give some obscure reason the road closures is unfair to tug at peoples heart strings that's fine, but you should be better prepared to back up your opinion when you state it.

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Obviously you are being ignorant of this whole thing and I'm not going to argue with you...

 

 

+ 1 He also lives in Scottsdale so heating his house is not something he has to worry about too often.

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I apologize for that statement. I also took offense to your statement on "my type of thinking". Just as there are people that are not capable of hiking into hunting spots, there are people that can't carry cords of firewood out either. That is not tugging at anybody's heart strings. Its a fact that these new rules directly affect peoples livelihoods.

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That's true, but I guarantee you my monthly ac bills are higher in the summer, than what someone is spending to heat their home. Also no one says they have to live where they do, its a choice. They could also choose to head down the hill and not pay to heat their homes but instead pay for ac in the summer like I do. It's all trade offs and opportunity costs.

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I apologize for that statement. I also took offense to your statement on "my type of thinking". Just as there are people that are not capable of hiking into hunting spots, there are people that can't carry cords of firewood out either. That is not tugging at anybody's heart strings. Its a fact that these new rules directly affect peoples livelihoods.

 

I acknowledge that it will affect people's livliehoods, change usually does. I'm just saying there are alternatives. The forest service isn't saying they can no longer get fuel wood, just that it may be tougher. Do you feel that its ok to just allow those people to drive off road and go wherever they want to get wood? I can take you to some spots in the kaibab forest where they have created numerous roads some several miles long in the pursuit of firewood. Is that fair to the rest of us who like to enjoy the forest for them to tear it up, just because they need to stay warm?

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Actually, I feel that its unfair to everybody that these new rules were created in the first place. I do believe that the same people that caused the problems will be the same people passing us on closed roads when we are hiking in.

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It seems like there is a bunch of lazy whiners on here. So what the road into your favorite spot is closed. Park your truck and walk in. Judging by how many lazy hunters there are based on the comments, you wont have much competition if you walk. And the 30 ft camping rule applies to your vehicles and trailers, not to your camp itself. Carry your tent and gear further from the road, its not hard. And if its your toy hauler you are worried about having close to the road, dust shouldn't be an issue anyway, those things are made to be towed behind vehicles, so they should be dust proof.

 

Some of you guys just seem to want to whine and cry about this. Can you please tell me what's stopping you from using your legs? Lord knows with americas obeisity problem some of you could probably benefit from the the extra excercise.

yep anyone that disagrees is a lazy whiner! based on anyone who commented we are all lazy hunters! maybe you should think before you type. I think it will benefit the game animals but the restrictions are a bit too much. like stated already they should have enforced the laws they had in place. I don't have a quad so most of my hunting is done in the back of my truck with my roll bar recliner.... j/k of course.

It will make some of the stock tanks and dirt tanks that are near what will now be hiking trails a lot better barring the occasional jerk that doesn't follow rules anyway. those jerks will always drive cross country where prohibited! they should confiscate their quads or whatever vehicle they used!

the 30ft rule is a joke and you know it!

 

James

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