az4life Report post Posted July 28, 2004 Keith I think your prediction of where this might lead is a high probability. The beginning of the end of the good old days. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rembrant Report post Posted August 24, 2004 I know a guy that has an early rifle bull tag in unit 10. He just told me that the group of ranchers that were threatening to close access to and through their ranches/leases just did that Friday. Just in time for the archery antelope hunt, with archery deer and elk close behind. These ranchers blame the department for mismanaging wildlife (what we sportsmen would call fabulous elk management), and for damage done to their equipment by hunters (WHO I CALL NON-SERIOUS HUNTERS WHO OUGHT TO BE WEEDED OUT OF THE DRAW!). Gee, what do you suppose they will demand for the release of the inocent sportsman they are holding hostage? Time will tell. But I bet you they will screw all the guys that have these quality tags this year, just to show everybody their muscle. What leverage! Bet you this: in time they will demand allotted tags for their ranches that they can turn around and sell to the highest bidder. Classic bait and switch: complain about "mismanaging wildlife" and then make a handsome profit from it. Yeah, I'm jumpin ahead a bit - I don't know what they want. What do you think they want? The Boquillas is one of them. There are more closures in 10 as well. I didn't re-read this string to remind myself of how many ranches are in cahoots here. I'm thinking 17? Over several units. I can hardly wait to see how some of you guys creativly bash and blame the game dept for this one. What are they guilty of here? Too many elk? Or, they should have squashed this one already in court, after getting the letter 2 months ago? This is a despicable act by these greedy ranchers, and even though there is some truth in their complaint, their only justification is self-justification. Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DesertBull Report post Posted August 24, 2004 There is plenty of public land in Unit 10 and all other units. Screw'em. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rembrant Report post Posted August 24, 2004 Wish it was that simple. Yeah, tons of public land, state and BLM, all checkerboarded with private. The problem with what these ranchers are doing (and it beats the snot out of me how they can legally pull this off) is that they don't own all the land they are denying access to. They close off a public road where it goes through a piece of private land. This happens a lot in unit 32. There are ranches where the private land may only be a half mile deep. They lock and sign the gate at the front of their property. Behind this small piece of locked up private property the same road continues through at least 40 sq miles of Forest Service land which is backed up by wilderness. There is no back way in. This F.S. land may be leased by the ranch but not owned by them - yet they deny access! The same kind of thing is happening now up north. The ranchers are locking up their leases where the public road goes through private land. The Boquillas has massive amounts of connected private land, but even this ranch has state trust land checkered within it. The National Forest in unit 10 isn't even a tenth of the total area. There are more Archery tags than ever - 150 bull and 100 cow, and then the non-resident bonus tags on top of that. I hope everybody can find a place to hunt. I don't know the extent of the closures, but even if just the big Boquillas is closed, it'll adversley change the hunt. Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
.270 Report post Posted August 25, 2004 i still say taulman is involved in this. guess we'll know someday. but i'd bet a coke on it. Lark. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rembrant Report post Posted August 25, 2004 Maybe I'm just blowin smoke. I called the Flag G&F office to get the skinny and they referred me to the Kingman office. I called the Kingman office and they said they didn't know anything about it and gave me the # to the Navajo Nation. called the Nation and they bounced me around until a lady tod me that the guy that would know is on the road till next Tuesday. Nobody seems to know or to be very excited about it. I hate to think that the early hunt tag holders will get an unpleasant surprise when they get out there. I hope this was bad information and it will all go away. Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
.270 Report post Posted August 25, 2004 just when we go and get us a good controversy goin' with rumor and inuendo, you go and spoil it with facts. like the game and fish always says, "facts? we don't need stinkin' facts". hunt on, Lark. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef Report post Posted August 30, 2004 I really hope I'm wrong on this, heard today that most of the Boquillas ranch in unit 10 is CLOSED. Heard the fences are being marked in a joint decision between the ranchers and the Navajo Nation. I smell a rat. Chef Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
