Cougar on camera and another camera stolen!(updated)

[turkeyfeather]

I would also like to know what you guys do with cameras and stands you take down for "the right reasons" .

[shredneck666]

This is where things could get messy and why I didn't want to jump into this pile of ... of a thread.  I don't know for fact, so I can't be quoted here, but if something is 'left' on F.S. land and there not identifiable info, it is considered abandoned property.  I don't know how often this happens, the finding of trail cameras in a unit that is up to be burnt.  This is first time I have heard of this.  Don't know about cameras being put back?  If I had to guess, I would say no.  This is why I agree with the name and number in the camera or on your treestand, so contact can be made and property can be recovered by the owner, but again this is pure speculation.

The government gets a bad rap.  I will be the first to admit that it probably should, for many things.  But not all.  The actual people who work at all of your local Forest Service offices and in the woods are the same everyone else, we all have flaws and imperfections.

The Forest Service employees where you live are not the bad guys, they are out there trying to make the forest they manage and better place.  They, not all of them, but most of them, love the forests they work in and are a part of.

[turkeyfeather]

So there is no policy that its to be removed and you guys consider it abandoned therefore giving those without morals the right to take it. That sounds pretty much like what everyone thought.

[christopheri]

I have to agree with putting your name and number on the inside of your cam. I have mine on all of my cams. A a thief isnt going to call you but the FS or DNR will if they have to remove it.

[shredneck666]

Boy you guys have a lot of hate here?  I dont get it.  I also said to not quote me.  call you local office on whichever land management agency you wish to put a camera on and ask them, ie dont hate before you educate yourself.  if you dont like the policy they give you then you can spew your frustrations, but if you are uninformed then you have now right.

Also, just like i said, not everyone is honest and ya I imagine that some of these items may get taken, by government employees, but no more so that non government employees so is there really any difference? 

[christopheri]

So there is no policy that its to be removed and you guys consider it abandoned therefore giving those without morals the right to take it. That sounds pretty much like what everyone thought.

FS land, if property is left over 14 days then it is considered abandond and will be removed.  I dont agree with it becuase I have always be taught to not touch what isnt mine without permission. However in this case it seems like they were just doing the guy a favor. They probably wont help anyone out after all this thieving talk...

[pendoreilleadventures]

I don't hate ive just had well over a thousand dollars worth of cams,treestands, and blinds stole over the years so to me its guilty until proven innocence... hunt has had cams there for over 4 years with not a single human on his cams what do you think he is.going to do?

If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck well you know? Then to find out a forest service employee took it down knowing that it wasn't his and there would be no way for the owner of the cam to recover it...how is that not theft?

So if I go to a Forest service campground I can just take anyone's stuff I want if they don't have their contact info? Would that be theft Damn right it would be...

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[TheHunt]

Hmmm, After reading this... You would have been lucky to get your camera back either way.  Now,  I am with the FS dude lots of people throwing him under the bus with not fully understanding the situation.  Next time let it burn and not say a word.  Call it casualty of camera in the woods.   

[turkeyfeather]

Boy you guys have a lot of hate here?  I dont get it.  I also said to not quote me.  call you local office on whichever land management agency you wish to put a camera on and ask them, ie dont hate before you educate yourself.  if you dont like the policy they give you then you can spew your frustrations, but if you are uninformed then you have now right.

Also, just like i said, not everyone is honest and ya I imagine that some of these items may get taken, by government employees, but no more so that non government employees so is there really any difference? 

I'm not hating and have no idea where you get that. Just stating that it appears that what everyone thought had happened very well could have been the case. That's not hating that's stating the facts you may not like it but it's still the fact's.

[shredneck666]

pay campgrounds are different and yes that would be theft because they are paying customers, essentially renting space for a specified time period.

I understand the frustration of having my stuff stolen.  I dont understand all the hate towards innocent people.  It reminds me of burning 'withces' at the stake, or lynch mobs killing people for no factual reason.

We have all had cams stolen.  I look at my cams as an investment and I secure them to the tree as best as possible so they can not be removed easily.  I try to protect my investment.  I look at it like this, If I were to ride my bike into town and go into the movie theater to watch a movie, do i feel comfortable to just leave my bike on public property, i.e. the side walk and trust that some A'hole isn't going to ride it away?  No that would be too much faith in humanity, would it not?

I treat my trail cams the same way, if the wrong person comes across it, it will be gone.  yes i understand that it is in the woods, but we all run into people who go into the woods who are suspect and we would assume that if they came across my camera they would take it. So, I expect to lose cameras from time to time.  You cant fight a war without getting people killed.
I chain my treestand to the tree.  I protect my investment.  It is my responsilbilty I feel to protect my investments.  I worked hard for them

[dscubame]

100 percent with huntnnw on this one.  Also feel he has posted with much respect and handled this well from beginning to current. 

In addition I do not see the bashing or under the bus throwing that a few are referring too. 

Interesting thread with even more interesting and some far reaching attempts to make a wrong into a right.

[turkeyfeather]

Shredneck, you have already said that there are some of those that work for the forest service that are likely dishonest and would take a camera. That is no different than what others here are saying. So if they are saying the same thing you are why get your feathers ruffled over it.

[shredneck666]

I am simply saying that not all people are honest people. why do the guys who were in the pics have to be pointed at and saying they are liars and thieves, when in fact they are not.  my feathers are ruffled because of finger pointing, I think it is idiotic unless you have all the facts.  I don't, you don't, no one really does. so why bash?

[turkeyfeather]

But as it turns out they were part of the group that was responsible for the camera going missing. So in a sense HuntNW was right about posting the pics of the people he believed were responsible.

[shredneck666]

I guess that is one way to look at it, did they steal it?  Did they lie about it? Are they guilty? who am i to judge?