Are you kidding me?

[Alchase]

If you want to get a cost example, here in Oklahoma, I pay $40 a year to access the Honobia Creek and Three Rivers WMAs. They are Wharehouser and Rayonier land.
The two units are about the size from the Columbia to the National Park boundary and from the coast to Hood canal.

[hunter399]

I'm not a big fan of timber company charging access fees , But it is private property.But I think what it boils down to is at the end of the day people will access even if they do have to trespass , so why not just charge a access fee and make a little money anyway ,These timber company's know this and might as well make money,instead of loseing money trying to enforce keeping people out,I don't think they care much about hunting or access , But this is the problem they face in which we benefit through access.

[Fullabull]

I guess everyone could just stop hunting timber lands an d let the elk become a nuisance. Or go hunt out after state and pay almost as much.

[Matth]

I bought access in 2 states this year< and think it was well worth it.

[CAMPMEAT]

I don't see the issue. If you own your own land, you get to make the rules. 

Well, not exactly true. It's debatable whether the fee is "small," but besides that, the only people that get access are those who are online with a high speed internet connection at the designated time, and are able to purchase a permit before they are all gone, which sometimes is only about 3 minutes.

How would you like it if other people dictated to you what you can and can't do with your property?

The government already dictates what a person can and can't do with their property...........all properties.

[Sitka_Blacktail]

Not surprised. $200 is a steal for access to private land for the season.

Yeah, I paid $350 for a Vail key.  This is my last year though due to the amount of *censored*es and poaching.

Not such a steal when you want to hunt one unit for deer and another for elk. Hard enough for most to buy one permit let alone two and when they buy two permits, that just means there are less people hunting when there is a limit on the # of permits sold.  With less people hunting, it actually interfere's with WDF&G's management. Maybe someone bought a permit for an area they want to hunt muzzleloader early season in, and still have a tag but that unit isn't open for late season? They still have a license and tag, but are shut out of late season for lack of an access permit. 

Personally, I wouldn't mind the fee if I could hunt any Weyerhauser property with a permit. But being locked into one unit really isn't worth it from what I see.  I've bought the permit for two years, but next year I am saving the money and hunting out of state. That's two licenses and deer and elk tags (my son and I) Washington won't be selling next year, plus draw fees.

[Stein]

Not surprised. $200 is a steal for access to private land for the season.

Yeah, I paid $350 for a Vail key.  This is my last year though due to the amount of *censored*es and poaching.

Not such a steal when you want to hunt one unit for deer and another for elk. Hard enough for most to buy one permit let alone two and when they buy two permits, that just means there are less people hunting when there is a limit on the # of permits sold.  With less people hunting, it actually interfere's with WDF&G's management. Maybe someone bought a permit for an area they want to hunt muzzleloader early season in, and still have a tag but that unit isn't open for late season? They still have a license and tag, but are shut out of late season for lack of an access permit. 

Personally, I wouldn't mind the fee if I could hunt any Weyerhauser property with a permit. But being locked into one unit really isn't worth it from what I see.  I've bought the permit for two years, but next year I am saving the money and hunting out of state. That's two licenses and deer and elk tags (my son and I) Washington won't be selling next year, plus draw fees.

   I came to the same conclusion, save the money and hunt in MT, ID or WY.  For what I pay, I can have much better opportunities.

For what it is worth, farmers have tax breaks on their land as well as churches and a host of others that don't allow free access for recreation.  I get why people are upset for having to pay not insignificant amounts for what used to be free, but it is what it is.

[Axle]

Were it not for people going in and dumping appliances and roofing shingles, there probably wouldn't be any gates or fees.

[treefarmer]

Thought I stumbled into a topic From 2014.   Are we still debating this issue?  Pay for access is a done deal and here to stay.  Either pay the fee or hunt public ground.  Either way get off the road and you’ll be fine.  ( except for wolves and hoof rot)  also it’s a timber tax deferral that is paid at the time for harvest, you pay minimal taxes for the years growing the timber then pay a sizable chunk upon harvest   

[nocken n notchen]

i  still think its a bunch of *censored*  they own the trees not the land the land is own bye us the united states all tax payers pay for this now we all bitch know when they know they can get more cash out of us its kind of how the tribes feel im sure and know its hitting all us if we dont watch it it will be all  sold to china to pay the goverments det and so called private land owners cant pay the workers them enough  but give them keys to hunt so called private  land  when we got to walk threw the gates or ride  us the tax payers and yes there paying there *censored* too but come on make it all the same you hike in ten miles and it takes 20min or so to drive not stoping at all clear cuts in some spots lookig for some hoof disease elk that nobody can fix is *censored* we talk to some private land owner workers they said there not coming back to hunt im glad to here  that thay dont have  generation of all the hard hitting hunters that hunted in them woods lot of us do so f.... ill bye one permit and walk in from the top in to a walk in only thats been that way for a while and they cant find elk rd hunters but we all been paying lets fix the elk cancer and forget whos getting rich and fix the proublem ive heard wfg  screwed up again and destroyed 10 more or so percent of the elk in st helens  then they wanted its less then 70 precent know and was a good stack of elk im sure they will blame it on winter  kill and hoof disease maybe to much on my mind

[CAMPMEAT]

i  still think its a bunch of *censored*  they own the trees not the land the land is own bye us the united states all tax payers pay for this now we all bitch know when they know they can get more cash out of us its kind of how the tribes feel im sure and know its hitting all us if we dont watch it it will be all  sold to china to pay the goverments det and so called private land owners cant pay the workers them enough  but give them keys to hunt so called private  land  when we got to walk threw the gates or ride  us the tax payers and yes there paying there *censored* too but come on make it all the same you hike in ten miles and it takes 20min or so to drive not stoping at all clear cuts in some spots lookig for some hoof disease elk that nobody can fix is *censored* we talk to some private land owner workers they said there not coming back to hunt im glad to here  that thay dont have  generation of all the hard hitting hunters that hunted in them woods lot of us do so f.... ill bye one permit and walk in from the top in to a walk in only thats been that way for a while and they cant find elk rd hunters but we all been paying lets fix the elk cancer and forget whos getting rich and fix the proublem ive heard wfg  screwed up again and destroyed 10 more or so percent of the elk in st helens  then they wanted its less then 70 precent know and was a good stack of elk im sure they will blame it on winter  kill and hoof disease maybe to much on my mind

HUH !

[GoldenRing270]

This is why we need to fight to keep all the public land we currently have out of private hands and acquire as much new public land as possible. Folks may disagree with how the forest service manages the land but hunting and fishing opportunities are free and endless and if the land were privately managed the focus would be about removing resources to make money. Hunting and fishing opportunities would be expensive or disappear altogether. If the national forest were transferred to the state they would not have enough money to manage it and they would slowly sell it off to the private sector. Sportsman need to do everything in their power to prevent this from happening.

[Gringo31]

HUH !

 

[jackelope]

This is why we need to fight to keep all the public land we currently have out of private hands and acquire as much new public land as possible. Folks may disagree with how the forest service manages the land but hunting and fishing opportunities are free and endless and if the land were privately managed the focus would be about removing resources to make money. Hunting and fishing opportunities would be expensive or disappear altogether. If the national forest were transferred to the state they would not have enough money to manage it and they would slowly sell it off to the private sector. Sportsman need to do everything in their power to prevent this from happening.

THIS!!!!

[jackmaster]

I'll never understand why people complain about this.  It's private property. At least they give you the option to access it at all.  Am I missing something? Man...what would it be like if they didn't give access at all?
It's private property.....

ITS PRIVATE LAND!! If you have a few hundred acres that holds some quality hunting let us all know so we can come hunt for free, since you against charging a fee and all