Dummy camps in the Colockum

[full choke]

I really want to respond to this thread- but I am heading out the door to go set up my duck decoys for the opener on the 13th... ain't nobody gonna beat me to my spot this year!

[Naches Sportsman]

I can say the biggest thing we can do as hunters is start coming together and working to solve the dummy camp issue. Reservation system? The state and federal agencies don't have the money and or time to solve this issue alone and we can make good headway by forming an organization to self police laws and educate people on what is right. If you want to leave a camp up more than the allowed stay, do it legally and apply for a special use permit.

[Bucks2Ducks]

I can say the biggest thing we can do as hunters is start coming together and working to solve the dummy camp issue. Reservation system? The state and federal agencies don't have the money and or time to solve this issue alone and we can make good headway by forming an organization to self police laws and educate people on what is right. If you want to leave a camp up more than the allowed stay, do it legally and apply for a special use permit.

You really want to have to reserve a camping spot on public land? How about nobody set up dummy camps. One government employee could go around and get 100 of them in a week, how many of those hunters would set one up the following year?

[Naches Sportsman]

I can say the biggest thing we can do as hunters is start coming together and working to solve the dummy camp issue. Reservation system? The state and federal agencies don't have the money and or time to solve this issue alone and we can make good headway by forming an organization to self police laws and educate people on what is right. If you want to leave a camp up more than the allowed stay, do it legally and apply for a special use permit.

You really want to have to reserve a camping spot on public land? How about nobody set up dummy camps. One government employee could go around and get 100 of them in a week, how many of those hunters would set one up the following year?

It comes down to the lack of funding in the long run as there's no money for any folks to be enforcing dispersed camping rules as their main Job PD. Yes, I do think reservation systems for hunting season in popular dispersed sites could be beneficial to recoup some of the costs of enforcement, education, and cleanup after hunters.

If I decide to stay in the field and move high up the chain, I will push for  a pass you have to buy to camp in dispersed areas with all that money going to a general fund to pay for staff. It has been studied and discussed before by some people, but on a drainage to drainage basis. I have brought the idea to people high up in the agency and some I have talked to have said it may come down to that eventually.

[Oh Mah]

Where and when will the restrictions and taxing of hunters end?We pay enough with less and less opportunity,Why would a fellow hunter push for more cost to the hunter? 

[MADMAX]

That sounds like how Weyerhaeuser got started with the access permits

[TriggerMike]

Where and when will the restrictions and taxing of hunters end?We pay enough with less and less opportunity,Why would a fellow hunter push for more cost to the hunter? 

They wouldn't. And I definitely wouldn't support it either. I believe this problem is solved when people start obeying the existing laws and start having more respect for their fellow sportsmen and public land users. We need more DNR officers, not fees and taxes. But that's probably a catch 22 at this point.

[TriggerMike]

I can say the biggest thing we can do as hunters is start coming together and working to solve the dummy camp issue. Reservation system? The state and federal agencies don't have the money and or time to solve this issue alone and we can make good headway by forming an organization to self police laws and educate people on what is right. If you want to leave a camp up more than the allowed stay, do it legally and apply for a special use permit.

You really want to have to reserve a camping spot on public land? How about nobody set up dummy camps. One government employee could go around and get 100 of them in a week, how many of those hunters would set one up the following year?

 

[Fl0und3rz]

This topic comes up every year or two.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,79102.0.html

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,157983.0.html

I can't see it getting any better as fees as ratcheted up and fewer opportunities or perceived opportunities as the predator problems rise.

Ugh, WA.

[ghosthunter]

I am not for any more fees for public lands use. And I like the way it is in the NF now.

I think the dummy camp thing could be reined in with the use of trained volunteers.
And some public awareness programs. 

I would not intentionally set up on someone if I knew they were there every year.

But lots of times we have changed gmu to hunt a different area. Most spots show signs that someone camped there before. No way to know what season or if they will be back.
I wouldn’t take kindly to being threatened by someone thinking they owned a spot.
We have never been bothered by anyone but we have a large presence when we set up camp.

[bullfisher]

I can only speak for the modern seasons in the naneum, but if someone thinks they're just gonna show up there for their fist time and claim a big camp with a tent they will be moved or they will have to join one of the cults! 

[Highhuntin]

Anyone that is camped there had to show up for a first time... first time I hunted there we camped in a spot that was about the right size for out tent and rig, next year there was someone there... how dare them! we took a different place down the road and did just fine 

Yes I agree that people setting up dummy camps is not cool and it is illegal, not sure how it should be handled I never pay much attention to others camps as to if it may be a dummy or not. I sleep in the back of my truck most times so I don't take up much space.

[hunterofelk]

Then there are the hunters that get bent out of shape because you are hunting a spot they've been hunting for years.

[deerhunter_98520]

Glad I hunt the Westside 

[buggy]

I am definitely opposed to any more fees. I think they have more than enough money it is just very poorly managed. Just like the wildlife in this state. WDFW as well as most government agencies across the country are made up of a bunch of decent hardworking people that care about their job with a handful of slugs that care about nothing other than their salary and their retirement plan. Somehow the slugs seem to find their way to the top and we all know how that turns out. Every time funding gets tight they dream up another tax or fee instead of figuring out a better way to manage the money or fix the problem. It's like trying to pump blood into a bleeding pig. You might keep it alive for a little while but its gonna die eventually if you don't plug the hole.

Rant over. Sorry you had to read that but yes I do feel better now. Thanks for asking.