Post by: fireweed on July 26, 2013, 09:16:03 AM
July 18, 2013 5:55 pm • By Tom Paulu / The Daily News
Access to Weyerhaeuser’s property around Longview won’t change for the upcoming hunting seasons, though the company is moving to a fee permit system to the north.
Weyerhaeuser has started a limited-entry permit system on its Vail Tree Farm in eastern Lewis and Thurston counties, and company lands near the west Lewis County town of Pe Ell.
On the 155,000-acre Vail Tree Farm, all motorized and non-motorized access will require a permit from Aug. 1 through Dec. 31. A maximum of 750 permits were available; all have been sold, according to the company’s website.
On 118,000 acres of Weyerhauser’s Pe Ell Tree Farm, 650 permits were offered for $200 each. As of Thursday, 19 permits were available.
An advantage for permit holders is that Weyco will allow them to camp out on its property, something that is no longer allowed on the St. Helens Tree Farm.
The company also accepted bids for leases for five parcels. High bidders get year-round exclusive recreational use of the lease area and expanded camping privileges, and ATV use is often allowed.
Company spokesman Anthony Chavez said that access to St. Helens Tree Farm, which includes much of the land between Kelso and Mount St. Helens, won’t change this year. The company owns 420,000 acres around Longview and Kelso.
The company allows non-motorized access to its Longview-area land except during times of high fire danger. During major hunting seasons, Weyerhaeuser opens many of its gates for daytime hunter access.
Chavez said the company will evaluate the success of the Vail and Pe Ell tree farm access policies before deciding whether to continue or expand them. “I don’t want to speculate” about whether the fee access program could be introduced on the St. Helens Tree Farm in the future, he said.
Chavez noted that access rules aren’t the same across Weyerhaeuser’s Washington tree farms.
“We want to keep our lands open to the general public, but it’s become increasingly challenging and costly in recent years,” Chavez said, citing vandalism and garbage dumping.
Chavez said going to a permit system allows the company to police those areas better.
“And it’s a chance to create an additional revenue stream that offsets the costs of keeping our lands open,” he said.
Chavez said there’s some confusion about the fact that Weyerhaeuser’s permits are valid for spouses, children and grandchildren in addition to the permit holder.
Rayonier, which also has a permit system for its Fossil Creek property in Pacific County, requires a separate permit for each hunter.
This year, the cost of Rayonier permits jumped to $375, and the company announced that children under 18 wouldn’t be granted permits. However, the company is re-evaluating its no-children policy; as of Thursday, permits were not available on its website.
Post by: Blacktail Sniper on July 26, 2013, 09:39:32 AM
Post by: Bullkllr on July 26, 2013, 09:43:37 AM
Of course they will start charging. And with the other companies fees being so much higher and there being people always willing to pay, they will not stay at the current rates long.
:yeah:
Hopefully, the lease idea will not be the standard operating procedure.
Post by: Special T on July 26, 2013, 01:03:41 PM
Post by: xd2005 on July 26, 2013, 01:53:58 PM
Post by: Yelm hunter on October 11, 2013, 10:45:43 PM
Post by: CplRaines on October 11, 2013, 10:55:33 PM
NO CAMPING on weyco land in st.helens?
Been that way for many years now.
Post by: PolarBear on October 11, 2013, 11:05:03 PM
Post by: fireweed on October 13, 2013, 08:31:12 AM
PS Who is the source.
Post by: Bob33 on October 13, 2013, 09:31:38 AM
We need a $5000 fine for dumping and vandalism. Bonus points for turning in these selfish and derelict slobs that are ruining access to private lands.
Post by: Hunterman on October 13, 2013, 10:03:58 AM
Pay to play folk,, better get use to it if you want to hunt. In a way I'm all for it.
Hunterman(Tony)
Post by: Humptulips on October 13, 2013, 08:07:37 PM
I talked to the guy from Rayonier that is in charge of their pay to hunt program. He sited three instances of dumping and one of theft as why they went to pay to hunt on The Promise Land.
The theft was damage done to logging equipment in the course of stealing scrap metal ( batteries and radiators). Seems obvious that was tweekers.
The dumping all happened outside gates. One abandoned car and two trash heaps.
OK, saying all that how does charging hunters effect any of that? Smokescreen I think.
Post by: mpetersen on October 14, 2013, 08:25:22 AM
Post by: Hunterman on October 14, 2013, 08:38:28 AM
The worst of it is that by and large it is not hunters, fisherman trappers that are causing problems.
I talked to the guy from Rayonier that is in charge of their pay to hunt program. He sited three instances of dumping and one of theft as why they went to pay to hunt on The Promise Land.
The theft was damage done to logging equipment in the course of stealing scrap metal ( batteries and radiators). Seems obvious that was tweekers.
The dumping all happened outside gates. One abandoned car and two trash heaps.
OK, saying all that how does charging hunters effect any of that? Smokescreen I think.
Because the true outdoorsmen will just sit back, gripe, and pay. Just the hunting, and fishing license. Plus how are they going to pay for the clean up and theft if not by charging for access?
Hunterman(Tony)
Post by: pianoman9701 on October 14, 2013, 08:44:29 AM
Anyone who's interested in being a pro-active force in this should join us for our next Region 5 WFW meeting, which will be help at Gilliano's Pizza in Woodland at 7 PM on Wednesday the 4th of December. To sign up for a free membership in WFW, go to the top of any HuntWA page on the right and click the link and follow the directions. FREE! Do something for yourself and other sportsmen in WA. Join WFW today and take part in this effort to curb the trend toward paid hunting in WA.
Post by: fireweed on October 14, 2013, 08:58:45 AM
“We want to keep our lands open to the general public, but it’s become increasingly challenging and costly in recent years,” Chavez said, citing vandalism and garbage dumping."
We need a $5000 fine for dumping and vandalism. Bonus points for turning in these selfish and derelict slobs that are ruining access to private lands.
The idea that recent garbage dumping led to charging is a myth and an industry "talking point". Heck, in SW Washington a volunteer group started picking up garbage the year BEFORE they locked the gates. They probably did a survey and found out people respond more positively if they say the closures are due to dumping vs. trying to get Money. Remember, these areas were mostly walk-in. Even tweekers don't haul their garbage in on their backs (they actually work quite diligently to bring stuff out!). Weyco's presentation to investor tells the real story: they made 19-million last year in the south on leases and part of their strategy is to squeeze every dollar they can from every acre. That's how REITS are set up. Stopping garbage dumping won't stop the fees. They only way to change the fees is to make it MORE profitable to NOT charge. The only way to do that is to change (or threaten to change) their property tax breaks.
Post by: pianoman9701 on October 14, 2013, 09:32:45 AM
“We want to keep our lands open to the general public, but it’s become increasingly challenging and costly in recent years,” Chavez said, citing vandalism and garbage dumping."
We need a $5000 fine for dumping and vandalism. Bonus points for turning in these selfish and derelict slobs that are ruining access to private lands.
The idea that recent garbage dumping led to charging is a myth and an industry "talking point". Heck, in SW Washington a volunteer group started picking up garbage the year BEFORE they locked the gates. They probably did a survey and found out people respond more positively if they say the closures are due to dumping vs. trying to get Money. Remember, these areas were mostly walk-in. Even tweekers don't haul their garbage in on their backs (they actually work quite diligently to bring stuff out!). Weyco's presentation to investor tells the real story: they made 19-million last year in the south on leases and part of their strategy is to squeeze every dollar they can from every acre. That's how REITS are set up. Stopping garbage dumping won't stop the fees. They only way to change the fees is to make it MORE profitable to NOT charge. The only way to do that is to change (or threaten to change) their property tax breaks.
So you've "jumped the head guy" and expected to get him to open up to you. We're talking about a different approach, one which will hopefully either prove your theory right or wrong. Starting a positive dialogue with WEYCO is the first step. If we find they aren't receptive to having hunter conservationists help them with dumping and vandalism and still want to charge for passes, then we'll go another route and push for legislative alternatives to their present tax rates. Please feel free to join our meeting on Dec. 4th if you'd like to learn more.
Post by: fireweed on October 14, 2013, 09:52:58 AM
“We want to keep our lands open to the general public, but it’s become increasingly challenging and costly in recent years,” Chavez said, citing vandalism and garbage dumping."
We need a $5000 fine for dumping and vandalism. Bonus points for turning in these selfish and derelict slobs that are ruining access to private lands.
The idea that recent garbage dumping led to charging is a myth and an industry "talking point". Heck, in SW Washington a volunteer group started picking up garbage the year BEFORE they locked the gates. They probably did a survey and found out people respond more positively if they say the closures are due to dumping vs. trying to get Money. Remember, these areas were mostly walk-in. Even tweekers don't haul their garbage in on their backs (they actually work quite diligently to bring stuff out!). Weyco's presentation to investor tells the real story: they made 19-million last year in the south on leases and part of their strategy is to squeeze every dollar they can from every acre. That's how REITS are set up. Stopping garbage dumping won't stop the fees. They only way to change the fees is to make it MORE profitable to NOT charge. The only way to do that is to change (or threaten to change) their property tax breaks.
So you've "jumped the head guy" and expected to get him to open up to you. We're talking about a different approach, one which will hopefully either prove your theory right or wrong. Starting a positive dialogue with WEYCO is the first step. If we find they aren't receptive to having hunter conservationists help them with dumping and vandalism and still want to charge for passes, then we'll go another route and push for legislative alternatives to their present tax rates. Please feel free to join our meeting on Dec. 4th if you'd like to learn more.
OK, so jumped isn't correct. I was at a meeting with him and brought it up. Of course he is just the messenger. SW Washington Land Access Coalition has been doing what you suggest for several years including monitoring gates during hunting season. They get WDFW grants to cover their expenses. I have their contacts if you want them.
Post by: pianoman9701 on October 14, 2013, 10:13:05 AM
“We want to keep our lands open to the general public, but it’s become increasingly challenging and costly in recent years,” Chavez said, citing vandalism and garbage dumping."
We need a $5000 fine for dumping and vandalism. Bonus points for turning in these selfish and derelict slobs that are ruining access to private lands.
The idea that recent garbage dumping led to charging is a myth and an industry "talking point". Heck, in SW Washington a volunteer group started picking up garbage the year BEFORE they locked the gates. They probably did a survey and found out people respond more positively if they say the closures are due to dumping vs. trying to get Money. Remember, these areas were mostly walk-in. Even tweekers don't haul their garbage in on their backs (they actually work quite diligently to bring stuff out!). Weyco's presentation to investor tells the real story: they made 19-million last year in the south on leases and part of their strategy is to squeeze every dollar they can from every acre. That's how REITS are set up. Stopping garbage dumping won't stop the fees. They only way to change the fees is to make it MORE profitable to NOT charge. The only way to do that is to change (or threaten to change) their property tax breaks.
So you've "jumped the head guy" and expected to get him to open up to you. We're talking about a different approach, one which will hopefully either prove your theory right or wrong. Starting a positive dialogue with WEYCO is the first step. If we find they aren't receptive to having hunter conservationists help them with dumping and vandalism and still want to charge for passes, then we'll go another route and push for legislative alternatives to their present tax rates. Please feel free to join our meeting on Dec. 4th if you'd like to learn more.
OK, so jumped isn't correct. I was at a meeting with him and brought it up. Of course he is just the messenger. SW Washington Land Access Coalition has been doing what you suggest for several years including monitoring gates during hunting season. They get WDFW grants to cover their expenses. I have their contacts if you want them.
I'd love to have those contacts as well as your input. We'd be benefitting from your participation.