Hunting Washington Forum
Community => Advocacy, Agencies, Access => Topic started by: Terry Dean on July 30, 2014, 01:57:40 AM
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Most of my old hunting roads are still closed after being washed out for more than 6 years, Gold Creek, Milk creek, Rock creek, and a few more Why havent these roads been fixed yet?, where is all our money going we pay more for land and recreational use than any other state. 3 years ago I was told by the forest service that Milk creek was to be opened the beginning of last year, nope still closed! People are still accessing these roads illegally from the back side, if you have a jeep or a big 4x4. and ive hiked in and seen dirt bikes rollin around...But honestly where is our money going i spend over 400$ in license and fees and tags, the moneys got to be going someware but obviously not to land management
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Yes I know the1704 pic Just happened but I posted it because this road is to peoples cabins and homes
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your 400 bucks in state license fees does not go to the feds for lands management.
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your 400 bucks in state license fees does not go to the feds for lands management.
:yeah:
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Still pretty piss poor management all around when roads are not fixed within a year of washout or slide!! :bash:
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The FS wants less roads. The easiest way for them to achieve this is to not fix their current roads when they wash out.
sent from my typewriter
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The FS wants less roads. The easiest way for them to achieve this is to not fix their current roads when they wash out.
sent from my typewriter
Soo then how do they propose to get equipment up there to fight fires with so many less roads?
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Yeah and no plumper or heavy equip support at all, nor way to get out of dodge quickly when things go south. GREAT plan.
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what a crock of crap!!It's national forest not national park, multiple use!! Those lazy *censored*s are sitting on millions of acres of funding and yet personal agendas form the manangement[or lack of] our ground, I have been in this game long enough to see the transition of what once a pretty damn decent program to basically a money sucking do nothing agency that should be disbaned.I am not passionate about many things at all except the management of OUR national forest, I by no means think we need to go back to the days of big clearcuts, but this do nothing crap has got to go, pretty tough to argue that the deer and elk hunting is as good now as when the dept. of aggravation actually did the job they were intened to do.This lack of funding battle cry that they love to use is getting old real fast, The state makes money selling timber,why can't the feds? I have several forest service contracts right now that are losers for them solely because of how they manage the sale, their idiotic contracts are so filled with crap that it boils down to you have to charge atleast twice as much as the state to accomplish what they want. Buy this paas, buy that pass, and beat the crap out of your rig using your pass!!
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The FS wants less roads. The easiest way for them to achieve this is to not fix their current roads when they wash out.
sent from my typewriter
:yeah: :bow:
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The FS wants less roads. The easiest way for them to achieve this is to not fix their current roads when they wash out.
sent from my typewriter
Soo then how do they propose to get equipment up there to fight fires with so many less roads?
I think they plan on letting it burn as long as it's not near civilization...
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what a crock of crap!!It's national forest not national park, multiple use!! Those lazy *censored*s are sitting on millions of acres of funding and yet personal agendas form the manangement[or lack of] our ground, I have been in this game long enough to see the transition of what once a pretty damn decent program to basically a money sucking do nothing agency that should be disbaned.I am not passionate about many things at all except the management of OUR national forest, I by no means think we need to go back to the days of big clearcuts, but this do nothing crap has got to go, pretty tough to argue that the deer and elk hunting is as good now as when the dept. of aggravation actually did the job they were intened to do.This lack of funding battle cry that they love to use is getting old real fast, The state makes money selling timber,why can't the feds? I have several forest service contracts right now that are losers for them solely because of how they manage the sale, their idiotic contracts are so filled with crap that it boils down to you have to charge atleast twice as much as the state to accomplish what they want. Buy this paas, buy that pass, and beat the crap out of your rig using your pass!!
:yeah::Remember "the land of MANY uses"?
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I personally don't mind that they close some roads as long as we can access it on foot or bike. This is what the regulation pamphlet states:
"Studies in the Pacific Northwest have shown that most big game animals avoid active roads by at least one-quarter mile, and some move as much as four miles to escape traffic. Closing roads can provide large undisturbed areas for wildlife, like elk, deer, bighorn sheep, eagles, and wild turkeys during critical times of the year. Intensively managed forests may have three to nine miles of road for each square mile of habitat. For each mile of road, at least four acres are directly removed as productive habitat. Animals need energy to survive. Energy spent moving away from disturbances can deplete the energy needed to survive to late spring or give birth to a healthy elk calf. By limiting disturbance, road closures can enhance the health, reproduction, and number of animals in an area."
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I personally don't mind that they close some roads as long as we can access it on foot or bike. This is what the regulation pamphlet states:
"Studies in the Pacific Northwest have shown that most big game animals avoid active roads by at least one-quarter mile, and some move as much as four miles to escape traffic. Closing roads can provide large undisturbed areas for wildlife, like elk, deer, bighorn sheep, eagles, and wild turkeys during critical times of the year. Intensively managed forests may have three to nine miles of road for each square mile of habitat. For each mile of road, at least four acres are directly removed as productive habitat. Animals need energy to survive. Energy spent moving away from disturbances can deplete the energy needed to survive to late spring or give birth to a healthy elk calf. By limiting disturbance, road closures can enhance the health, reproduction, and number of animals in an area."
I wouldn't believe everything you read....
sent from my typewriter
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I personally don't mind that they close some roads as long as we can access it on foot or bike. This is what the regulation pamphlet states:
"Studies in the Pacific Northwest have shown that most big game animals avoid active roads by at least one-quarter mile, and some move as much as four miles to escape traffic. Closing roads can provide large undisturbed areas for wildlife, like elk, deer, bighorn sheep, eagles, and wild turkeys during critical times of the year. Intensively managed forests may have three to nine miles of road for each square mile of habitat. For each mile of road, at least four acres are directly removed as productive habitat. Animals need energy to survive. Energy spent moving away from disturbances can deplete the energy needed to survive to late spring or give birth to a healthy elk calf. By limiting disturbance, road closures can enhance the health, reproduction, and number of animals in an area."
I wouldn't believe everything you read....
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:chuckle: Yeah, I know I never see animals in the roads...especially eating all that browse (berry/alder/seedlings) that never grow along the sides of roads.
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I have a hard time with that study, neither for or against yet, elk go where there is food, look at packwood, elk in the texaco parking lot,why? because there is no adequate feed source anymore on forest service ground. And it's not about closing or letting roads close themselves, it's about joe taxpayer wants to take the family on a drive and he should be able to, it's public land!! If they close roads or don't fix roads then its just that much less ground they have to attempt to manage which is perfectly fine for them but how bout the people that pay for it?
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I am sure most of us as kids used to go on a nice Sunday drive to look at animals and the scenery ..This really peeeeeses a guy off that we can not continue the tradition we once enjoyed as kids and enjoy those same traditions with our kids ...I think this bothers me more than the hunting part of it ...HOW MESSED UP IS THAT :bash: :bash:
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I understand the frustration but the roads on the National Forest were originally built for logging and/or mining. You know, activities that generate revenue for the government.
How much money can they make by building and maintaining roads just so people can take the family for a drive in the woods? Very little.
Why spend money on roads that have no purpose anymore, other than recreation? I suppose we could ask for a tax increase so we could have more roads to drive on. :dunno:
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Read about the "rewilding project", within United Nations publication named: Agenda 21. Then you will understand why the governments are pushing us out if the mountains and rivers and wild places. Along with many other dis-services provided to us. They are traitors.
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your 400 bucks in state license fees does not go to the feds for lands management.
:yeah:
:yeah:
And people seem to not understand that. The only time you are giving $ to the USFS (or any other federal land management agency) is when you buy their parking, camping, launch, and access permits. The amount of tax dollars that get sent to these agencies equate to literally a couple pennies from each american.
For DNR, our hunting and fishing license $ don't get sent to DNR. Yet I hear all the time about people complaining about DNR closing "their" roads even though they paid to keep them open with license fees...No you do not! If you buy a Discover Pass then less than $10 will go to DNR, other then that the only money you are sending to DNR is through tax dollars, and DNR doesn't receive that much tax dollars.
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I guess it depends on your perspective. I think we can all agree that 50 F350's screaming through an area isn't helping any of the animal population. Personally, if I can bike or hike in and not have to listen to the parade of truck hunters, I'm happy.
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I understand the frustration but the roads on the National Forest were originally built for logging and/or mining. You know, activities that generate revenue for the government.
How much money can they make by building and maintaining roads just so people can take the family for a drive in the woods? Very little.
Why spend money on roads that have no purpose anymore, other than recreation? I suppose we could ask for a tax increase so we could have more roads to drive on. :dunno:
Or an Access Pass to simply drive on USFS roads? :chuckle:
And before someone says "open more logging" it's not the USFS that is anti-logging. Its the environmental groups who spend every dollar they have to end logging, and thus waste federal money in lawsuits.
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I guess it depends on your perspective. I think we can all agree that 50 F350's screaming through an area isn't helping any of the animal population. Personally, if I can bike or hike in and not have to listen to the parade of truck hunters, I'm happy.
:yeah:
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Less roads is better.
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Just like I said "personal agendas" forest service was not formed to provide just a place to go hunting. It's everybodys land and everybody should be able to use it. recreation means different thing to different people.
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I see it this way. The land isnt the peoples. Its the Feds Gov. and they will do as they please. Now many will object to this and claim it belongs to the people, I know, it should. But does it? Sorry.
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I see it this way. The land isnt the peoples. Its the Feds Gov. and they will do as they please. Now many will object to this and claim it belongs to the people, I know, it should. But does it? Sorry.
A government of, by, and for the people merely holds this land in trust for its beneficiaries, the people.
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The government isn't keeping anyone from using the land. Some of it just has to be hiked into instead of driving. What did people do before all the logging roads were built?
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I see it this way. The land isnt the peoples. Its the Feds Gov. and they will do as they please. Now many will object to this and claim it belongs to the people, I know, it should. But does it? Sorry.
A government of, by, and for the people merely holds this land in trust for its beneficiaries, the people.
:yeah:
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The government isn't keeping anyone from using the land. Some of it just has to be hiked into instead of driving. What did people do before all the logging roads were built?
Homesteaded? :dunno:
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The government isn't keeping anyone from using the land. Some of it just has to be hiked into instead of driving. What did people do before all the logging roads were built?
They didn't use a majority of the land....
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Okay, well the area we're talking about here, still has plenty of road access. You can still drive into the general area and hunt it.
Yes you might have to walk 1 mile from your truck to get into an area that previously had an open road. :yike:
Seems to me that a few washed out roads is a good thing, for hunters and wildlife.
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Okay, well the area we're talking about here, still has plenty of road access. You can still drive into the general area and hunt it.
Yes you might have to walk 1 mile from your truck to get into an area that previously had an open road. :yike:
Seems to me that a few washed out roads is a good thing, for hunters and wildlife.
I agree with you there. For me this is more of a complaint of a broken system in general. Not so much this specific area. And to those who say that USFS would like to log but can't because of lawsuits thats a total farce. If they wanted to they would/could.
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The government isn't keeping anyone from using the land. Some of it just has to be hiked into instead of driving. What did people do before all the logging roads were built?
I don't believe it was much of a issue when the f.s was formed in 1905, however they are required to maintain and manage the land for the publics interest. national parks and wilderness exist for a reason and that perfectly ok by me. It boils down to they are not doing what they were formed to do. My argument has nothing to do with hunting, it's failed policy and the fact that it policy was orignally put in place for everybody to recreate not just a few.I am not a biker or atver or horse guy but they should have as much access as the hunter or the elderly or disabled or the city family that just wants to see the country.
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The government isn't keeping anyone from using the land. Some of it just has to be hiked into instead of driving. What did people do before all the logging roads were built?
I don't believe it was much of a issue when the f.s was formed in 1905, however they are required to maintain and manage the land for the publics interest. national parks and wilderness exist for a reason and that perfectly ok by me. It boils down to they are not doing what they were formed to do. My argument has nothing to do with hunting, it's failed policy and the fact that it policy was orignally put in place for everybody to recreate not just a few.I am not a biker or atver or horse guy but they should have as much access as the hunter or the elderly or disabled or the city family that just wants to see the country.
:yeah:
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Everyone that enjoys hiking, is capable of hiking, doesn't mind hiking, etc will not have a problem with less roads.
The people that can't hike, don't like to hike, aren't capable of hiking, rely on roads for their income, etc all will oppose less roads.
I'm a fan of less roads. There's plenty of places for roadhunters to hunt even with less roads.
A lot of these places are soooooooooo full of roads it's almost impossible to get more than a mile or so from one. What fun is that? Hunters on top of hunters on top of dirtbikers on top of 4 wheelers.
:twocents:
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very true and I agree with you 100%, BUT then the hunter that like to hike can go to the wilderness area if thats the argument for closing off more public land to all public access, meaning those capable of hiking or horseback riding into areas where roads are longer in exsintince.
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Our money is going to buy the bosses over here, NEW FORD SUV's that cost around $38,000 each.
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I see it this way. The land isnt the peoples. Its the Feds Gov. and they will do as they please. Now many will object to this and claim it belongs to the people, I know, it should. But does it? Sorry.
A government of, by, and for the people merely holds this land in trust for its beneficiaries, the people.
I got your point Mudman, the federal government doesn't represent and support "the people" anymore.
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I see it this way. The land isnt the peoples. Its the Feds Gov. and they will do as they please. Now many will object to this and claim it belongs to the people, I know, it should. But does it? Sorry.
A government of, by, and for the people merely holds this land in trust for its beneficiaries, the people.
I got your point Mudman, the federal government doesn't represent and support "the people" anymore.
And it seems some here are just fine with that. I guess one doesn't miss what they never had eh?
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:yeah: Exactly. We can quote "For the People" and such but that isnt the reality. Ask yourself, does any branch do what the people want or act in their own Gov. self interest and do what they feel is best for the people while benefiting their own agenda. Its wrong, I hate it and I agree with most comments. I just recognize the reality of the world I live in and the illusions of our Peoples Government do not cloud my reality any longer. I believe the Forest should be managed in a way to allow recreation and economic diversity for as many citizens as possible. Not just Hunters and not Just conservation groups but everyone. :twocents:
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Everyone that enjoys hiking, is capable of hiking, doesn't mind hiking, etc will not have a problem with less roads.
The people that can't hike, don't like to hike, aren't capable of hiking, rely on roads for their income, etc all will oppose less roads.
I'm a fan of less roads. There's plenty of places for roadhunters to hunt even with less roads.
A lot of these places are soooooooooo full of roads it's almost impossible to get more than a mile or so from one. What fun is that? Hunters on top of hunters on top of dirtbikers on top of 4 wheelers.
:twocents:
:yeah:
I want less roads as well.
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Maintain the FS roads. It's why yours and my money is allocated for this. It is meant for the enjoyment & selfishness of all.
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I personally would like to see the existing roads maintained for all user groups, not just hunters use the roads.
The roads are there, so lets use them, PERIOD.
If you want an area to be roadless, to the NP or Wilderness, plenty of roadless areas there, Oh wait, I for got, you don't wan to travel that far to be in a roadless area so you want less roads to accommodate your needs, SORRY, MY BAD......
As for animals dont come near roads, BS, where do you think road kill comes from? ANIMALS ON OR CROSSING THE ROADS......
In a nut shell, if you want less roads, go to an area with less roads and let the rest of be.
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The problem is it's very expensive to maintain roads. Those who expect every road that's ever been built to be maintained so it's driveable by the average passenger vehicle, maybe you can somehow be taxed at a higher rate than the rest of us. :dunno:
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The National Forest System has over 380,000 miles of roads, nearly all built for the purpose of extracting resources and generating revenue. Granted, they did a piss-poor financial job and a really great job of extracting economic resources, but there is no way they can maintain even a significant fraction of those roads without that resources revenue stream. I'd like to see them reduce to an average road density of around 1 mile per square mile in forested areas, and 1 mile per 2 square miles in the national grasslands. Those levels provide reasonable motorized access, but enough security that deer and elk aren't driven off public onto private during hunting season.
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The problem is it's very expensive to maintain roads. Those who expect every road that's ever been built to be maintained so it's driveable by the average passenger vehicle, maybe you can somehow be taxed at a higher rate than the rest of us. :dunno:
Or they could log... which would easily pay for it and create better habitat.
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Here's a novel idea, let start using our renewable resources again and make the money needed to maintain the road, among other things :bash:
and in turn, with good logging practice, it can create jobs, and provide a place for more food to grow for animals, like deer, elk, etc.
which can also lead to spreading out animals in a more wide variance of areas, and increase there population, instead of confining them to small food areas and having an over population of animals for the food that is available to them, kind of like what has happened in the Mt St Helens are.
And with more jobs, that means more tax money collected.........
Maintaining roads and good forest practice can lead to many wonderful things on both sides..... BUT WE GOT TO CUT ALL THE RED TAPE.
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The problem is it's very expensive to maintain roads. Those who expect every road that's ever been built to be maintained so it's driveable by the average passenger vehicle, maybe you can somehow be taxed at a higher rate than the rest of us. :dunno:
And maybe you could pay the extra where you want less roads since that is of higher value to you.
FWIW, it's hard to read anything into it casually, but here is the NFS budget justification. It appears that historically, road maintenance was only alotted $18M, although there is some confusion as to what happened in the funding process since 2008, and what happened in 2013. p. 316
http://www.fs.fed.us/aboutus/budget/2015/FS15-FS-Budget-Justification.pdf (http://www.fs.fed.us/aboutus/budget/2015/FS15-FS-Budget-Justification.pdf)
That's on an annual budget of about $5-6 billion, or about 0.3%, or not even a penny on the dollar. And that is not taking into account the 2013 spending levels.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Forest_Service (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Forest_Service)
I welcome sanity checks on the figures and math as these are unfamiliar numbers and documents to me.
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The problem is it's very expensive to maintain roads. Those who expect every road that's ever been built to be maintained so it's driveable by the average passenger vehicle, maybe you can somehow be taxed at a higher rate than the rest of us. :dunno:
Or they could log... which would easily pay for it and create better habitat.
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Tens of millions of dollar's worth of timber dies and rots each year. It goes to waste. Deer elk and bear have proven time and again that they can't survive exclusively in an "old growth forest" and eat ferns and salal.
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The problem is it's very expensive to maintain roads. Those who expect every road that's ever been built to be maintained so it's driveable by the average passenger vehicle, maybe you can somehow be taxed at a higher rate than the rest of us. :dunno:
Or they could log... which would easily pay for it and create better habitat.
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Tens of millions of dollar's worth of timber dies and rots each year. It goes to waste. Deer elk and bear have proven time and again that they can't survive exclusively in an "old growth forest" and eat ferns and salal.
And the roads that the logging operations create/maintain are separate from funds alluded to above.
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I'm not an economist or a forester, but I would think that if they did begin logging the National Forests again, wouldn't that flood the market with timber and bring the prices down even lower than they are currently? I could see the Forest service losing money by putting up more timber sales and building more roads. Prices are already so low that most private timber companies export their logs to Asia. The state logs stay here but only because they're required to by Iaw.
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I'm not an economist or a forester, but I would think that if they did begin logging the National Forests again, wouldn't that flood the market with timber and bring the prices down even lower than they are currently? I could see the Forest service losing money by putting up more timber sales and building more roads. Prices are already so low that most private timber companies export their logs to Asia. The state logs stay here but only because they're required to by Iaw.
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They could let users maintain more of the roads. I bet they'd be surprised how many slides are cleared, culverts unplugged and fallen trees get cleared by hunters. FS really just needs to do the more intense culvert and bridge maintenance. My guess is that hunters would keep the rest clear enough for at least high clearance and 4wd.
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Bobcat:
You add product to a market, and prices may fall, depending on any number of factors.
I would not expect a number of small operations to impact the market as just quick numbers show US jobs on the order of 80,000 and payrolls on the order of $3B (so I'd expect the gross product revenues to be some multiple of that), the increased jobs will have some multiple of increase in demand, and other more cost-prohibitive operations (say shipping from Canada) may be displaced in the market. And there are the demands in Asia as you note.
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I'm not an economist or a forester, but I would think that if they did begin logging the National Forests again, wouldn't that flood the market with timber and bring the prices down even lower than they are currently? I could see the Forest service losing money by putting up more timber sales and building more roads. Prices are already so low that most private timber companies export their logs to Asia. The state logs stay here but only because they're required to by Iaw.
No way would they lose money.
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I think they really need to start logging. Just look at the fires. It should be a crime to let all that fuel build up over time and turn into such giant burns. :2cents:
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If you want an area to be roadless, to the NP or Wilderness, plenty of roadless areas there, Oh wait, I for got, you don't wan to travel that far to be in a roadless area so you want less roads to accommodate your needs, SORRY, MY BAD
Not sure if you're talking to me or not but the last thing I'm concerned with is how far I have to drive to hunt. I have made 5 trips to the Blues this year plus a trip to Colville. Can't get much further than that from here.
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This BS is unheard of in ID! roads are cleared and open always!!
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This BS is unheard of in ID! roads are cleared and open always!!
........................and the hunting is much, much better too. Even with ATV's.
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This BS is unheard of in ID! roads are cleared and open always!!
........................and the hunting is much, much better too. Even with ATV's.
Of course the hunting is better. Idaho has 19 people per square mile, while Washington has 104 people per square mile.
It also makes sense that people in Idaho would have more freedom to drive more places with less restrictions than we have in this state.
It's simply a matter of having much fewer people, which correlates to a much lower impact on natural resources.
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Many Idaho roads are kept open because of livestock operations in the back country-we don't have as many free range cattle or major sheep operations in this state as Idaho does.
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This BS is unheard of in ID! roads are cleared and open always!!
........................and the hunting is much, much better too. Even with ATV's.
Of course the hunting is better. Idaho has 19 people per square mile, while Washington has 104 people per square mile.
It also makes sense that people in Idaho would have more freedom to drive more places with less restrictions than we have in this state.
It's simply a matter of having much fewer people, which correlates to a much lower impact on natural resources.
We have about 7200 people for right around 7000 sq miles here... :tup: :tup:
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If you want an area to be roadless, to the NP or Wilderness, plenty of roadless areas there, Oh wait, I for got, you don't wan to travel that far to be in a roadless area so you want less roads to accommodate your needs, SORRY, MY BAD
Not sure if you're talking to me or not but the last thing I'm concerned with is how far I have to drive to hunt. I have made 5 trips to the Blues this year plus a trip to Colville. Can't get much further than that from here.
No, not dirrected at you specifically ;)
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Milk Creek is finally open
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Very interesting to read the argument for and against maintaining roads... but this forum represents one user group and we can't even agree which is better (more or less open roads). everyone needs to realize that there are a dozen other user groups that are in the same boat, arguing over the same issue or advocating for closed roads and some of them are much larger than hunters. So, as you can imagine, more people want more closed roads than hunters.
Additionally, you need to look at it from the Fed side. They are still dealing with funding issues from the Gov shut down a few years ago and additional cuts each year until 2016. That means only the worst/most pressing roads get attention and others are closed due to funding shortfalls.
The worst year is still to come!!
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Yes! this has been a interesting read!
To all you "less road" people, THANKS, WHAT did I ever do to YOU??? If it weren't for roads my hunting days would be over. My disability(logging and cattle) payments don't cover the "gas" cost to travel all over the state or outa state. Come tell me to my face, "just get out and hike, you'll enjoy the outdoor experience more". If I could afford a ATV, it would become as important as my hunting firearms.
AND YES I know there are abusers, but there are those who NEED extra help staying with the hunting sport!!
I just spent two days in the Bee Hive area, Mt bikers, Dirt bikers, target shooters all the while I was trying for a deer. I wish I could get to areas where I used to log in!!! Oh that's right, they burned up this year AGAIN :bash: Little Bridge Cr.
Road maintenance is not a "cost" issue its a "worker" issue, my wife spent a lot of years in a USFS office. USFS wants only "paper pushers" and BIGGER "Regional offices". YOU also have to "understand" the USFS has been "taken over" by the environmental movement(known as the Employee's Union) We call them "greenies" for short!!
OUR timber industry started "failing" when "imported" was cheaper then domestic and "access denied" became the norm. Then a new batch of College grads who'd been brainwashed into thinking THEY could save the planet from the evil loggers and miners and Farmers AND joining Green Peace didn't get them to their pre-conceived GOALS for saving Mother Earth(hippie rag for those who never heard of it)!
Some of you on here are to YOUNG to remember the glory days of Green Peace. YOU don't hear much about them anymore, WHY? They figured it OUT, that instead of "protesting" it would be easier to get "educated" and the Feds. being who they are, would HIRE them and put them into positions that made "decision's"!! Wall-la!!! problem solved :yike: Welcome to today's USFS
Rant over, going to bed!! :hello:
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Closing and/or decommissioning roads (removing them from the landscape) definitely has impacts on hunting and hunters. From the point of view of some physically fit and capable hunters in their late teens to those in their fifties, this may not be a big deal. Hike in and hike out with an elk or deer quarter strapped to their freighter frame, and making 5 or 6 round trips – no problem for some. Some hunters in this category seem to like the idea of closing and/or decommissioning roads so they can have that canyon or mountainside all to themselves. It’s nice not to see other hunter orange wandering into your ideal and “private” hunting area.
However, all hunters should try to look at the bigger and more important picture. New hunter recruitment and hunter retention is critical to ensuring our hunting heritage and traditions continue for generations to come. If hunter numbers decline, our hunting heritage will most definitely be suffocated and destroyed by anti-hunting/animal-rights zealots and environmental extremists. Our strength is in our numbers and our resolve to protect our hunting heritage (rights). New hunter recruitment comes primarily from youth and women; hunter retention means keeping older hunters participating in hunting activities. We should also be very cognizant of promoting and supporting hunting opportunities for people that have disabilities; remember there are many wounded warriors that fought for our freedoms. It shouldn’t take too much thought to understand if access to good hunting territory is cut off to those that may be less physically capable (i.e. youth, women, and older hunters), then new hunter recruitment and hunter retention will suffer. If we don’t maintain and grow our numbers with new hunter recruitment and hunter retention, our hunting heritage will wither away. This is what the anti-hunting zealots and environmental extremists would love to see.
It should also be noted that road closures tend to create severe “parking lot” situations at hunt area access points; this is not good for hunters or hunting. Even with existing roads, there is plenty of land out there to hike into for those adventurous hunters that are physically able and that desire a mountain canyon all to themselves.
It is not as if thousands of miles of new roads are being built; we know the opposite is true with excessive road closures and decommissioning. We should promote keeping what we have not only to encourage new hunter recruitment and hunter retention, but for many other very important reasons (Read the letter provided via the link). Jamie Herrera Beutler’s Roads to Trails proposal should be promoted and supported. Please read her letter to Janine Clayton, Forest Supervisor of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
http://herrerabeutler.house.gov/uploadedfiles/janine_clayton_forest_roads_analysis.pdf
Related articles:
“Herrera Beutler addresses future of Gifford Pinchot roads”
http://www.columbian.com/news/2013/mar/28/1ce-herrera-beutler-addresses-gifford-pinchot-road/
“Herrera Beutler Calls For Turning Forest Roads To Trails”
http://www.opb.org/news/article/herrera-beutler-calls-for-turning-forest-roads-to-trails/
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i dont think its a matter of closing roads as more of the reality that there is'nt any money to maintain the thousands of miles of roads that exist now.
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You need to read about "Roads to Trails". Roads can be closed, but they don't have to be destroyed. Destruction is costly and a total waste. "Roads to Trails" keeps the road beds available for future use. While it is a "trail", the road bed still provides reasonable access to hikers, hunters, and other outdoor enthusiasts.
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Their needs to be a damn like button :)
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The f.s is sitting on millions of acres of funding, it's just like any big gov. agency they can piss money down the drain and have zero to show for it. I feel that their maint. program needs a major overhaul, if you neglect the roads then what is at the time a maint. item becomes major reconstruction for the simple fact that they didn't spend 50cents then so to fix it they have to spend 5 bucks now which they will cry they don't have have the funding. I deal with them everday and holy crap they have a oligist of some sort for every damn thing under the sun!