What's Up With The Signs

[elkaholic]

hello - guess i got a quick question for buckeye - sunset farms - Is buckeye still the only town in arizona which allows discharge of firearms within city limits - it used to be mainly because of the rural area - all that may have changed - i remember - eatin an early breakfast in town and then drive 1/3 mile to the mill silos next to the railroad tracks and shoot all day - baasically right in town - are those ole silos still standin ?---- the good ole days -- gary

[Bucks_N_Yotes]

hello - guess i got a quick question for buckeye - sunset farms - Is buckeye still the only town in arizona which allows discharge of firearms within city limits - it used to be mainly because of the rural area - all that may have changed - i remember - eatin an early breakfast in town and then drive 1/3 mile to the mill silos next to the railroad tracks and shoot all day - baasically right in town - are those ole silos still standin ?---- the good ole days -- gary

 

 

There is no shooting inside the city limits! However, what most people don't know it that there are County Islands inside of the city limits that you can shoot. Nine times out of 10 you will sill have the cops called on you but there is nothing they can do if your inside on one of the islands! There are still silos standing in different areas. Oh and to give you an idea of how jacked up the town is, there are two differnt fire departments, one for the city, and one for the surounding areas. They never get along and always argue over who's call it was!

 

Back to the signs! If You were given access because you had a hunting licesne on posted property that was apart of the Ranch Access Program, I would jurk my signs today and shut the whole thing down!

[wardsoutfitters]

so your telling me that you can pick and choose who get access through your property , even though the game and fish have it posted for you, with our signs !!!

[Bucks_N_Yotes]

so your telling me that you can pick and choose who get access through your property , even though the game and fish have it posted for you, with our signs !!!

 

 

You better belive it! We are not just going to let some jack thats up to no good on our property. I also have everyone that has permission sign a waiver. About 6 years ago, I had a guy file a lawsuit agianst us because he drove into a canal with his truck. Its your property and you are giving access to those who follow the rules. If I just let anyone on our property, which I did at first, things got way out of control. I had guys driving in fields, others that thought it was ok to be out a night shooting things, people leaving their crap behind and just a bunch of other crap that the landowner shouldn't have to put up with. I would say 9 times out of 10 I give people permision to hunt. When I know I have too many people out hunting, like during dove season, I tell them sorry, next year contact me sooner. You get too many people hunting and it becomes very unsafe. Their is also nothing like working on a peace of equipment and being showered with buckshot!

 

I am sorry that you don't like the fact that GF puts out the signs and we can say who comes on or not. If it was your property, we have over 10k acres, you take pride in what it looks like and how its maintained. At least we are giving people the opertunity to hunt on our place. Most landowners out here will not give you the time of day! If you were to see how clean, neat and organized my opperation is I think you would have a different view on this. Like I said earlier, it takes on guy to screw things up for the rest of us, and if I had to give everyone access, I would pull the signs today and not let anyone in! You wouldn't let people just have free acess to your back yard would you?

[CouesWhitetail]

Sounds like perhaps Steven is talking about access through private property to public land whereas Sunsetfarms is talking about people actually getting permission to hunt on his own property. I gotta say that Sunsetfarms point of view seems utterly reasonable to me Steven.

 

Amanda

[daryl_s]

I don't know too much about the situation and how it all works, but I do know G&F puts a lot into working with land owners in certain areas so that hunters can have access. A lot of 36C would be unhuntable if this were not the case. The best we can do in these situations is follow the rules and be good representatives of the hunting community so that land owners will continue to allow us onto and across their property. Unfortunately it only takes 1 person breaking the rules to make us look bad.

[desertdog]

so your telling me that you can pick and choose who get access through your property , even though the game and fish have it posted for you, with our signs !!!

 

Steven I know you are talking about access through private but the rules still apply. Would you allow vandals in your own home. Would you let a reckless person drive your car. Its the same thing. For every responsible hunter going through that landowners private personal land there is just as many hunters that don't respect the privilege they are given and cause harm to the landowners personal property. I don't know about you but I am busy enough with my day to day responsibility's to have to fix, rebuild, pick up after someone else's reckless behavior. And no I am not a land owner.

 

Also for your point that the Game and Fish are posting these signs that may or may not be true. I have spoken to a few different land owners that have told me that the Game and Fish will provide the signs and the landowners put them up. I dont see an issue even if the Game and Fish officer is posting them. It should be a partnership. Just as there should be a partnership between landowners and sportsman.

 

I know you are a sponsor of this site and knowing that I will try to phrase my next comments as respectfully as I can. Do you have the respect and trust of the landowner that wont let you in. You said he is picking and choosing so why is he not choosing you. Does he know you have his best interest at heart. If he does he probably would let you have access. If he knows you are a guide and that you rely on access to make make your living and knows you will respect and watch over his land like it were your own then the landowner most likely would not have a issue giving you access to public.

[Guest 300ultramag.]

signing a paper doesnt make a jack a$$, less of a jack a$$...

 

 

we sign our licenses and tags as to abide all laws.... guess what dumb people are inevitable... and in every group of 3 or 4 people there is one dumba$$

[Bucks_N_Yotes]

so your telling me that you can pick and choose who get access through your property , even though the game and fish have it posted for you, with our signs !!!

 

Steven I know you are talking about access through private but the rules still apply. Would you allow vandals in your own home. Would you let a reckless person drive your car. Its the same thing. For every responsible hunter going through that landowners private personal land there is just as many hunters that don't respect the privilege they are given and cause harm to the landowners personal property. I don't know about you but I am busy enough with my day to day responsibility's to have to fix, rebuild, pick up after someone else's reckless behavior. And no I am not a land owner.

 

Also for your point that the Game and Fish are posting these signs that may or may not be true. I have spoken to a few different land owners that have told me that the Game and Fish will provide the signs and the landowners put them up. I dont see an issue even if the Game and Fish officer is posting them. It should be a partnership. Just as there should be a partnership between landowners and sportsman.

 

I know you are a sponsor of this site and knowing that I will try to phrase my next comments as respectfully as I can. Do you have the respect and trust of the landowner that wont let you in. You said he is picking and choosing so why is he not choosing you. Does he know you have his best interest at heart. If he does he probably would let you have access. If he knows you are a guide and that you rely on access to make make your living and knows you will respect and watch over his land like it were your own then the landowner most likely would not have a issue giving you access to public.

 

This is what I have been trying to say the whole time. And as for the remark about signing the paper, I know they can still be a Jack, but it keeps my tail out of hot water when they come back at me. Have you ever driven a road on a farm, and the road falls out from under your truck, or even better, your out at night or in the early morning, and end up in a sink hole? People have and have came after us for damages! That is why I must retain full control over who comes and goes!

 

I think when he was talking about picking or choosing who can come on the property he was talking about our method of allowing acess!

 

[COUESAZ]

Hey atleast you allow people on your land. I respect that totaly. The spot we hunted in unit 31 year only lets five hunters a year hunt on the ranch. When you grow up in a small town like I did and you rais cattle and have your own land to work. you sure hate people to come in a trash it. I was just talking with a guy about this same thing last night. I know ranches that the game and fish have built water catchments on for the rancher and they ask the rancher to let a set number of hunters to hunt it each year. They hand pick those that hunt it. that is how we got on the spot in 31 last year. We now can hunt it each year if we want because we respected the ranch and the land owners.

[Bucks_N_Yotes]

See its the small steping stones like that that will turn some of these guys that have the bad taste in their mouth from one jerk that screwed it up for the rest. I did find out that GF has funds that they havn't told me about that will give the rancher funds or have a crew come in and do a bit of road work to help fix things up after seasons or as needed! Having a couple hundred miles of dirt roads probly puts me low on the list!

[curmudgen]

Catclaw is right. You must have notice before you can be charged with trespass, but the notice may be verbal, so if you are asked to leave you must do so. Jack

[AZGFD_PIO]

Overall, it sounds like you have the right answer on this, but for additional clarification:

 

The signs you are seeing are a small component of a larger program designed to open up areas for outdoor recreation. The Arizona Game & Fish Department participates in about 10-15 multi-year contracts with private landowners (mostly large ranches) each year. This opens or maintains access to nearly 2 million acres of mostly private or state trust land.

 

To answer your question the signs are purchased with funds generated from the sale of lottery tickets (no hunting Lic. dollars go towards the RESPECT program).

 

You will periodically see these private property signs around the state. In most cases they are placed by the Department to help reduce conflict with private landowners and assist in helping hunters know where they can and can’t be. In some cases the signs may be placed on a private in-holding within a larger block of federal or state land. In some cases a private landowner may grant access through their private property on a specific road, but not want people hunting on their land. In other cases there a parcels that see significant amounts of trespass and we are working to try a reduce conflict.

 

I hope this helps solve this mystery.

 

Here is a link to more details on our web page:

http://www.azgfd.gov/outdoor_recreation/la..._overview.shtml

 

 

Sal Palazzolo

Landowner Relations Program Manager

Arizona Game & Fish Department

Phoenix, Arizona 85086

(623) 236-7503 office

 

"Conservation will ultimately boil down to rewarding the private landowner who conserves the public interest"-Aldo Leopold 1934