Thanks for keeping this issue in our periphery. Most of us can't afford to lose sight of it and just let it pass. For a working man like myself public land offers so much opportunity that I would most likely be denied if expensive trepass fees were added to access these lands by new owners or tenants. Or worse yet, shut out completely by elite owners. I've been lucky enough to have a few hunting experiences on BLM and National Forest lands. I may never return to any of the western lands again but but I think they should be kept open for future generations to enjoy just as many of us have. Here in NC there are many thousands of acres of public land of all types. Some national,some state owned and some leased by the state but owned by large corporations or private interests. It has been a good balance of ownership in my opinion and worth my tax dollars. I'm pro public land because I am not a large land owner and the majority of my hunting has been done on public land.
if it were not for that access, my experience would be very limited. Landowners are not as ready to allow you to hunt as they were when I was young. As many of you know, those times are long gone. Now it is who you know or how much you are willing to pay to get on private land. Do we want that to suddenly be the case everywhere? As it stands public land can be used for many uses and everyones tax dollars help to pay for that privilege. You have to wonder if a corporation were allowed to leased our public land for their benefit would our tax dollars then be reduced by whatever percentage went to the maintenance of that land? A good question to ask when we all call our congressman/woman and tell them to vote no on this very bad idea.