Unfortunately, by providing public hunting with retarded rules like the one I mentioned, it allows the DNR to wash their hands of not providing access...while making it increasingly difficult and undesirable for the bowhunter. I mean, who really wants to go through all that nonsense and jump through the hoops to sit up a tree or next to one, for a day?
Not to mention the fact that game wardens are not shy about handing out violations...intended or not...if you get something wrong. I personally know someone who bowhunted a PHL downstate with a friend...they slept in their truck overnight and left the tree stand up overnight. In the am they found the stand had been confiscated and the hunter that was assigned to the spot was written a violation and fined several hundred dollars. When he did not show up for his hearing a month later, a warrant was issued for his arrest. It took a lot of backpedaling, time off from work and money to get out of that one, but he finally managed to get the charges dropped.
Really? Just to go deer hunting?
A coworker I used to know told the story of bowhunting in another state on PHL with his brother in law. They had quite a long walk in to stands, and by law were allowed to hunt 30 minutes after sunset. They walked out empty handed (no deer seen) to the lot to find a DNR guy sitting on the tailgate of the truck. Since the were both carrying strung recurves with broadheads in the bow quivers, he proceeded to write them each a $300.00 ticket, incorrectly interpreting a law of the state that required bows to be cased after legal hunting hours...he had seen their bow cases in the back of the truck and knew if he waited he'd get them either for that, or for busting the half hour mark (he wrote that violation also). Was this entrapment? I would say so. But they both paid the fines in order not to lose their hunting privileges.
We have enough anti/tree-hugger enemies already without government infringement though over-regulation. Some of our more highbrow local communities have taken to hiring sharpshooters to keep the deer out of their gardens, yet get all up in arms at the average Joe that just wants to go bow hunting.