Nebraska senators propose bill to allow landowners free tags and more

[bwese]

https://www.omaha.com/news/state_an...cle_209d3937-699c-50fd-9677-d4e6a5b15c3b.html

Lawmakers clash over bill that would give some landowners special rifle hunting season for deer

That's the headline in the Omaha world herald tonight. Basically the bill would give landowners 5 days of rifle season prior to the regular rifle season opening up and 4 free tags per 80 acres.

What a crock chit. I own land that would qualify me but am 100% against it as it would cause a loss of revenue for a game and parks as license sales are what builds their coffer and allows them to do their job. On top of that I, if passed it will make a lot of people think twice about getting a tag themselves and I believe it will destroy the herd health overall.

This bill is the brainchild of the same senator that made fun of our game and parks this past fall and bullied his way for a constituent of his to get 50 elk depredation tags. He was trying to make a point on several levels. The constituent allowed hunting prior but only for cash and to kill bulls. WTF

Okay, vent over.

 

[Lucky 13]

I believe the current wording is UP TO 4 permits per owner with a maximum of 1 permit per 80 acres. So if you own 1000 acres you are maxed out to 4 permits and if you only own 80 acres you would get 1 permit. The wording in the current bill is kinda vague and would need to be worked out.

In my case it would work out better for the people I allow to hunt on my property. I currently give permission to 4 other hunters to hunt my land with the stipulation that I get opening weekend all to myself and they get the 2nd weekend. With the new law, I would hunt the special season and then the other hunters would be able to hunt the entire regular season.

The revenue side of things cuts both ways. Some landowner revenue will be lost for sure. BUT, The 4 extra people that hunt my land hadn't hunted Nebraska deer for over 20 years(they gave up even trying to find hunting land) until I purchased the land and allowed them to hunt. So didn't the NGPC just make $148 off me each year being a nice landowner??? I charge nothing to the hunters but they do bring be a nice bottle of whiskey.

I see pro's and cons to both sides of the issue. Gonna be messy.....

 

[bwese]

Lucky13, you are an outlier in the world of landowners. Thanks for sharing the hunting heritage.

You're correct the revenue issue cuts both ways but I believe it will be much deeper on the negative side. Especially after the herd gets knocked down, license sales will plummet. Hughes doesn't care about the hunting tradition, he wants dead deer to lessen damage to crops and property.

 

[Hardwood11]

Odd bill that would allow landowners to rifle hunt before the regular opener?

 

[mplane72]

Sad. In our children's lifetime hunting in America will become like hunting in Europe.

 

[bwese]

mplane, you are spot on. Also being proposed this year is a bill that would outlaw the state to buy land or accept it aa a gift for public recreation. This bill seems to have enough steam behind it to actually make it happen. Our state is 97.7 percent private so public land opportunities are minimal/crowded.

My wife and I would love to put a permanent easement on our properties to keep them from being developed and if possible public but with a draw system that would allow for more quality hunts than what just open to public hunting offers. It wouldn't go into effect until we are basically returned back to the earth though. We enjoy sharing it with our friends and family to much.

 

[mplane72]

mplane, you are spot on. Also being proposed this year is a bill that would outlaw the state to buy land or accept it aa a gift for public recreation. This bill seems to have enough steam behind it to actually make it happen. Our state is 97.7 percent private so public land opportunities are minimal/crowded.

My wife and I would love to put a permanent easement on our properties to keep them from being developed and if possible public but with a draw system that would allow for more quality hunts than what just open to public hunting offers. It wouldn't go into effect until we are basically returned back to the earth though. We enjoy sharing it with our friends and family to much.

That's the power of the Ag industry. Legislation of that kind has been proposed and often passed in many states. That includes Iowa I'm pretty sure.