I understand how you guys feel. I live in Georgia and about 15 years ago Florida hunters started coming up here and leasing GA land. They came because of the high price of hunting in Florida due to all the development there. Our lease prices went from a couple dollars/acre to 15 or 20 dollars/acre. Many Georgia hunters could not pay it, some refused to pay it, and others hunted on public or family land. Florida hunters were not looked upon favorably but they were just doing what they had to do to continue their hunting heritage.

I hunt in Illinois along with several friends and I assure you that we are not wealthy. These guys have jobs and families and bills just like you do. They start saving in January to be able to afford one 5 day hunt in your state. Because of the economy this year, several who planned to come will not be able to. We drive 13 hours each way to be able to experience what some of you might take for granted, the opportunity to hunt where there are truly magnificent whitetails.

I don't have a solution to your problem. Some different approaches have been mentioned above. Just try not to look so negatively at the guys with the out of state tags. They are a lot more like you than you think.

And thats all I have to say about that.