What drives the leasing of hunting land is pretty simple if you are a landowner. Its always a confusing issue to the non landowner why the previously easy access and free hunting gets handed to someone else in a lease deal...sure money plays a role but if you think leasing hunting rights is a big moneymaker, you just dont understand the cost of land ownership.

Many leased farms involve far more than money. The guys who lease the ground make a conserted effort to aid in management of the herd....depending on the lease and the owners it can and often does include doe harvest numbers, selective buck harvest, help in habitat maintainence, etc.

The money made off a lease allows that landowner to do much more. In Kansas there are huge problems with invasive weeds like sericia lespedeza and musk thistle and controlling them is required by law as weandowner wants tho not have them...but it costs money! Fencing is huge expence today as is fertility, maintainence, taxes, etc.

I guess the lease issue is a hot topic but for those of us who own land and clearly know what it costs to be a landowner, we can relate to those who lease ground. Fixing fences after hunting season is a major problem. Even hunters we know who normally you would assume would take care of property often leave behind a bit of damage. Picking up trash, having to deal with all the 4 wheeler damage in stream beds and areas where they never should go....and then tresspassrs and all they bring...often times the guys who lease a piece of ground are the best guard aginst tresspassers.

Dont condem a landowner because he leased the ground. He may have just gotten fed up with all the tresspassres and freeloaders.