RE: Hunter drowns at public hunting grounds?
This is so sad. I wish the boy and the rest of his family well.
Turkey Fan - I'm curious if your comment on sueing Caesar Creek was serious or not. I don't know anything about that area except what I read in the article you posted, so my thoughts here might not apply. It sounds like this wildlife area is somewhat remote and perhaps in "natural" condition. It also sounds like there are some low spots and water naturally accumulates there. It probably iced over, and with snow on top of the ice they might not have known there was water under their feet.
As much as I wish that this hadn't happened and that the boy could have his father back, I don't think that its the government's responsibility to post warning signs at every possible danger. If that's simply the way the area is naturally, then I can't see where its anyone's fault.
An exception to that thinking would be if the land were modified to receive run-off from an urban area. In that way someone has created a hazard and has an obligation to warn people. We have those types of things here - flood control basins. Most of the year they're parks but when it rains they're designed to hold overflow water until it can drain to the ocean. In this case the area is clearly posted and when storms hit they close the basin, shutting gates and diverting traffic.
When you sue a government agency the money just comes from your neighbors. That money comes from everyone's taxes and could have been used for police, fire, etc. And since they're getting sued the city/county/state could very well decide its not worth it and close the area to hunting and/or other uses to minimize its liability. This is why people don't want to let people hunt their land, something goes wrong, even when its nobody's fault, and people want to sue.