I really hate to say it, but writing petitions and such isnt going to turn any heads. Not yet anyhow. Business that depend on hunter dollars have been hurting for years now. Most have learned to depend on other forms of recreation/tourism to stay afloat, or theyve closed for good. We all agree you need a big shakeup in the PGC and DCNR. IMO the only way thats gonna happen is to let them do their thing. If you think what theyve done so far is extreme, I dont think youve seen nothing yet. Once the first leg of this testbed is complete and more info comes in, thats when youre going to see more extreme changes. The people that matter are watching, heck everyone is watching, and the PGC knows it. Its sink or swim. Give em a couple more years, they'll hang themselves.

Alrighty then, I found some greenish colored rope. :woot::happy0001:

Another thing I noticed while hunting yesterday, every piece of cover that looked like it might hold grouse had been driven by gangs of men muzzle loader hunting.

These small pockets of cover attract deer and certainly make them far more susceptible to all predators, including us.

I think if I had a camp near forest land, I might be doing a little land management of my own, nights and weekends of course.:biggrin:

The only land management thats gonna save deer are posted signs :biggrin:

The tornado's of 88 did a bt of good.

I think the big tornadoes were May of 85, and then we had some more, that nearly squashed our camp, around 2002-ish. The problem with tornadoes is that you can't even crawl through the damage area for 20 years. Our prime spot got hit both of those times and the only place you could hunt was walking along the forest road after it was reopened. We joke that a helicopter would be needed to get a deer, or especially a bear out of there. The longterm effects are very good though, if you can wait that long. There are some real monster bucks hiding in there that nobody can get to. That is where logging beats tornados. The logs are taken away of course and the tops collapse in a few short years. The new growth gives the herd a boost and the tops give cover. A few years down the road and you have a hunting paradise. That only lasts about 25 years and the same problems begin to creep back. The canopy closes in and chokes out the ground cover and browse.

Your right it was 85, and was the growth unbelievable ? Amazing what sun shine does isn't it.

I spent the day letting some light in, killed about 4 over size maples that will make some winter browse for my deer and some fire wood for next year.

Two of the big 85 tornadoes were very near my camp. (one was WAY to close) and the results were phenominal. It's been almost that 25 years you spoke of Greg and it's pretty much graduated into a pole timber mess. We do have some responsible timber owners in the area that are clearcutting big enough blocks to do some real good helping things along. :happy0001:

You just ring the tree bark at the base and it will die and blow over, or you can cut it down when it is dry. A simple saw cut all the way around. An easy way for a landowner to let in sunlight for ground vegetation for the herd and age some firewood for the next few years.