...and now they want to start culling elk!

[DakotaElkSlayer]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25558285

This is going to be rather interesting...  Cattle brought disease to the elk and now they want a wholesale slaughter on the elk.  A buddy of mine is a big "save the bison" guy and has told me for years that the elk carry a lot more brucellosis than the area bison.  I have always told him that there was no way on God's green earth that they would target the elk.  Outfitters and sportsmen would never allow the elk to be persecuted for a disease the ranchers brought.  Now there is this proposal, and for you eastern folk, the Cattleman's Association in these western states OWN the legislatures. 

Also, in the article did you notice that the rancher mentioned,  "We've got way too many elk."  Gee, I have been hearing that the wolves and grizzly has been doing a lot of damage in that neck of the woods, how 'bout you?  What do you folks think?  Public elk, or private cattle?!

Jim

[bilmac]

I live in the neighborhood. Most of the ranchers in this part of the world are not just running their cows on their own private land but are using mostly Forest Service and BLM lands to stay in business.And yet they demand this and that, and unfortunately the government has a habit of giving in to them.

[torpedoman]

the thing that needs culled is the cattle allotments that allow cattle to graze in the elks habitat.

[beemanbeme]

Interesting situation. The ranchers like the big bucks they get from the hunters for access and as outfitters and such but they don't want the elk eating up "their" grass on "their" public land.  Nor tearing down the fences they put up on the elk's migratory routes. Didn't they recently bust some rancher in CO for slaughtering some great number of elk?? 

The question begs to be asked: According to the locals out there, the wolves have eaten up all the elk so how can you cull something or why do you need to cull something that doesn't exist??   

[rex6666]

I noticed that the rancher that said their were way too many elk did not say come over to my
ranch and hunt elk for free. A rancher in west Texas in about 1980 once told me the Audad sheep were
eating up all the grass on his ranch, i told him i would like to come hunt them, he said $250.00
i said maybe they haven't eaten enough grass yet.

[DakotaElkSlayer]

I know what you mean...  Back in 2000, I got the coveted Michigan elk tag; early season, outside the elk "core area," to help deplete the number of animals hitting the local farms at night.  I was at the check-in station, when I guy came in with a nice cow.  Told me how he had to wait for a monster bull to get out of the way so he could fill his cow tag.  He was on a farm, and gave me directions.  Drove to the farm and talked with the farmer...  Great guy, told me to come back at 5pm and the bull and his cows would be back feeding in his grain field.  I thanked him and that is when he dropped the bombshell, "We get $150 for a cow and $100 a point for bulls..."  Needless to say, I never returned.

Jim

[bilmac]

You know what a guy does with his own private land is his business. The way I've seen land treated by some folks makes me believe that if I was a landowner my land would be posted too. The arrogance of these guys that own 1000 acres and "control' 100,000 acres of government land is what burns me. Theyv'e been telling the gvt what to do for years, and unfortunately BLM and USFS have been letting them have their way. State owned land is even worse. There are some states where the public has no right to use this publicly owned land.

[torpedoman]

The public always has the right to use the public land and a grazing lease is not control of the land as they would have you beleave it is just a use lease and thats is all they are entitled to. Had a big go around with a jerk in colorado about that he wanted to know why i was hunting on his land he had it leased  when asked if he was ready to go to court or the local blm office to confirm his rights he got ral nice.

[bilmac]

That is the case on BLM and Forest Service, they have "multiple use"  mandates, so in theory your right to recreate is every bit as important as his right to graze. Lands that the states were given to support the schools, however, have no multiple use mandate in any state I am familiar with. In most states the public is "allowed" to enter without permission for recreation, but there is no guarantee that this will always be the case. I know of one state Nebraska, however where the public is not allowed to use these state owned lands for recreation.

[beemanbeme]

The key word is access. The rancher may actually OWN some two by twice little squat but he may control access to thousands and thousands of acres.  I know a rancher in WY that owns 75,000 acres (to an easterner that sounds like a lot but in WY it ain't) but he CONTROLS 250,000 acres. 

[bilmac]

Where roads are few this is easily possible. A road that goes through private land may be open to the public or may not. If it isn't a public road, you can't use it to access public land.