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I hope the police catch you.

15K views 84 replies 40 participants last post by  swbuckmaster 
#1 · (Edited)
Dear Sirs,

I was passing through a WMA today and saw you drive in. I was on my bicycle, which I cleared with the fish and game office. You and your buddy were in your enormous razor. Unfortunately there are a couple of dozen signs posting this as a non-motorized zone due to wintering big game. And yes there was big game there, at least until you drove up. I tried to get to you before you left but by the time I arrived at your 'vehicle' you were gone. Gates are locked at every access so it appears that you intentionally broke the law by getting around them somehow.

I am writing to inform you that I took dozens of pictures of your razor. I have the VIN number, registration, make, model, time of day, video, etc, etc, etc. I called the WMA operator while I was there - and she is mad. As am I. All of the data I took has been delivered to her. She also informed me that the police get directly involved for this sort of infraction.

I hope the police catch you.

Sincerely,

A hunter who cars about this sort of thing.
 
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#2 ·
This is what more people need to do.
 
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#3 ·
Yup, I second that. I spend a lot of time riding my ponies on the WMAs. Never seen anybody this bold but it pisses me off just to hear about. Sounds like you got enough info on them they have probably already signed their ticket. Curious what WMA was this?
 
#4 ·
Just curious, do you think they had a key to the lock to access their property that may be on the other side, which even though it's a wma the land owners surrounding the property do have the right to drive through for access. Just throwing that out and since I wasn't there I have no clue so I thought I would ask.
 
#5 ·
It amazes me how blatantly people break the law sometimes. I was at a popular Utah Lake hangout a couple weeks ago and saw 6 people shoulder to shoulder fishing the tributary, which was very obviously CLOSED at the time. Dozens of people around. Vehicles going back and forth. They were standing 5 feet from the giant sign saying the tributary was closed. Not a care in the world. I called the poaching hotline and was connected to a local C.O. that was very familiar with the location and said it was a chronic problem. Enforcement was dispatched immediately. I don't know how people live their life looking over their shoulder. Seems like it would take all the fun out of it.

Good on you jshuag for doing something about it.
 
#6 ·
I am not going to release the name of the WMA at this time.

About the key. I discussed this with the operator. The ONLY person that has a key to this WMA, other than the operator, controls water coming out of it. They were not at the water gates. They were elsewhere. This means that they were doing illegal activity. This would also be the case if it were also the water operator because he is not supposed to use the area for personal use like that. (I don't think it was the water operator)

Dare I say it.. . ..
.
.

..
......

.......... i think they were horn hunting. Even so, they can horn hunt all they wish. I don't care. Just don't use a motorized vehicle to do so.
 
#9 ·
This same thing happened to me last elk hunt. By cousin and I had hiked 5 miles back int a roadless spot only to see some punks on a razor cruise past us. We ran into the game warden later that day and told him about it. Sadly we didn't ever get pictures or anything like that so it was pretty much a wash and they got away with it. Good on ya for getting that evidence!
 
#11 ·
Dear Sirs,

I just received notification that your razor has been found and yes the license plate does match the photos I took. Also, thank you for confirming over the phone with officials that you were indeed in the area yesterday. And thank you to the land operator that is keeping me informed.

......

to be continued.
 
#15 ·
Dear Sirs,

I just received notification that your razor has been found and yes the license plate does match the photos I took. Also, thank you for confirming over the phone with officials that you were indeed in the area yesterday. And thank you to the land operator that is keeping me informed.

......

to be continued.
Why would you post anything if you are not willing to go all the way and out these people?
 
#16 ·
I'm glad you are having better luck than I did a couple years ago. I took pictures of a couple guys off road, in which one of them got off his quad and came at me while throwing out a few vulgarities. I felt my finger reaching for the trigger on my shotgun, which scared the crap out of me. With two of them and one of me, I turned and walked quickly off and called the sheriff.
The sheriff did all he could to talk me out of pressing charges. He told me how it would be a waste of time and I would probably spend more than them in the long run with my longer travel and loss of work to appear in court.
I was very disappointed.
 
#17 ·
Yes. Absolutely, the appropriate thing to do. I hope what can be done is done. So many times I have reported similar instances and to be honest i more or less have had shoulders shrugged at me. I never had photos though. 4 wheelers are a lot of fun but I wish they would crack down a lot harder on those that break the rules, and help reclaim the mountain, back to when it didnt 12 different roads to get to the same location

Cheddar
 
#19 ·
Morons that take machines into the areas that are off limits are the reason more and more roads are being closed and blocked off. Then THEY are the ones that get upset when it happens, when it is because of their stupidity and how lazy they are to not get off the machine and walk 10 or 12 feet.
Then they want to play tough guy when you confront them..........

I have caught guys who have driven 4 wheelers around my fence, and then they try to kick me off my own place a couple of times.
That DID NOT work.
 
#24 ·
You got that for sure. Your honey hole above Indian land wouldn't be so great if every Tom Dick and Harry hiked up there with you.

Common sense tells me if someone is traveling in a wma illegally with a motorized vehicle. That's an infraction but not grounds to close other nearby road that are currently open.
 
#28 ·
I've experienced the contrary in my neck of the woods. I can only think of one closure in the last 20 yrs. Also in recent years the FS has put up signage showing the beginning of roads that had grown over and one wouldn't even know was there if not for the sign.
 
#29 ·
I wish I knew where you are. In most areas I go a lot trails my family has used for years are getting shut down. Its along the lines of all being punished for the poor decisions by a few.
Those who want ATV's banned are no different than the ones who want guns banned. Because the guns are the issue not the person pulling the trigger.
 
#32 ·
You don't want to get face to face with anyone in the back country unless you have more help than they do. It has happened to me when I was accused of hunting on private property. The person told me that I had the first swing, there were two of them and one of me so I backed off. You also never know who has a firearm in these kind of situations and it just isn't worth it. If you want to police it get a photo of the ATV and the rider and even better if you can get the number off of their reregistration but don't push it.

As for roads being closed down, the ones that I have seen closed have been roads to nowhere or only for a half mile or so. The ones that go out onto a point on the top of a ridge and then stop or down a draw to where they can't be traveled anymore. And I have no problems closing these type of roads, they serve no purpose other than getting you down the ridge without walking.

But what irks me is when they decided to put these kind of roads off limits to animal recovery. I would have no problem allowing a rider to go into these areas with a ATV to bring out a elk or a deer, but when they come out they better have something dead on the rack of the wheeler. But the big problem is enforcement. There are not enough law enforcement officers out there to see everyone that is riding off road and if you plan on trying to enforce it yourself you better be ready for a fight either at the location with the rider or when they want to see their accuser in a court of law.
 
#33 ·
I believe if you look it up, all roads in forest service areas are close to any kind of vehicle traffic unless posted open. That is why they have signs at all entrances to forest service areas stating that the roads are open. Many roads posted open to vehicle travel are closed to ATV travel, but must be posted as such. BLM ground is just the opposite, all roads are open to vehicle travel unless posted closed. Unless the laws have changed in recent years, that is how it reads on BLM and Forest Service property.
 
#37 ·
Pretty close. BLM has three designations that they use: Open, limited, and closed.

Open means it is open all the time, everywhere. No restrictions.
Limited means the BLM can limit OHV use to designated areas/routes or to existing trails.
Closed means it is closed all the time, everywhere.

Most of the old BLM plans had OHV travel designated as open in most areas. With the more recent plans, there are still large areas designated open, but to protect certain areas and provide for multiple uses, other areas are designated limited or closed.
 
#40 ·
I am for Road Closures. There is nothing worse than hiking up a ridge getting on top spotting a deer and then having some Jack-Hole bump the deer out of the area on his Truck/ATV.

Most Duck Hunting places don't allow them, why not a lot of big game hunting places.

I am not saying going completely Roadless, but just leave some main roads open for access to different areas.

Idaho closes roads and Wyoming has wilderness areas that you can't take a wheel into, So Utah should follow suit.
 
#41 ·
What about duck hunting when some power boater comes roaring up to your decoy spread and then speeds away?

And if you are sitting on a ridge where a vehicle can drive up it on a road why are you worried about the trucks or ATV's scaring the animals away. Actually they don't run away but just step off of the side of the road where they can't be seen and wait until the vehicle has passed. I have seen it happen many times.

If you want to close roads to ATV's why not to all vehicles? What is the difference between a ATV, Truck, or a touring car driving down a road? Here in Colorado you have to have your firearm completely unloaded and cased while it is on a ATV but that doesn't stop the truck hunters from driving around with the rifles out of the windows with the bolt open where all they have to do is close it and shoot.

ATV's get a bad rap and some of it is deserved, but what about those who follow the rules? Should we ban all hunting because of the few that decide to poach?
 
#42 ·
What about duck hunting when some power boater comes roaring up to your decoy spread and then speeds away?

And if you are sitting on a ridge where a vehicle can drive up it on a road why are you worried about the trucks or ATV's scaring the animals away. Actually they don't run away but just step off of the side of the road where they can't be seen and wait until the vehicle has passed. I have seen it happen many times.

If you want to close roads to ATV's why not to all vehicles? What is the difference between a ATV, Truck, or a touring car driving down a road? Here in Colorado you have to have your firearm completely unloaded and cased while it is on a ATV but that doesn't stop the truck hunters from driving around with the rifles out of the windows with the bolt open where all they have to do is close it and shoot.

ATV's get a bad rap and some of it is deserved, but what about those who follow the rules? Should we ban all hunting because of the few that decide to poach?
Never happens, I usually hunt boatless areas. :mrgreen:

There is no difference between ATV's and Trucks, other than the size. An idea is that there could be a 50 yard from truck rule.

I have no idea how to stop Poachers, you got me. :mrgreen:
 
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