Farmland

[grouse]

We've all seen statistics about how wealth is being concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer people. The same thing is happening quietly with farmland. I don't see how this could be a good thing. Most of these people are probably acting responsibly but a few greedy bad actors could do a lot of harm. I know that I will hold on to my 87 acres for the rest of my life and I hope my kids will keep it after that.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/why-bill-gates-is-buying-up-u-s-farmland/vi-AANxn5A?ocid=msedgntp

[longbow joe]

Henry kissinger said many years ago that who controls the food source controls the world.
That should scare the daylights out of people yes china and the world's rich are buying up all the farmland at an alarming rate...and why.....we all know why. Companies
like Smithfield are Chinese owned and a young yuppie in Los Angeles dosnt care who makes the bacon unless they are told this about this subject because it's never on the corrupt mainstream media... but saying this is talking about politics , and l believe you didn't want to talk politics on the forum.

[xcaliber]

Very interesting!

[grouse]

My point with this post is that we as hunters need access to land to pursue our sport and when so few people control so much land, it poses a threat to the future of hunting that is as bad or worse than anything else. One man owning 2.2 million acres and several others owning hundred thousands to a million acres is alarming. The super rich are awakening to the fact that land exists in a finite quantity and is increasing in value over time. They have the money and they are buying the land up. There's no conspiracy among these people, they're just always looking for ways to get wealthier and this a good one. Look for the cost of land to go up and the availability to go down.

With regard to politics: Political discussions all too often deteriorate into arguments and name calling. Today, politics tends to emphasize our differences. We on this forum have a lot in common and I would rather see us talk about things that help each other and that we all find interesting, rather than anger each other over things that we have little control over. I'll leave it at that.

[Ankh]

The federal government owns roughly 640 million acres, about 28% of the 2.27 billion acres of land in the United States.

Pennsyltucky is 71% private land ownership. Our state government has oil wells , fracking and constant logging in most of the state gamelands I hunt on.

I'm not against any if the above. If you're counting on the government to be fair stewards of our land I'm not sure they are doing their job.

By the way, the federal government doesn't allow us to hunt on many U.S. owned acreage (I would love to hunt at Valley Forge or Gettysburg based on the deer I see while driving by those areas).

[grouse]

Post by Ankh » Sun Aug 22, 2021 11:22 am

The federal government owns roughly 640 million acres, about 28% of the 2.27 billion acres of land in the United States.

Pennsyltucky is 71% private land ownership. Our state government has oil wells , fracking and constant logging in most of the state gamelands I hunt on.

I'm not against any if the above. If you're counting on the government to be fair stewards of our land I'm not sure they are doing their job.

By the way, the federal government doesn't allow us to hunt on many U.S. owned acreage (I would love to hunt at Valley Forge or Gettysburg based on the deer I see while driving by those areas).

Many good points here Ankh.

Public ownership of land is mostly good for hunters. Here in Missouri we have a 1/8% sales tax that goes to the Dept. of Conservation. They have used this money to buy land all over the state for public use, including hunting. I don't see a way for fracking to help wildlife but limited and selected timber harvests can open the canopy and increase food production as well as improve ground cover.

Maybe you need special archery hunts at Valley Forge and Gettysburg (both of which I have visited).

[Ankh]

They justify the oil, gas and timber by additional land purchases, etc. Shockingly the math never adds up to their claims. Also, PA has now studied the following for Gettysburg cull: professional snipers, night hunting, and my personal favorite...darting does with birth control.

[xcaliber]

They justify the oil, gas and timber by additional land purchases, etc. Shockingly the math never adds up to their claims. Also, PA has now studied the following for Gettysburg cull: professional snipers, night hunting, and my personal favorite...darting does with birth control.

Does Pa. have state park draws, etc. to reduce population, and is there anything to encourage young people to get into hunting? This is where hunting has it’s biggest challenges.
Oh, and the thing, you know that thing!

[Ankh]

I'm more familiar with the western part of the state. There I know of 1 wildlife refuge , Pymatuning State Park, that has draws for both goose blinds and a late season deer hunt but it that section may be run federally.

[longbow joe]

Pennsylvania has been very hunter friendly in my eyes.lots of state land and forests to hunt.
The main problem with hunting acces is simply the fact that the private land owners are paranoid of hunting accidents and liability ....its a major roadblock.

[xcaliber]

Indiana is as well Joe, and tags are easy to get on the net. Every year several state parks have bonus draws, but private property is hard to come by, and expensive. We lease because of our lack of privilege.