MAV - that is an excellent post
I particularly get a kick out of the people that phone me every hunting season, never met them, don't know them from adam - after they ask me if they can I hunt, I say no - the dead silence speaks volumes - I sometimes even get snide remarks like "well thanks for nothing".
Stop by my home/shop and introduce yourself, I love shooting the ***** and talking hunting/fishing, may even give you access if I feel you are a trustworthy. If you treat my land like your own, respect the location of my residence, keep your eyes peeled & inform me of any damage or suspicious activity you see and I may also give you numbers of my neighbors and tell you to use my name as a reference.
When the classification of rivers was introduced in BC I was furious, $20.00 per day to fish a catch and release river???? Now I pay it and don't think twice - actually $40 to $50 cheaper than most lift tickets at the ski hill.
Here is a very simplified solution that may increase access - this is off the top of my head and just thinking outloud.
1. In each WMU register landowners that are willing to allow access - lets say 50% of the landowners sign up.
2. Each landowner that participates in the program recieves a couple of government signs for each corner of the parcel - it has a name and parcel number (ie. Jim Smith - ID #816442)
3. Every hunter who wishes to hunt on any parcel (with the bright red sign) is not required to ask permission for access (though stopping by and letting someone know you will be hunting is always courteous)
4. If Jim the hunter wishes to hunt on a specific day he must purchase a day "chit" online (Residents $15.00 per day, Non-Residents $30.00 per day, Non-Resident Alien $50.00 per day) once purchased you can hunt that specific day or days - you recieve a code that enables you to enter the database at the end of the day or season to input where you hunted. If you live in Alberta and hunted 10 days in November it will cost you $150.00
5. It is the hunter's responsibility to record the parcel number and portion of day they hunted it and input it into a secured database. (ie. Nov 8th, Parcel #894468 - 1/2 day; Parcel #812554 - 1/2 day) You cannot enter the database without a purchased day chit - so no abuse.
6. $10.00 per full hunter day is given towards the landowner as revenue - of which he is required to pay tax. (irregardless of resident/non-resident or non-resident alien)
7. The balance of the revenue goes towards the management of the program and the hiring of more CO's to patrol each zone to aid in the decrease of illegal activity and the problems of which landowners are PO'd about.
8. Fines and Suspensions are mandatory for anyone hunting without the day "chits", hunting on land not in the program, failing to input/mail parcel data into the system etc.. (Stiff ones - 1 year loss of hunting privelages, $2000.00 fines etc.)
9. Absolutely no "Big Game" hunting on any parcels of land that are not participating in the program (including landowners themselves) - these will be deemed small independant preserves to increase the health of deer populations and give the wildlife areas of no-pressure.
10. The access information is coupled with your License number and vitals - may enable CO's to investigate easier if they know who was where etc.
Numbers are all irrelevent - system might be a nightmare who knows - but this would definately be something I would enroll in - and not for the $250.00 I may receive each chistmas. There would have to be a marked increase in the amount of officers and their visibility - is it feasible at these numbers - again I am not sure.
Keep the landowners out of assiging/selling tags and personally charging for access.
This may also increase habitat - the guy thinking of knocking down the 25 acres of buck brush on his hay quarter may think twice. For some farmers the added revenue may be a great little incentive at that time of year.
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