Albin Johnson letter: North Dakota posting lawsuit will ruin hunting
The Forum - 08/08/2003
I lived and raised a family in North Dakota. I have often claimed that the success in raising our family was, in fact, we as a family could go in the open spaces and enjoy the outdoors hunting and fishing at our leisure. The future of hunting in North Dakota is now in jeopardy. A group, spearheaded by the Farm Bureau, wants to close hunting rights in North Dakota.
Having moved from North
Dakota to Minnesota where this law is in effect, I can tell you to sell your guns as your days of hunting are over. Here in Minnesota, there is very limited public hunting land and every year, thousands of hunting licenses for deer and bear and are not sold as there is no land to hunt on. Hunting quality lands are at an all time high as the rich buy them up for a place to hunt.
Hunting here now is for the wealthy or people who have relatives with land. Bird hunting is a thing of the past. There is no way of knowing who owns the land, plus all the foreign owners.
If the landowners of North Dakota feel the land is theirs and not be shared with the public, maybe the sportsmen of the state should talk to the congressional delegation about withholding all the federal payments, disaster, deficiency land writedowns and all the other government payments they receive. Land is very private until public tax money comes in and then it becomes public it seems to me. Some people even say the farmers are now farming the government instead of the land. This sounds like public access to me.
If this lawsuit is successful, sell your guns and forget the legacy of hunting for your children.
Albin Johnson
St. Hilaire, Minn.
The Forum - 08/08/2003
I lived and raised a family in North Dakota. I have often claimed that the success in raising our family was, in fact, we as a family could go in the open spaces and enjoy the outdoors hunting and fishing at our leisure. The future of hunting in North Dakota is now in jeopardy. A group, spearheaded by the Farm Bureau, wants to close hunting rights in North Dakota.
Having moved from North
Dakota to Minnesota where this law is in effect, I can tell you to sell your guns as your days of hunting are over. Here in Minnesota, there is very limited public hunting land and every year, thousands of hunting licenses for deer and bear and are not sold as there is no land to hunt on. Hunting quality lands are at an all time high as the rich buy them up for a place to hunt.
Hunting here now is for the wealthy or people who have relatives with land. Bird hunting is a thing of the past. There is no way of knowing who owns the land, plus all the foreign owners.
If the landowners of North Dakota feel the land is theirs and not be shared with the public, maybe the sportsmen of the state should talk to the congressional delegation about withholding all the federal payments, disaster, deficiency land writedowns and all the other government payments they receive. Land is very private until public tax money comes in and then it becomes public it seems to me. Some people even say the farmers are now farming the government instead of the land. This sounds like public access to me.
If this lawsuit is successful, sell your guns and forget the legacy of hunting for your children.
Albin Johnson
St. Hilaire, Minn.