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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Retired Educator" data-source="post: 312216" data-attributes="member: 3373">I question the term "These trails were always illegal to drive on". None of us have always been here but from my experience that is not necessarily true. I started deer hunting in the early 60's. First license was in 1964 with a mule deer tag. When I started hunting there were virtually no rules on where you could drive. I knew of some parties that would tie a long rope to two pickups and drive through a Soil Bank, "similar to CRP that we have today." The rope would chase up animals in the grass and hunters would shoot. Not sure if it was legal back then but it certainly wasn't uncommon.Hunting on National Grassland back then there were many trails, some of them were pretty well-groomed, through the grasslands. Not suggesting there were trails through every draw but you could drive from one area to another. Never heard of a rule against driving on these trails and never was suggested that it was illegal. Then the state put a rule in place that prevented "Driving off Trail" while hunting. Legal to drive off to retrieve but not for any other purpose. National Grasslands used the same rules as far as I knew. Not long after National Grasslands changed to no driving off trail at all. No mention of it being illegal to drive on these trails at all. No rancher or other hunter ever mentioned to me that it was illegal to drive on these trails.To suggest that BHA was helping put up signs that had always been there doesn't seem right to me as A couple years ago there was all of a sudden a sign on a trial that didn't replace any kind of a sign at all. Other than to keep the public out of public land it serves no purpose.An statement made earlier that hunters got into arguments about how one person arrived at a location versus another and wardens were involved causes me to question that as well. Never in my life have I heard of such a situation. It may have happened but pretty sure it's about as common as getting hit by lightning while deer hunting in November. Question it especially if it was a State Game Warden. Heard a question/answer session quite a few years ago, long enough that it was at least a State Director or two before our current Director. The question was about some new rules the USFW was establishing on National Grasslands. His response was "The state enforces state laws and rules." He would not elaborate.As I said at the beginning, I'm not sure about all the rules and laws, just what I have seen or heard in the past 56 years of hunting of which at least 3/4 of them have been in the National Grasslands. Other than I see more hunters, I don't see a lot of difference. Truth is I prefer seeing hunters over signs that eliminate travel where travel was allowed for years. I'm not arguing for new trails wherever a person wants to drive, just allow travel that was historically allowed.</blockquote>

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