being able to change it multiple times a season will cause a ton of issues. Like some said before there is not good cell service around the state so using the live app will not be possible in some areas. On X maps has a solution for areas with poor cell service by allowing the user to save map areas so they can use the app when offline. If landowners can change land status at random times during the season it will require users to constantly update the app to make sure they have the latest version. This WILL lead to confusion and to more conflicts with honest hunters and landowners. Some people will say how hard is it to keep your app updated but I will respond by asking you how good you are at keeping your phone software updated or how good your less electronic literate older relatives are at keeping their phones updated?
Sure, landowners could be tricky and try to change the status of their land on a guy while he's out there, but I see that being a very long shot of happening, and it could easily be dealt with... any change that is made would be time stamped in the database so if some sort of issue did come about from a landowner trying to pull something like that, it could be looked into and dealt with accordingly... I personally hunt all over the western third of the state from the SD border all the way up to the Canada border and I can tell you that I've never been without cell phone data signal for more than about 4 hours. Hell, I'm usually looking at onX maps in online mode while I decide on a place to hunt next.
This app would solve some of the issues in a perfect world but it will not be the perfect tool it needs to be. Until it is functional I cannot get behind. We need to look at other ways to make it easier for landowners to post like using painted fence posts to signify posted land. We could require only one corner to have contact info but if it is torn down the land is still posted.
The majority of landowners I've spoken to about this have one of 2 main gripes about the current setup.
1. they don't feel they should even have to post their land, they already go through the expense of purchasing it, maintaining it, etc.... it's their property and people should stay off unless the obtain permission.
or
2. They are sick of having to replace signs that are destroyed by assholes that call themselves hunters and mother nature. They don't like that it costs them time and money to do this.
Finally this app will not reduce trespassing and may actually increase it due to the complexity of the app. It only makes it easier to post for computer literate landowners. If trespassing continues to be a problem the same groups will end up pushing for a new law .
It would, in my personal opinion once fully implemented, eliminate all doubt about whether or not a piece of land is posted... No more sketchy posted signs that look like they are half torn down, or improperly "posted" chunks of land. No more "I looked for signs but I didn't see any" As far as computer illiterate people having issues, that can be dealt with in one way or another... We just went to online deer apps and some people had problems with that and they found a way to help those folks...
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Reducing the punishment for trespassing will only make trespassing worse. It needs to be stiffened with more enforcement if we want to reduce it from happening. Reduce the burden of proof and hire more game wardens if we want to reduce trespassing and would be a better use of the money than the app.
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If I was a landowner there is zero benefit to signing up my land as yellow. Why post my address and a personal phone number for everyone to see so I can open myself up for a ton of calls during the year and especially during harvest? If a landowner is going to sign up they are going to sign up as red. I think no matter if it is red or yellow we should be able to see who has the land posted, but I don’t think anyone should be required to give out their phone number.
How would providing a phone number to the database for land that is entered as yellow (hunting is allowed as long as permission is obtained first) be any different than calling the phone number listed on a posted sign? I mean if landowners don't want to be inundated with phone calls during harvest, why do some put their number on posted signs?
As far as there being zero benefit to landowners for posting their land as yellow, respectfully I disagree... Most of the landowners whose land I hunt on have their land posted not because they don't want to allow other people to hunt it, but because they want to know who the people hunting their land are and they want to make sure the hunters know where not to hunt because of cattle or structures etc...... The app, if done correctly, would make it virtually effortless for landowners to post their land however they would choose to have it.... I think it would also make it easier to prosecute people for trespassing with this app.
instead of an unproven app how about we make posting land easier for landowners and reduce the confusion on whether land is posted? If we allow painted fence posts on corners and telephone poles then trespassers won’t be able tear down or knock over signs. We also would not have to worry about not being able too see signs in tall grass or signs covered with snow. Painted posts would also last multiple seasons and could be provided by the game and fish.
Wouldn't this proposed database/map be the easiest of all for landowners? It would literally drop the cost of "posting" their land if they choose to, down to nothing more than about 5 minutes of their time... no monetary cost to the landowner... and as far as avoiding confusion goes, it seems pretty simple to comprehend in my opinion... Green means Good to go, Yellow means call the landowner and obtain permission prior to hunting, and Red basically means No Go.
