__________________
Alberta Fish and Wildlife Outdoor Recreation Policy -
"to identify very rare, scarce or special forms of fish and wildlife outdoor recreation opportunities and to ensure that access to these opportunities continues to be available to all Albertans."
__________________
"You're gonna need a bigger boat!" - Martin Brody, 1975
"There seems to be alot of urinating in breakfast cereal around here." - Rackman, 2010
"It is true, there are dead beat dads out there, and there are thousands of dead beat moms too, who live off the efforts of good men trying to do the right thing." -KegRiver, 2011
"You have social media to thank for turning everyone into self-righteous know-it-alls.." -random internet dude, 2015
It is important not to negotiate with them – the present regulations (while very biased against those requesting access) do spell out clearly the conditions under which a lease holders may deny access.
Unless they have a valid reason (as defined by the regulations) to deny access – you have a right to access as it is public land, not private land.
The lease holders know the game is rigged and some know who to play it to keep you off.
If they provide (i.e. state) a “valid” reason to deny, don’t take their word for it as many know how to play the system to simply deny access. You need to personally verify if the claim is true.
Many will claim that they have animals in the field (a valid reason to deny access); however if you check you may find that none are present at all or they are running only a few animals on a large lease with none near the area you are hunting in (this is not a valid reason to deny access).
Some may also claim they have an un-harvested crop in their field (which if true would be a valid reason to deny access) however if you verify yourself you will often find the field is unplanted or already harvested. Upon checking you’ll find that many never plant in their fields.
Some know what to say in order to elicit the response they desire – in other words them keeping exclusive access to public lands at our cost. If you accept their claims at face value – you will often be unjustly denied access. If you verify and find their claims to be untrue then you have a basis for proceeding with and access claim (Either with the settlement offices or through the courts).
Yes courts and lawyers cost money but honestly not as much as you think they would – if I was denied access to a good hunting area for illegitimate reasons and I was motivated I’d spend a few hundred or thousand to gain access. You can always sue the lease holder after in small claims court for your costs. (EDIT: menaing if they lied and provided a fabricated/false reason to deny you access and forced you to resport ot the courts or even just to lawyers in order to gain access they you can make a tort claim against them)
Remember the settlement officer does not work for you – they are part of the system which favors the lease holder. I begin with them, but if they don’t help and I think I have a basis for my claim then I litigate. Usually a letter from a lawyer at a large firm is enough to make the access happen and that is very affordable. It never goes to court.
You have to realize that many of these lease holders are using the land for other purposes than the lease allows. This is very common around Bragg Creek where many of the leases there are being used for trail riding and not agricultural reasons. The lease holder in these cases don’t want a lot of attention being placed on their actual use of the land – questions could lead to problems. Once they feel the heat they will provide the access.
Local Settlement Officer
Linear Mode
