Can I hunt on "Grazing Lease" public land when signs say "No Hunting"?

[doof324]

The other day, I found some crown land to go shooting on so I could scope in my new rifle. I was also scoping out this location as a possible rabbit hunting location, but I noticed that at the entrance to the land, there was a "No Hunting" sign. The leaseholder conditions (as approved by the minister) are as follows:

• Please contact between 7PM and 9PM weekdays
• Please contact 3 days before accessing lease
• Please park vehicle out of gate on roadway
• Foot access permitted, without contact, from December 15 to April 1
• Written or verbal approval for ongoing access may be available
• Dogs must be on a leash at all times

There are also no recreational management plans, restrictions, prohibitions or terms .......

The home-made sign says "No Hunting", but technically, if I want to go hunt rabbits on this land next weekend, I would not be violating any rules right? If anyone has come across a situation like this before, do you mind sharing any thoughts?

[Luckybrand]

I personally always contact leaseholders before accessing leases, I know the rules and how it's interpreted by law but some people get awfully possessive of "their" leases regardless of what the laws actually state. Using a little respect and contacting leaseholders has gone a long way with me personally for building relationships with leaseholders and being able to access their leases for hunting purposes.

[CNP]

...

[doof324]

I just called the leaseholder and he was adamant that we cannot hunt there. I told him that it was crown land and that he needs to provide reasonable access but he kept insisting that he didn't want us hunting there because he "didn't want anyone getting hurt". ??? I explained that we always go above and beyond regarding safety precautions so that no one (us or anyone else on the land) gets hurt.

What should I do moving forward? Hunt anyway with the printed off documents which say that I can hunt there or call the Local Land Office? Or something else?

[catnthehat]

Post #5 in this link tells you what to do
Cat

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...grazing+leases

[Deer Hunter]

Foot access permitted, without contact, from December 15 to April 1

Go on and leave it the way you found it. You're meeting the conditions. Don't make it harder on yourself or him or some govt official.

[JWCalgary]

Call the settlement officer. They will take care of it.

Sent from my SM-G530W using Tapatalk

[Yaha Tinda]

Part of Charlie's lease is affected by a county bylaw that prohibits shooting of anything considered a firearm(shoots over 500 fps).

[DiabeticKripple]

Just go. He cannot deny you reasonable access.

[hilt134]

I would say phone in and go. Then you excersize your right to use it and you also hopefully fix the problem.

[Slicktricker]

Seems like there's so many threads on grazing lease land for access you should be able to search hundreds of threads on this, I'd call before entering

[58thecat]

Do what cat suggested...frustrating but we beat this horse a lot last season...

We get the samething here too but people still get access

[spellswrong]

Originally Posted by Yaha Tinda

Part of Charlie's lease is affected by a county bylaw that prohibits shooting of anything considered a firearm(shoots over 500 fps).

Im not sure if Yaha Tinda knows which lease you're talking about or what but the lease holder cannot deny you access based on safety hazards. If the lease is in an area that is bow only or if a part of the lease is too close to a home there are laws that cover those situations and they aren't up to lease holders discretion. Make sure to check the regs and google map the location to give a rough estimate if you're going to be too close to buildings there is a possibility the lease holder might just be giving you some sound advice but is overstepping their rights.

[Z7fulldraw]

Call fish and wildlife first before the lease holder. Tell them where you are planning on going and if there are any restrictions on hunting that lease cause you don't even want to bother calling the lease holder if he knows of any, of course provided none listed in regs. Then call the lease holder tell them you had called fish and wildlife inquiring about any potential restriction on the leased land he has and they said you just had to phone you ask if you have livestock in there or not first. Fish and wildlife can even provide you a number if not posted. If there is livestock, move along if not you have done your homework and due diligence i'd be very surprised if he says no. I've had a friend ask a leasee and he said no then called the following day with fish and wildlife direction and had no problem. Could tell he didn't want to but he also knew I was allowed. They can also deny in high fire hazards.

[Coulee]

Go hunting on the land. If you are deemed to trespassing and are asked to leave, then comply. The issue ends there. They do not have any legal recourse if you leave immediately, even if they are allowed to post it.

[doof324]

I really appreciate the advice everyone. Great learning opportunity nonetheless as it sounds like this can be quite a common occurrence. Decided on a different piece of land anyway, but out of curiosity, I ended up calling the Leasing Land Office as many of you suggested (which I would suggest to anyone who is unsure). Not surprisingly, he has no grounds to restrict access to us. If we ever go to that piece, I would just make sure to bring documentation proving our permission.

Cheers, you guys rock

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by doof324

I really appreciate the advice everyone. Great learning opportunity nonetheless as it sounds like this can be quite a common occurrence. Decided on a different piece of land anyway, but out of curiosity, I ended up calling the Leasing Land Office as many of you suggested (which I would suggest to anyone who is unsure). Not surprisingly, he has no grounds to restrict access to us. If we ever go to that piece, I would just make sure to bring documentation proving our permission.

Cheers, you guys rock

Good luck and thanks for the follow up information from the leasing land office.

[DJS]

Originally Posted by DiabeticKripple

Just go. He cannot deny you reasonable access.

Great advice. And people wonder why land and lease owners say no.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by doof324

I really appreciate the advice everyone. Great learning opportunity nonetheless as it sounds like this can be quite a common occurrence. Decided on a different piece of land anyway, but out of curiosity, I ended up calling the Leasing Land Office as many of you suggested (which I would suggest to anyone who is unsure). Not surprisingly, he has no grounds to restrict access to us. If we ever go to that piece, I would just make sure to bring documentation proving our permission.

Cheers, you guys rock

What documentation would you bring to prove permission?

LC

[DiabeticKripple]

Originally Posted by DJS

Great advice. And people wonder why land and lease owners say no.

The lease says no contact required. Courtesy would dictate giving him a phone call, but he cannot stop you from entering that lease.

[Olthreelegs]

Originally Posted by DJS

Great advice. And people wonder why land and lease owners say no.

actually it was great advice. the lease holder absolutely can not deny access unless there is livestock or crop on the lease. obviously neither would be the case now. last couple years been an increasing amount of these knucklehead lease holders trying to treat their lease land as private. when one calls the lease holder before entering lease, you are not asking for permission, you are indeed just giving them notice that you will be accessing lease. If you do not believe what i am saying call lands or fnw, simple as that.

[Birchcraft]

Anyone can go post up "no hunting" signs on crown land, just cause they are there doesn't give them any validity.

[hillbillyreefer]

Originally Posted by Olthreelegs

actually it was great advice. the lease holder absolutely can not deny access unless there is livestock or crop on the lease. obviously neither would be the case now. last couple years been an increasing amount of these knucklehead lease holders trying to treat their lease land as private. when one calls the lease holder before entering lease, you are not asking for permission, you are indeed just giving them notice that you will be accessing lease. If you do not believe what i am saying call lands or fnw, simple as that.

Knuckleheads also post advice for others to follow in here.

There is lots of crop out on.leaseland yet. Forage crops that were cut and couldn't be baled, grain crops that were too wet to harvest. There are tens of thousands of cattle on.leaseland right now in this province.

Be careful what kind of advice you give. If someone listens to you trouble may follow them.home.

[Dewey Cox]

Originally Posted by LCCFisherman

Crown Grazing leases are SUCH a joke in this province. Sure I'll go buy 50 cows and don't care if they live or die just so my family can hunt this CROWN LAND exclusively. Such a god damn shame and pathetic abuse of OUR LAND.

Then why don't you go do that?

[Dmay]

Originally Posted by Dewey Cox

Then why don't you go do that?

Exactly! Or cite one instance where such a thing has ever occurred.....dumbest comment here yet.....

[iliketrout]

Originally Posted by doof324

I really appreciate the advice everyone. Great learning opportunity nonetheless as it sounds like this can be quite a common occurrence. Decided on a different piece of land anyway, but out of curiosity, I ended up calling the Leasing Land Office as many of you suggested (which I would suggest to anyone who is unsure). Not surprisingly, he has no grounds to restrict access to us. If we ever go to that piece, I would just make sure to bring documentation proving our permission.

Cheers, you guys rock

I'm glad that you found some other land to hunt; however it appears that the "No Hunting" sign worked even though not valid. No repercussions to putting up a false sign and if it deters even a handful, it's serving its purpose to the lease holder.

At the very least it would be nice to see F&W or the Lands Officer issue an order to remove the sign.

[gitrdun]

Originally Posted by Dewey Cox

Then why don't you go do that?

I see that what you "quoted" has been deleted.

Originally Posted by LCCFisherman View Post
Crown Grazing leases are SUCH a joke in this province. Sure I'll go buy 50 cows and don't care if they live or die just so my family can hunt this CROWN LAND exclusively. Such a god damn shame and pathetic abuse of OUR LAND.

But yeah, one of the most "duhhhh" comments.

Look, there are good and bad apples and abusers in every walk of life. Some lease holders think they own the land and then there are others who understand the limitations of their leasing rights. Best course of action is to try and communicate with the lease holder and get along. If one feels that they should be able to access according to the rules but are denied, best thing to do is to take it up to the next level. Certainly being denied access because of "I don't want anyone to get hurt" doesn't get much mileage for me. Cattle should be off the leases at this time of year, I can't think of that many reasons to be denied.

[DJS]

Originally Posted by Olthreelegs

actually it was great advice. the lease holder absolutely can not deny access unless there is livestock or crop on the lease. obviously neither would be the case now. last couple years been an increasing amount of these knucklehead lease holders trying to treat their lease land as private. when one calls the lease holder before entering lease, you are not asking for permission, you are indeed just giving them notice that you will be accessing lease. If you do not believe what i am saying call lands or fnw, simple as that.

No it was dumb advice. The lack of common sense and decency these days always get me sucked into these arguments. I really don't care if what you are saying is right or not. Someone has taken the time to go through the process of obtaining and maintaining a lease for their use. The least a person can do is call and talk to the lease holder and if he/she doesn't want anyone hunting then so be it. Respect their wishes. Just walking on and doing whatever you like is about as "knuckleheaded" as you can get.

[hillbillyreefer]

Originally Posted by gitrdun

I see that what you "quoted" has been deleted.



But yeah, one of the most "duhhhh" comments.

Look, there are good and bad apples and abusers in every walk of life. Some lease holders think they own the land and then there are others who understand the limitations of their leasing rights. Best course of action is to try and communicate with the lease holder and get along. If one feels that they should be able to access according to the rules but are denied, best thing to do is to take it up to the next level. Certainly being denied access because of "I don't want anyone to get hurt" doesn't get much mileage for me. Cattle should be off the leases at this time of year, I can't think of that many reasons to be denied.

Lots of cattle still on leases right now, no reason for them not to be. This is one of the biggest myths perpetrated during anti leaseholder threads on here.

Edit: this post isn't intended to call you out gitrdun, just trying to put an end to a myth.

[Olthreelegs]

Originally Posted by hillbillyreefer

Knuckleheads also post advice for others to follow in here.

There is lots of crop out on.leaseland yet. Forage crops that were cut and couldn't be baled, grain crops that were too wet to harvest. There are tens of thousands of cattle on.leaseland right now in this province.

Be careful what kind of advice you give. If someone listens to you trouble may follow them.home.

its seems that you have trouble reading hillybilly. did i not say if there are crops on or cattle in pasture? yup, quite certain i did.
Also you should probably do a little bit of research before coming on here and opening your mouth and spewing nonsense. you mention tens of thousands of cattle on lease land right now?! check the regulations of the dates that livestock must be off of lease crown. their are exceptions in certain areas but for the most part it is october 31. especially on woodland lease. There are plenty of farmers that keep their cattle etc on after this but it doesnt mean its acceptable or following regulations.
Almost sounds like you might possibly be one of these entitled lease holders that breaks and bends all the rules and treats lease as private. again call fnw or lands and find out hard facts instead of trying to call me out and failing horribly.
i say this with all due respect good sir!!