Ohv use

[waldedw]

Originally Posted by greywolf

I guess I get to sleep in a bit in the mornings now.

Yup me too, can have and extra cup of coffee in the morning

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by waldedw

Yup me too, can have and extra cup of coffee in the morning

[Big Grey Wolf]

Most seismic lines are being grown over with alder now as they were cut in 50-60's. Also province has encouraged forestry companies to destroy lines when they log. Thus limited access even with ATV.s unless us trappers do all the heavy lifting of keeping lines open.
Also oil companies throw large stumps and logs over the pipelines, blocking access.

[Smoky buck]

I have mixed opinions on ATV use and hunting. There use on roads or trails I am fine with and time of day should not matter. It’s when they head off trail I am no longer a supporter

I hunt the bush so this won’t impact me personally

[oldgutpile]

My quad has only been for two things;

Get to the hunting area and back, and haul out any game harvested.
I have always found getting back into the thick stuff is the best way, and boots to ground until they are all bedded up for the day.

I will jump on the band wagon about being able to go back to camp early! Sometimes those last few hours only involve reading a book, and waiting for the 12;00 noon timeline. Too many times, that wait also involved waiting it out in a monsoon or snowstorm!

Pros and cons.

[st99]

Originally Posted by oldgutpile

My quad has only been for two things;

Get to the hunting area and back, and haul out any game harvested.
I have always found getting back into the thick stuff is the best way, and boots to ground until they are all bedded up for the day.

I will jump on the band wagon about being able to go back to camp early! Sometimes those last few hours only involve reading a book, and waiting for the 12;00 noon timeline. Too many times, that wait also involved waiting it out in a monsoon or snowstorm!

Pros and cons.

x2, and I doubt that we'll see a big increase of quading activity.

[pikergolf]

Originally Posted by Positrac

The negative aspect of being able to use a quad before noon really depends on what area of the province you hunt.

I used to love hunting in the SE corner of the province because you could walk for miles in the morning and not have to worry about seeing a quad. They will be like maggots cruising the tops of coulees everywhere now...

As for up north bush country, their use is limited to roads or wide trails so its not too hard to get away from them. Most areas I hunt have allowed them in the morning and its never been an issue.

Why would they be like maggots cruising the coulee tops. The lease holder has the last say in these things. Most lease holders will not allow them, unless maybe they know the people well.

[Positrac]

Originally Posted by pikergolf

Why would they be like maggots cruising the coulee tops. The lease holder has the last say in these things. Most lease holders will not allow them, unless maybe they know the people well.

I've seen enough sxs's or quads with hunters in/on them before noon when it was closed to think it will only get worse now. Maybe they did know the leaseholder or maybe they offloaded 10 kilometers away and just kept finding a spot to open a fence line and go through. In 118 where I've hunted down south the last couple trips I've been on you could go all day and not cross a road. each time I've spotted one they have hightailed it in the opposite direction when they saw me. I've followed up with the lease holder each time and was told that no one had been given permission to take any kind of vehicle off road.

BTW, I do own and use a quad so I'm not opposed to the use of quads. I've packed one down with me the last few years and have permission to use it with a couple landowners for strictly retrieving animals.

[Jamie Black R/T]

The only people I have talked to that are in favor of this change are the ones who didnt understand the 1 hour before sunrise rule before.

I talked to Parks and Rec about this personally and they said there was a 2015 survey done that showed a majority of those polls wanted the rule changed and Alberta Fish and Game was one of the big pushers to get this changed.

Any AFGA members on here recall being polled?

Anyone else remember a poll completed 5 years ago?

Just talking to people online and at the local hunting shops Im having a hard time finding very many people in favor of this change. If any.

Im of the opinion that ATVs needed more restrictions...not less.

[Moosetalker]

AFGA being in favor of ATV use makes no sense to me.

By their own guidelines You/anyone are not allowed any ATV use on any AFGA controlled property even for game retrieval.

Only time they will sanction use is for doing reclamation/cultivation/control work

[Huk]

As a guy who has a serious hate on for OHVs I'm actually not too concerned with this rule change. If you check the regs the trail restrictions for the PLUZs are all still in place and have been robustly increased in the last few years:

Public Land Use Zones (PLUZ)
Several areas in the province are designated as PLUZs to allow for the management of recreational interests and pressures on local ecology. On and off highway vehicle restrictions apply in all PLUZs and may limit vehicle type, trail access and seasons open to vehicle use. WMU and PLUZ boundaries may overlap and all – or portions of – WMUs may have vehicle access restrictions. Please refer to PLUZ maps available at your local Alberta Environment and Parks office or visit aep.alberta.ca, see Recreation and Public Use Section.

Bottom line, when I see an OHV on a trail it's not supposed to be on I take down the license plate and report them. From what I've heard from F&W they're policing this a lot more and handing out big fines. A few more years of that and the rate of compliance should improve dramatically.

[pikergolf]

Originally Posted by Positrac

I've seen enough sxs's or quads with hunters in/on them before noon when it was closed to think it will only get worse now. Maybe they did know the leaseholder or maybe they offloaded 10 kilometers away and just kept finding a spot to open a fence line and go through. In 118 where I've hunted down south the last couple trips I've been on you could go all day and not cross a road. each time I've spotted one they have hightailed it in the opposite direction when they saw me. I've followed up with the lease holder each time and was told that no one had been given permission to take any kind of vehicle off road.

BTW, I do own and use a quad so I'm not opposed to the use of quads. I've packed one down with me the last few years and have permission to use it with a couple landowners for strictly retrieving animals.

Sadly for some people hunting is a game of avoid the leaseholder/landowner. In those big leases it can get onerous. And yes it tix them off. No wonder some want nothing to do with hunters.

[DRhunter]

Originally Posted by Huk

As a guy who has a serious hate on for OHVs I'm actually not too concerned with this rule change. If you check the regs the trail restrictions for the PLUZs are all still in place and have been robustly increased in the last few years:

Public Land Use Zones (PLUZ)
Several areas in the province are designated as PLUZs to allow for the management of recreational interests and pressures on local ecology. On and off highway vehicle restrictions apply in all PLUZs and may limit vehicle type, trail access and seasons open to vehicle use. WMU and PLUZ boundaries may overlap and all – or portions of – WMUs may have vehicle access restrictions. Please refer to PLUZ maps available at your local Alberta Environment and Parks office or visit aep.alberta.ca, see Recreation and Public Use Section.

Bottom line, when I see an OHV on a trail it's not supposed to be on I take down the license plate and report them. From what I've heard from F&W they're policing this a lot more and handing out big fines. A few more years of that and the rate of compliance should improve dramatically.

I certainly hope you are right, but in my experience hunting the Porcupine PLUZ it seems like not too many care that there are designated trails. There are a number of quaders who seem to be driving all over the place, maybe i just need to take down the licence plate and phone them in from now on.

I have no problem with quads, just wish they were for retrieval only.

DR

[Jamie Black R/T]

Originally Posted by DRhunter

I have no problem with quads, just wish they were for retrieval only.

DR

I still sit here wondering where the majority of those in favor of morning ATV use have gone...I havent met anyone besides the group who are excited they can get back to their spots for 1st light now....too bad they didnt know they could already do that.