Non-motorized access, to include on bicycles and on horseback, to all Weyerhaeuser land still requires a permit, but there is no limit on the number issued and the fee is either very small ($5-10), or free. If they want to keep their tax breaks, then they have two choices: provide no access to the public at all or provide access to the public in a reasonable manner. During the same time period, hunters pursuing elk and black bear, which were not nearly as popular to hunt on the Vail Tree Farm as deer, also slightly decreased. Now I’m not an expert on the tax or legal side of things, but it’s my understanding that most timber companies in Washington, including Weyerhaeuser, receive some special tax breaks on their timber land from the state and county governments. Snt. Every single day you should always be looking for a free deer hunting lease. “The permit program allows us to better manage visitor access to our forest lands. Timber lands received tax breaks and other incentives to leave their lands open without fees for recreational use. My opinion about what Weyerhaeuser is doing right now along with other Timber companies across the US is shameful. The whole point of tree farms is to produce and harvest lumber. Vail is a home for deer, bear and elk. DNR's new hunting map provides latitude and longitude information. COLUMBIA FALLS, Mont., Sept. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Weyerhaeuser Company today announced effective immediately that all of its lands in Flathead, Lake, Lincoln, Missoula, Sanders and Ravalli counties in western Montana have been reopened to public access. 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No permit is required for motorized or non-motorized transit through Weyerhaeuser land to access any publicly owned land located within the borders of Weyerhaeuser land. All gates will have some sort of surveillance (even something as simple and inexpensive as a trail camera) to ensure that everyone closes the gate behind them and identify anyone who leaves the gate open, cuts the lock, or bypasses the gate on an ATV. As quick as these permits are placed on sale, they are often sold out, but it is easy to understand why. not fare for everyone. Ask Neuneker how often he likes to hunt and he’ll answer, “All day, every day. WDFW opened this section of forest as Feel Free to Hunt access this year. However, I do have a problem with them charging me a lot of money for a permit, then still paying a significantly reduced tax on their land. And even then, finding roads and mapping a route can be tricky. There doing this across the state. Hi. The best thing to do is make reasonable efforts to prevent such actions and punish those who do without hurting the 99% of people who are doing the right thing. This basically makes hunting not an option for me anymore, especially with the increase the state is also doing on hunting tags and licensing. Nicely said, Really ticks me off that it’s becoming a money sport now and not what it should be. The total number of deer killed reported by hunters in that GMU dropped from 755 in 2012 to 689 in 2013, but increased to 795 in 2014. They increased the price to $200, but allowed motorized access to the majority of tree farm to permit holders. A couple of truckloads of firewood and a free Christmas tree pretty much cover the cost of the permit, even if the permit holder does not participate in any other outdoor recreation. However, the harvest for both animals actually increased slightly from 101 elk in 2012 to 105 in 2013 and 9 bear in 2012 to 14 in 2013. We as responsible stake holders should all insure that Weyerhaeuser is not reaping benefits they donot deserve and defitely are no longer earning. Weyerhaeuser can’t have their cake and eat it too. Weyerhaeuser gets better protection for their trees, infrastructure, and equipment on the tree farms, plus a small source of income to offset the costs associated with public access. A lot of people are predicting that since demand for access permits is so high and since Weyerhaeuser is stating that they will not issue more than 800 Vail access permits, Weyerhaeuser will continue to increase the cost of permits until demand drops off. it goes back to the original plan of America in the beginning “Freedom”. “We’ve seen deer, elk, and black bear on this property,” Lee added. I’m sure they were legitimately having a number of problems resulting from public access and this was their way of curbing prohibited activities. Those who are unable to purchase a motorized permit will still have the option to purchase a non-motorized permit and will not lose all access to Weyerhaeuser land. Even though they are still required to obtain Weyerhaeuser access permits, the public continues to receive access to Weyerhaeuser land for hunting, hiking, horseback riding, bird watching, and other recreational activities at a reasonable price. If Weyerhaeuser has a good relationship with the community, then every person with a recreational permit is provides a set of eyes in the woods. That’s not chump change, but it is a drop in the bucket to a company which had $7.1 billion in revenue in 2012. This will reduce the maintenance requirements for the roads on the tree farms, help keep significant portions of the tree farms from becoming a “zoo“ during hunting season, and still preserve the quality of hunting available for motorized permit holders. ... He’s been hunting on Weyerhaeuser land for 25 years, but refuses to buy a $300 permit. thnx!!! People may also earn free, discounted, or upgraded access permits by volunteering their time for picking up garbage or working as part of a “neighborhood watch” type program on the lookout for illegal or unauthorized activities on Weyerhaeuser land and reporting it to the appropriate authorities. Our ” representatives” , career representatives, are so deeply bought and paid for by the special interest group lobbyists, it will never happen. For comparison, approximately 55% of 6.9 million people in the state of Washington live in the Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia area while less than 10% of the population lives in and around Spokane. So, a buddy of mine told me about this deal where you pay $250 for access to about 100sq miles of forest adjacent to the north fork of the molalla river. However, if Weyerhaeuser aggressively takes action against those violating the rules, it will not take too long for word to get out and for people to start taking the new rules seriously. Each year, some prospective hunters never really join the sport and many veteran hunters quit because they don’t have access to a good place to hunt. This also resulted in corresponding increases in hunter success rates for both species. That $160,000 was probably spent on administering the access permit program and cleaning up/repairing damage and vandalism done to parts of the Vail Tree Farm by unscrupulous citizens. Also,take away the spraying of there land with herb asides and go back to slash burning. There is nothing wrong with requiring that certain types of recreational users purchase an access pass to enter the tree farm. Hunt Type: Feel Free to Hunt. Needless to say, this is a tremendous amount of forest and it is extremely difficult to police it effectively. But free is not always an option and it is not easy to come by. I don’t have a problem with this policy in theory. At the same time, they still get to maintain their preferential tax status for land not being logged and are still (hopefully) maintain an amicable relationship with citizens in the surrounding communities. A lot of Weyerhaeuser's land was bought in the late 80s in huge blocks. The vehicle permit mailed along with the key must be placed on the rear view mirror while on Weyerhauser property, and access is only valid from one-and-a-half hours before sunrise to one-and-a-half hours after sunset all seven days of the week. Afetr hunting the St. Helens tree for (14) yrears off the 6000 line and now looking for a place in NW oregon, I am about to say enough of the corporate greed and just to to water foul only. Weyerhaeuser has posted information about significant changes to its largely unpopular fee access system for the region. Just a heads up, before any of you lease land from Weyerhaeuser, try and find out if and when they will be cutting any timber on it. when the PNW was opened up it was blocked out to prevent just this type of land Barron grabbing of land like back east. With the way things are going, it’s not hard for me to imagine $400 (or more) for Weyerhaeuser access permits in the future. That is their choice if they want to charge large sums of money to the public in exchange for access to their lands. The money they are generating off of permit sales, while a nice benefit, is not the primary reason they are selling access permits. At the same time, Weyerhaeuser institutes and enforces a very strict policy of locking gates at all times, or ensuring that open gates are guarded in some manner. Obviously, hunters were the largest group adversely affected by this policy change. Doing so will result in a reward from Weyerhaeuser in the form of a free or discounted access permit. Where to See 2020 Holiday Lights in Centralia, Chehalis and Lewis... Where to See Holiday Lights in Centralia, Chehalis and Lewis County, Puget Sound Energy’s Wind Energy Project: Skookumchuck. All it would take is to sit down with interested local community members, timber management leaders and law enforcement officials to come up with some type of community watch program, where all parties needs are met. That’s $930,000! I use to look forward in hunting every year and has been my passion for life. I don’t know how to get it done, but If someone with the know how could, we’d appreciate it. in the long run it is all about money, and who makes the most will succeed. food. I’m not employed or affiliated with the company in any way. for personal use as long as they do so in a manner that does not damage any living trees. In the Pacific Northwest, winter arrives in many forms, whether on a snowcapped mountain top, or a misty overcast. Helens area used to be populated, and now you barely find one. There are three main gates to access Vail, and two of them are located in Lewis County. I have cleaned up lots of trash for them in the past and this is the thanks I get? If not, there is always next year and the short-but-sweet opportunity to purchase online. All permit holders have an obligation to report anyone they observe without a permit displayed. Especially if it meant a reward, such as a discount on their access permit, or some other perk, I’ll bet Weyerhaeuser could find a large number of people willing to pick up trash in the woods, or volunteer for some sort of “neighborhood watch.” Making effective use of engaged and motivated volunteers like this would significantly reduce the costs associated with patrolling and cleaning up their tree farms. Of those lands, the block management agreement allows public access to 709,927 acres in this corner of the state and 59,777 acres near Missoula. Number one,these private timber companies do not own our wildlife,the people of our state do. those of us that are not the chosen ones and are unable to obtain a land pass because they are gone before we can even get into the website are being denied our wrights as Americans they need to take a long hard look at what is going on here they don’t own the game that lives on the land with thing going in this direction our up coming outdoors persons are being denied we all are getting America taken away from us. Charging access is fine with me, but the way there doing it is wrong. and processing of the game animal. Though this specific issue is playing out in western Washington, the subject of hunting access is one that should concern hunters all over the country. They also prevent access to the wonderful wild trout fishery and great swimming on the upper Skookumchuck river. Ensuring that the gates are always locked will help deter people dumping garbage and vandalizing trees and equipment by simply making it more difficult and time consuming to do so. News and Updates. The ban will remain in effect until further notice. Snt Helens Tree farm for over forty years and never saw elk with hoof rot until the spraying of UREA. Until their land is taxed as recreational – I will continue to ride my motorcycle in the areas I have for the past 30 years. Weyerhaeuser Outdoor Recreational Leases - Arkansas-Oklahoma-Texas is not employed by or affiliated with the Land Conservation Assistance Network, and the Network does not certify or guarantee their services. Weyerhaeuser Company (/ ˈ w ɛər h aʊ z ə r /) is an American timberland company which owns nearly 12,400,000 acres (19,400 sq mi; 50,000 km 2) of timberlands in the U.S. and manages an additional 14,000,000 acres (22,000 sq mi; 57,000 km 2) timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. 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