I guess a lot of people use the flagging to mark trails to their stands, mark blood trails, that sort of thing. And I agree wholeheartedly that it should be cleaned up, or better yet, not used at all. As a surveyor, I use that flagging every day, and leave it everywhere for good purpose. For the sake of the surveyor to follow, try not pull the flagging marking the property corners, property lines, wetland delineation flags, or some such. But a trail to a stand? Yank it down and tell that guy to get a compass! :D
Its all litter and it all comes with me. I hate seeing the foot long piece of flagging tape blowing in the wind
This sort of Pi$$es me off. What give you, or anyone else, more right to an area than anyone else? Nothing! So when you do not get it to yourself you make it hard for another hunter? WOW, that is real sportsman like. Let me ask you this, if there was a marked trail to a spot, and that marked trail was not yours, how the he11 was the other guy to know that you might set up there. You admit that you take a climber in and out, right. So you are "claiming an area of public land, and doing so without telling anyone? I don't know you, we have never met. But this I know for sure, I'd find my tree and sit in that adjacent tree talking to you the entire time you were there. If you don't like to have to share, buy your own land. Now that I am done ranting, I too take the trash out each time I am in the woods or on the lake. I will take "old" marking ribbon with me to keep the woods clean. But I will not hinder another hunter, not so that I can have a piece of "public" land for myself. Sorry for the frustration, but public land is just that, public. It is there for everyone to enjoy. The trails that have been marked may be for someone that cold not find their way in the dark or for someone that may not be able to afford a GPS.
I can't get past the point of moving others trail maker/reflecters. Most are so small that they aren't an eye sore. IMO it boils down to messing with another hunter's chance of success. Might as well drop a duece in their stand while you're at it.
A good compass only costs $12 and knowing your pace count is free. If another hunter flags a trail to a spot and hangs his stand there but is not in it, isn't he "claiming" that area? I would never intrude on another hunter that was already in position but, as you stated, public land is public and there for everyone to enjoy and my enjoyment ends where that ugly ass flagging tape begins.
When I was in college part of my internship was doing research for the state... on public ground... where we marked out study areas with with flagging. Occasionally the flagging would disappear. Must of been you guys taking it and ruining the study. Knock yourselves out, it's your tax dollars...
Lighten up there Frances There are plenty of ways to mark a trail without trashing the woods, if you can't find your tree in the dark then hunt during the day. Those woods are as much mine as they are yours and its against the law for either of us to trash them with litter. Its called woodsman ship, learn it or try golf they mark the holes for you.
Through the season i leave them..... It makes it much easier to locate these hunters stand locations, and plan accordingly. When i start up my late season scouting... thats when things start coming down. Its pretty disturbing what you find in the woods after the season. I think there are a few people that want their trail marking tape to be seen from space. Its just lazy hunters that don't give a da%# about where they're hunting or the others they bother. Im sure they believe that since its public land that someone else will clean up after them. (their homes probably aren't much better)
Flagging tape = litter and should be illegal. With the reasonable price of a GPS today, there is no need to use the **** anyways. Yeah, I take down every bit of flagging tape I see.....unless I know its the loggers.
I would like to see this done in a 12 yr old logging cut. Hey Dan how old do kids have to hunt alone in WI or Ont? Do you plan on turning your kids loose when they hit that age? Leaving tape out is no different than leaving your portable stand, drip bag, or hub blind out. Some states it is MN is not. Heck the Paul Bunyan SF you can still nail them up. If you clean the crap up when you are done, I see no problem with it.
I have seen it done all over the USA and Europe, in deserts, deep woods, swamps and rain forest. It really isn't all that hard and if a person knows how to use a topo map it is even easier.
Alone? Wi is 14 and I'm not sure what the resident law is in Ontario. I do know that NRs have to be 16 to hunt up there. Yes I do, just like I was able to when I was that age. Never used flagging tape, just a few bright eyes, if I needed them. Now, with the GPS, it will be no problem for my kids to use them when they are 14. Huge difference.....people take their stands, drip bags and blinds out when they are done. And there is the problem......how many people actually take their flagging tape down? Very few and that's why I rip down every piece I see, its litter.
That's funny as hell! I have no problem saying that I take ALL red ribbons when I see them, every time. What can I say, it's called littering. Learn the lay of the land fellows. I couldn't care less what somebody does on private land though.
Yep! I've taken down (not stolen) 4 ladder stands in the woods where I hunt. The regs on this state land clearly state that stands are to be taken out of the woods when you leave EVERY DAY. NO PERMANENT STANDS! What, do these guys think they have special rules? I'll do it every time I see one.
Yeah, it's PA. Those rules only apply to the other guys, right? FWIW, I see a lot of very valid points on this thread. I also see some elitist attitudes regarding "woodsmanship." Some people barely have enough time to hunt let alone learn every rock, tree, creek, and ridge in the woods to get to their stands. If they need a little help on public land so be it. They pay for that land just as I do. Now if it's after the season and they left it, by all means pull it, but in season let a fellow hunter find his spot. In all honesty, he's doing you a favor by letting you know that area is pressured so you can adjust to his patterns as well.
According to both of these philosophies, you are the new cops. It is OK for you to fix something, or to police others and their actions. My grand father has a great philosophy when it comes to dealing with other people, and that is "my business ends at the tip of my nose". Maybe more of us should practice that concept. As for it being littering, if it is then you can report it to the authorities and they can do their job and deal with it. If it is truly illegal then why does the WDNR use flagging, why do they allow loggers to flag the woods and not remove it when done. They even pay surveyors to survey and they use it. So Dan, it is OK for a logger to litter but not for a hunter? All of these responses are crap, it is just an excuse to ward off other hunters from hunting land that is not even owned by those that would remove it. Selfish way of hunting if you ask me, but hell if someone did that to me I would sit in the tree right next to them and chat them up for a couple hours.
