Hunting with E-bikes

Muddyboots said:
So are you open to the discussion to limit horse access in wilderness areas? They are a mode of transportation absolutely NO DIFFERENT than any other. They cause damage to the land as well. Well ok, they do leave fertilizer but then again the seeds may be an issue if the hay was not certified. Just like someone who has a 100W bike, I am sure the hay wouldn't be used. There is no reason to give horses a pass on this at all. I look at horses as an entitlement for those who have the luxury of owning them and have SOLE access to back country as result. Again there is a disparity on the modes of transportation on WHERE you can use it. Horses cannot keep getting a pass on this. Or maybe this is what everyone so fearful of?
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I don't have a dog in the.... err... horse in the hunt but I can offer a very salient observation. We hike a trail close by called Trout Creek Canyon- it's an easy, nice morning hike along an old creek bed. Very popular for us to take new kids/scouts to get their first 5 mile roundtrip hike done. Vigilante Campground is right there by the trailhead. It is also very popular for horseback riding. I think the first time I hiked it was 10 years ago, maybe 11. I walk that trail at least twice a year. From the beginning it was pretty much native grass and shrub.

5 years ago or so the end terminus of the trail in the wide old bottom was totally and I mean TOTALLY run over by Scottish thistle. You couldn't cross it was that thick. My son was mulling over Eagle projects, so an invasive weed / trail maintenance idea developed. We met with the USFS ranger in charge of noxious weeds and basically she said it was a high priority but too far gone and aggressive for a youth project and it was so bad they may table it to attack other problems BEFORE they get as bad as that one. The main suspected culprit for that explosion? Horses.

It's not just what is carried for horse feed (certified weed free), it's what the horses bring with them and deposit along the way. That trail is so close to town that if the owners property is infested- it's coming along for the ride. At least that was according to the biologist.

Everything has an impact, and even horses and their owners are responsible for some of the ills. Not saying they should be shut out (because I'm not) but the reality 'is what it is'.
 
Montana'eer said:
I don't have a dog in the.... err... horse in the hunt but I can offer a very salient observation. We hike a trail close by called Trout Creek Canyon- it's an easy, nice morning hike along an old creek bed. Very popular for us to take new kids/scouts to get their first 5 mile roundtrip hike done. Vigilante Campground is right there by the trailhead. It is also very popular for horseback riding. I think the first time I hiked it was 10 years ago, maybe 11. I walk that trail at least twice a year. From the beginning it was pretty much native grass and shrub.

5 years ago or so the end terminus of the trail in the wide old bottom was totally and I mean TOTALLY run over by Scottish thistle. You couldn't cross it was that thick. My son was mulling over Eagle projects, so an invasive weed / trail maintenance idea developed. We met with the USFS ranger in charge of noxious weeds and basically she said it was a high priority but too far gone and aggressive for a youth project and it was so bad they may table it to attack other problems BEFORE they get as bad as that one. The main suspected culprit for that explosion? Horses.

It's not just what is carried for horse feed (certified weed free), it's what the horses bring with them and deposit along the way. That trail is so close to town that if the owners property is infested- it's coming along for the ride. At least that was according to the biologist.

Everything has an impact, and even horses and their owners are responsible for some of the ills. Not saying they should be shut out (because I'm not) but the reality 'is what it is'.
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Well said, Sir! Brother, my troop and I would have been more than happy to help with your son's Eagle project.
 
WahooYahoo said:
Except for mine. I put playing cards on my forks with clothes pins... makes em sound cool
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Muddyboots said:
I use to place baseball cards on spokes. Wished I had that 1955 Yankees card or 1953 Mickey Mantle card now!
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Montana'eer said:
My mother would have switched my hind quarter if a took one of her clothespins.

So I took them from my best friends house.
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L 🤣L!
ButterBean said:
We got fancy and used zip ties
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Too poor and not fancy enough, growing up, I had to pluck wing feathers off our chickens.
 
piute said:
I've spent thousand of hours in our forest, teaching, exploring, hunting, sharing time as a guide so others could enjoy nature.
Our advancing technology is definitely diminishing the wilderness.
The balance of nature has been disturbed and it is evident that the impact of the human footprint must be addressed.
With the poorly ran bureaucratic government entities making poor uneducated decisions usually based with monetary priorities we will be fortunate to have available access to our land!
I have witnessed so much lack of respect for each other, exploitation of the wild for profit and the general human greed that is speeding up this evolution.
Reading through this discussion and see the reoccurring issue of society "not taking responsibility of individual actions and justifying them with entitlement".
I do not like any bikes on hiking trails, multiple pack strings of a dozen horses going by with outfitter giving me the stink eye because I starting hiking at 3:00 am. and he thinks he owns the mountain!
being told I could not use my buck cart because it had a wheel on it?View attachment 276455

Life is not fair and not all men are created equal !
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OMG! I also prepared for when they banned game carts with wheels. :mad:

deer sled 2 of 2.jpg
 
FEENIX said:
Well said, Sir! Brother, my troop and I would have been more than happy to help with your son's Eagle project.
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Well that was 5 years ago, lol. He ditched the trail work idea and got hooked up with Bur. Reclamation and tore down an old and leaking pit vault privy at Mahogany Cove on Canyon Ferry. Boat in access only- very cool spot. He managed several crews that built a two stall evaporative privy. All boy power- 850 hours of it.

X0HD7UO.jpg




Dt2agYn.jpg


The boys had to excavate a pit that was 12-10x6ft deep to accommodate the tanks. That took a weekend by itself!
 
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Montana'eer said:
Well that was 5 years ago, lol. He ditched the trail work idea and got hooked up with Bur. Reclamation and tore down an old and leaking pit vault privy at Mahogany Cove on Canyon Ferry. Boat in access only- very cool spot. He managed several crews that built a two stall evaporative privy. All boy power- 850 hours of it.

X0HD7UO.jpg




Dt2agYn.jpg


The boys had to excavate a pit that was 12-10x6ft deep to accommodate the tanks. That took a weekend by itself!
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Very nice! I was a mean, Dad and scout leader. :cool: I was not a big fan of the 100-hour threshold. I made my sons do two Eagle Project each (2006 and 2009). One for church/school and another for the surrounding community. Between them, they have ~1500 scout hours. It is no big deal to them because my wife and I started them early in volunteer work/community service and continue to do so today at age 33 and 30.
 
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