# Parking at State Game Areas



## topgun47 (Jan 17, 2014)

kzoofisher said:


> I love the idea of charging birders and hikers and bikers. We would then get an idea of what percentage of people using public lands don't hunt and set aside that percentage land for non-consumptive use. And since they probably enjoy seeing all kinds of wildlife we could make sure that all advisory committees have a representative percentage of them as well. Yep, quantifying and monetizing the contributions of those groups is an awesome idea. It's just not fair that hunters and fishermen are considered the primary focus of the DNR.


I guess you've never heard of PETA or the HSUS or the other alphabet groups that already have a say in what goes on.


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## perchyanker (Jan 26, 2011)

I know when I first started hunting in the Livingston Washenaw county area (about 25 years go) They would ticket vehicles for parking without their permit. The ticket was basically the cost of the permit and you got a permit when you paid it. It was under $20 but Its been like 10 years since I have seen one on vehicle or got one myself. Some of the public lake access points had signs saying you needed a permit to enter. Not sure if they are still there.


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## kzoofisher (Mar 6, 2011)

topgun47 said:


> I guess you've never heard of PETA or the HSUS or the other alphabet groups that already have a say in what goes on.


They already have a say but the DNR has no mechanism to quantify and monetize the contributions of those who don't hunt and fish so they are pretty marginalized. MDOT does though and they put biking at about 25% the economic impact that the DNR estimates fishing has. Biking trails and routes are nothing compare to the investment over the last century in fishing but it is growing much faster than fishing and can be expected to close the gap quickly. In fact, nationwide biking is estimated to have a greater economic impact than recreational fishing and almost double the highest estimate I could find for hunting. The less leverage we give them to take our seats at the table the better.


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## Petronius (Oct 13, 2010)

kzoofisher said:


> They already have a say but the DNR has no mechanism to quantify and monetize the contributions of those who don't hunt and fish so they are pretty marginalized. MDOT does though and they put biking at about 25% the economic impact that the DNR estimates fishing has. Biking trails and routes are nothing compare to the investment over the last century in fishing but it is growing much faster than fishing and can be expected to close the gap quickly. In fact, nationwide biking is estimated to have a greater economic impact than recreational fishing and almost double the highest estimate I could find for hunting. The less leverage we give them to take our seats at the table the better.


I'm just throwing this out there. I bet a lot of people that hunt and fish use the hiking and bike trails. My friends and I use them when mushroom hunting and others to get to hunting spots.


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## alex-v (Mar 24, 2005)

petronius said:


> Paying your taxes doesn't count?


Paying taxes should count for most state lands but not State Game Areas. That land was bought with license money through the Pittman-Robertson Act (1937). That money is collected from guns, ammo and some hunting related equipment. I admit I might have the name wrong and it is another act that taxes the equipment. Those who do not hunt should be required to either buy a small game license or purchase a special pass.
..


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## alex-v (Mar 24, 2005)

brookie1 said:


> How exactly do you pay to use state land just because you are hunting? You buy a hunting license to harvest a resource, not use land. I can buy a combo tag and kill deer anywhere in the state on public or private land within the rules, my choice. I'm not paying to use the land.


Oh, but you are. I just checked and it is called the Pittman-Robertson Act. The link is to a pdf from the National Shooting Sports Foundation. I whole heartedly recommend that every skim through it at least once and read without skimming the section titled:
How Does The Pittman-Robertson Act Work. It starts near the bottom of page 1.
*http://www.nssf.org/factsheets/PDF/PittmanRobertsonFacts.pdf*

If you cannot read the pdf because you are using a phone then I recommend going to buddies house, a library or work and read it using a computer that will open the pdf. Every hunter and even fisherman in the state should read this at least once. Yes, there is a similar act for fishing.

....


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## brookie1 (Jan 26, 2011)

Spare the drama. I more than familiar with it and it has nothing to do with my post. There were posts making it sound like a license is needed to use state land. The license is for the resource, not the land. That's all I was trying to point out.


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## alex-v (Mar 24, 2005)

brookie1 said:


> Spare the drama. I more than familiar with it and it has nothing to do with my post. There were posts making it sound like a license is needed to use state land. The license is for the resource, not the land. That's all I was trying to point out.


Maybe you are familiar with the P-R Act but I am figuring that there a many on this site who have no clue what it is.

As for the drama when I said "you" I was referring to the readers who might not know about the P-R. I was just trying to help people get on track with what hunters who pay for the P-R have to put up with. They pay the tax and have to fight those who do not pay the license fees or pay any tax.


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## brookie1 (Jan 26, 2011)

You could have done that without quoting my post then.


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## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

alex-v said:


> Paying taxes should count for most state lands but not State Game Areas. That land was bought with license money through the Pittman-Robertson Act (1937). That money is collected from guns, ammo and some hunting related equipment. I admit I might have the name wrong and it is another act that taxes the equipment. Those who do not hunt should be required to either buy a small game license or purchase a special pass.
> ..


There are many state game areas in michigan that have been donated by wealthy families.


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## pescadero (Mar 31, 2006)

kzoofisher said:


> I love the idea of charging birders and hikers and bikers.


Sounds reasonable - as long as zero tax dollars or general fund dollars are used and it is a pure user fee.


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## david boyko (Feb 12, 2012)

was told by a co a couple of years ago that I needed a recreation passport let me slide on the ticket went to the headquarters and bought it


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