Storm clouds on the horizon for many hunters

By Staff
Mike Giles / outdoors writer
October 15, 2004
The future is now for many hunters and it doesn't look too rosy. In fact, if things keep progressing at the rate that they are now, many local resident hunters will be forced out of their land leases in the next year or two. In the east Mississippi area, hunters are facing an immediate and present danger of losing their leases. Now we're not talking about prime delta land or any fantastic hunting places. What we're talking about are areas that have red dirt and pine straw and little else. Some of these lands are cutover areas that have nothing but bare dirt at the time this article is being written.
One veteran hunter who has hunted one particular lease since he was a child is a typical example of what is happening. In fact, the club where he hunts was the first hunting club to be established in that part of the state back in the 40s.
To say that their club is in a predicament is an understatement to say the least. They have already been having fund-raisers to help make their lease payments the last few years. Last year they paid approximately $10,000 for their deer lease. This year their dues will approach the $17,000 range. Next year it will jump up to approximately $23,000. That would mean only one thing the death of a 60-year-old hunting camp.
This is not an isolated event. Clubs throughout Mississippi are bearing the brunt of astronomical fees. The repercussions of this ever-present threat to hunters aren't known at this time but the future doesn't look bright for anyone involved.
What will happen when no local hunters hunt this land and look out for it anymore? If the resident and community hunters are shut out, who is to blame? Will anybody know the difference? Those displaced hunters will for sure.
Another local hunter already pays $1,500 per year and has now drawn a line in the sand. "I can't pay anymore than that to deer hunt. If it goes up, I'm out of there, that's all there is to it."
What about the people who helped get the deer population to the recently enjoyed levels? Are we going to just sit back and feel bad for hunters left without a place to hunt?
Decreasing population?
During the late 70s and early 80s it was practically impossible to get into some old established deer clubs. My how times have changed. Clubs all over are advertising for members. Adding to the rising costs of deer leases is the factor of decreasing deer population in some areas, leaving many clubs struggling to survive.
In the past every club had some "casual" hunters. These were folks who got into the clubs more for the camaraderie and fellowship than for the hunting. Most of the time they would hunt around holidays, or two or three weekends of the year. They were an essential part of every club's dues-paying membership. Those folks are gone now, however.
On one of the hunting clubs that I hunt, we have seen a drastic decrease in the deer population as well as an almost complete clear-cutting of our timberland. In times past hunters could sit over rye grass plots and see a few does almost every time out. Occasionally you could kill a buck sneaking in behind them. With the liberal doe laws, many does were harvested year after year. The remainder of the female population has since become very wary. As a result, not too many weekend hunters are going to come out and look at a food plot day after day without spotting or harvesting a deer. That has led to the exodus of those "casual hunters."
One local resident advised, "Mike, when you ride several miles down a wet dirt logging road and only see a few fresh tracks day after day, then you know you don't have the deer like you used to have in the area. They just aren't there. Tracks don't lie."
In some of our local counties it has gotten so bad that last year some land went unleased for the first time in my lifetime. As the land leases increased drastically, the value of the land for deer hunting purposes plummeted conversely with the clear-cutting of the timber. Gone were the hopes of hunting squirrels, small game or turkeys that lived in the hardwood trees and depended upon their fruit branches for food and sanctuary! Of course, that land will more than likely be snapped up by the start of this deer season and gone forever to the local hunters.
More rising prices
In one local situation here in East Mississippi, some local hunters had leased approximately 1,000 acres of land for quite some time. The members were all local friends or acquaintances who enjoyed hunting together right near home. For whatever reasons, their lease was advertised far and wide and a group of hunters from far away snapped it up. Of course the local hunters had a chance to match the bid; the cost was literally out of their price range. The cost per acre jumped from $5.25 an acre to more than $15 per acre in one year.
When the average working man can no longer hunt, who will buy the hunting licenses? In some instances longtime clubs are breaking up and being replaced by owners or leaseholders with just a fraction of the former hunters utilizing the land. It may be a fact of our present-day life, but is it good for the future of deer hunting, and the future of Mississippi? Time will tell, but hopefully, we will work towards solutions that will enable everyone to have a chance at a quality deer hunting experience. The future of our deer hunting traditions depend on it.