Asking for Closed Road Access

[Deer&Ducks527]

I am interning at a construction company that is doing a project in an area where I would like to hunt black bear. The road is closed to vehicles and the project shuts down around October due to rain. I will only be able to hunt for bear the week of thanksgiving. I would like to ask for a gate key to the closed road, but I don't know the best way to go about asking. Have any of you guys been in a similar situation? A couple options I have thought of are asking either the superintendent of the project or the president of the company. I have talked to the president before, as the interns are given the opportunity to meet with him 1 on 1. Considering that it is a large reservoir project and I am new to the company, I think they probably wouldn't allow it. I would appreciate any suggestions.

 

[Andrew12gauge]

You’ve got to be kidding, closed to vehicles doesn’t mean you get to drive it because your company did a project there. Park your truck at the gate like everybody else and hike the road.


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[Dave_]

What kind of land does it go through? If it's public (especially federal) on all sides I would say no chance to legally use it for personal reasons. If it's gated private that gets you to a legal access spot, I would say it doesn't hurt to ask, but you may need permission in writing.

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[Deer&Ducks527]

You’ve got to be kidding, closed to vehicles doesn’t mean you get to drive it because your company did a project there. Park your truck at the gate like everybody else and hike the road.


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You don’t know how far down the road the spot is, and in a different area I’ve ran into hunters “driving a closed road because their company did a project there” after I hiked into the spot.

 

[WCB]

You don’t know how far down the road the spot is, and in a different area I’ve ran into hunters “driving a closed road because their company did a project there” after I hiked into the spot.

Doesn't mean the other hunters were doing it legally. We have a rancher in WY the has gate keys to Natl Forest he runs cattle on. He can come and go for ranching purposes but can't go hunting with his vehicles through the gates.

 

[elkliver]

Is it gated public land or private? Does the company you work for own the land. If not, they can't let you have keys to the gate as their access is conditional on them using it for the specific purpose . If they own it, it would depend on your relationship with the company and whether you feel its appropriate to have that conversation

 

[Deer&Ducks527]

Is it gated public land or private? Does the company you work for own the land. If not, they can't let you have keys to the gate as their access is conditional on them using it for the specific purpose . If they own it, it would depend on your relationship with the company and whether you feel its appropriate to have that conversation

Its gated public

 

[GSPHUNTER]

We were faced with a similar situation in NW Wis. The land we had been hunting (logging Co. property) for many years was all the sudden closed to all but foot traffic. It made it kind of hard because some of the best hunting, we were mostly hunting ruffed Grouse, was quit a drive in. There was some decent hunting not far from the locked gates, three of them, but the best hunting was in a ways. We were told by one of the logging Co. foreman the bear hunters were doing to much damage with the quads when they drove off the main dirt roads into the forest. Just last year they opened some of the area again with limited access. They said if there were repeat problems they would close it completely. It's real simple, respect the owners property and things will be okay.

 

[The Guide]

Its gated public

In this case, the access to the road is based on conditional use for the project only and if used for things outside of the scope of project, like hunting, you could see access revoked, project canceled, or fines assessed to the persons using the access for activities outside the scope of the agreed access agreement.

It is not uncommon for people to get tickets for driving on closed roads when they have a key to the gate even if they have permission to be on the road for something other than the activities they are engaged in. My brother-in-law is a Surveyor and has to send people back to the main roads all the time because they follow their tracks up a closed road when they are surveying old mines and other closed sites. Your conditional access doesn't mean that you have complete access.

Jay

 

[Andrew12gauge]

You don’t know how far down the road the spot is, and in a different area I’ve ran into hunters “driving a closed road because their company did a project there” after I hiked into the spot.

Boo hoo, it’s a long hike and somebody else did it somewhere else. It infuriates me when people abuse a privilege granted for the purposes of legitimate work to get a leg up on others. I was hunting a late cow elk hunt a few years ago, hiked out a gated forest service road(administrative use only) about 2 miles in 8 inches of snow that didn’t have any tracks aside from deer and elk prior to my travels, about mile 2 of my hike I hear a motor coming up behind me, 2 punk kids in a ram truck pull up next to me and have the audacity to ask me if I’ve seen anything. When I asked the kid driving how he got in there, he said “it’s fine, my dad is the (forest service)district supervisor, I left the gate unlocked for you though” he apparently didn’t understand the benefit to me and the elk of having a gate on a road to allow the elk a refuge from jackwagons like him.


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[Nickofthewoods]

Based on everything you have said I highly doubt you will get a key or permission in the first place.

But even if you did, are you ready to draw the ire of every person you encounter who knows the road is closed and had to walk in? Some people will get pretty confrontational about this type of thing, others will just call the sheriff/game warden/land agency and report you and your vehicle. I highly doubt a project manager working on a reservoir has the authority to bypass a closure like that on public land so it sounds like somebody would be getting in trouble for that.

 

[Jethro]

You don’t know how far down the road the spot is

How far is it?

 

[Jason Snyder]

highly doubt a project manager working on a reservoir has the authority to bypass a closure like that on public land so it sounds like somebody would be getting in trouble for that.

This

 

[Bubblehide]

I had both A and B National Forest keys for years. Never once did I abuse that privilege, despite the temptation.

 

[elkliver]

The Reason the hunting is good is because of the gate... Never understood folks who wanted to just drive in and then the hunting is no longer as good . Gee i wonder why

 

[PredatoronthePrairie]

Fing new guy

 

[EdP]

Since it is gated public you have no business even asking and it would look bad for you if you did. If it was gated private and owned by your employer it would not hurt to ask but you should start by talking to coworkers to see if others have been allowed access and then talk with your supervisor. Going straight to the company president is a bad idea only comtemplated in the foolishness of youth (the kind of things we have all done and wished we had not).

 

[weekender7]

OP you have some big brass ones IMO.

 

[Deer&Ducks527]

Boo hoo, it’s a long hike and somebody else did it somewhere else. It infuriates me when people abuse a privilege granted for the purposes of legitimate work to get a leg up on others. I was hunting a late cow elk hunt a few years ago, hiked out a gated forest service road(administrative use only) about 2 miles in 8 inches of snow that didn’t have any tracks aside from deer and elk prior to my travels, about mile 2 of my hike I hear a motor coming up behind me, 2 punk kids in a ram truck pull up next to me and have the audacity to ask me if I’ve seen anything. When I asked the kid driving how he got in there, he said “it’s fine, my dad is the (forest service)district supervisor, I left the gate unlocked for you though” he apparently didn’t understand the benefit to me and the elk of having a gate on a road to allow the elk a refuge from jackwagons like him.


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Its over 9 miles to this spot; a little further than your example. And in this spot the chances of someone backpacking in or taking horses when all thats open is bear is nearly zero. Not to mention that even if someone hiked a couple miles in, driving in past them won’t spook anything considering all the trucks going up and down from March into October. Much different from your experience.

 

[Deer&Ducks527]

OP you have some big brass ones IMO.

Barnes Banded Solids? A little overkill for black bear.

Banded Solids - Barnes Bullets

www.barnesbullets.com