Stay Limits during Hunting Season(s)

[Ross]

Back in the 80s there was a highly coveted spot.A group of hunters wanted it. They called FS. They came out and gave 20 yr occupants the 14 day notice. Day 14, they moved and the other hunters moved in. I had 14 day notice put on my wall tent once a decade ago. My fathers camp same place since the mid 60s would leave it 1-2 months never had an issue. Not sure enforced much these days.

 

[elkliver]

I think there is a lot of mixed up anger here. Guides, in an established permitted location are perfectly legal to have a permanent camp for extended periods. It may be tents, it may be established corrals, etc. And yes, they will certainly ride their horses by you because they ae doing nothing wrong. There is also nothing wrong with you hiking/riding right past their camp.

the General public staying past 14 days can certainly be a problem, especially in the best camp spots. always has been... but in the realm of priorities, there are other issues i would prefer to have enforced first. illegal motorized use on a closed road being a good example. If you have a recurring problem, the Yes, call it in.! If they get more than one call on the same camp, the more likely they are to follow up and do something

 

[Hnthrdr]

This seems to be a thing here in my neck of the woods as well. Each season it seems to get more common.

I already deal with one outfitter running multiple camps in my neck of the woods, just found another outfitter camp in the middle of a drainage i usually hunt… it’s all just so tiresome, I’ll move a little bit but damn man I’m kind of tired of it…

 

[*zap*]

You expect government employees to work and do their job?
Some may but my experience is Corps and fs rather drive around and look important. Ymmv.

 

[Pafarm]

I think there is a lot of mixed up anger here. Guides, in an established permitted location are perfectly legal to have a permanent camp for extended periods. It may be tents, it may be established corrals, etc. And yes, they will certainly ride their horses by you because they ae doing nothing wrong. There is also nothing wrong with you hiking/riding right past their camp.

the General public staying past 14 days can certainly be a problem, especially in the best camp spots. always has been... but in the realm of priorities, there are other issues i would prefer to have enforced first. illegal motorized use on a closed road being a good example. If you have a recurring problem, the Yes, call it in.! If they get more than one call on the same camp, the more likely they are to follow up and do something

I agree if it’s legal by all means that’s perfectly okay, however them trying to scare people off saying I can’t hunt there yeah no. I’ll fold their cloths with while they’re still wearing them. Spoke to a guy about three years ago an outfitter told him to leave the mountain they were after a deer in that drainage and threatened him. Outfitters that try to put fear/claim an area of PUBLIC LAND is absurd. Never liked outfitters never will not my cup of tea. Not all are bad but a lot of the guys do it for the wrong reasons imo. Many just trying to make a quick buck by whatever means.

 

[mtnbound]

I was out in my unit this past weekend driving forest roads, hiking around & scouting, and checking cams. We are about 14 days out from the start of the season in that area. The amount of wall tents, horse camps, trailers, side x sides, etc. that were already setup 2+ weeks before season was outrageous. To my understanding, in most National Forest / BLM / Wilderness areas throughout the state, there are 14 day stay limits. Meaning, you have to move your camp at least 5 miles (or some other distance) after being in a location for 14 days straight.

Could these camps be bear/wolf/lion hunting? Yeah. However, nobody was leaving camp during the day(s) to actually hunt. The guys I saw around camp looked to be guides (or hunters) doing camp chores, no clients. Too many plastic totes to count, firewood stacks that will last literally months, hay bales stacked high, and multiple wall tents per site. It's clear that they aren't moving anytime soon. I probably saw 5-6 of these sites setup (or being setup) throughout the unit and at least half of them looked to be guide camps.

My question is - do these 14 day stay limits not apply to guides? Do they not apply to anyone during hunting seasons? I'm not gonna be a "Karen" and call people in if they are still there in 2 weeks... but what the hell? It really pissed me off. Feels like everyone is going to start setting up 2+ weeks before season to "reserve" a camping spot.

In Idaho outfitters have permitted camp sites which are often times posted because they can show up at anytime and if you are in their spot you have to leave. The amount of area each outfitters runs can be quite large in size so it’s unlikely you were seeing that many different outfitters in one area. After calling in multiple guides and clients. I started finding the outfitter in my area before season and introduce myself and tell them I won’t **** with you if you don’t with me. That has lead to a pretty good relationship with them.

It has gotten ridiculous since Covid the number of long stay camps you see. I have seen in my area the FS go through and leave reminders about the 14 day limit and I have seen some get tickets. Typically the FS employee that stops is not a LEO and is not to go into occupied camps so some camps unless an LEO is called in never gets the reminder, which just encourages them people to stay.

I have no problem calling and complaining to the FS about these camps. I have just as much right to the area as anyone else just follow the rules.

 

[midwestcowboy]

I think there is a lot of mixed up anger here. Guides, in an established permitted location are perfectly legal to have a permanent camp for extended periods. It may be tents, it may be established corrals, etc. And yes, they will certainly ride their horses by you because they ae doing nothing wrong. There is also nothing wrong with you hiking/riding right past their camp.

the General public staying past 14 days can certainly be a problem, especially in the best camp spots. always has been... but in the realm of priorities, there are other issues i would prefer to have enforced first. illegal motorized use on a closed road being a good example. If you have a recurring problem, the Yes, call it in.! If they get more than one call on the same camp, the more likely they are to follow up and do something

Maybe I should've specified further in my original post that I'm not sure that all the camps I encountered were guide camps. I don't know if any of them were. Maybe they all were. But only about half of them had the amount of supplies/gear, horses, and wall tents that I would suspect to be guides.

I was also asking if Guides were not obligated to follow the 14 day stay rule, which I learned after posting that they have special use permits and can occupy an area longer than 14 days.

All of this to say, there were still a handful of camps I encountered that did not look anything close to a guide camp. Only a small backpacking tent or two with maybe a plastic table and a tote left out - which to me looked like an attempt to "Reserve" a spot. I was there all weekend and drove by a few times, never saw any vehicles. That's where my anger is directed. My frustration is not with the guides.

 

[High Climber]

What zone

 

[midwestcowboy]

What zone

Central ID, rifle Elk opens Sept 15th.

 

[sndmn11]

All of this to say, there were still a handful of camps I encountered that did not look anything close to a guide camp. Only a small backpacking tent or two with maybe a plastic table and a tote left out - which to me looked like an attempt to "Reserve" a spot. I was there all weekend and drove by a few times, never saw any vehicles. That's where my anger is directed. My frustration is not with the guides.

Wasn't it a holiday weekend this past weekend?

 

[Ross]

Manyyy people will put out a dome tent and table in an attempt to reserve a location.

 

[cnelk]

There’s a difference in setting up a tent to save a campsite and staying longer than the 14 day limit

 

[elkliver]

I agree if it’s legal by all means that’s perfectly okay, however them trying to scare people off saying I can’t hunt there yeah no. I’ll fold their cloths with while they’re still wearing them. Spoke to a guy about three years ago an outfitter told him to leave the mountain they were after a deer in that drainage and threatened him. Outfitters that try to put fear/claim an area of PUBLIC LAND is absurd. Never liked outfitters never will not my cup of tea. Not all are bad but a lot of the guys do it for the wrong reasons imo. Many just trying to make a quick buck by whatever means.

I 100% agree that there are some that will do everything in their power to run you out of an area. I have visited with other guides that are just good folks so its a mixed bag.

 

[Blowdowner]

Can a guy still stake a gold claim in this area?

 

[Trauma Guru]

Central ID, rifle Elk opens Sept 15th.

Same stuff happens on what little public land there is in Missouri and Kansas. I just walk right through camp and nod.

 

[mike.adams.467]

I can speak for Island Park and the Targhee National Forest. The locals (not the outfitters) in several different areas set up "their" hunting camps a week or more before season, and they are not taken down until season closes. I saw one the other day with 6 trailers, 2 tents, 10 vehicles, and several ATVS in a quarter acre space. The forest service will not enforce the 14 day limit. I asked them about it one day, and granny behind the counter told me they wouldn't start counting the 14 days until one of their employees actually visited the site, whenever that happened.

One local told me that the FS was actually granting exceptions to their 14 day rule, but I don't know how that works. You probably have to have a relative working for them.

 

[mike.adams.467]

Didn’t a lot of the forest service get fired this year? May not be anyone to complain too, probably less to enforce.

That will be their excuse, but they haven't enforced it in our area for years.

 

[5MilesBack]

About 10 years ago someone complained because my base camp was set up the entire archery hunting season.......like it normally is. A ranger came out and saw that there were literally a dozen other spots to set up camp in the area that were wide open. He explained that if there are other spots open, they're not going to do anything. He also said that generally during the hunting seasons they ignore that 14 day rule.

 

[HilltopHitman]

Happens every year in Idaho. Last year during the widespread closures for fires there was massive camps condensed into a couple units… 300k dollar set ups with toy haulers, sxs’s, and everything under the sun. I walked right through them the day before opener with camp on my back and right past them the next day with my buck loaded up. If they have a camp trailer, they’re more than likely to drink all night and be away from their wives. The look on their faces when your packing meat and their just getting up is great.

 

[bz_711]

VERY common in CO for locals to leave camps set up the entire archery season...sometimes just to hunt weekends. Some even stay up thru gun seasons. Those camps are little to no threat to my elk hunt.

I don't mind driving out past them with my bull on top of my SUV.