gates torn down, locks cut off...

Wooden Arrow

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i'm seeing way too much of this here in east TN. i've found several locks cut and gates pulled open on Cherokee Nat'l Forest the past few years. i'm also seeing folks unloading ATVs & camping gear, ready to drive back in. also too many places where roads have been cut through woods around gates. around Laurel Fork (Cherry Flats) near Pond Mt. Wilderness area, and off of 421 headed to Shady Valley mostly. was hunting up on Iron Mt. once and had a guy come cruising down a logging road in a station wagon, a good mile off of the blacktop. he told us he "had a key" to the gate. WTF???
 
I got a license check from our local USFS officer coming out of N.Cherokee last year up in Unicoi county. He was an awesome guy. Anyway,told him about guys opening the gate and being up in the woods about 1.75-2 miles. He wasn't too surprised and began to tell me about the problem they have with houndsmen nationwide and especially here in the south. Evidently they pass a skeleton key around to all of the hound clubs and just go onto forest service land whenever they want under the guise of "chasing" their dogs. Didn't really surprise me.
 
Very common here and always has been. All it takes is an "in" with a TWRA employee, NPS employee, State Forest employee, etc and you can get a key. Or you just cut the lock or destroy the gate. Hog doggers are the worst group here for it, it's out of control.
 
your paint brush is just as large and woefully handled as Micks is. pitiful...
Believe it or not, it means nothing to me.

I am from ETN, and still consider it "home". The ETN destructive attitude is nothing new. I saw it growing up, and I certainly saw it as an officer up there on both private and forest service land. It was a fairly frequent happening.

I probably saw my first instance of it as a teenager (probably 1970). An older friend had secured permission for us to duck hunt up on the Lick Creek bottoms. There were a bunch of ducks dry feeding in some of the farmer's fields. We went in one afternoon and had a fun hunt that was pretty successful by ETN standards. A few days later we went back and killed some more mallards.

When we came out, we were met by the farmer at our vehicles and were told in no uncertain terms that there would be no more hunting on his farm. In the days between our first and second hunt, someone had gone in and shot out the windows on his combine. He knew we had nothing to do with that, but, he was not going to let anyone on his property from that point on.

So, sorry if my "paint brush" offends you. I certainly NEVER said it covers the majority of the good folks up there that I grew up with. But, it you don't think that attitude is there, you either haven't lived in ETN very long or you have your head in the sand.
 
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The road night hunters cut my gate to my driveway with bolt cutters. Not sure who hooked a truck to it a pulled it down the year before. Redneck trash is always doing stuff like this in the volunteer state. No punishment if caught and you will be prosecuted if you get caught putting a stop to it. It's a win win situation for the dirt bags.
 
Like some of y'all I hu t all over the country. Also travel for work.east tn is in the top two or three trashiest places in the country. No respect for private or public property. Tear it up or trash it up must be our state motto. Fight this battle daily.
 
Somewhere along the line a few need to be caught and the old corn cob and turpentine treatment as to reminder them to mind their manners
 

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