10-06-2014, 09:48 PM
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]A Walk-In-Access (WIA) area is a tract of private land on which the Division of Wildlife Resources has leased hunting, trapping or fishing privileges for public recreation. Funding for this program is comprised of restricted dollars paid by sportsmen and money made available through a federal grant from the Farm Service Agency for Voluntary Public Access. The program has been in existence in Utah for several years now.[/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]When it started, it was set up so that a citizen had to sign in at a kiosk on the WIA unit. Through laziness and/or ignorance, too many people ignored that requirement and used the property without signing in. The sign-in data was being used to determine the usage and therefore the worthiness of the program. The bean counters weren’t seeing the real usage figures because the users weren’t properly signing in and the field officers were seeing lots of folks using with many fewer signatures in the sign-in books. So what to do?[/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Now we have a better system IMHO. Anybody and everybody that uses any of the WIA units must now obtain an annual authorization number (AN) that can be used for each and every one of the WIA units all year long. The AN application is FREE. You can do it online. It’s painless. It gives the bean counters a better overall picture of the number of folks using or intending to use this program that allows legal access to private property without going through all the hassle of tracking down the landowner.[/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]And Orvis, to answer your question. Yes, if you walk up the dam at Birch Creek and launch your toon, you can float anywhere on the reservoir without an AN. But if you were clear down at the west end and suddenly needed to relieve yourself on dry land, what would you do? If you don’t have the AN, would you travel all the way back to the dam? Or would you take a chance on not being caught on the private property without the AN? Seems like a no-brainer to me, but far be it from me to tell somebody else how to conduct their own affairs.[/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]You can be given a citation for failure to have an AN when on the private portion of any WIA unit. That will be entirely up to the CO involved and your attitude about it when caught in a violation.[/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]A Walk-In-Access (WIA) area is a tract of private land on which the Division of Wildlife Resources has leased hunting, trapping or fishing privileges for public recreation. Funding for this program is comprised of restricted dollars paid by sportsmen and money made available through a federal grant from the Farm Service Agency for Voluntary Public Access. The program has been in existence in Utah for several years now.[/#800000][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000] [/#800000][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]When it started, it was set up so that a citizen had to sign in at a kiosk on the WIA unit. Through laziness and/or ignorance, too many people ignored that requirement and used the property without signing in. The sign-in data was being used to determine the usage and therefore the worthiness of the program. The bean counters weren’t seeing the real usage figures because the users weren’t properly signing in and the field officers were seeing lots of folks using with many fewer signatures in the sign-in books. So what to do?[/#800000][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000] [/#800000][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Now we have a better system IMHO. Anybody and everybody that uses any of the WIA units must now obtain an annual authorization number (AN) that can be used for each and every one of the WIA units all year long. The AN application is FREE. You can do it online. It’s painless. It gives the bean counters a better overall picture of the number of folks using or intending to use this program that allows legal access to private property without going through all the hassle of tracking down the landowner.[/#800000][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000] [/#800000][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]And Orvis, to answer your question. Yes, if you walk up the dam at Birch Creek and launch your toon, you can float anywhere on the reservoir without an AN. But if you were clear down at the west end and suddenly needed to relieve yourself on dry land, what would you do? If you don’t have the AN, would you travel all the way back to the dam? Or would you take a chance on not being caught on the private property without the AN? Seems like a no-brainer to me, but far be it from me to tell somebody else how to conduct their own affairs.[/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]You can be given a citation for failure to have an AN when on the private portion of any WIA unit. That will be entirely up to the CO involved and your attitude about it when caught in a violation.[/#800000][/font]
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Bob Hicks, from Utah
I'm 82 years young and going as hard as I can for as long as I can.
"Free men do not ask permission to bear arms."
I'm 82 years young and going as hard as I can for as long as I can.
"Free men do not ask permission to bear arms."