No funding, no trespassing

The Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program incentivized owners and operators of privately held farm, ranch and forest land to voluntarily give hunters, fishermen, hikers, bird watchers and other recreational outdoor enthusiasts access to land for their enjoyment. Program funds were made available to states and tribal governments through a competitive process. Eligible states and tribal governments could request funding for existing public access programs, to create new public access programs, or to provide incentives to improve wildlife habitat on enrolled lands. VPA-HIP funds may be used to provide rental payments and other incentives, such as technical or conservation services to landowners who, in return, provide the public access to their land.

Before breaking for Thanksgiving, Congress voted to de-fund the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP) as part of the FY2012 agriculture appropriations bill. 

Steve Kline Director, Center for Agricultural Lands at the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership writes about why this is a short sighted decision.

Comments

[spinner]

I 've had the sheriff called on me at silver creek ( stocker creek) for crawling under a barb wire fence that went acoss the creek. Some land owners are jerks.

[River Mud]

Out east (south of the PA border), there's already no such thing. You cannot enter a piece of land without signed permission from the landowner on your person. It really sucks.

I'm curious how far a lot of these Congressional Republicans think they'll get by de-funding farm subsidies - a mainstay (although a hypocritical one) of the party for the last 40 years. Making farm bill cuts, while more in line with real fiscal conservativism, is certainly not what most farmers want.

aka the standard, "your subsidy is government waste, but my subsidy is important to this country's future!"