Does your state close wildlife management areas to the general public

In Georgia it used to be the WMA land was open to everyone unless a gate was up and then it was still foot traffic only as far as I know year round unless otherwise posted. The state just recently started charging a recreation pass for the ones not hunting because it was viewed as not fair for hikers and campers to use free of charge. That being said our WMA's get a lot of hunting pressure and I would not feel comfortable hikeing during a season for safety and courtesy. State owned lakes usually have excellent hike opp. with usually no hunting close by and very nice scenery and wildlife viewing.

In Georgia it depends on the WMA. Most are pretty isolated and not a problem. Others are closer to urban areas and get a lot of non-hunter use that can cause problems. The land on the closest WMA to where I live is actually owned by a college. http://www.berry.edu/recreation/page.aspx?id=14476 They lease 20,000+ acres of land to the state for hunting purposes. There are hundreds of miles of trails that college students and locals use year round for hiking and bike riding. I do the same when not hunting there. During hunting seasons the entrance points are all posted that non-hunters cannot enter and that a hunt is in progress. Occasionally someone does not get the message. But there have been no serious problems.

Each area is slightly different, you just have to read up on the regs.

Non WMA National forest land is different. There are no restrictions at all on when, or who can use the land. There may, or may not be hunters there during the hunting season. But hikers, are welcome at any time. Some sections of NF are also WMA's. These are usually remote enough that there are never issues. I know of no restrictions on non hunters using land here. In fact I often meet hikers on some of the remote mountain WMA's. The trailheads are always posted so non-hunters will be aware.

The WMA land in Georgia is paid for, and maintained by money raised by hunters through license sales. In some areas it is getting to the point where non hunters are overusing the land, destroying trails by hiking, horseback riding, bike riding etc. Not all areas, but a few are experimenting with requiring anyone who enters year round to either have a valid hunting license or a Georgia Outdoor Recreation Pass (GORP) http://gohuntgeorgia.com/Georgia-Outdoor-Recreational-Pass

Seems fair to me. I spend a lot of money on hunting and licenses to get to use the land. If others are going to use it, then they should help with some of the maintenance costs.

There are a few public areas in Ohio that get shut down for "general use" during hunting season. Others are divided into hunting only and no hunting zones.

Imagine this scenario: You go to a public hunting area and there's another hunter in "your" spot. You move on because it's public land and he got there first.

Now put yourself in this situation: You're set up in the perfect spot, been there since well before sunup, waiting for Mr. Big Antlers to walk by. Until the gaggle of hikers walk by making a lot of noise, snacking on trail mix and leaving a scent trail even I could follow. Hunt blown.

What's the difference? By buying a hunting license, you and the hunter in situation #1 have both paid for the costs in maintaining the area. The second situation, your hunt is being blown by people who have not shared a portion of the cost.

If you are in the Bay area, there are plenty of great places on the Peninsula to hike and explore; otherwise, there are also the Sierras

They don't prohibit non-hunters during the season in Florida but they have to log in and out if there's a check station.

I found a guy hiking during a gun season on one of the WMAs and suggested that he wear orange if he were going to be walking through the woods. His reply: "OH, I don't have to. I'm not hunting."
Some people are just dense and non-hunters seem denser than others.

I went backpacking at Greenleaf State Park last weekend only to find my trail shut off for turkey season...frustrating.

What was more frustrating was that we ended up camping by the gate (swing bridge)...which actually sits a few miles into the trail and we didn't even hear a shot...so they closed off the area and there wasn't anyone hunting it.

I don't really have a problem with it...since I am a hunter...even though I was just a hiker last weekend. But I wish I had known it was going to be shut down.

They do in Tennessee during big game hunts.

I'd move. Life's too short and no job is worth living under those kind of conditions. If there isn't enough room for hunters and non-hunters, count me out.

Don't know about other places, but in Texas we...

I hunt at two WMAs in Trans-Pecos region of west Texas, Elephant Mountain and Black Gap. Both are closed to non-hunters during the season. Big Bend Ranch is both a public hunting area and state park, and remains open during the season.

Elephant Mountain has some other restrictions, as the primary reason for its existence is to try to re-establish a viable desert bighorn sheep population.

Some of our public lands here are limited to use by licensed hunters only, I kind of like that approach. I figure that if someone wants to just go hiking, they can find very nice acceptable areas to do so, and not have to be concerned about stray bullets while doing so.

As for California, my experience started when growing up in S. Cal. from about 6 months old, until I was about 14 years old. I then moved to Arizona, end of story.

On a more serious note, I like being legal to carry any gun, in just about any place, in just about any manner, and without any permit necessary to do so legally, so a state such as California is never going to be one that I'll ever consider living, hunting, or hiking in.

GS

Also take a look at the Auburn State Recreation Area for some great hiking around the North Fork and Middle Forks of the American River.

Also keep in m ind that some states have closed areas to non-hunters during seasons to prevent the moon bats from being deliberately disruptive and confrontational. They take your dollars and provide you use of the land you funded without worrying about being harassed by tree huggers.

Part of me wishes that they would do that more. I've been sitting on a water hole and had hikers come by. Free use for all is cool and all, and I support it, but I was not going to see any game on that water hole (that had been actively used in days prior) with all the hikers, and if I had, I'd probably have second guessed the safety of a shot to the point that it wouldn't have mattered at all, because I wouldn't have dared shoot for fear of hitting a hiker.

If there isn't enough room for hunters and non-hunters, count me out.

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Remember, most WMA's are "NOT PUBLIC LAND". Many are on private property. Even the ones on NF property are leased from the feds by state game agencies, and maintained using funds paid for by hunters. There is far more public land that is non WMA than WMA. There are plenty of places where non-hunters can hike.

Even with that I have no problem with non-hunters using WMA land as long as they are not interfering with hunting or damaging the property. Hunting seasons are fairly short, let the hunters have the land in peace for hunting season. They did pay for the right to be there. Non- hunters are the guests who have no money invested.

Found this today. It is on private property leased by the state with money I paid for with my license fees. Some non hunters decided to make it their playground as well. They cut an illegal trail through the woods to ride bikes. Built several jump ramps and after a few bike rides and rains will have a washed out ravine to deal with.

The Sam Houston National Forest has lots of trail as well. I think they have off limits season for non hunters for safety purposes.