How many generations has your family been hunting on the piece of land you hunt on?
For most hunters I have known, the truth is that darn few of them are hunting on the same land their grandpa's hunted on - much less their great grandfathers.
There's more than you think. Even in a state like MS where statehood wasn't established until 1817, there are plenty of families that can make that claim.
I am of one of them. We have owned and hunted this land since the end of the 17th Century in Mississippi.
In my area, we have gotten TONS of new neighbors in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. If a house is sold anywhere within 100 miles of here, you can bet that a former resident of the Greater New Orleans Area bought it.
As I've seen it 99% of those transplants cause no problems. Its that 1% that wants to re-create their beloved NO in our communities. As with any "special interest" group, they voice their views loudly-- giving the appearance of more support, and with legal action costing others monies to defend themselves.
Last year there was a huge battle in Mandeville with ONE WOMAN based upon drainage of her property. Never mind that she bought the property with poor drainage. I forget how many tens of thousands of dollars she cost her neighbors and local government.
Another recent case had to do with pets. Seems another woman moved into the area and began lobbying for leash laws that put a wrinkle in a lot of people's undershorts. Now frankly, I'd like to see less free-roaming dogs in the area. Just yesterday I saw our closest neighbors' two Black Lab puppies on our land getting very close to my deer plots. Considering that deer season starts Saturday, I don't want to see them there.
But around here, we TALK to our neighbors. I've no doubt they will restrain the pups the instant I see them and tell them about their wanderings.
We have one neighbor that bought his "retirement" home/ hunting camp (if you can call a Spanish-tiled villa-style house a hunting camp.) He bought it about 20 years ago and used to come up for hunting season from New Orleans. Now he and his wife are retired to that home. The guy and his wife are both active in our community, spend an insane amount of time working in their lawn, and are always happy to talk to others and/or help if they can. They aren't afraid to ask for help when they need it either.
They may not be "from here" but they are PART of here-- and are loved and welcomed in this community.
The bottom line is that you become a good neighbor when you come in and make an effort to assimilate INTO your community-- and accept the practices that existed there long before you.
You become a good neighbor when you spend your time working towards goals that are universally agreed-upon by your community as opposed to being a one-person activism force to advocate what YOU want regardless of what affect that has on others.
You want respect, you give it first.
You see, many transplants come from an environment where the idea of community is non-existent. I know. I've seen it. My EX-mother-in-law lived in Old Metarie in the greater New Olreans Area. Even though they lived there all their lives, they basically knew the people ON their block. That's it-- about 20 people tops. And half of those she knew, she disliked. Of course, ALL of them disliked her.
She is the quinessential reason that most people choose to move to the country away from neighbors.
You can't bring that to rural America and expect it to fly.
-- John
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