For Muskrat, Moosetrot and others. Here is an article from today's Milwaukee paper that may bring the issue to the forefront again. I feel for you guys and this is one issue where Governor Walker is absolutely wrong to not correct Governor Doyle's mistake. I just put a note in an envelope for a "friends of Scott Walker" solicitation saying that until he fixes the railroad access situation I will keep my money. I hope others do the same.


https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/co...lers/397599002/

I know there is a purpose for trains but they do cause a hindrance in many ways to tax payers.

In this case the land posted is private land and my guess there concern is safety on crossing the tracks when a train comes. Still sucks.

One more issue that burns me and I see it daily is they park their vehicles along the interstate to work on their tracks. Causes traffic problems people forced to congest in one lane.

In a few towns the ambulance and other emergency vehicles have to wait for the train to pass to get to people in need. This wouldn't be much of a problem if only one or two trains a day was coming through but in this case there is a train every 5 minutes.

Train transportation has grown to the point the train companies should realign some tracks.

I'm a firm believer in property rights. I hate trespassers. So called "sportsmen" are the worst of the bunch.
I get the desire of many to be able to trespass on private property to access other areas.
I used to fish a couple of lakes that the only way was canoeing down a small stream for a couple of miles to get to the lake.
It would of been easier to walk across the lake property owners lawn and go fishing.
But I respected the property owners rights.
Seems like for many years "sportsman" didn't, now since 2006, when they can't use others property they want to change the rules.
As far back as I can remember walking the rail lines for hunting has always been trespassing.

Also reading the article it sounds as if there are ways they can access the river but they have to pay for the access.
I have no problem with this. I pay to access private property to do the majority of my fishing. I pay a yearly membership to the property owner to the tune of $300.

I'll bet there could be solutions to this issue found without forcing property owners to allow trespassing.

Good article, thanks for the link Corky. Those who equate crossing RR tracks to gain access to public lands and waters with crossing private property might as well be antis.

Spot on Rat.

Too dangerous.You want to cross the track approach the railway so they can install a crossing and erect whistle boards and crossing signs,flanger markers etc,so they don't have a liability and the public can cross safely and the railroad workers can do their job safely also.

X2

Chris

I don't get it either. Wisconsin has a law already that basically says if someone on your property, is injured, while recreating, the property owner can't be held responsible. It seems that most power companies with land along river recognize this. I also see railroads as different from other property owners, as they cross thousand of other private properties. People own blocks of land, and they have a strip that extends thousands of miles. There are property owners that were forced to sell easement rights to them through eminent domain, or it was taken from people who settled the land before the tracks came through. They seriously want to stop a guy that owns lands on both sides from crossing? The public along that stretch owns both sides, the road and the river. I see a lot of differences between them and typical property owners.

Not an anti in the least. BUT....
Are you trying to claim that RR property is not private property?
Give me some justification to say its not private property.
If it is private property then you have no right to use it.
Simple as that in my mind.
One or the other, there is no in between in this country.

You may not like the RR stance but if it is indeed private prop. do they, like all private prop. owners have the right to control access to their own prop?

I get where alot of you are upset about this, If it wasn't your your ox getting gored you would not care.

Nobody has given one reason that the public should have access to private property here yet other than I want to fishing on the other side. Does not matter if the strip of land the RR owns is 20ft wide or 20,000 ft wide, you still have no right to use it.

I'm looking at the big picture here.

Railroads have relied on Gov. money, or our tax dollars for generations. Truth be told alot of RR land was claimed through imminent domain, especially along the river corridor as I still step over remnant fences.

Spot on!

This is for Dirty Doofus:

No one is trying to claim railroads are not private property. That is one (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) of a strawman argument. We're simply looking for what amounts to a number of simple ingress/egress easements.

Us sportsmen, a group that includes hunters, fisherman, and trappers (why someone who doesn't identify as a sportsmen and seemingly disdains sportsmen is posting on a trapping forum is beyond me but I digress...) are not looking to interfere with or impede the activities of the landowner (BNSF) or infringe on their land use practices in anyway. See the statistics in the original posters linked article. There have been no accidents involving sportsmen and if we could float over their land and avoid setting foot on it all together we would.

Us sportsmen, a group that includes all hunters, fisherman, and trappers, simply want access to the acres of public land our tax dollars and hunting license fees pay for. We want access to the water that belongs to all the people in Wisconsin. The water that an arbitrary rule by a democratic governor took away from us.

You like looking at bigger pictures, eh? How about you stop paying private landowners for access, bud. You do a complete, utter disservice to every hunter, trapper, and fisherman in this great state when you plant the seed that we should have to pay. You're also hurting yourself because eventually someone is going to come along with more money and buy your spot right out from under you. Additionally, when word gets around that there is a pretty penny to be made it can make it extraordinarily difficult for us poor folks to get access of any kind. It starts with a few bucks here and there and then before you know it entire areas and states are locked up in hunting leases.

If you have so much money to burn and disdain for the outdoorsmen of this state, perhaps you should pick up golf and leave the trapping to the people that need it?

X3 Anyone who uses the Mississippi really has gotten the raw deal on this one. Thousands of acres of habitat that we have lost access to.

Brian

Anyone can cross the railroad tracks,just pay for the crossing and related signals and mtc,and the rr will put one in for you.
They sure as h--- aint going to pay for it for you.The sense of entitlement some people have is rampant today..

You don't have a clue, anti.

Boco I'll pay for the stop sign, cause that's all they use.

In my profession I deal with railroads frequently. In my opinion I have never dealt with a bunch of more arrogant self important people....ever, no matter what the rail line. In my younger days a lot of guys used to hunt rabbits and other small game along the tracks with no problems and there were a lot more trains running back then. The idea that a guy can't look both ways and step over a couple of rails safely to access a piece of PUBLIC land or waterway is ridiculous.

Zim

You sound like a liberal, resorting to name calling right away.

You admit its private property, so you have no right to use it. Which means no to using it to access lands beyond.

I read the article. It states there are other ways to access the water. Walking/atv from a different access point, paying for access at a sports bar. I'm sure there are other ways to access the river all up and down the river. Maybe you'll have to pay for it or maybe its more work but none of that changes the fact. A Private Property owner no longer wants you using their property.

It does not matter that there has been no accidents, deaths, maulings or whatever on RR property.



I don't know where you live but where I am lots of land that was private and was accessible simply by asking is now off limits to me and other responsible sportsmen because of the slob "sportsmen" that ruined it. Guys who trespassed without permission (sounds like the RR situation), left messes, cut fences and disrespected the property owner. I now have to pay and others do too for the use private property because of these other "sportsmen". I thank the owner and his agents, I pick up trash left by slob "sportsmen", I report damage and hazards, I respect the rules that the land owner puts on me to use his property, and I even rat out guys who trespass without permission. Someday the property might be off limits to me and the dozens of other that currently pay for its use. If that day comes I'll be bummed but I won't be whining that I should get to use his property so I can access the river.



The $300 dollars that I pay to access his property for a years use is small potatoes. Hard to beleive that anyone that goes fishing can't scrap together $300 in a years time. Thats about 85 cents a day.

I'm open to change my mind. Give me a logical reason that a private property owner has to allow the general public to use his property.

Why is your DESIRE for recreation of more importance than his RIGHT to limit who goes on his property?

Dirty D-We had a long thread about his a while ago and obviously your opinion, very reflective of anti-consumptive use trolls, still means the same to me...absolutely nothing. As such, I am not going to wear out my keyboard replying to you.

This railroad issue has us along the River really taking it in the shorts. Until 2006 it was allowed to directly cross the tracks. That was taken away by the pen of the Governor at the time and we lost thousands of acres of access from public land to public land. Really a sad and silly situation.

Moosetrot

you guys are all the same. No logical reason why a private property owner has to allow others on his land.
but cause I don't agree I'm evil.

I've been in the same situation many times, my hunting/fishing spots on private lands ended up closed to me.
I move on and find another place or another way.
I talked to one large farm owner about why I couldn't hunt his land after years of doing it.
He mentioned all the litter, destruction of property, atv's and snowmobiles crossing his land to get to trails on other side and on and on. I saw it and agreed with him. If I was him it would be a cold day in (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) before I let another person in.

I think I've won this debate,
Never a reasoned discussion, just name calling.