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  1. #1
    Senior Dog
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Canada
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    Training grounds

    I don't know how things are where you are but here training on public land is becoming more and more difficult. One of the clubs I belong to lobbied for the reopening of a conservation area that the government had pretty well abandon. It had become very over grown and the buildings on it were beginning to deteriorate. It took them about two years of negotiations and forming a conservatory group but finally got permission to use it. At one time this area had had an archery range, a trap range and a range for sighting in rifles but as the area became more built up with very affluent horse people all this stopped. The new group worked their butts off cutting and clearing and cleaning. They had three nice field areas and a small pond that had originally been built by the dog clubs that held field trial there many years ago. Since the club has done all this work things have been going down hill in relation to the government. The conservation area was turned over to the township and life became miserable. This new group see the area as a money maker. The first thing they did was take one of the field and put in this climbing apparatus. It has to be 30 ft in the are and it is rectangular in shape and you move from one corner to another across a rope. The distance has to be a least 250 feet. They then took another field to plant some kind of exotic grass (this is a group worried about invasive species). They are now going to take a third field to put in another of these climbing apparatus. My biggest fear is that some one will go in during the night climb up one of these things, fall and the law suit will be horrendous. The latest thing is they don't want the dogs in the pond (that they built) because they will disturb the ecosystem. It is just insane.
    The topper came early this week when the township sent the club a new contract. Besides restricting the areas they can train in they now want $175.00 a day for use of the park. Needless to say the club will be here tomorrow to train. It is just such a shame that they put all this effort into getting a run down area back up and running only to be pushed out by the fern fondlers. The horses are still welcome to go through. I guess what they leave behind is good for the environment.

  2. #2
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    United States
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    Oh, that would just frost me. When the dog club embarked on the process or rehabilitating all those acres... I guess my question is, who was the "owner" of the property (rights and responsibilities) when the government allowed this group of private citizens to put in all the work? Obviously, it was their hard work that improved the property and made it more valuable. Then having invested "sweat equity" in the land, it was given???? to another group of citizens with an entirely other agenda?

    Is there legal recourse?

    D@mn! The loss of hunting and training/trialing lands is a huge problem all over the continent. That just bites.

    Here's the thing... retriever people usually leave the land better than they found it. Every year prior to our double-header HT, our club goes out and cleans up what seems like tons of garbage people have dumped at the reservoir. We chop back Russian Olive (horrible thorny bush/tree) and remove beer bottles, broken glass, decayed baby diapers... it's a combination of people coming out to plink and/or fish and drink beer plus illegal dumping. We always pick up our shells. We never leave duck carcasses or... anything... out there.

    It's very remote. But I heard that some of the farmers have complained about the stream of big dog trucks that come and go during out event. We've had to sit down with the county (not an affluent one, by the way) and show them how much they stand to gain financially from the event. It's not a lot, but it's not nothing either.

    You have my sympathy.

  3. #3
    Senior Dog
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Canada
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    I just can't understand people's attitude towards the dog sports. We have wonderful neighbours here. They never complain or question what we are doing. The only time I got ask was when we had a clay shoot. The guys started at about 8:30 in the morning and finished when the sun was starting to set. They had bought up ever clay target the stores around here had and had resorted to going out and picking up the unbroken or nicked clays. The neighbours thought WWW III had started. Of course we hear the corn poppers going off all summer to keep the coons out of the crops. so a little shooting doesn't really phase anyone. Our provincial government in its wisdom has been dumping their park lands and conservation areas so they don't have to maintain them. They set up what are called conservatory groups to look after these areas. They also list them among assets that can be sold if no group undertakes their maintenance. We are always afraid that the one we belong to will end up being sold to an off shore hunting group (Chinese or German, both have shown interest in it.) If this happens it will become a private hunting club and no locals will ever get to enjoy it. Over the last 10 years the conservatory group has worked extremely hard to raise funds and put back into the wetland area. One thing they do is sell season permits for pheasant hunting. This raises a lot of revenue. However the government officials some how stumbled on the fact that we were making money and were very intent on us paying them $40,000 of our blood sweat and tears. After much negotiating and opening of our books we were able to convince them that all money was poured back into the marsh and if they really felt it was such a money maker they could take it over again.I do regret that the day will come when the only way for our sport to survive will be through the generosity of private land owners. When that day comes it will spell disaster for some of these areas that we have worked so long and hard to maintain. Who will take over the duty of cleaning up other peoples garbage and cutting and clearing the land so that it doesn't become a waste land. As you say, it is the dog clubs that are doing the work of leaving these areas in better condition than when we came to use them.

 



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