This happens way more often than people realize. 9 out of 10 sportsmen will see the signs and turn around. They do this to reduce pressure or access to areas they want for themselves. I personally have seen it 1/2 a dozen times or so.
I use ONX maps for the property lines that tells me where the REAL property lines are and I hunt based on what I know is right.
People have gone as far as gating off a WMA to reduce traffic and access to the WMA.
I’m not sure if Burrage Pond WMA ever got access restored.
Homeowners close off Elm Street access point to Burrage Pond (WMA)
Enough is enough for the Kasmareks. Chris Kasmarek has been living beside Burrage Pond on Elm Street since 1991. Back in 2002 the land surrounding the pond was sold from the Northland Cranberry Co. and put into conservation by the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. In the beginning, the access point to the Burrage Pond Wildlife Management Area was mainly used by neighbors and others who wanted to enjoy the wildlife with their pets and children. Since 2005, when the bar gate to the access road disappeared, he says the family’s quality of life has suffered with dozens of cars accessing the site at all hours of the night leaving behind trash, animal feces, empty liquor bottles and other unsanitary items.
Enough is enough for the Kasmareks.
Chris Kasmarek has been living beside Burrage Pond on Elm Street since 1991. Back in 2002 the land surrounding the pond was sold from the Northland Cranberry Co. and put into conservation by the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. In the beginning, the access point to the Burrage Pond Wildlife Management Area was mainly used by neighbors and others who wanted to enjoy the wildlife with their pets and children. Since 2005, when the bar gate to the access road disappeared, he says the family’s quality of life has suffered with dozens of cars accessing the site at all hours of the night leaving behind trash, animal feces, empty liquor bottles and other unsanitary items.
“First it was a couple cars late at night out back,” Kasmarek said. “But then people realized there was a place they could go and hang out in the middle of nowhere with nobody to police it.”
Kasmarek said that since 2005, especially in the last two years, the conserved area has become a frequently used location for people looking for some place to party, conduct transactions, or do drugs out of sight. He said he has called the police to report cars zooming down the road in the middle of the night but the police have not been able to get there before the people left.
There have also been a few burglaries in the area, one to his home (a go-kart was stolen) and a few to neighbors’ homes and he believes the unsupervised area is contributing to it by giving people a place to safely case out homes. He said that the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has issued no restrictions for access to the site and will not monitor any activity.
“I don’t know what the WMA (wildlife management area) is up to,” he said. “It would be one thing if they policed this; they have no ability to do so. What if somebody came along one day and used your driveway to put a parking lot in the back of your house and open it up 24/7 to whoever wanted to come. How would you like it?”
Homeowners close off Elm Street access point to Burrage Pond
