Riding the Levee

[River Hunter]

Morning wood i do remember those days they sure were fun I believe you and I both have been in that situation before (riding three wheelers). That is still a little diff than a stroll in your car or truck

[SoftCall]

I used to enjoy riding the levee too until I was on the receiving end of joy riders screwing up my hunting. Don't get me wrong...I like a good low ride just like everyone else. BUT...Case in point…I hunt outside of Morgan City and we used to have ducks galore in a certain field. Then the Corps came through and built a levee right through the middle of the place about 7 or 8 years ago. Now the ducks get busted off of that field by slow rolling sight seeing trucks multiple times daily. After about ten times….the ducks don’t come back. This happens all season. It has ruined the entire 80 acre field. The levee runs right up the 1/2 mile side of the field.

We never had a problem with poachers until the levee was there. Now I get reports of people shooting from the levee. I also see people creeping down the road in their trucks at the witching hour during our afternoon deer hunts. Why? To screw up my hunting on a lease that I pay for out of my pocket? I also pay taxes that benefit wildlife refuges – but I don’t go ride through the sanctuary because I feel “entitled”.

There are two landowners that have property past our lease. The levee road is not required for public travel because everyone else (besides the landowners) is not land locked. The landowners and I want to put a gate on it to keep unauthorized traffic off of it. Who knows the proper points of contact for the Yazoo river system?

[um_rebel]

softcall, i feel your pain, we have a deer lease in Carrol Co. and hear all the time, from people riding the blacktop that run directly through our lease, about the Big Uns they see crossing,,, then weeks later a maybe a year later we happen to walk upon that Big Un, DEAD...bout 50 yards off the highway in our pines...

[Unlucky Ducky]

I don't really have a beef or care if you ride the levee or not, I think its great to have a place to ride and view wildlife just to relax with family, kids, etc......I have several places like that back in the hills of NE Ms that I can view wildlife. The attitude of I'm gonna do it regardless, whether its right or wrong, illegal or not, disrepect for the law and rightful landowners/ lease holders is what gets me. The danger with this type of thinking is others see and hear it and actually start to believe they can do whatever, whenever, with no repercussions.
Like Soft Call said, and Delta Duck to an extent, if you were on the opposite side of the argument, where it was your land and hunting rights being tresspassed on, (because basically that is what your doing), you would have a different attitude I believe.
If you have a good relationship with the game wardens, sheriff deputies, levee patrol, they know you and vice-versa, then they probably would not give it a second thought. Maybe you have that in your area, that is fine, you may even help "patrol" the levee and report illegal activity, great!
But remember, it ain't yours, however you need to treat it like it is yours. And yes River Hunter and few bad apples could spoil it for the whole bunch if they abuse it.

[Double_R]

Softcall,

"The northern is the in
clarksdale and governs Tunica, Coahoma, Quitman, Sunflower, DeSoto, Tallahatchie, Leflore, and Yazoo Counties."

Contact the attorney for the levee board in Clarksdale and notify him of your intentions and solicit their input. It can be a painfully slow process - at least it was for us - but nopw our gate's up and we have the levee boards full support. Good luck.

[SoftCall]

Thank you Double R - I'll let you know how it goes.