Question: Alberta Crown Land and Cabins??

[catnthehatt]

trappers can have 2 cabins on their line

other then that if you don't have a lease forestry can and will burn whatever you set up.

They can actually have as many cabins as they need .
Two cabins with 8 townships is a bit much IMHO.
But then again, we don't run that line anymore, and we use snowmobiles,not dawgs!
There are also rules about how permanent a residance a trapper can have , but when the main cabin is close to civilization, the "rules" are relaxed....
Cat

 

[huntinstuff]

Correct.

If the forestry finds a permanent structure they will burn it down. I have a couple of friends that worked for the Forest service in Helitack. That was a regular duty of thiers when they werent busy, burning and tearing down permenant camps.

Whatever you build, if it is there for more than 14 days there is a big risk of having it destroyed. IMO that is as it should be, it is crown land. If you want a permanent hunting camp, buy a piece of land and build something.

x2Otherwise, guys will decide they "own" this area...we have some guys like that up north. A real nice cabin got dragged in last winter and I reported it but the game warden wants the owner to move it as it cost about $25,000 to build......he has until the end of this month to move it or Im sure they will torch it. And I'd agree with that decision.

 

[riden]

Question was asked but never answered.

Are the rules anydifferent for an outfitter?

 

[crazy_davey]

Question was asked but never answered.

Are the rules anydifferent for an outfitter?

Outfitters get permits to set up thier camps during the season they hunt. If you would like to find out more contact SRD they will give you all the answers you need.

 

[crazy_davey]

x2Otherwise, guys will decide they "own" this area...we have some guys like that up north.

I am sick of people thinking because it is "Crown Land" that it owes them something. It is set aside for use to use responsibly, but yet because of irresponsible users and people that think they are entitled to do what they want, we are losing access to these areas at an alarming rate.

If you dont believe me, it is time you start spending some time researching. I have been watching what we have lost in Alberta as far as access goes over the past 15 years and what we are still losing access to at an unbelievable amount every year(Crown land).

I can go much farther, but I will leave it at that. We have to respect what we have left, but if we keep going the way we are, we will lose access to all of it.

P.S. I have sat in and voiced my opinion on many meetings regarding the future use of Albertas public lands (Crown Land). If you would like more info I can help steer you in the right direction. Shoot me a PM.

 

[Mumptia]

They can actually have as many cabins as they need .
Two cabins with 8 townships is a bit much IMHO.
But then again, we don't run that line anymore, and we use snowmobiles,not dawgs!
There are also rules about how permanent a residance a trapper can have , but when the main cabin is close to civilization, the "rules" are relaxed....
Cat

CAT,

According to the Forestry fellow in G.P. trappers are allowed to have a cabin every 6 to 8 km's. Might sound excessive but I'm betting those guys have a need for some storage along the way as well in addition to warm up cabins.

 

[woodchopper]

x2Otherwise, guys will decide they "own" this area...we have some guys like that up north. A real nice cabin got dragged in last winter and I reported it but the game warden wants the owner to move it as it cost about $25,000 to build......he has until the end of this month to move it or Im sure they will torch it. And I'd agree with that decision.

called squaters, and after I think 10 years they can claim the land that they have been living on.

Its been a while since I've had to dig into the books so I may be wrong on the 10 years. (like the 2 cabin thing )

 

[riden]

called squaters, and after I think 10 years they can claim the land that they have been living on.

Its been a while since I've had to dig into the books so I may be wrong on the 10 years. (like the 2 cabin thing )

I think it is a lot less than 10 years, I am thinking 3.

But I also think it must be continous habitation, not a camp.

 

[catnthehatt]

CAT,

According to the Forestry fellow in G.P. trappers are allowed to have a cabin every 6 to 8 km's. Might sound excessive but I'm betting those guys have a need for some storage along the way as well in addition to warm up cabins.

Exactly, which was my point.
I think you misunderstood, as I maybe did not make my point clear.

I was in fact agreeing with you!
Cat

 

[xeon]

If anyone could find more about this 'Squaters' thing id be really interested. Also if its for Ontario, id be even more interested. I just want to see how all that works.

 

[Kev]

There is no provision/recognition for squatting in Alberta regs. I have heard different things from other provinces, but don't really know about that.

 

[Mumptia]

Exactly, which was my point.
I think you misunderstood, as I maybe did not make my point clear.

I was in fact agreeing with you!
Cat

Well there ya go.........

If you didn't type so fast I might be able to understand you

 

[riden]

There is no provision/recognition for squatting in Alberta regs. I have heard different things from other provinces, but don't really know about that.

I don't think it is provincial.

Squatters rights come for the old British common law, so I don't believe a province can regulate it.


Again, this involves living there without the owner knowing it, so I don't think a cabin on crown land applies. "I think" part of the theory is that the owner has abandoned the land, therefore the user has more right to it.

 

[Mumptia]

Seems to me that if there are laws about squatting they should be considered redundant and are superceeded by the current laws of "14 days and out".

Makes no sense to live on crown land for years and call it your own. You didn't pay for it, don't have a permit, don't pay taxes on it so why does a squatter havea right to it?

Some of the old laws need to be re-vamped or taken out of the books.They just help to cloud up the laws that are being followed today to deal with our 2007 issues.

Sure would be nice for the gov't to open up some small leases for "Joe-Rec User". Not the whole bush, but a prescribed # of land parcels that would compliment a trappersline.

 

[riden]

Guys, I have been watching this thread and hearing other opinions and can't keep my mouth shut any more. This is crazy.

I live close to High Level and cabins here are commonplace.

There is no good reason why a private individual can't put a cabin on crown land and no good reason why the province can't give permits/leases for it. It could be regulated easily: so many cabins per sq mile, permit them only in certain areas etc etc.

I know it is already posssible to get a permit, but in this area at least, it seems damn near impossible to get them.

All this would do is give easier recreational access to public land. I don't see how that is not a good thing.

How many provinces permit it already??? I expect most do.

Seems like we have reserved public land in this province for industry and access is getting harder. Gas companies are limited access on leased land, grazing reserves are limiting access.

Boys we are going in the wrong direction here.

 

[BBB]

There is no good reason why a private individual can't put a cabin on crown land and no good reason why the province can't give permits/leases for it. It could be regulated easily: so many cabins per sq mile, permit them only in certain areas etc etc.

Uhh, what?

There's one very good reason why private individuals shouldn't put cabins on crown land; that land does not belong to them, it belongs to every single Albertan. I would personally love to have a vacation home off the trunk road for which I did not have to pay - but so would everybody else in this province, and if the province started granting those permits, we would have no wilderness left.

Of course, with your little cabins per square mile thing, everybody and their brother would stick in a cabin, then pass it on down to their descendants - so those who didn't win the lottery rush right off the bat would be screwed. And then those people who didn't get a permit but want one would start offering cash, and look what happened! Your little idea just effectively sold off every piece of crown land in the province. Nice job.

Look, if you can't deal with living in a wall tent you've got options. Buy some land and build on it. But putting in private permanent structures on public land results in de-facto ownership, or at least the feeling of ownership.

Like in my example of the perma-camp in the sheep canyon - somebody came and stuck a camp in on the only decent piece of real estate for kilometers. Now when I go there, I either have to sleep right in their camp, and feel guilty about it, or huff up and down a 30 metre slope 3 times a day for water. Sometimes I just sleep in their camp (not in their tent-I would, but then I couldn't ##### about their camp as much) but when I do, I feel guilty, like I'm trespassing.

But I'm not trespassing - it's my land as much as it is theirs - and they have no right to claim what belongs to 3 million of us as theirs.

It's not the fur trade anymore - first-come first serve would turn this whole province into a mess of wire and crappy-ass cabins.

Let's keep it wild.

 

[crazy_davey]

There's one very good reason why private individuals shouldn't put cabins on crown land; that land does not belong to them, it belongs to every single Albertan. I would personally love to have a vacation home off the trunk road for which I did not have to pay - but so would everybody else in this province, and if the province started granting those permits, we would have no wilderness left.

Well put. If I only had more time today....

 

[Mumptia]

It's not the fur trade anymore - first-come first serve would turn this whole province into a mess of wire and crappy-ass cabins.

Of course its not the fur trade but those cabins have merit, if nothing else for safety.

Some here seem to have had nothing but bad experiences with cabins /camps.

Its quite an assumtion to think that they all are rough and messy and dirty and garbage is strewn everywhere. Most of the cabins and yards that are up in this country are neater than some subdivision alleys in town.

I'm not sure what the solution could be, but granting a select number of permits in a particular area with rules and the like seems like a reasonable start. The cabins are out there and people will continue to put them up and Forestry will keep burning them down. Isn't that a bit redundant?

To be clear I sleep in a wall tent when I hunt but sure would like a little hole in the woods to call home on occasion. No locks, no fence just a place open to trail riders if need be.

 

[BBB]

To be clear I sleep in a wall tent when I hunt but sure would like a little hole in the woods to call home on occasion. No locks, no fence just a place open to trail riders if need be.

Of course you would. I would too. In fact, I bet every single person who spends any time in a tent in this province has had the same thought. And that's the problem. Too many people to do it that way anymore.

As for safety? Yeah, you're right, it would be a lot safer if there were cabins all over the place out there. Of course, it'd also be a lot safer if there were hotels, and treated water, and phone booths so you could call in a rescue. That'd be great, it wouldn't even be like camping anymore. Awesome. I think I'll build me a bar up on that sheep mountain, maybe with a hot tub.

 

[riden]

There is more to this province than the two urban centres. Cabins are common in this area, the recent cabins burnt by Forestry have been in the bush between 8-10 years each. I don't see the problems that you are claiming will occur. Actually, I don't see any of them happening.

Everyone and their dog is not going to build a cabin, not a chance. They would only be in remote locations otherwise they would be trashed and you well know it. That arguement is weak. Other provinces allow permitted cabins and the bush is not littered with them.

This is the fourth province I have lived in and I notice a difference in the attitude here towards public land. The attitude here is it is public so it is "not yours". Whereas other provinces I have lived in consider public land to be "ours". The difference in attitude is very noticeable and I don't think it is right.