I live in Mississippi and have hunted public ground here since the mid 90's. This year however has seen a change that is concerning to me and I am wondering if these changes have been across the entire refuge system or just a few. What has happened is road closures. Now bear in mind back in September a new regulation took effect that mandates either a daily or yearly access pass be purchased for anyone using the refuge. I don't mind that and actually am in favor of generating funds for the upkeep of the refuges. The problem I have this year is that all but one road is closed on the perimeter of the refuge. Basically if a person wants access to the interior he has to use this one road. From there access is available to the other roads but obviously there is no outlet with the exception of that one road. This may sound trivial, but a fellow now has to drive several more miles to get into and out of the refuge. I called and spoke to someone and the reason given was budget constraints and an inability to maintain those roads if they were open. One road did see a fair amount of local traffic but the others are all very narrow and of no use to anyone outside those using the refuge for recreation. I concerned that a shift away from "hunter friendliness" is occurring. I am curios if you all have experienced the same things elsewhere. I'm not looking to start an argument, just looking for facts from others.
