When does pre-setting trees become littering?

[ofor]

There are a lot of posts on the site related to SRT in particular that suggest pre-setting trees with para-cord. Are those of you that are pre-setting, hunting on public or are you pre-setting on your own private ground? When on public, how early in the year do you preset? Am I correct that you go back in after the season and remove the pre-sets?

I subscribe to the leave no trace mantra when I go into the woods so I carry out what I carry in on every hunt. This is one of the main reasons why saddle hunting was so appealing to me. Not judging if it is legal where you hunt but am interested in others opinions.

What is the acceptable length of time to leave a pre-set in the woods on public land before it becomes litter?

 

[cspot]

I don't use presets, but alot of public ground dictates that with stands that you usually can put up a little before season and take down a little after season. I would view presets the same and would feel that whatever the rules are with stands should be followed for presets.

 

[ThereWillBeSpuds]

Im always disappointed when I see old crispy uv damaged flagging tape or old stands/sticks when I am out scouting. I tend to remove flagging tape if it has any age on it. Ive never preset trees but I am a new hunter. Id say if you have no intention of going back and using the preset then it is absolutely litter. If you have forgotten about it, it is litter. If its been in the tree for 3 years but you use it to pull up your srt line a couple times a year, that doesnt feel like litter.

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[bj139]

I set a preset paracord last year. It was camo so it was barely noticeable. The camo was so good I did not find it until 5 hunts later. I removed it and didn't set anymore.

 

[Bama_Xander]

Im always disappointed when I see old crispy uv damaged flagging tape or old stands/sticks when I am out scouting. I tend to remove flagging tape if it has any age on it. Ive never preset trees but I am a new hunter. Id say if you have no intention of going back and using the preset then it is absolutely litter. If you have forgotten about it, it is litter. If its been in the tree for 3 years but you use it to pull up your srt line a couple times a year, that doesnt feel like litter.

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I found two links of a ladder stand pretty far back on a piece this past year. I chuckled thinking of someone dragging that thing through the woods and I looked down and thanked God for my saddle.

 

[ofor]

In my part of WI, the regs require removal of stands at the end of each day and no screw in steps or bolts on public. I don’t recall ever reading anything about leaving ropes. I’m not sure why but I am more bothered by finding stands left on public than ropes. I also wouldn’t hesitate to hunt a tree with a preset rope if that was the tree that needed to be hunted from that day but I would not sit in someone else’s stand due to safety concerns.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

The leave no trace thing is just craziness. Yeah don't leave trash laying around. There's no virtue to it other than don't tell anyone what you're doing. As a trapper, I try to hide what I am doing as it can get expensive and dangerous if certain lowlifes show up. That's why I don't mind seeing some trash as it's easy to get lulled into a false sense of security

 

[Treehopper2]

Man after reading this thread I’m totally on the fence on this topic.
I started climbing DRT this year and wish I had found this method years ago.
So I’ve been practicing the throw line and that’s a challenge but I can get it done and I’m sure I’ll get better with experience.
So at this point I’ve realized for me this year I’m better off with a preset rope rather than the day of that hunt trying to be quiet getting a throw line in place.
So last week I went out and setup a few locations with a preset rope. If your looking directly at it maybe you would see it but it doesn’t seem to stick out to bad.
So I’m like everyone else I don’t like it when guys leave stands out all year or leave their trash everywhere in the woods I enjoy.
So if everyone had a preset rope hanging from a tree like I do I’m not sure how I would like that so again I’m on the fence.
I’m trying to get better at the throw line and carry another lite weight climbing method if I can’t get a line in a tree quietly that day to maybe avoid needing preset rope littering the woods.
I’m still going to use DRT as my main system for its benefit of safety and efficiency but I’ll work towards less impact with preset ropes.
I Would still rather see a very small paracord rope hanging over a limb than a ladder stand a guy hunted once and never came back to get it.


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[ofor]

Man after reading this thread I’m totally on the fence on this topic.
I started climbing DRT this year and wish I had found this method years ago.
So I’ve been practicing the throw line and that’s a challenge but I can get it done and I’m sure I’ll get better with experience.
So at this point I’ve realized for me this year I’m better off with a preset rope rather than the day of that hunt trying to be quiet getting a throw line in place.
So last week I went out and setup a few locations with a preset rope. If your looking directly at it maybe you would see it but it doesn’t seem to stick out to bad.
So I’m like everyone else I don’t like it when guys leave stands out all year or leave their trash everywhere in the woods I enjoy.
So if everyone had a preset rope hanging from a tree like I do I’m not sure how I would like that so again I’m on the fence.
I’m trying to get better at the throw line and carry another lite weight climbing method if I can’t get a line in a tree quietly that day to maybe avoid needing preset rope littering the woods.
I’m still going to use DRT as my main system for its benefit of safety and efficiency but I’ll work towards less impact with preset ropes.
I Would still rather see a very small paracord rope hanging over a limb than a ladder stand a guy hunted once and never came back to get it.


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I don’t SRT or DRT so doesn’t really affect me either way personally but this is the same dilemma I started thinking about. For some reason, putting out a rope feels different than putting out a stand or leaving trash. I wasn’t getting the sense from the posts that the guys that put out presets were going back to retrieve them later in which case that would become litter. I may be wrong and guys are going back in and retrieving the presets at the end of the season.

 

[Treehopper2]

I can’t speak for everyone but myself I plan to take each rope out at the end of the season just like I would a stand.


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[Kenbama]

I deployed my first preset this week. Ever since I put it out I have felt guilty for setting it. After reading this post I'm sure it will be coming down. Where I put the preset the law is clear, "bring everything out of the woods with you".

Thanks for being my conscience.

 

[Jay_Disarray]

ive got a few spots i like to sit in 2-3 times a hunting season, i think ill be throwing up probably 5 presets in different areas for hunting season, but like @Treehopper2 said, i will be taking them down at the end of the season.

I dont see a huge issue with that, as they will be removed after the season, but i could see how legally that could be considered littering as well since i hunt public land.

 

[Bowmanmike]

This is a good topic,food for thought. I use DRT but want to use my platform and aiders as an early morning option..Mainly because i am too lazy to preset,but also kinda cheap.
I look at paracord as being less obtrusive than a treestand for sure,plus it probably would disappear in a few saesons.
I am getting better at the throwline as well,so if there is any daylight i feel comfortable with that.

 

[kyler1945]

I think this is conflating two different topics - littering, and leaving hunting equipment on public ground.

to address issue number 1 - pick up more trash than you leave. If your trash is preset ropes, it is no more harmful than an equivalent weight/volume of any other trash left in the woods. Problem solved. This is really irrelevant if you’re just a decent steward of your public grounds.

to address the second issue - think about why leaving gear isn’t allowed.

If leaving gear was allowed, you’d have piles of ladder stands, climbers, lock-ons, ground blinds, etc strewn all over the woods. - presents would just be pieces of string left all over the woods. At its worst - see solution to issue number 1. Non starter. Plus, there’s a handful of folks who saddle hunt. Not millions.

You’d have people using each other’s equipment and opening up multiple parties to liability. - unless folks suddenly start strangling strangers in the woods with your paracord, non starter.

You’d risk damaging trees as they grow into and around stuff left in the woods. Non starter.

You’d create the potential for bickering over “spots”. Maybe this happens, but it would require two people being in the same spot at the same time, and the one not using the preset would have to notice it. Odds are quite low, but I’ll give this a tiny percentage of happening.

In summary, go hunt. Hang your preset. Pick up trash on your way out of the woods. Cracks me up this is even a topic of discussion.

 

[ofor]

I think this is conflating two different topics - littering, and leaving hunting equipment on public ground.

to address issue number 1 - pick up more trash than you leave. If your trash is preset ropes, it is no more harmful than an equivalent weight/volume of any other trash left in the woods. Problem solved. This is really irrelevant if you’re just a decent steward of your public grounds.

to address the second issue - think about why leaving gear isn’t allowed.

If leaving gear was allowed, you’d have piles of ladder stands, climbers, lock-ons, ground blinds, etc strewn all over the woods. - presents would just be pieces of string left all over the woods. At its worst - see solution to issue number 1. Non starter. Plus, there’s a handful of folks who saddle hunt. Not millions.

You’d have people using each other’s equipment and opening up multiple parties to liability. - unless folks suddenly start strangling strangers in the woods with your paracord, non starter.

You’d risk damaging trees as they grow into and around stuff left in the woods. Non starter.

You’d create the potential for bickering over “spots”. Maybe this happens, but it would require two people being in the same spot at the same time, and the one not using the preset would have to notice it. Odds are quite low, but I’ll give this a tiny percentage of happening.

In summary, go hunt. Hang your preset. Pick up trash on your way out of the woods. Cracks me up this is even a topic of discussion.

The problem is not everyone does the things you describe above. If they did, then I agree the litter part would be irrelevant. Kudos to the guys that are going back in after season to clean up after themselves and even more so to the guys that have mastered the throw bag and don’t preset at all.

 

[Bowmanmike]

The problem is not everyone does the things you describe above. If they did, then I agree the litter part would be irrelevant. Kudos to the guys that are going back in after season to clean up after themselves and even more so to the guys that have mastered the throw bag and don’t preset at all.

I agree. I did just a fairly small amount of scouting around here and found 4 hang ons and a double ladder stand that someone must have taken in with a four wheeler.
I am sure there's a lot more i didn't find and people leave these up year round. I am half temtpted to call an ECO and see if he cares. The law here in NY says the standa have to be gone 30 days after the season closes.

 

[kyler1945]

The problem is not everyone does the things you describe above. If they did, then I agree the litter part would be irrelevant. Kudos to the guys that are going back in after season to clean up after themselves and even more so to the guys that have mastered the throw bag and don’t preset at all.

I only mean that if you want to leave our presets, just pick up an equivalent or larger amount of trash, then there’s nothing to debate or discuss. You’ll sleep at night, thewoods will thank you, and the odds that anyone ever notices your camo paracord in the woods will probably never come into play.

if you’re worried about what other people do in the woods, I’m not sure what that has to do with whether or not it’s ok in your own head to leave a preset out. Yes people are dumb. Don’t be dumb, and you can rest your head knowing you have a preset out there...

hey @Nutterbuster where them saddle trash bags...

 

[kidneystones_3000]

I live in Wisconsin i hunt and 100% public land i always used a climbing tree stand for the record. From my experience the DNR in Wisconsin doesn't put in a lot effort penalizing hunters who leave thier tree stand on public land. I am not saying they never do it but its rare when they do. When I go scouting i almost always ways see tree stands on public land after hunting season .Also when I watching scouting videos on YouTube or for example hunting beast or jon eberhart they show tree stands on public land after hunting season. Its been this way for a long time i never did it and don't think its the right thing to do. Looking at the big picture i think thier alot worse things going on in the hunting world. The hunters using DRT Preset i dont believe thier damaging the trees i dont see how your damaging the environment. you could make a cas for breaking the rules in some states. You could also make a argument that tree stands do more damage the DRT Preset or climbing method. It doesn't look nice leaving DRT Preset or tree stands in the woods and i wouldn't do it but i feel thier alot bigger problems to worry about thats just my opinion.

 

[huntin_addict]

If you are outside of the legal times to set a stand in your state and you put up a preset, you are leaving litter. It's pretty cut and dry.

In response to picking up more litter than your preset weighs, I pick up litter every single time I'm out because I'd like to consider myself a steward of the land. It's not a trade off, like leave some litter, take some litter.

 

[ThereWillBeSpuds]

Yeah picking up trash doesnt entitle you to litter.

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