7/18/13 County home land to go out to bid for hunting lease

  • By Nick Sabo
  • July 18, 2013
  • 388
                        
SUMMARY: Successful bidder must carry $1 million insurance policy The Holmes County Commissioners can expect lots of interest in a hunting lease for land at the county home, director Leslee Mast said. Mast and the commissioners met Thursday July 18 to put the finishing touches on a three year lease that will grant deer and turkey bow-hunting rights on 92 acres of county land to the highest bidder. Mast expects to put the lease out to bid by late July, with a bid opening scheduled for August 12. The successful bidder will have until Sept. 1 to pay the lease. Mast said she has had many queries into the land already. “If they all come in, its going to be like a revolving door here,” Mast said. “I can’t go anywhere without someone saying, ‘hey what about...’ and I tell them, it’s going to be leased.” The lease covers 92.68 acres of land located west of the county home across state Route 83. The Holmes County Trial cuts right through the parcels. Mast previously allowed 10 bow hunters per year on the property on a first come, first serve basis. The hunters were an effective check for population growth of the deer herd, Mast said, taking both does and bucks. Mast said she is concerned that paid hunts will lead to hunters going after trophy bucks only. “If we see it is a problem, we’ll go back to what we’re doing now or make changes to the lease,” Mast said. The lease is limited to bow hunting due to its close proximity to the Holmes County Trail, Mast said. Firearms were permitted prior to the trail coming through, Mast said, but since the trial opened gun season has been off-limits. The lessee is to maintain a no hunting zone within 200 yards of the trail. The lease limits the number of hunters allowed on the property per day to five. The lessee is personally responsible for all persons hunting under the lease. The lessee must further keep records of all game harvested on the property and will be required to provide the county with a certificate of insurance showing coverage of at least $1 million against damages and liabilities. The county retains the right to hunt to control nuisance wildlife for the purpose of crop control, a safe guard for county land that is currently leased for agricultural purposes. The county may terminate the lease at any time. Mast suggested a damage clause in the lease, something Commissioner Joe Miller objected to. “If you make it too difficult, too complicated, nobody’s going to bid on it,” Miller said. The lease was crafted with input from Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Sean Warner.


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