Quote:
Originally Posted by Descant
Access, as pointed out above is an historical practice. Sustenance. The deer I'm tracking or the fish I'm catching don't belong to the landowner (unless you farm deer and it's fenced-there are exceptions, as always). So, the related laws are there without political philosophy, but because NH does what works. F&G is funded mostly by license fees, not taxes. At the same time, they maintain herds through seasonal timing, stock fish, etc so you will stay in camps and pay M&R taxes. Is that the "Circle of money" in NH?
From a different approach, if you own 10+ acres and take advantage of current use & recreational tax breaks, you are being subsidized by other taxpayers in that jurisdiction. Your neighbors are paying you to keep the land open/undeveloped. To many, being able to hike, hunt, fish, etc is a fair exchange for your reduced taxes. JMHO.
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The rational behind current use is not as implied. That rational applies to a subcategory of current use, recreational current use. And, of course, when you track that deer onto unposted private property you have no idea whether that property is in current use or not. Incidentally, I have read (it could be wrong) current use does not significantly reduce the tax base because the 10% penalty to take property out of current use generally outweighs any savings realized.