I think bowmaker and jkratz made some excellent points. Double A, I wasn't trying to pick on you or THA4. I understand why both of you lease and I don't have any negative feelings about either of you for doing so. Double A, I am also glad to hear that you are sharing your lease with others. My concern isn't that people choose to lease ground. My concern is that eventually the average Joe wont be able to take his kids hunting. And while you can afford to pay $1500.00. The next guy might not be able to. Maybe he can afford $2,500.00, $3,500, or $4,500. I think the point that bowmaker and I were really trying to make (or to get you to realize) with our question was that unless you can afford to pay $60.00+/acre for a lease, you are really an average Joe just like 95% of the guys on IW. That being said, if the big money guys get in we will all be in the same boat. This is what the average Joe who lives in West Central, Illinois faces right now! This push is a direct result of TV shows, videos and magazines that are now proclaiming Iowa as the "land of the giants". The last 3-5 years Iowa has been getting 3x the publicity as Illinois. This publicity will only be worse now that the governor is handing out 75 tags (increased from 25 in 2006 to 75 in 2007) to TV, video and magazine guys to promote Iowa's deer hunting. If outfitters/NR get their foot in the door, hunting as we know it will come to an end. The average Joe's only chance is if we can keep NR tags at current levels and no preference to NR landowners or transferrable tags. I agree with bowmaker's last line. "While I can understand some of the reasons a person might purchase a lease I still think that it will ultimately lead to our downfall."