# Oaky Woods Perry Ga



## EMC-GUN (Jan 11, 2010)

Is there any relevance to the claim that Oaky Woods will be no more after this season is over? I know it's been talked about and talked about, but I heard this year was _it _for the public to hunt there. Possible talks of turning part of it into a sub-division. Anyone have any feedback on this?


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## yellowhammer (Jan 11, 2010)

*Oaky*

I doubt it THIS year,as the housing market is way down.I live in Paulding cty,which was one of the fastest growing counties in the US before the recession.We have many failed sub-divisions with nothing but streets,pvc sticking out of the ground,and briers.No homes.Unless the state comes up with some money,Oaky Woods is gone,in the future.The state is ,I believe,1.4 BILLION short right now.Might not be any WMAs in a year or so.Who do we vote for?Ya` got me.Vote for a democrat,and they`ll take your guns.Vote for a republican,and you`ll have no place to hunt.Libertarians are a wasted vote.I wouldn`t vote for one ,anyway.


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## squirreldoghunter (Jan 12, 2010)

From a Macon Telegraph article last month - 

_"The owners of Oaky Woods, a popular hunting and wildlife area, recently withdrew their request for a zoning variance that would allow for construction of a wastewater treatment plant on 18 acres of the property.
The group also withdrew its Developments of Regional Impact application for the project, known as Winding River Development. A Developments of Regional Impact review is required before Houston County may consider the variance request."_

Another article from earlier last year -

_"The group that owns Oaky Woods, a massive tract of prime woodland in Houston County, has hired a lobbyist in another push to sell the land as a permanent nature preserve.
The group, which includes several Houston County businessmen, hired Brad Alexander — Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle’s chief of staff until last year — when he left to form a new lobbying and consulting group, Georgia 360 LLC. 

Oaky Woods has been a major source of controversy for Gov. Sonny Perdue, who owns land nearby. Perdue said the state couldn’t afford to help purchase the popular hunting area and black bear habitat back in 2004, when the Weyerhauser timber company put it on the market.
Investors bought it for $32.1 million and, though they continue to lease the area to the state as wildlife management and hunting area, the group also announced plans to build more than 30,000 new homes on the land.
That development proposal has been unpopular in Houston County, as well as with hunters and conservationists. Warner Robins Mayor Donald Walker recently called the massive building plans “a dead issue.” Faced with roadblocks to developing the land and with an interest in seeing the area preserved, the owners have been through several rounds of negotiations with the state about selling the land.
But by 2007, the price had gone up significantly — from the $1,600 an acre the group paid for it to about $14,000 an acre. Talks fell apart, with co-owner Charles Ayer saying the state and the ownership group couldn’t agree on a fair price for land in fast-growing Houston County.
Alexander, the lobbyist, said this week that he couldn’t lay out a current per-acre asking price for the land. But he acknowledged that the state’s current budget problems make a sale more difficult. Perdue has suggested more than $2 billion in cuts to this year’s budget, including massive cuts to the land conservation grant program.
Alexander said he’s working with several entities in the hopes that funding for the deal can be split up. John Trussel, who founded Save Oaky Woods, said money could be “stitched together” from public and private sources. That could include a penny sales tax in Houston County, he said.
Trussel said he talked to Ayer recently about the plan and that Ayer said the ownership group won’t raise the price it charges the state to lease the land as a wildlife management area next year.
“As a sign of goodwill,” Trussel said.
Ayer and other owners did not return telephone messages seeking comment. 
Alexander said development is “not off the table” for the area, but the ownership group wants to “put the land in some kind of permanent conservation status ... if they can work out a deal that’s fair.” Trussel called recent developments “encouraging.”
To sell the land, though, Walker noted the owners are going to “have to get right on the price.”_"

If they can sell it I imagine they will. Until then I'm sure they'll keep leasing it to the state as long as the state is willing and able to pay the increased lease price. Short of some kind of quick and magical economic recovery I don't see much if any development happening in the near future.


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## hawgrider1200 (Jan 12, 2010)

Way to go John!!!!! I would like to extend my personal thank u to all the folks that bought bumperstickers and signs and displayed the voice of the people to the politicians. I sure did like to hunt Oaky Woods back in the day. I'm sure my son saw a deer or two out there when he was younger.


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## EMC-GUN (Jan 12, 2010)

I really enjoy hunting Oaky as well. I would hate to see it no longer available. I know it may not get developed any time soon, I just heard it was going to be unavailable to any public hunters this following year.


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## General Lee (Jan 12, 2010)

yellowhammer said:


> Vote for a democrat,and they`ll take your guns.Vote for a republican,and you`ll have no place to hunt.


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## bfriendly (Jan 16, 2010)

> Oaky Woods has been a major source of controversy for Gov. Sonny Perdue, who owns land nearby. Perdue said the state couldn’t afford to help purchase the popular hunting area and black bear habitat back in 2004, when the Weyerhauser timber company put it on the market.
> Investors bought it for $32.1 million and, though they continue to lease the area to the state as wildlife management and hunting area, the group also announced plans to build more than 30,000 new homes on the land.



This is what makes me think Get Sonny out of ANY type of negotiations for this land.  
We need some type of ammendment somewhere that will demand all of our representatives show any/all even remotely possible self interest when it comes to debating this type of issue.
Too many times deals are made and our representatives are negotiating on their own behalf...........yea yea I know, its just politics as usual Still, it needs to be fixed.


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## jwea89 (Jan 16, 2010)

i live in bonaire and i dont believe sonny's land is that close to oakey woods. i may be wrong, but i believe most of his land is closer to town so i dont know how much this effects his personal land


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## Rebel 3 (Jan 18, 2010)

Isn't Gov. Perdue strongly affiliated with Charles Ayers real estate company?


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## Darkhorse (Jan 19, 2010)

Sonny bought a parcel of land (100 or so acres) right up against Oaky, he says it's only a buffer to protect his family land. That is the purchase that got the headlines.
What you don't read about is the land he co-owns south of the WMA that borders Oaky on a couple of sides.
I think those newpaper reporters should look a little farther afield for the facts.
I wrote my state reps so many times about Oaky woods, even pointing out what a source of sustainable revenue growing pines would be to the state, that they won't answer my letters anymore.

Let me point out that anything I write or you think I say is only an allegation not proven fact. Watch your back.


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## Rebel 3 (Jan 19, 2010)

Darkhorse said:


> Sonny bought a parcel of land (100 or so acres) right up against Oaky, he says it's only a buffer to protect his family land. That is the purchase that got the headlines.
> What you don't read about is the land he co-owns south of the WMA that borders Oaky on a couple of sides.
> I think those newpaper reporters should look a little farther afield for the facts.
> I wrote my state reps so many times about Oaky woods, even pointing out what a source of sustainable revenue growing pines would be to the state, that they won't answer my letters anymore.
> ...



It seems to me that whoever owns land that borders Oaky Woods or is part of Oaky Woods would stand alot more to profit if the state is not able to buy Oaky Woods and the area could be put up for development in the future.


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## Dudley Do-Wrong (Jan 19, 2010)

I live in Warner Robins and I don't see how this area can fill 30,000 new homes especially in the current market.  Housing in this area has slowed a lot in the past couple of years and there are new homes that have not been sold as it is.  I even heard that Mr Ayers and company had planned on building a golf course out there as well; I seem to remember looking at a map and some of the roads had golf type names.

Charles Ayers (along with the Houston Co Sheriff) is the guy who was allegedly caught hunting doves over bait a few years ago and threatened to hold the state hostage on the Oaky Woods lease.  I don't know what ever happened about that.

I believe some of the land has been leased to a few hunting clubs.


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## EMC-GUN (Jan 19, 2010)

Rebel 3 said:


> It seems to me that whoever owns land that borders Oaky Woods or is part of Oaky Woods would stand alot more to profit if the state is not able to buy Oaky Woods and the area could be put up for development in the future.




*DING DING DING DING DING!!!!!*

You nailed it!


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## EMC-GUN (Jan 19, 2010)

David Mills said:


> I live in Warner Robins and I don't see how this area can fill 30,000 new homes especially in the current market.  Housing in this area has slowed a lot in the past couple of years and there are new homes that have not been sold as it is.  I even heard that Mr Ayers and company had planned on building a golf course out there as well; I seem to remember looking at a map and some of the roads had golf type names.
> 
> Charles Ayers (along with the Houston Co Sheriff) is the guy who was allegedly caught hunting doves over bait a few years ago and threatened to hold the state hostage on the Oaky Woods lease.  I don't know what ever happened about that.
> 
> I believe some of the land has been leased to a few hunting clubs.






We're getting warmer.......


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## hawgrider1200 (Jan 20, 2010)

I also live in Bonaire and the land developers have already blocked completely one of the roads that led to Oaky Woods. There is quite enough land around here to build houses without taking the bear, deer, and hog habitat. By the way 100 acres is quite a buffer to protect your family land from what?


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## TurkeyH90 (Jan 20, 2010)

Sonnys land definitely borders Oaky Woods.


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## whitworth (Jan 20, 2010)

*Where are they going to build*

the big reservoir for all that development?


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## Darkhorse (Jan 21, 2010)

Houston County & Warner robins has actually has a request for a permit submitted for that type of construction. Last I heard it was tabled, then dissapproved.
This would hurt WR or so I hope.


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## hilljack13 (Jan 23, 2010)

I happen to run across this site last night..

http://www.saveoakywoods.com/

Had some good info. It would really suck to see houses put up.


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## hawgrider1200 (Jan 23, 2010)

*big grocery creek????*



whitworth said:


> the big reservoir for all that development?



They proposed daming up one of the creeks for that.


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