# oaky woods petition



## bilgerat (Jan 24, 2005)

heres a link to the online petition to save oaky woods and ocmulgee wmas
http://www.petitiononline.com/4gahunt/petition.html


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## Glenn (Jan 24, 2005)

After reading about the Oaky Woods deal in GON I feel for the people who have hunted all there lives there.

Very sad that the investors are gonna make it into a "Rural Community". 

I too wonder who came up with that online petition and will it help any?


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## Danny Leigh (Jan 25, 2005)

#272


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## leo (Jan 25, 2005)

*Glenn,*



> I too wonder who came up with that online petition and will it help any?



I can't guarantee it will help, .......but I would bet money it won't "HURT" any  

Signing the petition is the least someone can do to voice their concerns to the people that make the decisions  

If you look at the 1'st signature on the petition and ask that feller I'll bet he can tell you who wrote it  

leo


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## Jim Ammons (Jan 25, 2005)

I think this petition was originally posted here on the board about a year ago. Anyway I signed it then and my signature was number 2 on the list. It must have been put back on the shelf somewhere since there are only 273 signatures on the petition at this time.


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## sgsjr (Jan 25, 2005)

The Macon paper has an article on Oaky woods to day, the first part has been sold!


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## matthewsman (Jan 25, 2005)

*Hopefully*

With GON  Network and guys like us around here,never again...


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## Danny Leigh (Jan 25, 2005)

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/local/10726016.htm

Posted on Tue, Jan. 25, 2005 

Section of wildlife area sold

By S. Heather Duncan

Telegraph Staff Writer

| Online petition | 


The first fragment has been broken off and sold from one of Middle Georgia's wildlife management areas, and state officials say public access to it will end in March.

Large portions of Ocmulgee and Oaky Woods wildlife management areas, which are popular with local hunters and home to a large black bear population, were owned by timber company Weyerhaeuser until last year. The company leased recreation rights to the state Department of Natural Resources, which helps maintain roads, improve the land for wildlife and manage public hunts.

Weyerhaeuser sold off all its Georgia lands last fall, and ownership of the two WMAs has been split among four owners.

Two of them, who own portions of Ocmulgee in Twiggs and Bleckley counties, have placed the land on the market. Charles Ayers, who now owns most of Houston County's Oaky Woods, has not, but says he is accepting offers.

Some residents have stepped up their campaign for the state to buy the land while it's available, with 255 people signing an online petition requesting state protection for the land.

David Watson of Byron was one of them. He hunts for deer, hogs, turkey and ducks on both WMAs with his 13-year-old son, and they practice firearm safety on the Ocmulgee shooting range. The properties are close, the hunting is safe and various types of hunting are available to residents who can't afford to buy a hunting lease, he said.

But unlike most Southeastern states, Georgia dedicates no funds to buy ecologically valuable land or protect it using other types of public-private partnerships.

Gov. Sonny Perdue's office is expected to announce his land conservation agenda this afternoon, possibly including a state land acquisition program.

Kiersten Cook, a researcher who worked on a continuing black bear study in the WMAs, signed the petition. She wrote, "Oaky Woods and surrounding habitat along the Ocmulgee River is one of the last continuous forest areas in middle Georgia that has not been developed or converted to agriculture. ... When should development end? After every last natural area is gone?"

Although the state already owns more than 9,000 acres in Ocmulgee and almost 1,000 in Oaky Woods, it has made no offers to purchase the former Weyerhaeuser land on the WMAs.

State officials have been in touch with the new owners to encourage them to maintain the DNR lease, said Paul Michael, chief of the DNR real estate office.

Benjy Griffith said he has agreed to consider leasing 1,600 acres he owns outside Ocmulgee WMA to the DNR. But Griffith's company, Southern Pine Plantations, is selling about 2,500 within the Ocmulgee WMA.

"I talked to the state before I put it on the market, but purchasing it didn't seem to be a high priority for them," Griffith said. "They're going to look back one day and say: 'We had the opportunity to do this, and we were too tight.' "

Griffith said a private investor has purchased a 392-acre parcel from Southern Pine. Buyer Gary Oder could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.

The property is being withdrawn from the DNR lease, Michael said. He said it's on the edge of the Ocmulgee WMA, not in the most sensitive area.

However, land for sale includes the DNR checking station for Ocmulgee. Ken Grahl, DNR regional supervisor for game management, said it would be best for the state to own that portion, which provides road access to the state-owned land nearest the river.

Holland Ware, whose St. Regis Paper Co. owns about 8,000 acres in Ocmulgee WMA, said he has heard from "loads" of prospective buyers and people interested in leasing the hunting rights on portions of the land. He said people with questions about the land should contact (404) 362-8244, he said.

Entire families signed the online petition asking for the state to protect the WMAs.

Some petitioners said they don't hunt but appreciate the wildlife. The WMAs are home to rare black belt prairies and unusual plants.

"This beautiful state is losing its rural flavor," wrote Andy Baginski. "We'll probably lose the Middle Georgia bear population too."

Some signers rebuked Perdue for not protecting these lands so close to his Bonaire home. A number of hunters said they'd be willing to pay more for hunting licenses if the money would be used to buy the land, and some wanted to know why their license money isn't used that way already.

"I really don't have any hope that we're going to have these (WMAs) next year," Watson said.


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## markland (Jan 26, 2005)

Does anyone know what portions of both WMA are still owned by the state and if they will still be protected and open for hunting?  Mark


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## clay30286 (Jan 26, 2005)

*#359*

#359


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## marknga (Jan 30, 2005)

#418
I grew up in middle georgia and spent countless hours hunting both Oaky Woods and Oculmugee WMA's and what a loss this is to all the citizens of Georgia. The growth here in Houston County is just unbelievable and to be quite honest just ridiculous. The public school system can't keep up with proposed growth and the highway/road infrastructure is stretched beyond its boundaries. Thanks for sharing the link to the petition.

Mark


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## Craig Knight (Jan 30, 2005)

#420, also left them a comment or two,about the well fare of the states current and future sportsmen and women. Man what ever happened to if it aint broke or messed up, dont mess with it?


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## Jim McRae (Jan 30, 2005)

Bump.   Guys, please sign this if you haven't already.


Jim M.


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## SKYNYRD (Feb 18, 2005)

#459


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## braintree (Feb 19, 2005)

463


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