Posts by Steve Burch
Oconee Memories Made Catching Hybrids
Friends of Dr. Al West would be pleased to recall a recent Saturday on Lake Oconee, and more similar Saturdays to come. Dr. West had a special interest in helping those with special needs and was particularly fond of taking these special people fishing. When Dr. West passed away, many of his friends thought…
Read MoreFeds To Shut Down Red Snapper Fishing?
The Scat II beat its way southeasterly into the 4- to 6-foot seas that were being pushed north by a stiff 20-knot breeze. The clear May dawn promised fair weather, but a bumpy ride and rocking horse fishing at the snapper banks. At her helm, perched in the captain’s chair, sat her designer and…
Read MoreDNR Budget Crunch Threatens WMAs, Hatchery
When state revenue figures for August were posted showing a 7 percent drop from the same period last year, there were those who hoped that perhaps WRD could skimp by with only a slight cut in people and programs this year and next. Perhaps this most recent financial storm could be weathered without too much…
Read MoreDNR’s Response To Outsourcing Of License Sales
Here is the response DNR has been sending to those who have written them on the subject of DNR outsourcing license sales. It was first released without a signature, and the letter plus the signature of the DNR Commissioner Noel Holcomb was just posted on DNR’s website. Thank you for your persistence. From DNR Commissioner…
Read MoreHunting At Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge At Risk
The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting comments and suggestions from the public as a part of their Comprehensive Conservation Planning (CCP) Process through August 22, 2007. The deadline is next Wednesday. Based upon recent information, the Fish and Wildlife Service is not receiving comments from hunters and fishermen regarding what sportsmen want…
Read More21-Gun Lawsuit Fired At Bloomberg
Only in America can a small businessman have any hope of prevailing against the strong-arm tactics of a billionarie bully. But Jay Wallace and his family have taken just such a stand. Jay and his family have operated Adventure Outdoors, a retail hunting and fishing business in Smyrna, for the past 30 years. In May,…
Read MoreEditorial-Opinion December 2005
The results of the first deer hunt at Hard Labor Creek State Park are in, and these results are both stunning and depressing. The results are simple. In only two days of hunting, 207 hunters took 214 deer. As stunning as those results are, the story is actually even more incredible. The number of hunters was…
Read MoreA History Of DNR Budget Cuts In Georgia
For years, GON has attempted to alert sportsmen to a continued assault on hunting, fishing, and law enforcement within the Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). This assault, also known as budget cuts, has hit personnel and programs that should service sportsmen, the very folks who have traditionally — and…
Read MoreEditorial-Opinion November 2005
On page 38 of this issue you will find a letter from DNR Commissioner Noel Holcomb responding to an article that appeared in the October issue of GON critical of the funding recommendations made by the DNR. When you read the letter, you will notice a personal nature to it. That is a recognition of a…
Read MoreEditorial-Opinion October 2005
There are special times when everything fits exactly right for things to work out, and I seem to have once again been extremely lucky. Now there is real hope for sportsmen. Two issues have brought this hope into focus. The first is the action of the Georgia House of Representatives Special Committee on supplemental feeding,…
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