Letters To The Editor August 2005

Thanks Hunting Land Special

Dear GON,

I put an ad in the July issue of GON in the “Hunting Land Special.” My old lease was sold to developers, and they did not want hunters on the property. After leasing the same tract for many years I was left out in the cold.

I worded my ad honestly saying that a grandfather and grandson wanted a place to hunt. I said we went by the game laws and were easy to get along with.

After deciding to place the ad in GON, I really didn’t give the request much of a chance, but boy was I surprised. I got calls from leases in 10 counties and more than one from some of those counties. I couldn’t believe the response, and I talked with some really nice folks who needed good new members.

I was impressed by the folks who went out of their way to return my calls and agree to meet me in some pretty out-of-the-way places.

My point is that if you are looking for a new lease, put an ad in the annual hunting-land section. My experience this year sure changed my impression on getting into a lease.

Remember, none of the leases are cheap anymore. The range I encountered ran from $250 up to $600 per member.

Sincerely,
Alton Powell, Palmetto

Juggin’ Should Be Outlawed

Dear GON,

I am very displeased about the article in your July issue about trot lines and jugging on Lake Oconee. In my opinion, these activities on a public lake should be illegal. I am a frequent visitor to Lake Oconee. I use the lake for fishing, camping, and boating with my friends and family.

For every one jug that is picked up, there are 10 that are lost or just left on the lake to wind up in someone’s prop, washed up on someone’s property, or wrapped around a skier’s leg with a dangerous hook on the other end. It’s hard enough on weekends to deal with all the water traffic without having to dodge these jugs because someone is too lazy to use a rod and reel.

The homeowners on Oconee have a lot of money and pride in their  properties, and these jugs littering the lake are the equivalent of beer cans lining your neighborhood streets. How many of these lines with fish on them are lost and never recovered? That’s the equivalent of shooting a deer and leaving it lying in the woods to rot. I am looking to purchase property on Oconee and if one of these jugs wind up on my bank, it will go in the garbage where it belongs!

Bryan Curles, Covington

Ga. DNR Has It Together

Dear GON,

I would like to pay my highest respects to the Law Enforcement and Wildlife Resources divisions of the Georgia DNR. Being a passionate turkey hunter, and my husband, Tim,  an avid deer hunter, we travel to many states and even out of the country to hunt. We must say without hesitation, the Georgia DNR undoubtedly, HAS IT TOGETHER! They are the best!

We get so tired of hearing all of the complaining about “not enough deer, too high a limit on deer, no turkeys, licenses cost too much, etc.”  All Georgia residents should count their blessings for what is available in regards to hunting, fishing, camping, boating, hiking, and all other outdoor-related activities.

In our hunting ventures to other states, we continually run across poor management of wildlife, all natural resources, state-agency funds, confusing and perhaps intentionally complicated laws and licensing requirements, small bag limits, short seasons, out-of-balance and unhealthy wildlife populations and inadequate “managers” of the entire system.

We should feel fortunate to experience liberal seasons and bag limits, simple and easily understood game-management laws and licensing requirements, reasonable prices for licenses, competent and responsive law-enforcement officials and healthy and well-diversified wildlife populations.

Thankfully, the Georgia DNR has a strong-working relationship with organizations whose goals are to continually improve and protect what we have through cooperation, not competition, with each other. Organizations which have been created to do just that — Georgia Forestry Commission, GONetwork, Georgia Wildlife Federation, National Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited, Quail Unlimited and many others — would find their hands tied if they were faced with a bureaucracy which wanted to challenge them instead of work with them for the betterment of our state’s natural resources. Many other states don’t have this type of working harmony with organizations such as those mentioned, which results in no winners, just losers: sportsmen, wildlife and habitat.  How very sad!

We need to appreciate what we have in our magnificent state of Georgia.  We have a lot to be thankful for. Thank you Georgia DNR!

“Slam’n” Jan Chase, McDonough

Responding To Two Letters

Dear GON,

I’d like to respond to two letters in the July “Letters” section. To the deputy sheriff in “Protect Your Gun Rights,” it only takes a few dollars to buy a membership (to NRA), but the donations they solicit every month can add up by just giving the minimum they ask for. They need to quit paying printing and postage for the solicitations and spend the money lobbying.

As far as the “Quit Being Lazy and Hunt” letter, he missed a few important items.

First you have to go farther from a road or building to have a good chance of seeing game. Next you should do some pre-hunt scouting for sign where the game is feeding, bedding and watering along with travel lanes. Rubs and scrapes help also.

Four-wheelers are tools to help get you near the game, it’s not for driving you right to them. Hunting is not designed for drive-thru service. I hunt a lot of public land and see too many people who not only abuse the land but are wasting their time because they want to hunt the easy modern, drive-thru way.

Bill Phelps, Thomson