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Georgia Cougar Quest

      In June 2010, GON put the call out for proof of wild cougars in Georgia, offering $1,000 for the best evidence. Now it’s time for our readers to decide who gets a check. A year into the Georgia Cougar Quest, we have fielded hundreds of reported sightings of large cats from across…

Young Archers and Shooters Compete In 4-H Shooting Sports State Meets

  Imagine more than 2,000 kids all equipped with various target equipment: 500-plus compound and recurve bows, 800-plus shotguns, almost 100 rifles and more than 600 carrying an assortment of air rifles, air pistols and BB guns. Imagine all these youth accompanied by adults, friends, family and coaches cheering them as they march to the…

Governor Signs Baiting Bill

  Gov. Nathan Deal traveled to Tifton last week and signed the Baiting Bill, HB 277, during a ceremony at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. A press release sent by the governor’s office said the intent of HB 277 was “to attract more people to take up hunting through greater access to deer.” “People come from…

Deer Baiting Bill Passes

Legislators passed House Bill 277, “The Baiting Bill,” but they did little to silence the divide and emotional debate among hunters over the issue. HB 277 legalizes baiting for deer in the Southern Zone while keeping it illegal to hunt deer within 200 yards of bait in the Northern Zone. HB 277 will become law…

USFWS Officially Declares Eastern Cougar Extinct

If you’ve seen a big tawny cat in the Georgia woods, chances are it wasn’t an eastern cougar, especially considering the recent announcement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) that the animal is extinct. Eastern cougar, western cougar or Florida panther, GON is still seeking evidence of big, long-tailed cats in Georgia. The…

Two World-Record Bass Connect in Telfair County

  Manabu Kurita says landing a world-record bass in his native Japan two years ago hasn’t changed his life drastically — but it has certainly changed his life. “In Japan, for me, it isn’t much different at all,” the 34-year-old auto service worker said through an interpreter during a recent visit to Georgia. “But the…

Chattahoochee River Brown Trout Stocking To Cease Permanently

It’s official. Following six years of study, biologists with DNR have concluded that brown trout are reproducing in numbers significant enough to warrant a permanent cessation of brown trout stocking in the Chattahoochee River tailrace below Buford Dam. DNR Fisheries Biologist Patrick O’Rouke said they’ve finished crunching all the numbers from a study that began…

Is This Georgia Canine Part Wolf?

Marty and Glad Simmons, of Clarkesville, were just hoping for a few nice shots of some deer on their trail camera, which is located several hundred yards from their Habersham County home. However, when they had a photo of a large dog standing on a log, which appeared not to be a coyote, residents began…

Poachers Sentenced in Dodge County Case

In a case that has raised the ire of area hunters, five people accused of numerous wildlife violations involving spotlighting deer and poaching turkeys in Dodge County were sentenced Feb. 28 after pleading guilty to all charges against them. Two remaining defendants in the case, who entered not-guilty pleas, are scheduled for a June trial.…

Proposed Regulations Changes for 2011-2013

Included in WRD’s proposed regulations changes, and open for public comment during meetings in April, are WMA user fees for non-sportsmen as well as significant changes to bear regulations, doe days in some northern counties, Northern Zone raccoon regulations and expanded hog hunting on public lands. Also, there are some new state park and WMA…