Altamaha WMA

For the money that the hunters have spent over my many years we should have allot more projects here in Georgia
 

Quackmasterofgeorgia

Senior Member
For the money that the hunters have spent over my many years we should have allot more projects here in Georgia
I agree, but conservation organizations are more concerned with breeding grounds, and imo, the state is concerned more with deer, Turkey, and bear. The 8.72 million coming from DU is from a grant, not actual member donations or fundraisers in the state. Which I understand is probably improbable to take that much out of the membership dues and fundraisers that come out of the state.
 
By far there has been more money raised over in this part of the country and they always spent it out west
 

Quackmasterofgeorgia

Senior Member
By far there has been more money raised over in this part of the country and they always spent it out west
Yeah, I agree. The money for the project is coming from 2 grants secured by du, Coastal conservation association, GADNR, and FEMA. In other words it’s not coming from du itself but the federal government. Du just chose to send the grants here, instead of putting members’ money where it might actually benefit them, the latter is the reason I’m not in DU anymore.
 
Yet people still will donate, and never see their money put into a project that will go to their benefit or benefit the state’s wma’s.
And tell you why it so important. I sat on a lake in Florida several years ago and counted ten thousand ring necks if I counted one. We could have the same kind of thing but no body’s got the money or vision
 

Quackmasterofgeorgia

Senior Member
And tell you why it so important. I sat on a lake in Florida several years ago and counted ten thousand ring necks if I counted one. We could have the same kind of thing but no body’s got the money or vision
I'm a big advocate of if you build it they will come. those birds in Florida have to get to there some way or another, and I'm positive a good majority goes through the state of Georgia. Look at wma's built for waterfowl quotas, and they don't have food or that much habitat for wintering birds mainly due to insufficient funding for waterfowl management. Every state around us consistently holds more birds than this state. They're introducing grass carp to combat hydrilla, when hydrilla is one of the only food sources for the very few birds that stay. I think the vision is there, but it won't happen with DU and Delta.
 

Mexican Squealer

Senior Member
SC land owners do so much more for the ducks than GA folks do. It’s amazing the difference in habitat/management taking place when you cross the Savannah river, heading north. I bought my impoundments in June and plan to stop as many ducks from making it to GA as possible...all of my neighbors have the same goal. I live on the banks of the Altamaha WMA and definitely see the track hoes are busy on Butler and Rhetts. Would be interesting to see exactly how those dollars are going to be used...will it be all dike repair/maintenance or will there actually be habitat improvement??
 

flatsmaster

Senior Member
Don't stop them all Mex ... I have a lake full of hydrilla waiting for them !!! ;)
 

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SC land owners do so much more for the ducks than GA folks do. It’s amazing the difference in habitat/management taking place when you cross the Savannah river, heading north. I bought my impoundments in June and plan to stop as many ducks from making it to GA as possible...all of my neighbors have the same goal. I live on the banks of the Altamaha WMA and definitely see the track hoes are busy on Butler and Rhetts. Would be interesting to see exactly how those dollars are going to be used...will it be all dike repair/maintenance or will there actually be habitat improvement??
Bet you it will be to repair what they got.
 

across the river

Senior Member
The money that has been raised in this state and sent out west in my years. We could have had twenty WMAs on the coast .

WMA's on the coast do nothing for duck populations. It makes no sense for DU, Delta, or anyone else to put money into public land projects in Georgia, just so a bunch of rednecks can go sky bust the three ducks that fly in. A place like Butler could be good, but how much money would you have to spend to do it right, and then you can't have 35 groups of 3 hunting it every weekend. There is a quota for that hunt. Dan Denton has what, 9 people hunt it every weekend and they wait years to get in on that quota. Keg Creek, the deal at Eufalua, and virtually every other project they have done is either marginal at best or not even functional anymore at worst. Why would DU put money into more project when the current ones are worthless. I just don't get why people think DU could come in a turn Georgia into a duck Mecca. There are two many people in the state with too few ducks flying through. You can have pretty good private land hunting, but even a jam-up place in Georgia can't handle more than a day, or at most two, of pressure a week. Why would anyone expect an agency to put a pile of money into a state in which the very best habitat could only handle a few people hunting once a week.
 
It makes sense for rest areas and a place for all these folks to have a place to hunt. If we don’t need to do it on the coast build some areas inland and make sure hunters got a place to hunt is my point. The Altamha WMA is chaos during hunting season. What folks need is a place to hunt.
 

Long Cut

Senior Member
I think DU’s execution is poor, compared to the QDMA or NWTF.
Considering the fact I can see 20+ DU stickers on trucks backglass driving around daily there should be more of an impact, regardless if this is a major flyway state or not. Because there’s definitely enough guys out there contributing.

Look at what the QDMA or NWTF has done with those game populations, how the quality of animals and harvests has been. Flyway or not, DU has done a **** poor job. Especially considering how many ring necks, woodies etc migrate down this way.. Their cooperation at the State level seems to be nonexistent
 
Like I said in an earlier post. Flordia has tons of ducks. Pressure is allot heavier in Flordia cause the have a bunch of hunters. All I’m saying is give us some places to hunt the ducks. They did it with the geese. They could do it with the ducks.
 
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