Save Oaky Woods

Macon Telegraph: You can’t beat this view in Houston County, and one man wants to save access to it

Wed, 09 Jan 2019 20:58:20 +0000

On a beautiful morning Tuesday, John Trussell climbed 14 flights of questionable wooden stairs to what may the best view in Middle Georgia. It was the top of the old fire tower at Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area in Houston County. Just more than a decade ago Trussell led a successful effort to save Oaky Woods from development, and now he wants to save the fire tower, which was built in the 1950s. It represents another era of wildfire prevention, when forest rangers stood watch for fires in the top of the tower. Around 1980 that duty started to be taken over by watchers in aircraft, and most of the towers have sat empty. Many have been torn down. The only other one Trussell knows of in the area is in Crawford County. The iron base of an old chair where the lookout would have sat is still in the Oaky Woods tower, along with an old fire extinguisher. The windows of the 7-foot-square watch platform were broken out years ago by vandals. Trussell is trying to get the state, county or private donors to put up about $5,000 it would take to fix up the tower. That would include replacing the windows, rebuilding the watch platform and replacing the wooden stairs. Although the tower would never be open for the general public to climb at will, Trussell said it could be open for supervised visits. Only a few people at a time could go up there, but it would be a worthwhile climb. “You get a great view up here,” Trussell said after pointing out various landmarks in the vast panorama. “This is a great spot. ... It’s a very special place in Oaky Woods.” The towers of Plant Scherer in Monroe County, about 60 miles away, are visible from the tower. The tower itself is 110-feet tall, for a total elevation above sea level of about 690 feet. The elevation of Warner Robins, by comparison, is 360 feet. Last year Trussell successfully got the tower listed as a “historical fire tower” by the Forest Fire Lookout Association. Oaky Woods still a hidden gem to many The state has operated Oaky Woods as a wildlife management area since 1966, but for many years it was privately owned and leased to the state. In 2007 the state had a chance to buy it at auction, but then Gov. Sonny Perdue, a Houston County native, passed on the chance citing budget constraints. It then fell into the hands of developers who wanted to put up to 30,000 homes there. But Trussell formed Save Oaky Woods, and the grass roots efforts took off. In 2010 the state finally agreed to purchase 10,015 acres of Oaky Woods for $28.5 million. That was about half of the land owned by the developers. Trussell recently published a book about the effort, called “Saving Oaky Woods.” It is available on Amazon and can also be purchased at the website, saveoakywoods.com. “A private citizen can get a lot done if they are dedicated and work hard,” he wrote in the book. “I believe everyone should work for the things they believe in as our present civilization is built upon the work and sacrifices of the preceding generations.” His challenge at the time was that Oaky Woods was known mostly only to hunters. It is available for hiking and camping, but few people outside of hunters went there. As people learned about the natural history of the area, which was the bottom of the ocean in prehistoric times, public support grew for saving it. In the midst of the effort to save Oaky Woods, a scout leader on a tour found a whale bone. It was such a substantial find -- and argument for protecting the land -- that in his book, Trussell called the discovery “a miracle.” The area, however, might be best known as the primary home of Middle Georgia’s black bear population, estimated to be about 300. In the years since the state bought it, Trussell has continued to promote awareness of Oaky Woods. He guides a tour each year, and one is coming up Feb. 16. Anyone interested in going can call him at 478-953-9320. He is also working to raise funds to put a portable toilet in the primitive camping area, to hopefully draw more people to camp there. Camping is free with a hunting or fishing license. “We are very blessed to have Oaky Woods,” Trussell said. “It’s the closest thing we will have to a national park in Houston County. We are in a good place and it has a very bright future.” Bobby Tuggle, 84, hunted in Oaky Woods starting in the 1960s and was closely involved in the effort to save it. He has read Trussell’s book, and said Trussell did a good job capturing the history and importance of the property. Tuggle hopes the state will add to it with the purchase of additional land in the future. “It’s one of the unique large parts of Houston County that’s still wilderness,” Tuggle said. “Being able to preserve and keep it for people to see and enjoy is great, and the history is very, very fascinating. He has brought that out in his book.” Frank Sorrells, chief of the forest protection for the Georgia Forestry Commission, said there are a few fire towers still in operation across the state. He has served as a lookout. “You are pretty isolated,” he said. “You have to be in constant observation. A lot of people think you could just go up there and read books all day but that is not the case.” This article original appeared in the Macon Telegraph on January 9, 2019: https://www.macon.com/news/local/community/houston-peach/article224039760.html

Georgia DNR Releases New Strategic Bear Management Plan

Wed, 17 Oct 2018 03:11:49 +0000

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division has released a draft Strategic Management Plan for Black Bears in Georgia (2018-2027). Click on the link provided to download the plan document directly from the Georgia DNR website.

Macon Telegraph: Middle Georgia Bear Population Lower than Previously Thought

Thu, 08 Jan 2015 19:19:41 +0000

The black bear population in an area of Middle Georgia is much lower than previously thought, a three-year study has concluded.� The study, done by the University of Georgia's Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, puts the population at 140. It had previously been estimated at about 300.� The previous estimate was too high, but the lower figure is also due to vehicle accidents and hunting, said Michael Chamberlain, a lead researcher.� The new study is the most thorough and accurate one the state has done on the population, he said. It included an area south of Interstate 16 and down Ga. 96, then south to the Ocmulgee and Oaky Woods wildlife management areas.� The new study also looked at a smaller area, but that has been expanded and a few more bears may get added to the population.� The state began allowing an annual one-day hunt in 2011, and that resulted in 34 bears being killed, which raised objections from wildlife advocates. The next year 14 were killed. Then in 2013 the state moved the date back to when bears were starting to den, and only one bear was killed. In a hunt held Dec. 13 five were killed, making a total of 54 lost from hunting.� In the three years the study has been conducted, Chamberlain said 21 bears have been killed in vehicle accidents.� John Trussell, a leading advocate for protecting the bears, said the study results do not surprise him, and he believes the population estimate is accurate. He did not push for ending the annual hunt, but he said he hopes the state will be cautious with it and consider limiting the number of hunters through a quota system.� "I think we have taken the surplus bears out," he said.� Trussell is a hunter and has killed bears, but he said due to the population estimate, he has made the personal decision not to participate in the annual hunt.� Chamberlain said the lower figure doesn't necessarily dictate stopping the hunts, and that 140 is a sustainable population.� Bobby Bond, a senior wildlife biologist for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, said the state had already thought the previous estimate was high when it started allowing the hunt. With the later hunting day having minimal impact on the population, he did not foresee any immediate change coming as a result of the study.� The state, though, is holding public hearings statewide on all hunting regulations to be set for the next two years, and a final decision on the hunt will come when the regulations are done.� The study, which remains ongoing and will continue through this year, is the most extensive yet on the bear population. It involved putting GPS collars on 80 bears to track their movement.� That was done primarily in connection with the planned widening of Ga. 96 between Interstate 16 and Houston County. The Georgia Department of Transportation and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources provided grants of $700,000 for the study.� A key goal was to track bear movements to determine where corridors could be placed under the road to allow bears to move safely to the other side. Fencing would funnel bears to the underpasses.� Chamberlain said the study indicates the bears are highly mobile, but they do not tend to cross the highway. He said tracking devices show bears walking right up to the edge of the woods by the highway, then turning back. The ones that do cross eventually get killed.� The corridors are still important, he said, because allowing free movement would help mix the gene pool in the population.� "Right now the highway, in its current state, is serving as a barrier to bear movements," he said.� No other study like it has been done in the state, he said, and the results can be used in planning road projects in other areas where bears may be affected.� Many of the vehicle accidents with bears happen not on Ga. 96 but on side roads where the bears are more comfortable crossing -- and where drivers' views may be more obstructed. Chamberlain urged motorists to use caution when driving in the area, especially on the side roads.� Bond said many bear fatalities on roads happen on U.S. 23, also known as the Cochran Short Route. It has a narrower opening through the woods that bears are also apparently more comfortable crossing than Ga. 96.� While the one-day hunt has drawn some criticism, some hunters have actually wanted it to be expanded, claiming the bear population is growing.� Bond said the GPS tracking in the study gives a good clue about why people may believe there are more bears than there actually are. The bears move quite a bit -- which leads to a lot of sightings -- but there aren't really that many bears.� To cite a couple of specific examples, Bond said one male bear regularly travels between Tarversville in Twiggs County to Clinchfield in Houston County, about 12 miles away.� Another male that was captured and collared in the Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area in Houston is now a resident of Telfair County, about 50 miles away. ---� This article original appeared in the Macon Telegraph on January 8, 2015: http://www.macon.com/2015/01/08/3519996_black-bear-tally-lower-than-thought.html The black bear population in an area of Middle Georgia is much lower than previously thought, a three-year study has concluded.� The study, done by the University of Georgia's Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, puts the population at 140. It had previously been estimated at about 300.� The previous estimate was too high, but the lower figure is also due to vehicle accidents and hunting, said Michael Chamberlain, a lead researcher.� The new study is the most thorough and accurate one the state has done on the population, he said. It included an area south of Interstate 16 and down Ga. 96, then south to the Ocmulgee and Oaky Woods wildlife management areas.� The new study also looked at a smaller area, but that has been expanded and a few more bears may get added to the population.� The state began allowing an annual one-day hunt in 2011, and that resulted in 34 bears being killed, which raised objections from wildlife advocates. The next year 14 were killed. Then in 2013 the state moved the date back to when bears were starting to den, and only one bear was killed. In a hunt held Dec. 13 five were killed, making a total of 54 lost from hunting.� In the three years the study has been conducted, Chamberlain said 21 bears have been killed in vehicle accidents.� John Trussell, a leading advocate for protecting the bears, said the study results do not surprise him, and he believes the population estimate is accurate. He did not push for ending the annual hunt, but he said he hopes the state will be cautious with it and consider limiting the number of hunters through a quota system.� "I think we have taken the surplus bears out," he said.� Trussell is a hunter and has killed bears, but he said due to the population estimate, he has made the personal decision not to participate in the annual hunt.� Chamberlain said the lower figure doesn't necessarily dictate stopping the hunts, and that 140 is a sustainable population.� Bobby Bond, a senior wildlife biologist for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, said the state had already thought the previous estimate was high when it started allowing the hunt. With the later hunting day having minimal impact on the population, he did not foresee any immediate change coming as a result of the study.� The state, though, is holding public hearings statewide on all hunting regulations to be set for the next two years, and a final decision on the hunt will come when the regulations are done.� The study, which remains ongoing and will continue through this year, is the most extensive yet on the bear population. It involved putting GPS collars on 80 bears to track their movement.� That was done primarily in connection with the planned widening of Ga. 96 between Interstate 16 and Houston County. The Georgia Department of Transportation and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources provided grants of $700,000 for the study.� A key goal was to track bear movements to determine where corridors could be placed under the road to allow bears to move safely to the other side. Fencing would funnel bears to the underpasses.� Chamberlain said the study indicates the bears are highly mobile, but they do not tend to cross the highway. He said tracking devices show bears walking right up to the edge of the woods by the highway, then turning back. The ones that do cross eventually get killed.� The corridors are still important, he said, because allowing free movement would help mix the gene pool in the population.� "Right now the highway, in its current state, is serving as a barrier to bear movements," he said.� No other study like it has been done in the state, he said, and the results can be used in planning road projects in other areas where bears may be affected.� Many of the vehicle accidents with bears happen not on Ga. 96 but on side roads where the bears are more comfortable crossing -- and where drivers' views may be more obstructed. Chamberlain urged motorists to use caution when driving in the area, especially on the side roads.� Bond said many bear fatalities on roads happen on U.S. 23, also known as the Cochran Short Route. It has a narrower opening through the woods that bears are also apparently more comfortable crossing than Ga. 96.� While the one-day hunt has drawn some criticism, some hunters have actually wanted it to be expanded, claiming the bear population is growing.� Bond said the GPS tracking in the study gives a good clue about why people may believe there are more bears than there actually are. The bears move quite a bit -- which leads to a lot of sightings -- but there aren't really that many bears.� To cite a couple of specific examples, Bond said one male bear regularly travels between Tarversville in Twiggs County to Clinchfield in Houston County, about 12 miles away.� Another male that was captured and collared in the Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area in Houston is now a resident of Telfair County, about 50 miles away.� ---� This article original appeared in the Macon Telegraph on January 8, 2015: http://www.macon.com/2015/01/08/3519996_black-bear-tally-lower-than-thought.html�

Macon Telegraph: Hike Highlights Oaky Woods' Unique History

Tue, 25 Feb 2014 17:01:36 +0000

This article originally appeared in the Macon Telegraph on February 22, 2014: http://www.macon.com/2014/02/22/2953963/hike-highlights-oaky-woods-unique.html By Wayne Crenshaw KATHLEEN -- Many people were outraged when developers were planning to turn Oaky Woods into a massive residential area, but now that the state owns it, few people actually visit it. Outdoors writer John Trussell, who led the effort to save Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area, hopes to change that. On Saturday he led his second annual hiking tour on the site, and he is working on a effort to establish two nature trails. Currently, about the only people who use the site are hunters, but Trussell said anyone can hike on the property. �Many of the people who were the most vocal to save it have never been here,� Trussell said as he drove down a dirt road to the starting point of the hike. The hike highlighted the area�s unique history, particularly the fact that millions of years ago it was the bottom of an ocean. All throughout the woods where the hikers went were rocks embedded with sea shells. Hikers also saw a hill that had once been a coral reef, as well as the remnants of a moonshine still. About 40 people went on the hike, including 15 students from Kings Chapel Elementary School in Perry. The students are part of a school club called Friends for Change, which emphasizing caring for the environment, said Ginny Caban, a music teacher who started the club. �It was fantastic, getting the kids in nature,� she said after the hike. �Some, like me, are city kids and have never experienced nature first hand like this. I think some of them will remember this the rest of their lives.� Laycee Wharam, a third-grader, said she learned a lot. �The most interesting thing is knowing this was covered in water a long, long time ago,� she said. Trussell also showed remnants of farming activity in the area before it turned into a forest, including rock piles and berms made by farmers. The moonshine still, Trussell said, likely operated in the early 1900s. The large boiler is still there, with its sides expanded out from when federal agents blew it up. While Saturday�s hike was advertised for the general public, Trussell -- founder of Save Oaky Woods -- does hikes throughout the year for large groups on request. For more information, visit www.saveoakywoods.com. Read more here: http://www.macon.com/2014/02/22/2953963/hike-highlights-oaky-woods-unique.html#storylink=cpy

Macon Telegraph: Kills Down in Annual Bear Hunt

Sun, 15 Dec 2013 15:58:06 +0000

This article originally appeared in the Macon Telegraph on December 14, 2013:� http://www.macon.com/2013/12/14/2832868/kills-appear-to-be-down-in-annual.html By Wayne Crenshaw WARNER ROBINS Dec 15, 2013 -- Rainy weather may have saved the lives of some of Middle Georgia�s black bears Saturday. The third annual one-day bear hunt was held, and only one was brought to the check station at Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area. When the hunt was first held in 2011, 34 bears were taken and about half were females. That drew some controversy, since it was about 10 percent of the estimated population. Last year the number dropped to 14. Bobby Bond, senior wildlife biologist for the Department of Natural Resources, said the drop-off this year was likely due to the rain keeping hunters out of the woods. Also, the date of the hunt was moved from November to December when female bears are preparing for denning season and are less active. John Trussell, a Houston County outdoors writer who advocates for protecting the bear population, was at the check station Saturday, along with DNR game wardens and University of Georgia students who are studying the bears. Trussell wanted the state to put a limit on the number of hunters allowed to participate, but he said the later date was a good step. �I think the DNR is doing fairly good,� he said. �I think the harvest is within reason.� The hunt took place in Houston, Twiggs and Bibb counties, and was limited to private property. Hunters could shoot bears until dark. Justin Sapp of Cochran brought in the only bear just after 2 p.m. In previous years the first ones started coming in around noon. He killed a 142-pound male on property his family owns in Twiggs County. Sapp said as many as 13 bears have been spotted in one day on his family�s property in Bleckley County, and sightings have been increasing in recent years. He believes the population is growing and the hunt should be expanded. �It seems like there are more and more every year,� he said. It was his first bear kill. Last year, he sat in a tree stand from dawn to dusk and never saw a bear. He spotted the bear he killed this year at about noon. He planned to eat the meat and have the bear�s hide turned into a rug. A study of the Middle Georgia bear population is underway and the results will help determine policy for future hunts. Bond said he believes the population may be down from the previous estimate of 300, but he declined to say how much. Mike Hooker, a University of Georgia graduate student leading the study, said there are still a couple of years left to conduct it. However, preliminary indications are that the population south of Interstate 16 is 180 to 200 bears. Next summer the area will focus north of I-16, but there aren�t believed to be as many bears there. Bond said there have been as many as 17 bears killed on Middle Georgia roadways in one year, but usually averages about five. The largest bear killed in the Middle Georgia hunt weighed 436 pounds. The study, funded by DNR and the Georgia Department of Transportation, has included putting GPS collars on 75 bears, placing microchips on cubs, and collecting hair samples for DNA testing by baiting bears to pass through barbed wire. In addition to helping set hunting policy, the Department of Transportation will use the results of the study to determine where to place underpasses for wildlife when it widens Ga. 96 from I-16 to Bonaire. A bear was killed on Interstate 16 just recently. That bear was taken by someone before DNR officials could get to it, which is against state law, according to Bond. Some of the bears killed in previous hunts have been determined to have been killed illegally. When the bears are brought in, wardens may ask the hunter to show them the location of the kill. If it�s within 200 yards of bait, the hunter will get a citation and won�t get to keep the bear.

Pierre Howard and Georgia Nature Conservancy Letter to DNR

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:07:45 +0000

Pierre Howard and Georgia Nature Conservancy adds its voice to use restraint and caution when considering Middle Georgia Bear hunting in letter to Georgia DNR. Pierre Howard and Georgia Nature Conservancy Letter (PDF 786KB)

Macon Telegraph: Black Bear Hunt Rules Shift Proposed in Middle Georgia

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:34:23 +0000

This article originally appeared in the Macon Telegraph on April 2, 2013:�� http://www.macon.com/2013/04/02/2420482/middle-georgia-black-bear-hunt.html By S. Heather Duncan Georgia wildlife managers would move the Middle Georgia black bear hunt from November to December under proposed hunting rules for the next two years. The open hunt would happen the second Saturday in December. In other respects, the controversial bear hunt would remain the same: an open season on private land in Houston, Twiggs and Bibb counties. The first open season on the Middle Georgia black bear population was held two years ago, with an estimated 10 percent of the population being killed, almost all near Tarversville in Twiggs County. Half of the 34 bears killed were female. In 2012, with game managers aggressively enforcing hunting regulations, 14 bears were harvested. Both years, multiple bears were killed illegally, and 52 percent of those harvested were female. �This level of harvest pressure on female bears was slightly greater than expected,� the state Department of Natural Resources indicated in its rationale for the changes. Moving the date back is intended to reduce hunting pressure on female bears, who become less active later in the year as they approach denning season. The DNR indicated the change might increase cub births and survival success and said the change is �also responsive to public desires.� During an earlier round of public comments, many commenters asked for using a quota system instead of holding an open hunt. A handful of hunters, on the other hand, wanted to expand the length of the hunt or the counties included. John Trussell, a Houston County outdoors writer, praised the state�s decision to move the hunt to December but said that isn�t enough. He said a quota hunt, which would limit the number of bears killed and require hunters to register, would also reduce the illegal bear hunting over bait, which has been a problem. Trussell is founder of Save Oaky Woods, an organization that successfully lobbied for the state to purchase a portion of the popular Houston County Wildlife Management Area several years ago partly in order to protect the black bears. �I would have preferred a quota hunt,� he said. �There�s no harm in being conservative until we have better information about the size of the population.� A three-year study of Middle Georgia bears under way in Houston and Twiggs counties would provide a better population estimate, possibly as soon as early summer. But if the proposed hunting rules are approved by the DNR board in May, the results of the bear study -- which is being funded through both DNR and the Georgia Department of Transportation -- won�t be used in setting hunting regulations until 2015. The study is also examining cub survival rates and bear movement patterns, especially around Ga. 96. Like the change to protect female bears, the DNR is also proposing to reduce the number of days that female deer can be harvested. The amount of doe hunting allowed will vary by region but will drop everywhere because the state has achieved deer population reductions it had sought, according to the DNR proposal. The explanation also noted that about 65 percent of the total deer harvest for the past three years has been female. The number of fawns that survive to six months in relation to the number of adult does in the population, has dropped by 26 percent.

Macon Telegraph: State Wants Feedback on Bear Hunts Before Setting New Regulations

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:51:36 +0000

This article originally appeared in the Macon Telegraph on January 16, 2013:� http://www.macon.com/2013/01/16/2319049/state-wants-feedback-on-bear-hunts.html By S. Heather Duncan � As Georgia wildlife officials draft hunting regulations for the next two years, they will be considering whether to change the rules for controversial Middle Georgia black bear hunts. The first open hunt for these bears on private land in Bibb, Houston and Twiggs counties was held in 2011, when about 10 percent of the entire Middle Georgia black bear population was killed in one day. Two wildlife management areas that are the core of the bear�s habitat were excluded from the hunt. In 2011, 34 bears were killed, all in Twiggs County near Tarversville. In 2012, 14 bears were killed, most of them in the same area but one in eastern Bibb, said Bobby Bond, a senior wildlife biologist and specialist on Middle Georgia�s bears for the Department of Natural Resources. Both years, multiple bears were killed illegally, and at least half of those harvested were females. That concerned local conservationists and some game managers. After all, Georgia has set out to protect this group of bears, by far the smallest of Georgia�s three bear populations. Partly to protect their home range, the state spent $29 million to purchase 10,000 acres of Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area in Houston County a few years ago. And University of Georgia researchers are in the midst of a three-year study intended to better estimate the total size of the population, learn about cub birth and survival rates, and examine bear movements around the portion of Ga. 96 being widened. As part of the study, 38 bears were trapped between the end of May and the middle of October, and 31 were fitted with radio collars, said Mike Hooker, a graduate student leading the research. Many of the bears were caught in the same Tarversville area where most are killed during the hunts. And five or six of the bears shot during last year�s hunt were actually wearing the new collars, said Hooker and Bond. Last year, UGA and DNR officials had said they expected to use preliminary results from the population part of the study to inform the bear hunting rules. But those results won�t be available until at least late spring, Hooker said, about a month too late for the normal schedule of setting hunting regulations. �I wish we could have started this (research) a year earlier,� Bond said. John Bowers, the DNR�s game management chief, said the DNR will draft regulations in the next few months and a public comment period, including public meetings, will be held in April. If some bear population results arrive before the DNR board sets final hunting regulations in May, Bowers said, it�s possible the bear hunting portion of the rules could be revised. �But I don�t suspect we�ll have information that much different from what we have in hand,� he said. Bond said the DNR will draft the rules based on the last two hunts, the biology of the species and public comments. The state will continue accepting public comments through Friday. Bowers summarized the comments about bear season that DNR had received by the beginning of the week: � Five commenters asked to limit bear hunting through the use of bear tags, like a quota hunt; � Four commenters asked for a more regulated bear season using quotas; � Three commenters asked for the length of the bear season to be extended; � One commenter asked for the bear season to run about six weeks, concurrent with primitive weapons deer season; � One commenter asked for Bleckley County to be included in the hunt area; � And one commenter asked that the hunt be moved to December. �Regardless of what we do, there�s going to be a good number of people that�s not happy,� Bond said. John Trussell, a Houston County outdoors writer and founder of Save Oaky Woods, has argued for switching to a quota hunt until the bear study draws clearer conclusions about the size of the bear population. He suggested it would also reduce the incidence of illegally hunting bear over bait. Legal and illegal harvest During each of the last two bear seasons, two bears were illegally shot over bait. Those included the largest bear harvested each year, said Cpl. Robert Stillwell, DNR game warden for Twiggs County. All of the six tickets written for shooting bear over bait in 2011 resulted in convictions, he said. Such tickets can involve up to $3,000 in fines and restitution. Bond said in 2012, the DNR issued three tickets to bear hunters, including two for bears killed over bait and one for the harvest of a bear that was smaller than the 75-pound lower limit. Illegally killed bears are confiscated. Stillwell had a taxidermist mount the largest bear shot illegally in 2011 and donated it to Houston County High School, whose mascot is a bear, at the school�s homecoming last fall. DNR officials said various factors may have contributed to the lower bear harvest last year. Bond said a great acorn crop last fall may have made the bears less susceptible to baiting. And the number of bears killed in the Tarversville area in 2011 may have simply reduced the number available there, Trussell said. Stillwell said he thinks the harvest was lower due to a combination of the publicity over the 2011 bear hunt and the extensive presence of game wardens. With the help of a handful of other wardens, Stillwell spent the week before the hunt identifying 30 to 40 areas in Twiggs County where he suspected hunters might be preparing for illegal bear kills. (He also used some of the UGA bear collar data to identify spots bears were hanging out that might coincide with bait.) He traveled on foot, ATV and even helicopter looking for bear traps, bait and anything abnormal. On the day of the hunt, about 10 wardens, plus canine units, patrolled and conducted three different roadblocks looking for any signs of illegal hunting. A canine unit helped identify one of the places where a deer had been killed over bait, Stillwell said. Another bear was killed over bait at a place Stillwell had scoped the week before, and the baiting was confirmed by trail cameras. Bowers said the DNR recognized after the first hunt that further law enforcement was needed. �I think the drop was because some folks were aware of the increased law enforcement presence and acted appropriately,� he said. Bear study progress Hooker said researchers are already learning more about the bears� behavior around Ga. 96, which is being designed to have wildlife corridors for the bears when it is widened. Hooker said many bears seem to see the highway as a boundary to their range, but one female crossed the highway often, and others did so several times. Last year there were also seven Middle Georgia bears killed by vehicles, and not all on Ga. 96. (One, for example, died on Interstate 16 near Macon.) This winter, another graduate student will be working on finding where female bears have made their dens and trying to get information about cub birth and survival rates. DNA samples from the cubs will also help with the study of the population size. Hooker said the bears seemed �pretty lean� last year, with the biggest females running from 130 to 140 pounds and the biggest males weighing in between 250 and 300 pounds. Hooker said he was pleased with the number of bears that were collared last year but disappointed that about half the collars have been lost. Twenty of the collars had global positioning capabilities that could allow researchers to track the bears� movements around Ga. 96 almost in real time.

Macon Telegraph: Carvings are a Real Day at the Beech

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 14:29:22 +0000

This article originally appeared in the Macon Telegraph on May 14, 2012:� http://www.macon.com/2012/08/16/2140439/carvings-are-a-real-day-at-the.html By Ed Grisamore KATHLEEN -- It is human nature to want others to know we were there. So we mark our trails, stake our spots, sign the registry and dedicate a memorial to that moment in time. Kilroy Was Here. We leave handprints in wet concrete and draw hearts on sidewalks as a profession of love. Some folks spray-paint graffiti on bridges or express their feelings with Sharpie pens on bathroom walls. Even troglodytes were compelled to leave hieroglyphic text messages in their man caves. John Trussell is a self-described �avid beech tree reader.� He has been drawn to the carvings on these trees for more than 30 years. He calls them �early pioneer message boards.� �I look for them the same way some people look at gravestone markers,� he said. �It is a way to immortalize yourself in nature in a small way. �This is my name. I was here.�� John has discovered carvings deep in the forests at Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area in southeast Houston County. It is one of his favorite places to hang out. He frequents the 13,212 acres. He takes Boy Scouts, school groups and others on nature hikes. He often hunts there. He found his first historical carving while exploring the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge in Jones County. At the base of a giant beech was a Civil War-era carving with the letters �JARAR,� followed by the year 1862. He believes the name might have had a connection with a family member or slave from the nearby Jarrell Plantation. That piqued his curiosity, and he�s been on the lookout ever since. He has located between 15 and 20 with various markings, mostly dates and initials. They are more than just tattoos on tree trunks. They are scripts of living history. Anyone can pull out a pocket knife and carve their initials on any old tree. But a day at the beech is best. Before the development of paper in Europe, beech wood was often used as a writing tablet. The words for �beech� and �book� are the same in early English, German and Swedish. The trees, which have life spans of 150 to 200 years, can be found growing near springs and streams. So they provided natural and convenient notebooks for some of the early settlers in Oaky Woods, who would stop to drink or bathe in the creeks. (And didn�t have apps for iPads.) With penknife in hand, these folks would express themselves in the grains of soft wood, providing a hand-carved historical marker for posterity. Several years ago, John came across markings on a beech tree near a stream about 100 yards from a dirt road at Oaky Woods. The tree was majestic and tall, with a circumference of about 18 feet. Although he estimated it to be close to 200 years old, he referred to it as the �Centennial Tree� after he saw the date 9/3/12 chiseled in its side. With the 100th anniversary of the anonymous carving approaching, he had planned to organize a ceremony. But when John took me there Wednesday, we were shocked at what we discovered. The tree had fallen since the last time he had cut a path to admire its history and beauty. �It�s sad,� he said, running his fingers along the outline of the carving. �I had hoped it would hold on a little longer.� He wasn�t sure whether it had toppled because of insect damage or a lightning strike during a storm. Only the black bears and wild hogs of the deep woods would have been around to witness its downfall. It brought the age-old question: When a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? �When this tree fell,� said John, �it fell with authority.� He plans to cut out the section of bark with the carving and have it on display at the Oaky Woods check station. Fortunately, another carving he wanted to show me was still there. In 1933, a man named Searcy Jenkins selected a shady spot beside a creek bed and sketched what might have been a self-portrait into the tree a few days before he contracted pneumonia and died. It is still possible to distinguish the arms, legs, eyes and nose of a man above the date: 1933. It�s a little on the mossy side, so let�s just say he is now a hairy man. There also are carvings of bear paws and a moonshine still. (John found remnants of the still upstream.) The Georgia Nature Conservancy considers Oaky Woods the �third wildest� property in the state behind the Chattahoochee National Forest and Okefenokee Swamp. John is planning a free public hike to view the carvings Saturday, Dec. 8, at 9 a.m. Other stops along the 1-mile hike will include a champion swamp chestnut oak, a limestone ridge that is estimated to be 65 million years old (where a whale bone was found) and the grave site of Col. Abner Redding, who was killed by Sherman�s troops in the Battle of Griswoldville in 1864. For more information, call (478) 953-9320 or e-mail john@trussell.org. Updates on the hike can be found at saveoakywoods.com. Reach Gris at 744-4275 or gris@macon.com.

Macon Telegraph: New Middle Georgia Black Bear Study Begins

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 09:13:57 +0000

This article originally appeared in the Macon Telegraph on May 14, 2012: http://www.macon.com/2012/05/14/2025545/new-middle-georgia-black-bear.html by S. Heather Duncan BONAIRE -- Mike Hooker has trapped a bear or two -- or 200 -- before. Last year, he was in Montana trapping grizzlies. The doctoral student estimates that in the past 19 years, he�s handled �many hundreds� of black bears to attach tracking collars and conduct research in Louisiana, Arkansas and elsewhere. But for the next few years, he�ll be working with possibly the smallest population he�s ever researched: Middle Georgia�s black bears. Scientists, road planners and wildlife managers hope to learn more about the bears in the course of a three-year University of Georgia study that began recently. The smallest of Georgia�s three bear populations, they rove across two small wildlife management areas -- Oaky Woods in Houston County and Ocmulgee in Twiggs, Pulaski and Bleckley counties -- as well as other public and private land nearby. But no one knows exactly how far they travel, how many there are or how much the population is growing. �We understand very little about this (bear) population, especially compared to others in the South,� said Michael Chamberlain, one of the lead UGA researchers. That became more important last year, when the first-ever open hunt of Middle Georgia bears was held on private land in Houston, Bibb and Twiggs counties. When 34 bears, half of them females, were killed in a single day near Tarversville, it stirred controversy among wildlife advocates. The Georgia Department of Transportation and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources have provided a combined $700,000 in grants to fund a two-pronged study. It will examine bear movements around a 15-mile corridor of Ga. 96 that is being widened to four lanes, and it will better estimate the total bear population and find out more about cub birth and survival rates. The road project includes underpasses to funnel bears underneath the highway, which bisects their habitat. The study will help DOT position those corridors in the most effective places to prevent cars from hitting bears, potentially harming both. One day last week, Hooker pulled his truck off Ga. 96 just past the Waterford Golf Club, grabbed a bucket full of tools and a spool of barbed wire and scrambled down a bank into the woods. His mouth full of nails, Hooker passed a surveyor�s stake marking where the highway would soon broaden, then headed farther into black gumbo clay beneath mossy cypress trees. He found three trees about a dozen feet apart and began wrapping barbed wire around them in two evenly spaced strands. Then he laced some string above, to be baited later. This wouldn�t make much of a bear pen, but it would catch something the bears have that he wants: hair. They�d visit for a little sour corn snack, step through or over the barbed wire and leave a few strands behind. Hairs with the roots still attached can be tested to show all kinds of genetic information. And when thousands of these results are put together, they also help scientists understand how many bears live in the area. This dark, boggy spot probably isn�t a favorite bear hangout. �If (I were) a bear, I wouldn�t go there,� Oaky Woods manager Raye Jones had declared earlier that morning as he described how high the water gets. But it�s near an underpass where bears might cross beneath the existing Ga. 96. Under the bridge�s concrete pilings, ponds of mud are surrounded by hog, deer, raccoon and opossum tracks. Hooker checked for bear tracks without finding any, but he has found bobcat and coyote tracks and even an alligator under other bridges. Biting the Pole Hooker has plenty of experience looking for bear signs. Driving through Oaky Woods, he noticed telephone poles that looked as if they�d been peeled about 6 feet off the ground. He pulled off and found bear fur clinging to the splinters. �The bears like to rub their backs against telephone poles or trees, then lean back over their shoulder and bite the pole,� he said, laughing. Soon, Hooker will know more about the bears� highway crossing habits, too. Bears will be trapped and fitted with GPS-equipped collars that can text their location as often as every five minutes. The goal is to collar about 40 bears. Half will have GPS collars, and the other half radio collars fitted to female bears. One graduate student will focus exclusively on finding the female�s dens and how many of their cubs survive, Chamberlain said. But before the field work can begin, the researchers must visit with the bears� neighbors. The morning had started off with a strategy session, as three graduate students huddled over a map split into a rainbow of colors showing land ownership. Jones jabbed his finger at the map and rattled off which owners and hunters -- including former Gov. Sonny Perdue -- would allow access for bear trapping or hair snares after turkey season. Then Jones and two of the students left to meet with Charles Ayer, one of a group of developers who owns a portion of what was once Oaky Woods, to work out access to some land bordering Ga. 247, now leased to hunting clubs. Chamberlain said a few weeks ago that neighboring landowners have been very open and cooperative. The University of Georgia conducted a previous five-year bear study in the 1990s, which focused mostly on bear genetics and population. This study will use that one as a jumping-off point, but it will also focus more on bear movements and reproduction. �One of the two biggest things we�re missing that we�ll get from this study is an overall population estimate,� said Bobby Bond, a senior wildlife biologist and specialist on Middle Georgia�s bears for the DNR. The previous study gave some seasonal population estimates for each year, but not the total population size, he said. The DNR has basically used �at least 300� bears as �a safe guess,� which UGA researchers agreed was reasonable, Bond said. Aside from the population number, Bond said birth and survival information is especially important for a population that is going to be hunted. Chamberlain said, �The most obvious thing we will provide the DNR will be a (bear) harvest rate for next year,� which is the next time the state will revisit its rules for hunting the midstate bears. Analysis of the hair snares should provide a better estimate of the number of female bears in the Middle Georgia population as early as this fall, he said. During the study, UGA researchers may be able to learn more about how the small size of the Middle Georgia bear population could affect its survival. Small populations have less genetic variation and can be more susceptible to declines in breeding or litter sizes, Chamberlain said. �Isolated populations are also much more susceptible to a catastrophic change,� he said. Chamberlain said the trapping and collaring will continue at least three years, and the DOT might fund a second phase of two or three years to track bear movements through the Ga. 96 underpasses.

Macon Telegraph: One-day Hunt Kills 10 Percent of Midstate Black Bears

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 11:31:30 +0000

This article originally appeared in the Macon Telegraph on December 27, 2011: http://www.macon.com/2011/12/27/1839559/one-day-hunt-kills-10-percent.html By S. HEATHER DUNCAN About a tenth of the Middle Georgia black bear population was killed when the first-ever open bear season was held in three Middle Georgia counties last month. Although some wildlife advocates are raising concerns about harm to the bear population, state officials say the hunt will be held the same way next year. A population of about 300 bears, centered in Houston and Twiggs counties, was a key driver behind Georgia�s $29 million purchase of 10,000 acres of the Oaky Woods Wildlife Management area in Houston County a year ago. But as both bear and human populations grow, the state Department of Natural Resources has fielded an increasing number of complaints about nuisance bears from residents of Houston and Bibb counties. For more than a decade, hunters competed for permits to participate in a quota bear hunt at the Ocmulgee Wildlife Management Area in Twiggs and Bleckley counties. In recent years, that hunt was moved from December to November, when bears are more active. On average, one bear was shot there every three years, said Bobby Bond, a senior wildlife biologist and specialist on Middle Georgia�s bears for the DNR. But this year, after a public comment period, the state settled on a one-day open season on private lands in Bibb, Houston and Twiggs counties. Thirty-four bears were killed Nov. 12, half of them females, and all in an area near Tarversville in Twiggs County, Bond said. �We killed too many bears, especially females,� said John Trussell, an outdoor writer and founder of Save Oaky Woods. Trussell, a longtime hunter, contends that the state should switch to a quota system and perhaps shift the hunt back to December to protect more female bears. �It�s taken us 100 years to get where we�re at,� he said. �It�s better to start slow.� Six bears were killed at a single hunt club. Other hunt clubs had three and two bears harvested, Bond said. �Anytime you get six bears on one property, that�s a lot,� DNR ranger Cpl. Robert Stillwell said. Bond said the most bears ever harvested in one day at the Ocmulgee WMA quota hunts was two. He said the only time he has ever heard of bears congregating is around food sources, such as in fields where peanuts are being harvested. Hunting over bait Hunting bears over bait is a misdemeanor �of a high and aggravated nature.� DNR rangers issued six citations related to two bears killed by hunters who were using bait, Stillwell said. He said the illegally shot bears included the largest bear killed that day, a 436-pound male, and a 250-pound male. Rangers caught hunters in the act on two different leased properties. Each citation for hunting bears over bait can involve fines of up to $1,500 plus restitution of up to $1,500, but the penalty will be up to a judge in Twiggs County Probate Court, Stillwell said. He said next year there will be more rangers patrolling the hunt, which attracted as many as 40 or 50 hunters to hunt clubs with a few thousand acres. Some landowners charged $300 or $400 for one-day hunting rights on their land, he said. Stillwell said hunting bear over bait is harder to prove without a tip, now that Georgia has legalized hunting deer over bait. He said a hunter can claim that the bait was intended for deer, even if it�s dog food with honey poured over it. �If we find a place (like that), then we�d know to go back there and check,� he said. �But in some instances, you have to wait for a bear to be killed to get them. That bothers me. My job is to protect the bears. ... So it�s harder with having the baiting laws legalized, for sure.� Bond said hunters in Twiggs County have been clamoring for a bear hunt there for years, and in a recent opinion survey most participants favored hunting them. Comments to DNR were overwhelmingly positive when the open season hunt was proposed, said John Bowers, DNR�s assistant chief for game management. The hunt was also intended to cut down on conflicts between bears and humans in Houston and Bibb counties -- where no bears were actually killed. �We were getting to the point where we were getting more and more bear complaints and more showing up where they shouldn�t be and getting habituated to humans,� Bond said. �We thought (the hunt) would help increase their fear of humans.� Bond expressed surprise that so many bears were killed in such a small area and that none were killed in Houston County -- although one was shot there that wasn�t recovered, he said. �As long as you don�t go over 10 percent of your population (harvested by hunters), you�re OK,� Bond said. �But for Twiggs County, it might be kind of concerning to lose 17 females.� �That�s an awful lot of bears to be killing out of one place,� Stillwell said. �It�s not as if we have thousands and thousands of bears like we do deer.� A writer sees danger Trussell argues that if the rules aren�t changed, �the harvest is going to increase next year, probably by a harmful amount.� He thinks Georgia should follow the example of South Carolina, which allowed its first bear hunt in three coastal counties this month. According to The State newspaper in Columbia, a quota system was used to permit just 30 hunters to have a shot at the population of 500 or so bears over the course of several weeks. Georgia�s hunting seasons and rules are determined on a two-year cycle and won�t change before next year�s hunt Nov. 10, Bowers said. �We�re pleased with the harvest that was achieved,� he said. �It fell right in line with what we anticipated. The number of females was a little higher than we would like, but is not of great concern to us.� Bowers said the bears� core habitat on the wildlife management acted as a preserve, since it wasn�t hunted. But a large portion of the land that was once part of that preserve has fallen into private hands, and in many cases is leased for hunting, Trussell pointed out. About 7,000 acres each of the Ocmulgee and Oaky Woods wildlife management areas has gone into private hands since 1994. Trussell said the 7,000 acres of Oaky Woods that Georgia stopped leasing this fall is being advertised for hunting leases now, and he expects far more hunters -- many from out of state -- to be taking aim at bears next November. Bowers said the DNR will consider the rules again only after it has two years of data. That data is likely to be enhanced by a new bear survey being conducted by the University of Georgia with funding from DNR and the Georgia Department of Transportation, which will be widening Ga. 96 in the heart of the bears� territory. Underpasses for the bears are built into the highway plans, and officials want to gather information on bear movement patterns to pick the best spots, Bond said. He said bears will be caught and radio collared, as they were in several previous studies. (Two of the bears killed last month were part of the most recent study.) Wildlife officials hope to learn more about the bear population size, reproductive habits and den sites, Bond said Bowers said that study is starting now and will conclude in 2014.

State Purchases a Major Portion of Oaky Woods!

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 11:08:29 +0000

By John Trussell In 2007 where I and a small group of Oaky Woods supporters started "Save Oaky Woods", we were not given much of a chance of preserving the property, but we just had to try to save middle Georgia's last best wilderness area, and we had to hope that circumstances would change for the better. In December 2010, time was running out when the state made a strong push to purchase a major portion of Oaky Woods and high level negotiations were taking place. In fact, during the last deer hunt of the year, some of the DNR board members were given a tour of Oaky Woods on Friday December 3 by DNR Asst Commissioner for Operations, Todd Holbrook, and Lauren Curry, DNR Director of Communications. To support the purchase, several members of the �Save Oaky Woods� conservation group, including this writer, were present to greet the Board members and offer light refreshments during their visit. The board members seemed very interested in learning more about the property and carefully weighed all the facts related to the possible purchase. On Dec 7, the Land acquisition sub- committee voted 8 to 1 to recommend the purchase to the full board, and then on Dec 8 the full board voted to buy Oaky Woods on a vote of 11-6. The final hurdle was the review of the State Properties Commission. On Monday, Dec 13, they unanimously approved spending $28.7 million in state bond money on 10,015 acres of Oaky Woods and the deal closed out at the end of December. So finally, after 6 years of speculation and doubt, outdoorsmen saw a rare victory of conservation over development and now a major portion of Oaky Woods will be preserved for all Georgians forever! Some Natural Resources Board members said the price was too high at $2,874 per acre, but that price fell between two appraisals, thus can be considered a fair market price and the state can only pay appraised value for property. In comparison, Oaky Woods Properties bought it for about $1,600 an acre in 2004 when Weyerhaeuser sold most their Georgia lands, a total of 400,000 acres. With such a large sale, Weyerhaeuser sold the land at depressed prices and many of the new owners resold their lands at a quick profit.The state passed on a chance to buy the Oaky Woods land then and the developers, Charles Ayer, Scott Free, Charlie McGlamery and A. L. Williams, set about to plan for up to 35,000 homes and businesses on the Oaky Woods property, but continued to lease the wma land to the state. They bought additional entrance right of way, applied for a bridge permit, petitioned Houston County for a waste treatment plant off Kovac Road, and paid for conservation and use assessments. However, when the economy tanked and development plans stalled, the owners and the state started new discussions and thankfully, those discussions where successful. The state was able to purchase the heart of Oaky Woods, with perhaps the most important bear habitat that lies along Big and Little grocery creeks. Also purchased were a 50 foot buffer around the perimeter road, plus the check station, workshop areas and additional river lands. �Since 2003, the state has conserved over 200,000 acres through purchases, donations and easements,� Bert Brantley, a spokesman for Gov. Sonny Perdue, said in a prepared statement after the Natural Resources Board�s vote . �The conservation of Oaky Woods is a terrific addition to the state�s portfolio.� Todd Holbrook, DNR Asst Commissioner for Operations, said the purchase of Oaky Woods is� a crown jewel of land acquisitions for the DNR and the state has long sought to preserve the property. It is very important to preserve the Oaky Woods habitat for that small, isolated black bear population, the very rare black prairie chalk lands and the many rare plants, flowers and diverse habitat�. Kevin Kramer, Chief Region Biologist for DNR�s Fort Valley office, said immediate plans for Oaky woods call for the development of a 50 year management plan that will stress habitat improvement for wildlife, increased care of black prairie areas and improved public access. The good stand of pine trees will be managed primarily for wildlife and second for timber production. Currently valued at about 1000 per acre, the trees will provide a long term cash crop for state revenue. Kramer said that in the past the land was primarily managed for timber production and the state was very limited as to what it could do, because the land was only leased, not owned by the state. Now that the land is state owned, wildlife management will take a front row seat, says Kramer, good news for sportsmen. Raye Jones, long time Oaky Woods wma manager says that although he is disappointed that the state could not buy the whole wma, he is very pleased that a major portion of the wma will be preserved forever and looks forward to improved wildlife management opportunities on the wma. Presently, Oaky Woods WMA is comprised of 19, 401 acres and of that amount, 16,286 is leased from Oaky Woods LLC. With the states purchase of 10,015 acres and 1117 acres already owned by the state along the Ocmulgee River, Oaky Woods will have 11,132 acres of state owned land. In addition, Houston County now includes 1998 acres in the wma, located on the south end of the property, around the land fill, thus the total acres that includes state and county land is 13,130 acres, thus Oaky Woods will retain two �thirds of its land mass, a pretty good outcome, says Kramer. In the initial wma contract, the state was set to purchase 9,595 acres, but in final negotiations, the owners offered an additional 420 acres on the south end of the proposed land map, which brought the total land purchased to 10,015 acres. The attached map does NOT include the 420 acres because the property lines were being drawn at press time. But basically, the 420 acres extends in a narrow band from the south end of this map and continues in a south direction to the mouth of Big Indian Creek at the Ocmulgee River. This is cut over, flood plain land, but as Kramer said, the trees will grow back and this is an important addition .The big question now is whether the state will be able to maintain the privately owned land in the lease, primarily the west and south portions of the wma, and keep it in the wma. Both Holbrook and Kramer said that decision depends on the new state budget and last year the DNR saw significant cuts in its lease funds and about 4,500 acres of Ocmulgee wma, lands north of highway 96, that were cut from that wma. Seventy five percent of lease monies tickle down from the federal government and the state only contributed 25%, but state law makers cut that 25%. Hopefully, those cuts can be avoided in 2011, and now is a good time to discuss this issue with your local Representatives. On Oaky Woods, the lease is 12.50 per acre, the most costly in the state and Ayers says the tax runs 11.25 per acre because the owners can not take advantage of conservation tax cuts due to their eventual plans to develop some of the property. On the December 1-4 deer hunt, wildlife Biologist Bobby Bonds says that 448 hunters checked in and took 108 deer, 66 bucks and 42 does and that works out to a success ratio of 25%, pretty good for a wma hunt. The rut runs into late November and the first of December on Oaky Woods, so this hunt catches the tail end of the rut and some hunters reported chasing activity. Mike Taggard of Acworth, Clyde Yoder of Montezuma, Victor Williams and Allen Davis from Snellville, all brought in nice bucks to the check station. Kramer says the deer population is down slightly from the 1980�s when it was in the 28 per square mile range, but he now estimates that the population is around 20 per square mile. He says that natural mortality, degraded habitat and food competition caused by wild pigs are primary limiting factors, followed by a very small degree of predation by bears and coyotes during the fawn drop period. But in the near future, the DNR will be planting more native plants and creating more natural openings to increase browse for deer, which should help increase the population. Also, the very limited doe hunting on the wma is an effort to increase the herd and the population is now below the carrying capacity of the land, says Kramer, so there is room for growth. The last deer hunt of the year, a buck only, sign- in hunt, was held for Jan 1-7, 2011 and now the small game season is underway, but check the regs for full details. Wild pig hunting continues to be a strong draw of interest to hunters at Oaky Woods, but on the Dec 1-4 hunt, only two wild pigs were checked out. Most hunters reported seeing little hog sign which is indicative of a lower wild hog population. Bobby Bond said this probably shows that the wild hogs have been hammered by the small game hunters and prededation permit holders during the off season, which is a good thing as wild pigs compete for common deer and turkey food sources. This writer saw several pigs running through the thick cutover areas but could not get a shot at them during the Dec 1-4 hunt. So if you try pig hunting during the small game dates, try the thickest cover you can find. Also try the creek bottoms, thick with maiden cane, along Big Grocery Creek and the slews along the Ocmulgee River. Make sure you take a gps or compass to avoid getting lost, because when the sun starts to set, it can get spooky down there. As a side note, middle Georgia hunters and target shooters need to know that the Ocmulgee wma gun range is now has paid range officers on site to reduce accidents and assist shooters, according to Kramer, and there is still no charge to use the range. Range hours are 10 am to 6pm Tuesday �Saturday and 1pm -6pm on Sunday. The range is closed on Monday and check the DNR website for driving instructions. In closing, this writer wishes to thank the many individuals and groups who assisted in the long effort to preserve Oaky woods.Terry Todd at GOA and and Steve Burch at GON have been very helpful in bringing breaking news on Oaky Woods to outdoorsmen . Pierre Howard, President of the Georgia Conservancy and Will Wingate, legislative coordinator, toured Oaky Woods with this writer and wrote supportive letters to the DNR Board. At the Georgia Wildlife Federation, Jerry McCollum Glen Dowling, and Sam Stowe provided booth space to the Save Oaky Woods group at their trade shows to talk with effected sportsmen. Thanks to Heather Duncan, who wrote several positive stories in the Macon Telegraph. The Save Oaky Woods Board was also very supportive, especially Sec / Treasurer Alex Morrow, Walt Wood and Art Christie. The Houston County Board of Commissioners, especially outgoing chairman Ned Sanders and incoming Chairman Tommy Stalnaker have been very supportive, as have state employees Todd Holbrook, Steve Freidman, Kevin Kramer, Bobby Bond , Raye Jones and the DNR Board. Principal owner spokesman Charles Ayer always maintained open lines of communication which was greatly appreciated. Brandon Trussell (digitalpeach.com) developed and maintained the Save Oaky Woods web site, a tremendously valuable service. Lastly, thanks to Gov Sonny Perdue, State Senator Ross Tolleson and Oaky Woods LLC for their efforts to preserve Oaky Woods. We will keep the web site active as we try to inform and educate Georgians to the tremendous value of Oaky woods and look for new opportunities to expand its borders. I hope to see you down at Oaky Woods soon!

Macon Telegraph: Oaky Woods Deal Elicits Outrage, Enthusiasm

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 17:22:59 +0000

This article originally appeared in the Macon Telegraph on December 9, 2010:�� http://www.macon.com/2010/12/09/1370263/some-locals-outraged-over-oaky.html By S. HEATHER DUNCAN The state�s purchase of thousands of acres of a popular Houston County wildlife management area cleared another significant hurdle Wednesday when the Department of Natural Resources board voted 11-6 to approve the $29 million deal. The state purchase would preserve 10,000 acres of Oaky Woods west of the Ocmulgee River, including black bear habitat, the highest quality known Georgia Eocene chalk prairies, endangered plants, and river habitat for rare and endangered fish and mussels. If the purchase is approved Monday by the State Properties Commission, the deal is scheduled to close before the end of the year. According to DNR documents, the department expects to spend $57,815 in fiscal 2011 on operating the wildlife area it has purchased, and about $150,000 the next year. Many local residents, from hunters to bear enthusiasts, campaigned for conserving Oaky Woods after the land was purchased in 2004 by a group of developers planning to build 30,000 or so homes there. �Unfortunately, the state didn�t purchase this land years ago when it was a much better deal, but ... protecting this and other WMAs is a priority in my opinion in spite of the economy and other factors,� Mike Duncan wrote in an e-mail. The longtime Oaky Woods supporter said he was pleased with the sale but disappointed the state is not buying the whole property. Reactions to the state purchase, which will protect about half the land owned by Oaky Woods LLC, vary from enthusiasm to disgust. The range reflects the political turns the issue has taken over the years. For decades, the land was owned by Weyerhaeuser, which harvested timber but leased wildlife management rights for 16,000 acres to Georgia. The company auctioned the land in 2004, with the winning bid of $1,600 an acre going to a partnership of businessmen including Houston County mega developer Charlie McGlamry, The Sports Center in Perry owner Charles Ayer, Warner Robins real estate agent Scott Free and Atlanta partner Art Williams Jr. Eventually they formed Oaky Woods LLC. At the time of the sale, the Nature Conservancy offered to buy the land on behalf of the state if Georgia would pay for it later. But the state refused the offer, with Gov. Sonny Perdue saying Georgia couldn�t afford it. During the 2006 gubernatorial election campaign, Democrats filed ethics complaints against Perdue over the decision, saying he had a conflict of interest because he had purchased 101 acres next to Oaky Woods through a limited liability company the day before bidding closed. Perdue has longtime relationships with many of the partners, some of whom were campaign donors or fundraisers on his behalf. In the last few years, the bottom has fallen out of the economy and the state has made deep cuts in education, services to veterans and the mentally ill, among other areas. But the current deal would pay Oaky Woods LLC $2,874 an acre -- 56 percent more than it cost six years ago. Houston County resident Tom Thornton pointed out, �The state was in better shape then than now. ... Back then, teachers weren�t being laid off/furloughed, our property taxes hadn�t been raised and the state was much more financially able to buy the entire tract� at a more reasonable price. �My personal feeling is that the sole purpose of the investors was to buy the land and sell it to the state at an outrageous profit, being friends of the governor,� Thornton said. He called it a bailout that will benefit the investors, but not taxpayers. However, the price is still notably less than the $14,000 an acre Ayer had said the partners were seeking in 2007. Wednesday, Ayer said the property �never had an asking price.� He said the state has been �a good negotiator.� The state can�t legally pay more than the appraised value of land, and the final price landed between the two appraisals commissioned by the DNR. �Their appraisals were based on timber land, not Houston County land� where property values have been increasing, Ayer said. �We had our own appraisals done, and they came up higher than theirs.� Although the Houston County Assessors� Office puts the land at a lower value, its appraisals don�t include the timber, Ayer said. He said the partners have only thinned the pulpwood, and much valuable timber remains. �The state drew the lines they wanted,� he said Wednesday. �They got most of the river frontage and most, if not all, of the creek bottoms,� as well as the main road systems through the property. And the state actually negotiated extra acreage and a better price in the last week. The original agreement would have included 9,595 acres for $3,000 an acre. �We wanted to make it work,� Ayer said. �We�ve always wanted to conserve part of� the land. Ayer and Perdue�s spokesman have said the governor was not involved in the negotiations. But the timing of the agreement, only a few weeks before the end of Perdue�s term, leads some observers to credit the governor. �I commend Sonny Perdue and the owners for reaching this compromise,� said John Trussell, head of a citizens group called Save Oaky Woods. �I�m happy with what they did. It�s been a long, hard process. ... The curtain was closing on this deal with the governor leaving office.� Trussell, a Houston County naturalist who conducts tours of Oaky Woods, said most people he�s heard from are pleased with the deal. �A few years ago, we expected nothing.� He said he hopes to see Save Oaky Woods evolve into a Friends of Oaky Woods support group for fundraising and volunteering. �We�re going to stick together and try to expand the perimeter where we can,� he said. Patrick Lynch, a graduate student who has spent two years surveying and sampling plants at 30 sites in Middle Georgia, said the majority of the most ecologically valuable limestone forests occur in the portion of Oaky Woods the state is buying. He wrote a letter to the DNR supporting the purchase. �I was very pleased to hear of the pending initiative, though I would have been happier had it included more of Oaky Woods,� he wrote in an e-mail Tuesday. Oaky Woods LLC is keeping much of the land that is nearer to Ga. 247 and Ga. 96, and may still develop in future, Ayer said. Given the state of the economy, the owners now plan to maintain it as timber investment property, he said. At $12.50 an acre, the current state lease, which lasts until the end of June, is the most expensive for a wildlife management area in Georgia. Ayer said owners increased the lease price over time to cover their property tax bill, which runs about $11.25 an acre.

Macon Telegraph: State may buy large part of Oaky Woods

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 10:55:47 +0000

This article originally appeared in the Macon Telegraph on Nov. 30, 2010 http://www.macon.com/2010/11/30/1358781/ga-may-buy-chunk-of-oaky-woods.html By Joe Kovac, Jr. More than half of the Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area in Houston County that�s now leased by the state from private owners could soon become public land for good if Georgia officials agree to pay a nearly $29 million asking price. More than 9,500 acres of the almost-16,000-acre swath of forest, prairie and wetlands that the state has leased since 1966 would come under state control in the proposed $3,000-an-acre deal, which still has a number of hurdles to clear. �That�s the big �if� here. This is just an option to buy,� Lauren Curry, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources� director of public and governmental affairs, said Monday. The 18-member Georgia DNR board will meet in Atlanta on Dec. 7 and Dec. 8. If on the first day of meetings the board�s land-acquisition committee signs off on the proposal, the next day it would go to the full board for a simple-majority vote. Then it would be passed on to the State Properties Commission, which meets Dec. 13, for final approval. �The goal would be to close by the end of the calendar year,� Curry said of what would be a bond-funded acquisition. Oaky Woods, a haven for hunting and fishing, spreads south and east of Bonaire. Its easternmost bounds hug the Ocmulgee River bottom from Ga. 96 on down east of Kathleen and Ga. 247 and into the northern reaches of Pulaski County. Private developers� plans for the land have been criticized by conservationists in recent years. The state�s option to acquire 9,595 acres is from those developers. The ownership group, known as Oaky Woods Properties LLC, has expressed ambitious long-range intentions to use at least some of the property as a canvas for new town centers with upwards of 30,000 single- and multi-family dwellings, possibly served, eventually, by as many as 10 new schools. A DNR memo about the potential sale notes that the portion of land Oaky Woods Properties is not selling, parts nearer to Ga. 247, would apparently remain open to some form of development. �The sellers will retain the right to cross the property in two places for a possible sewer line easement and the right to use (a road) to service the sewer lines,� the memo states. The DNR memo detailing the potential acquisition calls Oaky Woods �the largest, most ecologically important unprotected tract of land in the central part of Georgia. It ... contains extensive upland pine, forested wetlands, a blackland prairie and is the core habitat for the Central Georgia black bear population, the third largest in the state.� The memo also notes that the stretch of the Ocmulgee River it hopes to preserve is a �very important� one for �endangered robust redhorse and numerous mussels.� �We tried to get as much river frontage as we could over there to the west of the Ocmulgee,� Curry said. If the deal goes through, she said, �our plan is to continue to operate it as a wildlife management area.� �The state would now own half of it rather than leasing it from the current landowners,� Curry said. �Our purpose is land conservation for generations to come.� The Oaky Woods WMA survived budget cuts two years ago when the price tag on its $12.50-per-acre-per-year lease came under state scrutiny. The land made up 9 percent of all WMA acreage in Georgia but accounted for nearly 20 percent of the state�s total annual lease costs for such properties. Curry said a move by the state to acquire Oaky Woods has �been burning for years, but on the back burner. And it�s just taken a long time to get to a deal that the state could feel comfortable with.� Information from Telegraph archives was used in this report.

Macon Telegraph: Oaky Woods development plan halted (temporarily)

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:15:21 +0000

This article originally appeared in Macon Telegraph, Friday December 4, 2009 http://www.macon.com/197/story/940363.html By Jennifer Burk The owners of Oaky Woods, a popular hunting and wildlife area, recently withdrew their request for a zoning variance that would allow for construction of a wastewater treatment plant on 18 acres of the property. The group also withdrew its Developments of Regional Impact application for the project, known as Winding River Development. A Developments of Regional Impact review is required before Houston County may consider the variance request. Scott Free, one of the property�s four owners, asked to withdraw the applications for the review and variance in nearly identical letters Oct. 16 and Nov. 25, respectively. The letters cited �conditions which ... we have not been able to resolve in the recent past� as the reason for the withdrawal. �However, we have reason to believe that the problems of the past can be resolved in the near future,� Free wrote. �At which time we will re-submit our proposal.� Free and other owners did not return phone calls for comment. They purchased the property in 2004 and in the past have said they plan to build up to 30,000 homes in Oaky Woods over a 30-year period. The about 20,000-acre tract near Kathleen currently is leased to the state as a wildlife management area. Houston Commission Chairman Ned Sanders said a change in the rules regarding Developments of Regional Impact reviews prompted the owners to withdraw their applications. The project already received several extensions, and with the change another was not possible, Sanders said. Because some questions in the application still were unresolved, Sanders said the Middle Georgia Regional Commission, which conducts the review, informed him it would have to give a recommendation against the project. �The applicants decided it would be prudent to just withdraw it and submit it at a later date,� Sanders said. �It�s still a project they�re interested in. It will probably come back alive sometime in the future.� In addition, the current economy is not prime for development, he said. Bob Rychel, manager of planning programs at the Middle Georgia Regional Commission, said one of the review�s rules states a negative finding must be issued if there are any unresolved inter-jurisdictional conflicts. The city of Warner Robins had some issues with the service delivery plan for the development, he said. In 2008, Sanders said Warner Robins, under former Mayor Donald Walker, objected to the owners� variance request for a wastewater treatment plant because the development would be in the city�s service delivery area, and the city could provide the service. Mayor John Havrilla said this week he has not specifically discussed the property with anybody. Oaky Woods is home to black bears, old hardwood trees, unique plant communities and the only population of Russian boar known to exist in Georgia. The woods� geology includes a limestone ridge that dates back 65 million years. For these reasons, many people are interested in conserving the woods. John Trussell, founder of Save Oaky Woods, said the best use for the property is a wildlife management area. The withdrawal of the two applications is good news, at least in the short term, he said. �Probably construction of a massive subdivision is not imminent at the present time,� he said. �It does not mean it cannot happen in the future.� His organization recently received nonprofit status, which will make it easier to solicit funds and apply for grants to study the area, he said. Trussell recently gave a tour of the property to Pierre Howard, president of the Georgia Conservancy. As a result, the group renewed its call for preservation. �We feel (Oaky Woods) is a state treasure because of the location, because of the multiple uses it can be put to by the people who live in that area and people all over the state. It�s a primary place for sportsmen,� Howard said. In addition, �the natural value of the property is rare.� Howard, a former lieutenant governor who was named to the group�s top post earlier this year, said the Georgia Conservancy plans to lobby legislators when the General Assembly convenes early next year. �Some of those things like Oaky Woods, you can lose the opportunity to preserve them,� he said. �I think this will be Gov. (Sonny) Perdue�s last chance to save that property for future generations of Georgians.� In 2004, Perdue, who owns land adjacent to the area, declined an offer from the Nature Conservancy to help the state buy the land. The state has been in talks with owners about buying the land periodically ever since but has been unable to agree on a price. Negotiations continue, said state Sen. Ross Tolleson, R-Perry. Tolleson, who chairs the Natural Resources and the Environment Committee, said it would be premature to say whether the state is any closer to a purchase. �I wouldn�t want to say at this time whether we are or we aren�t,� he said. Information from The Telegraph�s archives was used in this report. To contact writer Jennifer Burk, call 256-9705.

Macon Telegraph: Research Shows Unusualness of Oaky Woods' Chalk Prairies, Forests

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:53:19 +0000

This article originally appeared in Macon Telegraph, Monday October 12, 2009 http://www.macon.com/local/story/877165.html By S. Heather Duncan Patrick Lynch conducts his graduate research far from a lab. When he ventures into the field, his tools are a narrow spade carried in his belt and two enormous plastic bags. On a day when the air was thick and wet as soup, the University of Georgia student hiked into the limestone forest of Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area in pursuit of rare plants. �He stopped when he spotted a good specimen of a plant he hasn�t collected. He noted where it was growing, what it was growing near and other information that might be useful to researchers later. Lynch used the spade to dig up the root, folded up the plant and put it in one of the big plastic bags. Later, they would be iced in a cooler until he got home. �I�ll probably stay up all night and press them,� Lynch said. Eventually the specimens will be archived in the vast collection at the state herbarium. This and more new research could help build support for preserving Oaky Woods, which includes more than 20,000 acres of Houston County now owned by a group of local developers. Tom Patrick, a botanist for the state Department of Natural Resources, said conserving land along the Ocmulgee River in Middle Georgia is a priority for the state. �We�ve also wanted to purchase Oaky Woods, and it�s one of our priorities for research,� he said. Among the reasons are its rare plant communities, its large black bear population, its fossils and other unusual features. On a recent day in the woods with Lynch, Patrick said, �If we can document this as an unusual forest type, groups like the Trust for Public Land and the Nature Conservancy might be attracted to get involved. ... It�s just like having an endangered species.� The land�s current owners have proposed building 30,000 homes there and preserving some portions as green space. A movement to protect the entire area has been building steam, but state officials and land owners have been unable to reach a deal. Lynch and another graduate student, Lee Echols, have been studying plants in Oaky Woods� forest and its prairies, respectively. What these unusual plant communities have in common is chalk. That�s the common term for the limestone deposits left when Houston County was the shore of an ancient sea. Small white slabs of limestone still protrude from the ground in the woods. The prairies, which are frequently covered with waving asters, goldenrod and other wildflowers, were once commonly referred to as �black belt� prairies after similar formations in the Gulf coastal plain. But Echols� research, soon to be published, found enough distinctive geology and plants for the Oaky Woods formation to get its own, new category: Georgia Eocene chalk prairies. Echols said almost all the known Georgia chalk prairies are in Oaky Woods, although there are also some in the nearby Ocmulgee Wildlife Management Area. Historically they are isolated to Houston, Bleckley, Peach and Twiggs counties, he said. �Open prairie is considered a critically imperiled community, the most extreme designation,� said Echols, who is now a professional conservation biologist in North Carolina. �Every example is noteworthy and worthy of protection.� These chalk prairies are relatively rare everywhere. Ann Johnson, plant ecologist for the state of Florida, recently toured the prairies of Oaky Woods after reading Echols� thesis. She studies the prairie �glades� of the Florida panhandle and is trying to visit all the coastal prairies in the South for comparison. Wilson Baker, an environmental consultant working with Johnson on the research, said the prairies are the rarest unprotected habitat in Florida, where it�s found in two counties. The Georgia prairies harbor a broad range of rare species, including some Echols documented for the first time in the state, and others that had never before been found on the coastal plain. Echols also found Oaky Woods� first plant on the endangered species list, fringed campion, as well as two other flowers that are considered threatened within Georgia. �I found a ton of rare species there,� he said, adding that the diversity of species was unusual for a study area of less than 100 acres. Lynch�s research is still in progress. He is collecting almost every plant he sees in the limestone forests of Ocmulgee Wildlife Management Area. In Houston County, he�s being more selective because more research already has been done there. In the woods, Lynch examined spider lilies, wrinkled his nose at the smell of camphor, pulled up a sample of adder�s tongue � a tiny primitive fern � and pointed out a �squirting cucumber,� which looks like a berry on a vine. When asked about the plant�s name, Patrick pinched the berry and it exploded. �It�s juicy,� he observed. Patrick searched for pawpaw fruits among the many pawpaw trees, which usually prefer bluffs. but are plentiful in the Big Grocery Creek bottomlands. Cherokee sedge grew like long green hair beneath large American elm trees. �Most of these up north died of Dutch elm disease, but in the South we still have beautiful specimens in our bottomland hardwood forests,� Patrick noted. In this forest and others in Oaky Woods, some �state champion� trees have been found. These are the largest known trees of their species in Georgia. Patrick and local Oaky Woods activist John Trussell believe there are more. Trussell, a founder of Save Oaky Woods, said he�ll incorporate the new research into the tours he conducts for teachers, scout groups and others at the wildlife management area. �Hopefully this will raise public awareness of what we have and why we need to preserve it,� Trussell said.

Macon Telegraph: Midstate Public Hunting Areas Survive Cuts

Wed, 13 May 2009 13:39:43 +0000

This article originally appeared in Macon Telegraph, Wednesday May 13, 2009 http://www.macon.com/local/story/713852.html By S. Heather Duncan Because of state budget cuts, two state public hunting areas will be closed and one and a half more will no longer be managed by state wildlife experts, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources has announced. But Middle Georgia wildlife management areas, including Cedar Creek, Oaky Woods and Ocmulgee, dodged the bullet. The DNR manages wildlife management areas to improve hunting and wildlife habitat. It also maintains roads and enforces laws there. Although some are owned by the state, many are leased to the DNR by private landowners such as timber companies. Last fall, state officials indicated that they planned to close some WMAs on federal lands, including Cedar Creek WMA, which is part of Oconee National Forest in Jones County. State leaders also had indicated Oaky Woods in Houston County might be a candidate for closure because at $12.50 an acre, it is the state's most expensive lease. The area is owned by Houston County developers who plan to build 30,000 homes there eventually. The state has opted instead to close Rayonier and King Tract WMAs, both near Waycross, and Lake Burton WMA, which is part of the Chattahoochee National Forest. In addition, it will close half of the Blue Ridge WMA. Both those north Georgia tracts will remain open to public hunting but won't be managed by the state. Altogether, about 50,000 acres are being removed from wildlife management areas, said Mark Whitney, chief of game management for the Georgia DNR. Some of this is being offset by the addition of 1,700 more acres to a state-owned WMA in Seminole County and 7,000 acres in Long and McIntosh counties. Whitney said the state considered many factors in picking which WMAs to close, including the amount of hunting that occurs on each, the distance to other WMAs, the quality of the harvest from the WMA, the DNR's relationship with the owners and the department's ability to effectively manage the land for wildlife. "The average hunter hunts roughly two WMAs, and they're very loyal," Whitney said. "We're talking about hard decisions here that are going to impact a lot of people." High usage and the few number of WMAs within a certain land and population base were factors that weighed in favor of keeping Oaky Woods, Whitney said. "One of our decision points for Oaky Woods was how important that area is to that black bear population," he said. Whitney said the annual WMA leases are in the process of being renewed for 2010, but Oaky Woods owners have expressed interest in continuing the lease.

Macon Telegraph: Federal Loan Could Preserve Oaky Woods

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 09:34:03 +0000

This article originally appeared in Macon Telegraph, Wednesday March 18, 2009 http://www.macon.com/198/story/653734.html by S. Heather Duncan For the first time, the state is including Oaky Woods in a list of Georgia projects eligible for federal loans to buy and protect land. In a draft report it plans to submit to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, Georgia provided a rough cost estimate of $8 million for a potential loan to preserve 14,000 acres of the wildlife area in Houston County. “We know enough to know that between local governments’ and private conservation groups’ interest, we decided we wanted to include Oaky Woods,” said Curt Soper, director of Georgia’s land conservation program. A popular hunting and wildlife area, Oaky Woods was purchased in 2004 by a group of Houston County developers who plan to build 30,000 homes there. Home to one of the state’s largest black bear populations, Oaky Woods has been a source of controversy for Gov. Sonny Perdue, who had declined the Nature Conservancy’s offer to help the state buy the land. The state has been in talks with the owners of Oaky Woods periodically ever since. This year, the developers hired lobbyist Brad Alexander to press their case at the Capitol, but he said Tuesday that he isn’t representing them any more. “They did have some preliminary discussions with the state this year and were not able to get to a place where the owners could make a deal,” he said. “They are not actively pursuing a conservation deal with the state at this point.” Lauren Curry, spokesman for the state Department of Natural Resources, said the state remains interested in the entire 21,000 acres. “We still think this land is very desirable, but we’re not currently negotiating on a specific price,” Curry said. Soper said he wasn’t sure how the state arrived at its $8 million number, but the point was to get the project on record as a priority. There is about $30 million available in the federal land conservation revolving loan fund, which is different from the state’s fund, Soper said. Since the federal program was created in 2005, about 10 projects around Georgia have received a total of $10 million to $15 million in loans from it, Soper said. The money typically goes to local governments or nonprofits and is combined with other funding sources. But it’s unclear who might apply for a federal loan this year. The Houston County Commission had informally discussed the idea of holding a referendum asking taxpayers to pay an extra penny on the dollar toward purchasing the land, but commission Chairman Ned Sanders said that’s unlikely to advance this year. “With the economy the way it is and constraints on us trying to get a 2010 budget together, it’s unlikely we’d go out and call for a referendum,” he said Tuesday. “I’m very doubtful there’d be any local match in the next few years. I’d like to say yes, but I can’t in good conscience.” Sanders added that he continues to talk to the players about brokering a deal for the protection of Oaky Woods. Last week he answered a letter from a 6-year-old boy who pleaded for him to preserve it. Essentially, Sanders told the boy he’d try, but it would take a long time. However, Sanders said the recent slowdown in the construction industry has taken some of the pressure off. And although the state and Oaky Woods owners have been unable to agree on a price, the gap between their numbers has been narrowing due to the economic downturn, said state Sen. Ross Tolleson, R-Perry. Tolleson has remained close to negotiations, which he said had continued as recently as last week. He noted that the state can’t legally pay more than the land’s assessed value. Although the Nature Conservancy was pursuing Oaky Woods at one time, officials with the nonprofit indicated earlier this year that they haven’t been involved recently. Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority’s priority list for projects to receive federal funding includes potential economic stimulus funds this year, but those funds can’t be used for land acquisition, Soper said. The agency is holding a hearing today on its entire draft list of potential Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund projects, which total about $144 million. The hearing will be at 10 a.m. in the GEFA board room on the ninth floor of Harris Tower, Suite 900, at 233 Peachtree Street in Atlanta.

Macon Telegraph: Lobbyist Hired to Sell Oaky Woods as Nature Preserve

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 13:47:18 +0000

This article originally appeared in Macon Telegraph, Friday January 23, 2009 http://www.macon.com/741/story/596735.html By Travis Fain The group that owns Oaky Woods, a massive tract of prime woodland in Houston County, has hired a lobbyist in another push to sell the land as a permanent nature preserve. The group, which includes several Houston County businessmen, hired Brad Alexander — Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle’s chief of staff until last year — when he left to form a new lobbying and consulting group, Georgia 360 LLC. Oaky Woods has been a major source of controversy for Gov. Sonny Perdue, who owns land nearby. Perdue said the state couldn’t afford to help purchase the popular hunting area and black bear habitat back in 2004, when the Weyerhauser timber company put it on the market. Investors bought it for $32.1 million and, though they continue to lease the area to the state as wildlife management and hunting area, the group also announced plans to build more than 30,000 new homes on the land. That development proposal has been unpopular in Houston County, as well as with hunters and conservationists. Warner Robins Mayor Donald Walker recently called the massive building plans “a dead issue.” Faced with roadblocks to developing the land and with an interest in seeing the area preserved, the owners have been through several rounds of negotiations with the state about selling the land. But by 2007, the price had gone up significantly — from the $1,600 an acre the group paid for it to about $14,000 an acre. Talks fell apart, with co-owner Charles Ayer saying the state and the ownership group couldn’t agree on a fair price for land in fast-growing Houston County. Alexander, the lobbyist, said this week that he couldn’t lay out a current per-acre asking price for the land. But he acknowledged that the state’s current budget problems make a sale more difficult. Perdue has suggested more than $2 billion in cuts to this year’s budget, including massive cuts to the land conservation grant program. Alexander said he’s working with several entities in the hopes that funding for the deal can be split up. John Trussel, who founded Save Oaky Woods, said money could be “stitched together” from public and private sources. That could include a penny sales tax in Houston County, he said. Trussel said he talked to Ayer recently about the plan and that Ayer said the ownership group won’t raise the price it charges the state to lease the land as a wildlife management area next year. “As a sign of goodwill,” Trussel said. Ayer and other owners did not return telephone messages seeking comment. Alexander said development is “not off the table” for the area, but the ownership group wants to “put the land in some kind of permanent conservation status ... if they can work out a deal that’s fair.” Trussel called recent developments “encouraging.” To sell the land, though, Walker noted the owners are going to “have to get right on the price.” DOT POWER SHIFT IN THE AIR Almost since the session began, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has been reporting on a behind-the-scenes deal to radically change the way the Georgia Department of Transportation is governed. The long and short of it, from the paper’s online “Political Insider” column: Instead of legislators in each of Georgia’s 13 congressional districts electing DOT board members and those members picking the commissioner, the board would be appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the house, with the governor choosing a commissioner. That seems like a tough sell, given that members of the General Assembly would have to vote to give up their power over board members to make it happen. But it may be part and parcel of a deal to increase transportation funding in the state, according to the Political Insider. Middle Georgia’s DOT Board Member, Larry Walker, has been around state politics for decades. He was a longtime legislator from Perry and now represents the 8th Congressional District on the board. He’s also the board’s vice chairman. Walker told The Telegraph that changing the way the DOT board is named would be difficult, but not impossible. “If the speaker and the governor and the lieutenant governor got behind it and they pushed it hard enough, they could probably pass it,” Walker said. “It wouldn’t be easy.” But a greater concern, Walker said, is bringing more clarity to the way transportation is managed in this state. Right now there is a “hodgepodge” of groups, Walker said. That could include the alphabet soup of boards the DOT deals with, such as the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and the State Road and Tollway Authority. “Whatever (the governor and Legislature) want to do is fine with me,” Walker said. “(But) I would like to see some clarity.” MERCER MEDICAL BUDGET CUTS Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle is scheduled to be in Macon on Monday, mingling with students and faculty at the Mercer School of Medicine during an evening event. Perhaps they’ll talk about budget cuts the school would take under Gov. Sonny Perdue’s recommended budget. The medical school got hit with a 6.7 percent cut in fiscal 2009 and a suggested cut of nearly 9 percent next year. Altogether, that’s a two-year cut of more than $3.7 million. State funds don’t make up the school’s entire budget, but they are the largest single source of funds, according to Senior Vice President Larry Brumbly. Medical school officials are working to absorb the proposed cuts, Brumbly said, and their effect “is still being sorted out.” PLAINS WELCOME CENTER MAY BE SPARED One of the smaller items on the chopping block for the coming year was the state welcome center in Plains, birthplace and home of former President Jimmy Carter. The center got the ax in the governor’s proposed fiscal 2010 budget, but it looks like it will get a reprieve. There’s a state law that actually requires the state to fund a welcome center near the home of any Georgia citizen who becomes president of the United States, according to state Sen. George Hooks, who represents Plains and the surrounding area. “I don’t know how you’re going to staff it or what you’re going to do, but you’ve got to open it,” Hooks, D-Americus, told Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Ken Stewart on Thursday during the department’s budget hearing. “I was not aware of this,” Stewart said. “I now know, and we’ll certainly go look at our options.” The cut would have saved the department $186,407, according to the 2010 budget document. It was part of more than $8.6 million in cuts for the department, including a $3.8 million hit in tourism programs. MAYORS HEADED TO ATLANTA Mayors, city council members and other city officials from around the state will descend Monday upon the state Capitol to lobby the state Legislature. According to the Georgia Municipal Association which coordinates the lobbying day, contingents from numerous Middle Georgia cities, including Macon, Warner Robins, Perry, Centerville, Forsyth, Byron, Fort Valley, Roberta, Dublin and Milledgeville, are expected to attend. Macon Mayor Robert Reichert “looks forward to working with other city leaders from all over the state of Georgia during this year’s Mayors’ Day,” his spokesman, Andrew Blascovich, said.

Macon Telegraph: Whale of a Find - Oaky Woods Backers Cite Fossil Discovery

Sun, 11 May 2008 12:05:47 +0000

This article originally appeared in Macon Telegraph, Sunday May 11, 2008 http://www.macon.com/197/story/347444.html by Wayne Crenshaw John Trussell has spent 31 years looking for a whale bone in the Oaky Woods wilderness in Houston County, but Amanda Rhonemus found one on her first visit. Trussell didn't seem to mind, though, that Rhonemus made the discovery while Trussell was giving her Cub Scout Pack a tour of the wildlife management area on Wednesday. "To find one on top of the ground in a whole piece is fairly rare," said Trussell, who is involved with a group trying to save Oaky Woods from development. "It's pretty exciting." Rhonemus, an Webelos patrol leader, picked up the object thinking it might be an Indian artifact, possibly an ax head. When she showed it to Trussell, he immediately recognized it as the vertebra of a prehistoric whale. To be sure, he consulted Thomas Thurman, a local amateur paleontologist, and Thurman agreed. They e-mailed photos to Dr. Jonathan Geisler, curator of paleontology at the Georgia Southern Museum and he confirmed it. He said it appeared to be the vertebra of a basilosaurus whale, probably about 37 million years old. The whale averaged about 60 feet in length. For Trussell, the find is ammunition for his case that Oaky Woods is a place worth saving. Currently leased to the state as a wildlife management area, the 20,000-acre woods south of Bonaire is privately owned and slated to become a housing development. Trussell's group, Save Oaky Woods, is hoping for a deal similar to one announced in Paulding County last year in which a combination of local funds from a voter-approved bond, state money and private-foundation funds were used to preserve 6,865 acres. Although budget cutting in the General Assembly this year chopped the $30 million requested for the conservation fund to $10 million, Trussell said that will not impact efforts to save Oaky Woods. If a deal could be reached with the current owners, he said, there would still have to be a bond referendum and by the time all that concluded, it would be time for the next legislative session. By then, he hopes economic conditions might have improved enough to restore the conservation funding. Also, he noted, there are other avenues of state funding that could be used. The bottom line, he said, is that efforts to save Oaky Woods are still going strong. The county has expressed openness to calling for a bond referendum, and Trussell said he believes the owners are willing to sell. "We've got some things going that are still positive for the purchase of Oaky Woods," Trussell said. State Sen. Ross Tolleson, R-Perry, agreed with Trussell's assessment that the cutting of designated conservation funds is not a major setback. Tolleson, who chairs the Department of Natural Resources Committee, also said talks with the owners of Oaky Woods are continuing. "Between now and the next session more funding will come into the conservation fund," the senator said. "I think funding can be brought together, if a package can be put together." Oaky Woods makes up part of the habitat of population of about 300 black bears, a key part of the case Trussell has been making to save it. The whale fossil, he said, is evidence of the historical significance of the site, which was once covered by the Atlantic Ocean. It's easy to find fossilized sand dollars and sea shells on the property, Trussell said, but he has been looking for a whale bone on the site since he was 15 and had no luck. Members of the Save Oaky Woods group have been giving tours of the site to try to generate public interest in saving it. Trussell was giving a tour toWebelo Pack 566 of Warner Robins when Rhonemus found the whale bone. After Trussell identified it, she offered to give it to him. But even though he had been looking for a whale bone for most of his life, he told her she should keep it. Contacted by phone Friday, Rhonemus said she has loaned the fossil to her son's school, Shirley Hills Elementary, where it is currently on display in the library. "I thought it would be a great teaching tool," she said. "The kids were excited about it." She added she had never heard of Oaky Woods previously. "I think it's kind of sad they are wanting to develop it because there are such neat things like that out there," she said. Any group interested in touring the land may visit www.saveoakywoods.com, but after next week the tours will shut down until the fall, Trussell said, due to the heat.

Macon Telegraph: New Hope for Oaky Woods

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 11:44:12 +0000

By Wayne Crenshaw This article originally appeared on the front page of the Macon Telegraph, Sunday Jan. 20, 2008 http://www.macon.com/197/story/243190.html A year ago, John Trussell didn't have a lot of hope that Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area, where he has hunted since he was 15, could be saved from development. But now he thinks things have changed. The political climate has improved, the state is in better financial shape and a slowing housing market might make owners of the 20,000-acre tract more willing to sell it, Trussell said. He also wonders how many people will actually want to live in an area where black bears might become backyard visitors. And perhaps most encouraging is a recent example of how the commitment of local residents can spur the state to invest in land preservation. On Dec. 5, Gov. Sonny Perdue announced the $45.8 million purchase of 6,865 acres for the Paulding Forest Wildlife Management Area. Like Oaky Woods, the property had previously been leased by the state. The purchase deal included $15 million that Paulding County raised through a bond referendum in which voters, by a 2-1 ratio, agreed to a property tax increase to fund acquisition of the land. Trussell thinks the same thing could happen in Houston County with Oaky Woods. He is heading a group called Save Oaky Woods that aims for a similar deal. The group has a Web site, www.saveoakywoods.com, and it is selling bumper stickers to raise money for the cause. It's the first organized effort to save the popular nature area, which has been open to the public for more than three decades. Trussell said he believes voters would support a bond referendum. "The key is to make it affordable to the average person," he said. The Paulding County deal included $15.2 million from the Georgia Land Conservation Program, $7.7 million in federal funds and $7.8 million from private foundations and conservation organizations. The Paulding referendum called for up to 1 mill in additional taxes each year for 20 years, said county clerk Beverly Cochran, but that could fluctuate depending on other factors, such as residential growth. In fact, she said, this year the tax rate is not going up at all. The county also estimates that land deal would cost the owner of a $200,000 home less than $23 per year. Exactly what the cost might be for Houston County can't be determined until an agreement is reached on a price. Federal, state and private contributions would also have to be factored in before calculating how much Houston County taxpayers would need to kick in to preserve Oaky Woods. But both local and state officials said that what happened in Paulding could happen with Oaky Woods, which makes up part of the habitat of a population of about 300 black bears. Houston County Commission Chairman Ned Sanders said there have been no formal talks about calling for a bond referendum, but he said he intends to explore the idea. A key, he said, is the county's property tax cap. Sanders said he would need to determine whether an increase from a bond referendum would have to be counted toward the tax cap. Whether such a referendum would pass in Houston County is tough to say, according to Sanders. A lot of questions about the cost are still to be answered. "I can't say with any degree of certainty, but I think it would receive reasonable public support," the chairman said. State Sen. Ross Tolleson, R-Perry, said a Paulding-type deal could be done for Oaky Woods. Tolleson, who chairs the Senate's Department of Natural Resources Committee, said more land conservation funds will be included in the budget for the next fiscal year, but he wasn't sure how much. A bond referendum would be an important step, he said, because the state would require a local contribution before committing funds to buy the property. The local money would have to come either from a bond referendum or a direct contribution from the county. Tolleson said there has been "a constant dialogue" toward the purchase of Oaky Woods. He declined to comment on whether the state is any closer now than it has been in the past, but he said he is optimistic that a deal can eventually be reached. "I think we are moving forward," Tolleson said. "I look forward to a good, balanced resolution to this where really the environment wins and business wins." DEVELOPMENT PLANS MOVING FORWARD While the citizens group is looking to save Oaky Woods, the property's owners are moving forward with plans to create a massive housing development of up 30,000 homes over the next 30 years. The tract, however, is still listed for sale. Four local developers - Charlie McGlamry, Charles Ayer, Scott Free and Art Williams Jr. - bought the property in 2004 from timber giant Weyerhaeuser for $32 million, or $1,600 an acre. Their asking price to sell it has been as much as $14,000 per acre, or $280 million for the total tract. The county has the land valued at $16.9 million. Oaky Woods became an issue in Perdue's re-election bid after opponents criticized him for failing to have the state purchase the tract when Weyerhaeuser put it up for sale. Perdue has said the state government was too financially strapped to make the purchase at that time. Questions also were raised about Perdue's purchase of 101 acres located between his family home in Bonaire and the Oaky Woods tract. In July, the Oaky Woods owners for the first time sought a zoning change in connection with their development plans. That request remains in limbo. The group, which now calls itself Winding River Development, applied for a variance that would allow for construction of a wastewater treatment plant on 18 acres of the property. County officials determined the request would require a regional impact study by the Middle Georgia Regional Development Center. The RDC would make an advisory determination of whether the project is in the best interest of the region in the state. That determination has been delayed while the property owners talk with the city of Warner Robins about whether the city should provide sewer service to the area. Sanders said he attended a meeting at City Hall in December at the request of the RDC. The developers, RDC officials and city officials discussed the matter, but did not reach an agreement, he said. The county commission chairman said Warner Robins is objecting to the variance request because the development would be in the city's service delivery area, and therefore the city could provide the sewer service. At the request of the developers, Sanders said, he asked for and got a 30-day extension of the impact study, to give more time to try to work out the issue with the city. Once the RDC issues a recommendation, the Board of Zoning Appeals would have a hearing on the matter, which would set up the first public showdown over Oaky Woods. RESIDENTS INVITED TO TOUR OAKY WOODS Trussell and three other members of the Save Oaky Woods group spent a recent afternoon giving The Telegraph a tour of the property, which is located south of Kathleen. The entrance is a dirt road next to the Frito-Lay plant. The first destination was a wooded valley where the state's largest swamp chestnut oak resides. Tree expert Danny Hamsley, who previously worked for Weyerhaeuser, estimated the tree is at least 150 years old. Hamsley said the tract is home to some rare and endangered plants, and it is the site of one of the state's few black belt prairies. In another part of the tract, Trussell led the party through thick woods to a deep valley and a limestone ridge on a hill. The cliff, he said, was lapped by the Atlantic Ocean about 65 million years ago, and he picked up a couple of sand dollars under the ridge. Nearby, he pointed out piles of rocks in the trees that some hunters have mistaken for Indian graves. In fact, Trussell said, the rocks were put there by pioneers who were clearing the land to farm it for cotton. The rock piles, he said, mark the edges of the cotton fields. The valleys and hills in the areas in places look more similar to mountain foothill areas than Houston County, which is largely flat. Trussell said the Save Oaky Woods group will give tours to anyone who wants to see what they are trying to preserve. People can request tours by going to the group's Web site. The Save Oaky Woods group includes some prominent citizens, including several retired DNR supervisors, former Houston Medical Center administrator Art Christie, Rolling Stones keyboardist and Middle Georgia conservationist Chuck Leavell and Houston County Chief Magistrate Bob Turner. Turner, who went along on the tour, said he believes Houston County voters would approve a bond referendum to save the land. "At first glance it's not spectacular like the Grand Canyon, but when you get down here and realize how quiet it is, it's special," he said.

Oaky Woods Adds to Quality of Life in Houston County

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:36:51 +0000

by Alex H. Morrow Why Save Oaky Woods? I suppose there are some folks out there who wonder what the fuss is about. Why save Oaky Woods? I’m taking a stab at answering that question. It could be pointed out that humans cannot exist on this planet without adequate vegetative cover to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen so we’ll have a breathable atmosphere. Any green space we can keep in Houston County enhances the air quality and keeps us healthier. Scattered trees in the back yards of subdivision lots can never come close to equaling the oxygen production of a swath of mature forest such as Oaky Woods. Oaky Woods also eliminates tons of pollution from the air while it produces oxygen for us. Oaky Woods is busy cleaning our air and pumping fresh oxygen into our skies. We need to keep that pump running. It could, also, be pointed out that humans cannot exist on this planet without adequate vegetative cover to insure the slow percolation of rain water into and through the soil, cleaning and collecting the rainwater in our underground aquifers so we can have drinking water and water for crop irrigation. The cleansing and collecting of rain water done by a mature forest with lots of leaf litter on the ground exceeds any cleansing and collecting of rain water that can be expected from a storm water detention basin in a subdivision. The loss of Oaky Woods would represent a net reduction in the quality and quantity of water recharging the Southeastern Coastal Plain aquifer system which rests below Houston County, Georgia. But, we can answer the question from a less scientific angle and look at other reasons we should save Oaky Woods. For example, there are a vast number of citizens in Houston County who use Oaky Woods as a place of spiritual refuge. As the renowned naturalist John Muir put it, "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike." Oaky Woods is such a place. Human worries and the human clock are not important to the animals and plants of Oaky Woods. The plants and animals there have their own agenda and the sun and the moon are their clocks. When a human takes refuge in Oaky Woods, he or she enters a world where human, day-to-day concerns are not paramount. Oaky Woods is a place where, just for a little while, a person can forget his cares and find real peace, solitude, and quiet. Oaky Woods is accessible to every age group of citizens in middle Georgia. But, it seems terribly important to me that we provide our youth with permanent access to this area. I know it is dangerous to generalize and I stand to be challenged on this assertion, but I firmly believe that a major cause of the loss of civility in human society is the fact that very many young people grow up without experiencing a reality where human activities are not the totality of the experience. Chat rooms, internet web sites, video games, television shows all focus primarily on human activities and relationships. Humans and their actions become the center of the universe. It becomes difficult, if not impossible, for youths so entertained to fully appreciate that they are a part of an incredibly complex web of life that must exist in a cooperative, mutually supportive state for life on this planet to survive. A study of the forest ecosystem would give them some idea of this web of life. This study might help them recognize that they are a very small part of a larger, interdependent whole and it could help youths develop a sense of humility that might result in the exercise of more patience, care, and concern as they relate to other people. Maybe this healthy humility would prevent the formation of an oversized ego and self-centered view of life that ultimately results in the excessive pursuit of self-gratification. Similarly, an immersion in an environment where the human clock is not relevant and where the universe keeps its own time could be a mind expanding experience that would help youth understand that there are patient forces at work in the world and that great and important events can take time to happen. This experience might help some youths grow beyond their expectation that everything must happen for them "right now". Oaky Woods is unique in that it offers up sights and experiences not to be had elsewhere. Where else can the citizens of Houston County go to see a limestone bluff containing sand dollars that are from 30 to 38 million years old? In Oaky Woods, the citizens of Houston County can stand where whales once swam. The experience gives rise to a profound recognition of the age of the earth and the reality that monumental environmental changes have and can occur on our planet. If the development of Oaky Woods proceeds, this site will be under a man-made lake. Oaky Woods offers up trees that are champions of their species. They have been on this planet for a century and a half or longer. They are giants of their kind...right here in middle Georgia. I know this will sound a little far-fetched, but I wonder if anyone else has ever experienced the thrill of sitting at the base of such a living wonder and meditating on its age and vitality long enough to feel the energy running through the tree just under the bark? I suspect I’m not the only one who has experienced this. Preserving Oaky Woods will allow generations of Houston County citizens the opportunity to connect with these giants. If the development of Oaky Woods proceeds, these trees will be cut down and the stumps covered by a man-made lake. Oaky Woods offers up wildflowers on the blackland prairies which offer unspeakable beauty to be walked through and enjoyed. This rare ecosystem will soon be under asphalt, houses, and centipede lawns. The strangest thing about the planned development of this area is that the soil of these prairies is not well suited for the support of house foundations and construction on it is needlessly expensive. Houston County citizens need places of beauty like blackland prairies to spend time in. Preserving Oaky Woods would assure this. With the rapid pace of development in Houston County and the rate of deforestation in the area the animals in Houston County are suffering from loss of habitat. The number and variety of wild animals in Houston County, Georgia, is being reduced dramatically with each day that passes. The planned development of Oaky Woods will result in the radical alteration of a large tract of land that now provides an ideal habitat for bears, bobcats, foxes, wild pigs, raccoons, deer, beavers, otters, maybe panthers, other animals, and a wide variety of birds, including bald eagles. When Oaky Woods is developed the understory plants that provide cover, nesting, and food for animals will be removed. Dens will be bulldozed. The creek will be flooded. Buildings will be built. Roads will be built. Fences will be built. The resulting environment will not sustain a wide variety of wild animals. The animals will be pushed out of their homes and forever barred from reentry, except as unwelcome trespassers. We are stewards of this planet. We must preserve the animals' habitat. When we reach the point where we do not care about the existence of the other animals that live on this planet with us, we will have reached the point of threatening the health of our own species. The health of the ecosystem and the health of the human population are inextricably linked, whether we want to be bothered with that reality or not. We can preserve the treasure of Oaky Woods and the human beings that inhabit Houston County will forever be richer for it. There can be no nature trails, no walking trails, no biking trails, no Boy Scouts camps, no environmental education for the school teachers of tomorrow, no father /son hunting opportunities, no quiet walks in the woods and soon, no black bear population in central Georgia if this property is lost to development. Drive down the road to Oaky Woods. There is a prominent overlook on the left as you near the location of the ranger station. Stop, get out of your car, walk to the point where you can see out over the valley that contains Big Grocery Creek. Stand quietly, listen, let your body feel, and look around slowly. At first, you’ll hear nothing. Then you’ll begin to hear the winds of past and present life slowly, gently sighing by your ears. At first, you’ll feel nothing. Then you’ll begin to feel the vibration of all the energy existent before and below you in the animals, the plants, the water and the atmosphere. Look down, you’ll see the microcosm at your feet, the soil, the grass, the herbaceous plants, the insects in it all. Look up, you’ll see the macrocosm of the infinite universe above. Look left, look right, look straight ahead. What you’ll see is pristine wilderness where man is largely irrelevant and where nature unimpeded by man finds and maintains its own balance and keeps its own time. What you won’t see is a single house. Then listen for the screeching, rending sound of coming destruction and change and recognize that in a very short while all that you're hearing, feeling, and seeing will be of the past, gone and never to return. You’ll understand at that moment why we must save Oaky Woods.

Keeping Oaky Woods Undeveloped Could Help Air Quality in Houston County

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:17:07 +0000

In January of 2004 21st Century Partnership, the community partner organization for Warner Robins Air Force Base in Middle Georgia, realized that two federal processes were about to converge and potentially place Robins AFB at risk of closure. US EPA had recently begun its process to designate counties around the country as non-attainment for their new and stricter 8-hour ground level ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard. At the same time, the Department of Defense (DoD) was beginning their data call for military bases in preparation for the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Process (BRAC). The designation as non-attainment for Houston County, home to Robins AFB, would have put the base at risk for closure or at least would have imposed limits to future mission growth. The economic impact of base closure to the community is on the order of a $4 billion loss, in addition to forever changing the character of Middle Georgia. In cooperation with County elected officials, Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division, and the Georgia Congressional delegation, the Clark Group coordinated the review and analysis of air quality modeling studies to show the true nature of Houston County’s contribution to this environmental issue. Working with senior regional and headquarters US EPA staff, the Clark Group team made the scientific case for Houston County that allowed EPA to not designate the County. Going beyond the solution necessary at the moment, the Clark Group team envisioned sustainability for Middle Georgia and Robins AFB by coordinating the formation of the Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition (MGCAC). Understanding that their response needed regional action, the seven counties of Middle Georgia committed to supporting the MGCAC to design a path to attainment. The regional link among these counties has been strong with respect to commerce and economy, but this is the first environmental issue the cities and counties have joined forces to address. It serves as a national model for how both designated and non-designated counties can work cooperatively toward a common goal. Made up of County Commissioners and Mayors from Bibb, Houston, Monroe, Peach, Jones, Twiggs and Crawford, the Coalition has partnered with the Middle Georgia Clean Cities Coalition, Georgia Environmental Protection Division, Georgia Tech, Georgia Department of Transportation (GA DOT), and the Georgia Clean Air Campaign (GCAC). The purpose of the MGCAC is to accept leadership responsibilities for clean air in the region and to develop strategies to reduce air pollution. Rather than wait until a State Implementation Plan is developed, the MGCAC identified six actions to immediately begin. They are: Truck Stop Electrification Open Burning Restrictions Public Education and Awareness Alternative fuels for school buses Commuter Solutions Lastly, The Clark Group is coordinating the development of a Strategy for the Future planning document. It is a comprehensive long-term plan to address regional air pollution to ensure that gains are not only achievable, but will remain for generations to come. The plan sets date-certain goals in the areas of smart growth, alternative fuel vehicles, renewable energy, and local government operations, maintenance, and procurement practices.( Editor note -The above was obtained through internet news sources. Although not a part of the Clark groups recommendation, keeping Oaky Woods in it's natural state would obviously help keep Houston County air cleaner and help reduce traffic congestion and reduce the risk of Houston County being placed on the EPD non- attainment list.Commission Chairman Ned Sanders has supported more green space in Houston County to improve air quality and keep Houston County off the EPD non- attainment list.)

Oaky Woods Generates Revenue For Houston County

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:05:40 +0000

Each year, thousands of visitors to Oaky Woods WMA bring thousands of dollars to Houston County through money spent at stores, restaurants, and hotels. Although no firm local figures are available , a recent report by Ben Jones says that National wildlife refuges, much like state wildlife management areas, more than make up for their cost to taxpayers by returning about $4 in economic activity for every $1 the government spends, according to a federal study. Overall, the refuges drew some 35 million hunters, anglers, birders and other visitors in 2006, supporting about 27,000 jobs, the study found. The Southeast region, the system's largest division, drew the most visitors - 9.4 million. Advocates of the system pounced on the results as evidence that budget cuts under President Bush have been ill-advised. "Refuges are economic engines in local communities. There's no doubt about it," said Desiree Sorenson-Groves, vice president for government affairs at the National Wildlife Refuge Association. "The budget cuts have an impact ... You have people who are going to refuges and there's no staff, or a wildlife drive is closed because it can't be maintained." Under an ongoing restructuring, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is planning to cut 565 jobs from refuges by 2009 - a 20 percent reduction. The plan would leave more than 200 refuges unstaffed. Tuesday's report, issued by Fish and Wildlife economists, said the areas created some $1.7 billion in economic activity and $185 million in tax revenues. Fishing and hunting accounted for almost 20 percent of the economic activity. The report, which relied on a sample of 80 refuges, said more popular refuges boasted economic returns far greater than the average. The Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia, for example, created about $155 in economic activity for every $1 in federal spending. The report also cited Okefenokee in Georgia, Pea Island in North Carolina and Ding Darling and Merritt Island in Florida as particularly popular. The national system encompasses 548 refuges and more than 96 million acres in all 50 states. The refuge budget grew rapidly after Congress passed a landmark improvement bill in 1997. With new land acquisitions and a clearer mandate, the system's funding jumped from $178 million in 1997 to $391 million in 2004. Recent years have seen stagnant or declining budgets, even as refuge officials say they need $15 million increases just to keep pace with inflation, and a much larger amount to chip away at an estimated $2.5 billion backlog for maintenance and operations. Fish and Wildlife Director Dale Hall said the budget challenges are "fairly significant" and that "we'd be naive to think that we wouldn't lose some visitation" as a result of eliminating staff and restricting access in some areas. He said the agency would do its best to explain to decision-makers "that we get a tremendous return on the taxpayer's dollar." Tina Yerkes, a conservation programs director with Memphis, Tenn.-based Ducks Unlimited, said the study should spur lawmakers to reconsider the program's budget. "It confirms what we've known all along, that there's great economic value," Yerkes said. "And there's certainly a value beyond that that's more people-oriented: places to go, places to hunt, places to see birds and just enjoy the outdoors."

GWF Article on Black Bears of Central Georgia

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:02:39 +0000

by Rashida Stanley, Wildlife Biologist Courtesy of Georgia Wildlife Federation In the 21st century, something is happening that we thought would never happen so quickly in Georgia. Georgia's outdoor heritage is in jeopardy. Currently, as Georgia's urban and suburban areas are rapidly growing, much of the prime hunting and fishing lands are being sold off for development and more of Georgia's wildlife are either becoming threatened or endangered. As forests and fields make way for roads and homes, Georgia's precious natural, historic and cultural treasures are either being lost or destroyed. If sportsmen and women remain indifferent and are not proactive regarding this statewide phenomenon, we may soon lose a prized natural treasure -- the Central Georgia black bear. Recent sales of over 300,000 acres of timberland in Central Georgia has resulted not only in the seemingly inevitable loss of two wildlife management areas (Ocmulgee and Oaky Woods) but the uncertain future of the black bears and black bear hunting in Central Georgia. Although 8,200 acres are being leased for Ocmulgee WMA, the Department of Natural Resources has lost over 47% of Ocmulgee WMA to land sales. Currently, Oaky Woods WMA is only guaranteed one renewed lease for the current year. Before the 1700s, black bears were common throughout all of Georgia. Now, only three distinct populations remain in the state -- black bears in the North Georgia mountians, Central Georgia and extreme Southeast Georgia. The typical lifespan of a black bear is about 8 to 15 years, although it can live over 30 years. The black bears of Central Georgia spend most of their existence hidden among the forests and wetlands along the Ocmulgee River corridor. Black bears are normally active only at twilight or at night. Currently, an estimated 300 black bears roam throughout the area, primarily in Bibb, Houston, Twiggs and Wilkinson counties. They thrive particularly in this area due to Central Georgia's high forest cover and low road density. Black bears are smart and extremely strong creatures. They are known to be more docile than grizzly bears, and by no means match the occasional bizarre portrayals of seemingly carnivorous grizzly bears attacking humans. Using their keen sense of smell and hearing, black bears normally fear people and avoid contact. However, when offered pet food, trash, birdseed and such, they can lose their fear of humans and become aggressive if the food source suddenly stops. A developed dependence on humans for food significantly lowers a black bear's survival rate in the wild. Like humans, black bears are omnivorous, consuming both plants and animals. They are best left alone to feed on their preferred food sources of nuts, fruits, plants and insects. Many antive Central Georgians, accustomed to seeing wildlife, have learned to live in close proximity with the black bears throughout the generations. Presently, Georgia hunters are allowed ot hunt one black bear for one day annually in only the southern portion of Ocmulgee WMA. Yet bear-human conflicts will more likely increase as more people not native to the area and unaccustomed to wildlife move into Middle Georgia. Black bears require forested areas for food, shade and cover. Yet, if black bear critical habitats such as upland and bottomland hardwood forest and wetlands along the Ocmulgee River corridors are not protected and preserved, the black bear of Central Goergia will not only lose its status as a game species, but incidents of black bears appearing in metro areas in search of a food source may become a more common occurrence. The black bears in Central Georgia are facing increased habitat fragmentation and habitat encroachment. Failure to conserve their habitat could not only result in the elimination of a one-day hunt of black bear in Central Georgia, but more importantly, the extirpation of black bears in Central Georgia, possibly within a decade or two. A legendary piece of our fine outdoor heritage -- the black bears of Central Georgia -- is being taken from us and our children right before our very eyes. If you as a conservationist don't act now, more of our outdoor heritage will be lost. Don't delay! Act now: Learn how you can help Save Oaky Woods Join the Central Georghia Rivers Partnership (CGRP) by contacting April Ingle at inglegarivers.org or (706) 549-4508. Become a Georgia Wildlife Federation's Camo Coalition member by joining online at www.camocoalition.org. It's free. No dues or fees are required. Join today. More information is also available on our Black Bears in Oaky Woods page.

Bumper Stickers Now Available

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:01:24 +0000

Bumper stickers are now available to show your support for the preservation of Oaky Woods! For more information, please visit our bumper sticker page.

Sign Up for E-Mail Updates

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:00:29 +0000

With the launch of the new Save Oaky Woods website, we now have the ability to e-mail our supporters with updates on news, events, upcoming meetings and other items of interest to those of you who support the preservation of Oaky Woods. Please enter your e-mail address in the Newsletter box on the left side of the page (below the main menu) and we'll add you to our list. Spam Policy: Don't worry, we hate spam as much as you do. We will only use your e-mail address for periodic updates from this site and will never share your address with any third parties.