Closing of a certain south delta wma

[rbsdrake]

It's not just one s delta wma. I was told by a guy that works for the corp it's 3 wma's

[davidees]

There's a certain WMA here in north ms that the COE owns and maintains as part of the Vicksburg District...it's run by the same folks who run the land around Arkabutla Lake. The doggone state has no part in it and guess what? It runs fine. No reason these other places can't be run the same way.

[novacaine]

Its tied to mitigation lands that the COE purchase for projects. There is no longer projects/project money for a particular type of project so therefore.........................no mitigation bank maintenance money to go to DWFP's and USFWS...
Its a crying dang shame that the citizens pay taxes to buy these mitigation lands and now they wont continue to fund the maintenance.
The list:
Alligator complex
Muscadine complex
Darlove
Sky Lake
Lake George
Leroy Percy
Plus the 4 greentree areas in Delta National that have had the pumps shut down and power disconnect since 2011 due to lack of funds.

Hopefully something can get turned around before the June 2015 kill date .....................................

[gps4]

I figure most of these WMAs need about as much management as eagle lake.

[champcaller]

It's a dam shame....

[stang67]

But they can spend $3000/ac for prime real estate and turn it into a draw only (plus $300 if you're drawn) site. I was never opposed to the state acquiring such land, just at the expense of other public land that was already mismanaged.

[jdbuckshot]

I'm so sick of the states land management practices.

The thing is they do a great job of getting data

the only problem is the data is so skewed - we need a tagging system and a reporting system so bad its not even funny. my guess is on my local WMA's twice as many deer are killed every year than are checked in.

until the state REALLY knows what's being killed - how can they manage it ? The only way they can do that is on a limited draw application - which sucks.


In my opinion we should take a hard look at other states successful DNR practices and make a change - Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Kansas, etc. Tagging systems - limited firearm season - and Limited buck tags.

[420 racin]

There's a certain WMA here in north ms that the COE owns and maintains as part of the Vicksburg District...it's run by the same folks who run the land around Arkabutla Lake. The doggone state has no part in it and guess what? It runs fine. No reason these other places can't be run the same way.

Correct, I know where you are referring to and i have asked the question why can't the other areas be managed this way by the Corps and just leave the state out of it. the answer was, "We do not have the means to patrol it."

I don't understand why it has to be Patrolled??? I would think it would be more appropriate to Manage it before Patrolling it...but hey..

Novacain listed a few of the properties that the Corps owns.
There are ~30k acres of land that has been bought and reforested by the Corps, yet only a few are "managed" by the state. The rest of this land is just sitting there. They say they have no way to patrol it, but I got a ticket for hunting it once by a State Warden, so it looks to me like it was being patrolled pretty good. Bottom line is unless the public puts pressure on the folks responsible for this land at the Corps to do something else with it besides letting the state run it or closing it..nothing will happen.

We need to get Brother Bennie and his rabbit hunting buddies to start crying about it....then it would get soemthing happening.

[novacaine]

There's a certain WMA here in north ms that the COE owns and maintains as part of the Vicksburg District...it's run by the same folks who run the land around Arkabutla Lake. The doggone state has no part in it and guess what? It runs fine. No reason these other places can't be run the same way.

Correct, I know where you are referring to and i have asked the question why can't the other areas be managed this way by the Corps and just leave the state out of it. the answer was, "We do not have the means to patrol it."

I don't understand why it has to be Patrolled??? I would think it would be more appropriate to Manage it before Patrolling it...but hey..

Novacain listed a few of the properties that the Corps owns.
There are ~30k acres of land that has been bought and reforested by the Corps, yet only a few are "managed" by the state. The rest of this land is just sitting there. They say they have no way to patrol it, but I got a ticket for hunting it once by a State Warden, so it looks to me like it was being patrolled pretty good. Bottom line is unless the public puts pressure on the folks responsible for this land at the Corps to do something else with it besides letting the state run it or closing it..nothing will happen.

We need to get Brother Bennie and his rabbit hunting buddies to start crying about it....then it would get soemthing happening.

Ding,ding,ding,ding,ding............................................................your on to something.

[greenheadgrimreaper]

MDWFP Administration officials will not budge on how they operate or accountability unless the appropriate tool is used. This tool is called a "politician."

However, in order for said tool to start up and operate efficiently, the proper fuel and lubricant must be used. The fuel used is "publicity" and the lubricant is the "vote".

I have already been through this concerning my WMA. They are all in each others' pockets.

And they are a proud bunch. So proud, in fact, that their pride blinds them from common sense & reasoning.

But when it comes down to the "nut-cutting," the buck stops and starts with the word "vote." Meaning, if a large enough, pissed off enough constituent puts the politician's nuts in a strong vise, them the politician- in his panicked frenzy to relieve stress- will take action to do so.

The solution is simple: organize, mobilize, go public, drop a note in the politician's ear, and demand results. If the MDWFP and COE won't play ball, confirm that the politician's worst nightmare has come true: a PR disaster.

I only wish I'd of gotten the politicians more involved when the WFP, COE, NRCS, some old yankee dude from the USFWS, and even a DU representative thrown in there, decided they'd demand only two of the people represent the people while they all cornered myself and another fellow (older than me and on this board) with an attitude of, " This is how it's gonna be."

I also wish the other outdoorsmen who hunted the wma would have taken a more proactive approach in confronting the folks who so wisely drained our wetlands in the name of "mitigation." Unfortunately, most gave a fierce, albeit hollow, battle cry. And now, as they complain about the plight of the wma wetlands- and their duck season- it's too little, too late.

The picture below was taken yesterday. It is after 5 growing seasons. The goal of draining the wetlands was hardwood restoration. Granted, tress were dying- as a result of the COE and NRCS playing God with our hydrologic river systems and channelizing a stream that silted in areas and encouraged beaver infestations and unnatural standing water in places not designed for it. But when Mr. MDWFPCOENRCSUSFWSDU insisted that the wetland below had only been inundated with water for the last 20 years or so, all I could think of was pictures of my great uncle back in the 50's standing in the same swamp with a strap full of mallards next to him.

After 5 years, look at all that hardwood growth! Boy, at this rate, we will be drowning in acorns by 2500!



We better get on top of this or it could get worse. The MDWFP could go from an agency charged with being stewards of the people of Mississippi's land, to stewards of the people's exclusive hunting clubs like Canemount- or whatever the hell it's called.

[stang67]

And GGR drops the mic!

Well said!

[Sod Man]

The mdwfp is the closest thing to a puppet on a string as you can get, along with other mentioned organizations. It all boils down to MONEY. If the right people can get their hand in the right pocket they would stop traffic up and down the Ms river during hunting season. I'm not even a smart man but I do know that if you have had water standing and flooding a particular spot for 40+ years a try ain't gone grow. They would rather take our land away than use it for what God made it for. The reason your uncle had a strap full of mallards in the same spot is because they were using it for what is was made for

[1010]

Light up the COE phones, write a congressional about what's going on. Local COE folks hate it when senators start snooping around and asking questions.. Its really not hard to get results,, it might not be overnight but it will come..

The COE has money, folks, and equipment to make this change painless and the property better then when the State had it..

Corp has a web site with phone numbers,, get busy,, pass the numbers out to everybody who has a interest.. Leave messages, call back, go see them.. Let them see their feet are in the fire..

[teul2]

This is one of the areas where I think that VERY little "management" is actually necessary. Leave the it be, and it will all work out. It worked out just fine for a few million years before we started messing with it. Have the roads through the WMA maintained by the county, all other access is foot with very limited atv access, and there isn't much to maintain.

Policing, yes, it is a necessity.

Now, I am sure I'll get jumped because I am wrong for some reason. But, it's the way I see it.

Same goes for the vast majority of the levee system as well.

[davidees]

This is one of the areas where I think that VERY little "management" is actually necessary. Leave the it be, and it will all work out. It worked out just fine for a few million years before we started messing with it. Have the roads through the WMA maintained by the county, all other access is foot with very limited atv access, and there isn't much to maintain.

Policing, yes, it is a necessity.

Now, I am sure I'll get jumped because I am wrong for some reason. But, it's the way I see it.

Same goes for the vast majority of the levee system as well.

I won't jump you, know why? Because you're ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! It's so simple really.