New Poll Cat One WMA (please vote)

[buckpro]

Proposal aside for a moment, let's talk about increased usage of WMAs...

Let's look at BI West.

Last season the most number of hunters to hunt the west side was 10.

Impoundments:

Minkey -406ac
Big Hog - 70ac
Little Hog -67ac
Sara -190ac
Ashepoo -422ac

1,155 acres of managed habitat, all relatively similiar fresh/brackish, native SAV impounds.

The last week of the season, 7 hunters hunted BI West.
I don't have a way of looking up how hunters were grouped, but I do doubt they all were single hunters.

7 hunters on 1,155 acres.

Is it safe to say the birds on that property had plenty of rest area?

I highly doubt BI West would need to hold more than that, reason being is it holds very few birds and there isn’t much for food over there. Ross and other managers know what they are doing, they manage the hunts in accordance to the pressure it will stand to insured quality all while competing with private land. Plus, without mentioning any names, there are plantations/clubs within 3-4 miles away that total more than 1000 acres of flooded corn, you can’t have that much pressure without the food.

[BOGSTER]

I am aware.
BI West was just the first one I pulled.

[MDman]

I highly doubt BI West would need to hold more than that, reason being is it holds very few birds and there isn’t much for food over there. Ross and other managers know what they are doing, they manage the hunts in accordance to the pressure it will stand to insured quality all while competing with private land. Plus, without mentioning any names, there are plantations/clubs within 3-4 miles away that total more than 1000 acres of flooded corn, you can’t have that much pressure without the food.

What is the potential there if they had more money for more food??

[JABIII]

There is vastly more food in and around Bear island than there are ducks to eat it.

[buckpro]

I agree, but corn beats widgeon grass all day

[Magic]

Free bump

[Strick9]

Having seen the SCR impoundments for over 20 years and having known and having helped Tommy and Bill when they where there managing SCR versus seeing the condition of the impoundments now, you personally couldn't pay me to go through that circus show to hunt the SCR. Its truly a very sad state out there and it seems this is the case with most of the CAT 1 impoundments that I have walked.. This years harvest numbers are the lowest ever even though somehow they are reporting a high kill rate, hmmmm. To add the major flights of birds havn't sat for more than 3-4 days before they packed up and left for FL. Why ? There is no water on most of the impoundments, they havn't been burned and there is a minimal amount of food available. Impoundments that were neatly burned , properly flooded and which held 1000s of birds five years ago now look absolutely stunningly poor. If someone was purposefully managing to deter waterfowl they couldn't do a better job.

Why this waterfowl mismanagement or lack of waterfowl management entirely has resulted I do not understand. Economically I certainly don't understand why SC would want SC hunters to take their SC earned money to another state to kill ducks.

To add, the pretense of increasing the fees to hunt these so called CAT1 waterfowl areas is a terrible joke against the SC duck hunter. To say that our SCDNR has no money is ignorant at best , when the regular hunter is already donating his monies in the form of the Pitman Roberston act , SC Duck Stamp and his hunting liscense. SC really needs a bare assed public spanking for the mismanagement of waterfowl and the monies allocated for this management.

[DRDUCK]

You got it. That is why I asked this question even though it is Federal and not State.
http://www.scducks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124551

[Waccamaw Kid]

Strick 9 hit the nail on the head ! All of these impoundments are not being takeing care of like they should be. I was just told yesterday by a biologist that the bird count on a wma that is not hunted and will never hunted (on the coast)only has 7500 birds on it that"s crazy to me its not being managed correctly!

[Tailchaser]

they need to focus on other things as well, like the lake system that has little food on it. wma's on the lake systems. Strick9 hit it. SCDNR needs a hell of a lot better management in and out of the office.