DCNR Wildlife and Freshwater fisheries.

Former employee just retired after 30 years, would like to know what hunters think about the current direction of the Dept,and what changes to the laws and how the GWs operate. What kind of grade would you give from 1 to 10.

This is going to be interesting get the popcorn ready

Where’s all this corn money going?

There was this GW in Dallas co who was a total tool. Always was taking his job way too serious

I will always be mad that they changed the opening day of turkey season to the 3rd Saturday of March so it would be fair for everybody.

On a scale of 1-10 I give the department a 2.

Fair is the choice word of Democrats. I hate it

This made me laugh harder than it should have

IMO, and that's all its is, I would give Montgomery a 1. That's because I'm feeling real generous tonight. The GW, those 2 per county (supposedly) I would probably give them an 8. That's just the ones I know. There could be plenty I don't know that would bring the number down. I get the feeling there is a divide between those 2 per county and Montgomery also.

The law changes I would make would go back to Jan 31 ending deer season in North zone and Turkey season set on March 15 unless that falls on Sunday.

But away from the laws is where HUGE changes are needed. Sykes needs to be gone. No 2 ways about it, he's a liability now. Plenty other attitude adjustments needed in Montgomery. Deer would no longer be managed by the whole state but smaller sections, like maybe 4 sections to start with. Would try to find a way to encourage squirrel and rabbit hunting to youths. That's a dieing sports that needs the youth and the youth need to experience it. Would get the people more involved in game management or at least have programs available such as going out with biologist and helping them. Go back to ride-along with GWs. I could go on and on but the DCNR and the people have to come back together. But that's not happening until there is a big change in Montgomery.

Sykes is a plague on the entire DCNR. He's an absolutely awful spokesman and is totally disconnected from most hunters in the state. He should've been gone a while back.

As far as the GWs go, my experiences with them in Crenshaw have been nothing but great. I've only dealt with 1 of our 2 wardens, but he does a dang good job and in his words, I felt like he was "working for me."

Wardens up here get a 10

The leadership and CAB get a -10

I’d give a score of 3 and one of our two gws in this county a 0 the other I’ve heard good things about.

sgtred, you and other GW's and biologist follow this site and some post , you really didn't have to ask, I think you already know the grade Aldeer would give.

central, you hit all the high spots. I think most here would give most GW's in the field and biologist pretty high marks . Then there's Chuck and Company in Montgomery.

Before this gets neck deep in doo doo on this thread I want to voice my opinion. I was just about to type some of what the last 3 posters have said. The last one being Swamper. I know a great many biologists, game wardens, even biologist aids. All those guys.....every single one of them pour their heart and soul into their job. Most of them are perfectly fitted for their jobs. We have some great up and coming leaders that are in the district level postitions. These folks read and feel every single one of y'alls comments on here. I'm sure it hurts them to hear what their "target market" is saying about them and the management of DCNR. Say what you feel, but direct it where it needs to be directed, and make the point of what you feel in your mind needs to be changed. It will be heard.

Yes I agree. To be clear my grade of 2 was directed at the director. I believe that the biologist and the the game wardens are doing the best they can.

I live in the same area as slippin. The local staff from wardens to biologists to aids to admin are awesome. It’s a shame their leader isn’t.

I feel confident this will be a repeating theme throughout this discussion. The question is what can really be done about it? Appears nothing based on conversations I have had with them.

Open bow season 2 weeks earlier in the north at least to give a chance to hunt row crop before its harvested like every other state in the country.

I can only speak to issues related to turkeys because I have essentially stopped most other hunting. I am concerned about an issue many turkey hunters must overcome. Many clubs / leases feed deer through the early spring months ( February - April ) because they believe these months to be the period of most needed supplemental feeding. As a turkey hunter, how far from that corn do I have to be to be legal? The only answer I have been able to glean is that it is at the discretion of the game warden. My business partner got a citation a couple of years ago for a feeder that hadn’t been used in months. It had two kernels wedged in a corner of the feeder. He was on the complete other end of a 700 acre lease from the feeder in question. This was in Hale County. Where does this leave the club turkey hunter trying to be legal? There is nothing pleasant about hunting while worrying about whether or not you are legal.

. The old standard for bait applies to Turkeys. Hunt by aid of bait, directly or indirectly. That being said, it still has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. One of the elements about that, that would still apply, is the Warden has to be able to prove you knew the corn was there or you should have known. That is based on Case law from the Alabama Supreme Court. Phillips vs Alabama. It was a turkey bait case. You would need to verify that with Montgomery, because anything I say as a retired officer doesn't carry any weight anymore.

I think if you're in a club that feeds during turkey season then you know the bait is there. Gonna be hard to prove you didn't know it.
I'll agree it should be given the common sense test, and I believe most GWs would do that. But the only sure fire solution is to change the club's mind about feeding or find a new place to hunt turkeys.

The state dnr is almost a joke
The cab is a dog and pony show could be good but no sense in them really existing because decisions are made or things decided before the meeting so really no need to have a meeting and listen to what folks say when it falls on dead ears or closed minds.
Most wardens are doing a job they chose and enjoy and are fair in doing there job some like all law enforcement are on a power Trip but most are good people that are under paid same for the biologists
Sykes needs to be gone as he is detrimental to the dept and to the hunting industry in Alabama as a whole.
Alabama does a poor job in managing wildlife in this state...especially deer, a deer herd can't be managed state wide it's got to be done at the most by county.
Game check is a failure yet they still use it.
This whole cwd scam i(will go the same path as swine flu,coronavirus,)isn't helping things but yet you never hear talk about ehd which is in Alabama
Overall if I was gone grade them I would say 3 or 4 at best
Changes need to be made to some things I have a few ideas that I believe would help the area I hunt.
And possibly other areas of the state.

A few things come to mind: Return the close date of deer season in North Alabama to January 31st, at least in Morgan County. Fully staff the enforcement section by filling all vacant warden spots in every county and then add two more GW's per county. Increase focus on youth hunting and fishing programs along with recruitment. Department, along with Forever Wild, should continue to expand opportunities for public land hunting/access.

Make me more deers an tukeezizz in the marshall

1. Are the biologist really in tune with deer density in their respective area?
2. Does the department listen to biologist and their recommendations?

I have no major problems personally. Only questioning the small density numbers in some areas in Madison and Jackson counties.

Should be made legal. Should not have to pay for the "privilege" of hunting over a food source.

What would you like to see changed?

Not for me to say, I was on the inside looking out. Those on the outside looking in , more qualified to make those suggestions, I am like the officer in Crenshaw ,as my career went forward I came to realize that I worked for the hunters and fisherman. We were all in it together. I haven't been gone long enough to have clarity on what changes would benefit both the Dept and the hunters. I believe any change should benefit both mutually, with the resources well-being, being of the utmost concern. Thats a difficult balance, so I think maybe , sometimes the powers that be, should be given the chance to explain their reasoning on any changes. Never going to make everyone happy.

With what you've seen posted, so far, do you think anything could be done or would be beneficial to accomplish the concerns?

Basically, has the responses been helpful?

The responses seem reasonable to me, especially those concerning season suggestions in different regions of the state. I do not know enough about the places that were mentioned. The biologists would be the ones with the expertise to answer those. I just asked this question out of curiosity . I have no axe to grind, or agenda. Was just curious as how the Dept I worked for for 30 years was perceived by the hunting public.

I'd like to see deer season end January 31st.

Being a recently retiree of 30 years, I was just curious about the things you’ve seen come and go in the Department. I was just curious of what you would’ve liked to seen brought back or done away with.

Either sex up to Thanksgiving then close it and reopen it for a week of Christmas
Close it Feb 5
Put a limit on doe kills leave buck limit at 3
Until the numbers recover then evaluate bag limits as needed
That would be a good start

I don't believe I can give an educated response, at this time. Bout the only thing I could say is that I would hope that everyone involved could be open minded and try to put themselves in each other's shoes. What I mean by that is the Dept should put themselves in the hunters shoes, and hunters should do the same ,with the overall goal of what's best for the resource. The resource has always been the most important thing to me and to all those I knew who worked with me and before me. I am not saying that the Dept has not been listening with an open mind. I was never at any advisory board meetings.

Local GW's get a 10,everyone else maybe a 3.All the corn money is for hiring people to pick up all the empty corn sacks on the side of the road!!

Some very good points made by Ar1220...I think the buck limit to 3 has really helped the quality of bucks being killed nowadays but this doe slaughterfest where I’ve seen numbers around Tuscaloosa and other places I hunt just diminish has got to stop...having the longest gun season around plus 2 does a day plus corn is exactly what the insurance companies want with no regard to those who hunt.

Also, I want to see us enforce and strengthen our poaching fines like they do in Kansas where they seem to care more about the hunter and less about the powers within. I mean it’s a joke here...

Turkeys? What turkeys? Why the push back in season that when questioned, officials said it was to make it fair that others weren’t getting to hunt midweek before others...all the tax money spent on “research” by the Auburn University people has literally done nothing to help our turkey population...should have used that money to set up a program that puts an incentive to trap nest predators if they actually cared about our turkeys

My two cents...

A statement, then a question.

I do not know Chuck Sykes nor anyone whatsoever in the DCNR. I have never known anyone in the DCNR. I don't work in a business where I have any common ground with DCNR dealings. What I'm saying is I don't pretend to know how a DCNR works, and I always wonder how and why so many people on this site do? Y'all make some passionate, angry accusations against the department as a whole, as if you have deep and complex knowledge of it. Maybe you do, I just don't know how or why.

My question is what does Sykes (or the DCNR) do or not do that you just cannot stand? This isn't me arguing with you, like I said I sincerely don't know (and frankly almost couldn't care less). It seems the biggest problem I see hunters complaining about nowadays is the doe harvest, but that was done by the previous regime. From a low-information viewpoint (which is what I am, along with 99.9% of all other hunters in Alabama) it APPEARS that the current administration is trying to improve the herd structure (my words). I've read the responses above and they are all just "generic", I can't ascertain what specifically he is doing wrong.

Read "Entitlement programs in wildlife management". Remember when reading, the subject of buying license is...meh. We can discuss it. I have a Lifetime license so I would pay little attention to it. But I am a landowner and to be referred to as no better the thug in the hood, on my entitlement program. I have spent thousands and thousands of dollars and hours on the wildlife on my properties. Have worked my a$$ off for over 40 years for the wildlife. Granted, I did it by choice and don't expect a "thank you" but I dang sure don't expect to be belittled for it. Really, does any hunter in Alabama feel a soldier home on leave from fighting in Afghanistan or a wheelchair bound 8 year old that wants to go hunting as being on an "Entitlement program" because they are not required to have a license. Really? Do you? Chuck Sykes does!!

The February deer season extension in North zone has been highly discussed topic. Some of the biologist at least, maybe all, we're against this move. The one I spoke with was adamant against it. Against it with biology to back it up. But the DCNR led by Sykes who is a biologist chose to go against biology. Do we need someone over the States resources who will go against biology in decision making.

The CAB meeting delaying Turkey season. There was a female CAB meeting that was new to the board. I was told before the meeting she had taken a new job and moved to Georgia meaning no longer a resident of Alabama. Was that true? I don't know. But at the meeting she proposed delaying the start of Turkey season. It was excepted. After the meeting she resigned from board spot and.....you guessed it, moved to Georgia at a new job. Sure reeked of a Georgia resident sitting on the Alabama CAB and making decisions for us Alabama hunters. If what I knew was true, should we think no one else on the CAB or DCNR knew she had moved out of state?

I will give my answer to that statement. These are the folks ,who regardless of their expertise about DCNR workings are entitled to their opinion valid ,not valid, stupid ,brilliant or otherwise. They pay for it. DCNR is wholly funded by their dollars in one form or the other. Conservation is a user pay model. Also ,everyone that works for Conservation is a govt employee and govt is for the people , by the people. My experience through the years taught me that being criticized went with the job, and that the folks were entitled to do so. It helped me become better, showed me where I needed to be better. I made plenty of mistakes and hope I learned from them. The biggest I made was,I didn't do good job relating, conversating with the public, which alot of the time is all they want, just your time to discuss what concerns them and for you to take it seriously.

I will add that, maybe folks should give Chuck the benefit of the doubt, he came from the private sector with no experience, he has had to learn as he went in the most high profile job in the Department. He is still learning how to do that job better. I am sure. He has given the hunters alot of what I heard them asking for through the years, legal feeding during hunting season, February season and finally legal baiting. Those are some of the things I heard from the time I went to work in Jan 1990. I was a big Charles Kelly fan, but Charles had a wealth of experience before he got the Director job.Chuck has been there less than 10 years. I say give him the benefit of the doubt a little longer. Not required to. I understand and respect that, just remember he is still learning. Took me at least 18 to 20 years to truly understand my role as an officer. I am a slow learner

I would like to see more wardens hired and an actual game check system in place that works. The license process is a cluster as well especially getting the harvest record and baiting permit for an unlicensed hunter. I didn't know this until this year but you can't buy an annual license for a 15 year old. I tired to buy my son's buddy a license a week before he turned 16 and was going to get it all so I wouldn't have to do it again in a week and it wouldn't let me buy the license. As others have stated put turkey season back to opening on the 15th and leave it alone.. Also, I think 5 birds a year is too many especially with everybody trying to double up on them just for youtube videos.

I realize they do the best they can but you can't blanket manage wildlife in the state and I would like landowners to be able to manage their property a little more as they see fit.

Having zero experience means he should NEVER HAVE GOTTEN THE JOB!!!!!!
That job is NOT A TRAINING POSITION!
Chuck needs to go.

Sgtred, your attitude toward your job is admirable. I never could have dealt with the public and kept such.a level headed attitude. I know my limitations.

I have to disagree with.you on Sykes. When he wrote that "Entitlement" article he had a choice which direction to write it. The subject was not the problem. We can discuss back and forth everyone buying a license. He could have written it as being looked at, welcome alternative ideas, and thank the people for their time. Or he could write it in a demeaning way toward the hunters of Alabama. That's the way.he chose. It was bad enough it was reprinted painting him as against the hunters in other publications such as Alabama Forest Owners newsletter. He could have printed a retraction claiming people just misunderstood his point. but did not. To this day he has not printed a retraction. Why?? Because his attitude toward the hunters of Alabama hasn't changed. He's the King and we are, well, on an entitlement program in his realm. He needs to be gone if the DCNR and the hunters are ever going to come together.

And don't forget my favorite Chuckie statement..... I'm not a wealthy man, I can only afford to hunt all over north America.

Point taken, I can respect your opinion on that. All I can do is ask, I don't agree with everything , but as a former employee I am just trying as that old saying goes, "can't we all just get along"

I can get along with a lot of people. But it's like I told Don Knight, former head of Alabama dog hunters, when he said those same words to me.
Don said we (as hunters) need to get along and stand against the antihunting force. I said, "I'm not standing with outlaws and poachers in defense of hunting".
By the same logic, I will not support an arrogant, incompetent, indignant, unqualified tyrant in the wildlife section.

Point taken

I would grade it about a 1 on a 10 scale. And that is based on the number of other States I hunt or fish in each season. This is the worst managed State for wildlife in the entire country.

I believe the leadership bases our game regulations off of one of 2 things. Economics and the desires of wealthy landowners.

I think the admin believe that if they just let everyone run wild and extend the season to March they would sell more out of State hunting licenses, hunters would buy more corn and stay in more motels and spend more money. There is a definite economic impact but that is not keeping the wildlife's best interest 1st. And nothing good is going to come of that for everyone as a whole. The reason the focus is completely on deer is because that is where the money is. Always follow the money. Doesn't matter if you are Hillary Clinton or Chuck Sykes.

The deer herd in this State has been out of whack for 30 years. 40 years. Pick a year. Yet, we wonder why it never fixes itself. There is no real improvement. Just over the horizon there is always the solution. Shoot more deer. Your deer herd can't be effectively managed by hunter's trigger fingers. There is no other State in the entire country where this is more obvious than right here in Alabama.

I appreciate all the input. I have always enjoyed everyone's passion on this site. I have always read it with great interest, and learned a lot. I thank everyone for that.I am going to check out and leave discussion to y'all. One last thought, forgiveness is not only a kindness to others ,but really a kindness ,more so to one's self. I certainly have needed to receive and also give forgiveness in my life. Thanks everyone.

Forgiveness is an act of penance and much like respect, it must be earned.
I can forgive the Dept, for appointing an incompetent ass, when they boot the incompetent ass.

Again your point is taken. Have good one. I'm out

No offense to you, Alan. You're alright. 😆

No offense taken, Thanks

I’m bamaeyedoc and I approve this message.

Dr. B

I keep telling you people, those are just random numbers on a calendar. They used zero biology to determine the date, just politics.
Any one of us can use the same logic and determine our own random numbers.

Night time coyote and hog hunting should be allowed without applying for a dang permit. I can't think of a justifiable reason to have to ask for permission to kill nuisance animals.

Game warden gets a 10 where I hunt. The law changes and disregard to the requests of hunters for the last few years would get Montgomery a -2

I'd forgotten about the Jessica Butler fiasco . Disgusting . You can bet $ she took her orders from Chuck, they were pretty good pals.

Bullchit.

I’ve forgiven people who didn’t earn it or deserve it because it was the right thing for me to do to move on. I also have been forgiven when not asked for it or earned it.

However, I agree with you that respect must be earned.

Dr. B

He doesn't need the benefit of the doubt any longer , he's had plenty of time. I was in his corner when he was hired and defended him on here early on, then he lied to me .

I've been critical and vocal of my disgust of our DCNR because of the doe days. I've been critical of Chuck as well 50% of his job is selling hunting in Alabama, and the other 50% is making hunters happy. He probably has a tough job balancing which 50% is more important, and I do have some sympathy for him, because I know that is a tough decision to make every day as an executive.

I got so disgusted by what they did with doe days and extending the season even longer I didn't even hunt for 3 seasons. There is no way, and I mean no way, the biologist on the state's payroll can say that there are not vast expanses of property in this state that cannot support the number of doe days Alabama offers, as a sales pitch. That is what perplexes me. I just started back hunting last season, and I have killed a great deer both seasons, but I am still not satisfied or happy about the way our season and doe days are structured. If we ever get bloodthirsty savages in the club I am currently in, I will just hang it up and do something else besides hunt, and probably never take it back up.

I will say that contrary to what some say about the turkey season, I don't have an issue with it. Years ago when I worked 2nd shift and other times when I had a job where I could turkey hunt 7 days a week, like most on here, I would have been up in arms about it, cussing Chuck and feeling like he was taking hunting days away from ''me''. It is comforting knowing the retired people and self employed have to wait until Saturday to start just like everybody else. I was probably a pos to alot of people I shared a club with in the past, because I could hunt every day the first week and kill 2 or 3 birds before the 8 to 5 working members even had a chance to set up on a bird, and they were paying the same dues that I was.

As to the length of the season, we already have probably the top 2 or 3 longest deer and turkey seasons in the country, so we can't really complain about available hunting days. In this state, if they made hunting legal 365 days a year, there are 1000's of Alabamians that would put every effort into killing every animal they could 365 days a year, so losing a few days isn't really an issue for me.

The job is neither of those.

I knew it was you all along Alan but I wasn't going to call your name out. It might as well be you up there at the helm. You wouldn't have a red hair left on your head though. Thank you for your commitment all these years.

On a positive note, the Saltwater guys are doing some good work. If you have Facebook, take a look at the
Alabama Marine Resources Division page. They collected live flounder from some of our ACFA tournaments(and others) this year and started a breeding program. They are posting the growth of these fish hatched in the tank. It is really cool to see reproduction from fish you caught and donated.

They have a very successful redfish program and have started doing this with speckled trout. Flounder and Redfish are much easier to keep alive during transportation. I encourage anyone to donate when the agency staff is around to collect the fish.

My apologies for getting distracted. Obviously my opinion of Chuck is no secret. But regarding the original question, I think the direction of the Dept got sidetracked years ago, like 20+ years ago, well before most of the current administration. That's when they seemed to lose focus on the "conservation and natural resources" opting instead to mitigate the political implications. Money is always a driver, there's no way around it. But balancing revenue and politics can leave the wildlife out in the cold, so to speak. I do understand the difference between laws and regulations, as well as the limitations of each one. Some of the things folks want from the DCNR just isn't within their authority. Some of things our lawmakers want are not practical or beneficial to the resources. That alone is a real balancing act. I just happen to believe there are ways to increase revenue without defrauding your lifetime license holders or breaking your commitment to almost every "Consumer Group" in the state. (BTW, I really hate that term "consumer group". I believe that's an original Corky Pugh cliche).
For example, I don't believe license sales reflects the actual number of hunters, and I think the gap is really large. I believe the cheap fines and lack of enforcement are responsible for a substantial revenue shortfall. That's not an opinion about game wardens. I think the majority of them do a great job, but they are spread too thin not authorized enough overtime. Changing fines would require changing the law, but adding GWs and allowing them work whenever they deem necessary could be done with a handshake.
I disagree with moving season dates and changing bag limits purely for political gain, ignoring any available input from professional biologists in the field. Then there's the ever popular game check. I'm not opposed to using it, and have complied faithfully since it was implemented. The problem I have is that it offers numerous ways to cheat and yet we keep hearing that the majority of hunters aren't in compliance and the "data" is useless. Well, first of all, the data isn't very useful anyway... (sex, or number of points, and location). Then place the blame on hunters for not following the rules.
I will say that I'm very proud of the buck limit and I then it's already paying off in many areas. I'm also pleased with the app, and that I can now carry my license and record right on my phone.
I could go on and on but it boils down to, in my opinion, the Dept as a whole gets a 👎
But most of the GWs and other field personnel get a 👍




.

NOBODY will ever convince me that Will Ainsworth isn't solely responsible for the season extension in north Alabama. He was losing a LOT of money to high fence operations in south Alabama when their season was longer than ours. Biologically, the extension is not needed up here. Follow the money.

High fence owners and ALFA drive most of the major decisions dealing with deer. High fence shouldn't even be a factor, let them hunt year around , let them bait , they are not wild animals . None of us on the outside give a damn about them , other than they shouldn't drive laws and regs for us, why should they give a damn about us.

Some good points here. Money is the dilemma, 30 years ago when I went to work, I attended a statewide meeting where trends were identified,that indicated license sales were declining and would continue to decline. The initial response was to develop outreach that would maintain it or increase hunting interest. In essence create hunters. That really has not come to fruition. Under Corky they were able to get legislation passed that automatically increased the price of license to keep up with inflation. Prior to that the Dept had to go to legislature to ask for license increases which was a difficult task and rarely worked. So money has in alot of ways has become the driving force, the constant search and worry about enough money to do things that the leadership in the Dept feels like needs doing with hunting and license sales on the decline generally leading into the future. There are some that believe that the legislation that allowed for the license prices to increase with inflation hasn't done the job and was a mistake because you can never go back to legislature for increases to offset declining license sales in the future. Far as the Wardens, they already work when they deem necessary, they are not assigned any shift, they work the best hours of the day, which means a lot of days begun at daylight, take a break,back at it in the afternoon, then again at night if your doing it right. That means working every weekend even those you are given off if you are dedicated, which is one long weekend every six weeks. Fines will never,even with an increase pay much more than the gas bill. The GWs catch a hell of alot of folks violating, always have always will. I know some don't believe that based on what they see and hear about in their areas. But trust me,you can't keep your job or get a raise if you ain't catching folks. Leadership has always demanded that of the officers and if you laid down, you weren't going to get a raise and if you continued to lay down, you would find yourself out of a job.

You touched on a HUGE mistake by the DCNR. Not sure how long you have been here but there was an old dude years ago before named 49'er. He posted for one season the citations written. It named the GW and who received the citation and the violation. ALL IS PUBLIC RECORD! The DCNR should post this every year. Show us what the GWs are doing. Might not get many people's attention but getting your name on that list just might, MIGHT, deter violations. Also, hunting clubs could use the list to screen future members.

As far as the citations being written now, I just might be a little closer to what's going on but I know their is A LOT of citations written. But no one knows.

I remember 49er. I remember when he did that. I trained that officer whose cases he posted.

The reason I cannot take you guys seriously is because you actually say stuff like "Alfa drives deer hunting rules". Oh my everloving Lord, you cannot be serious. Please God, turn your feed store hat around forward and and stop making the rest of us hunters look like low functioning inbreds. I bet you think clumped deer poop is "buck" turds. And folks wonder why Sykes has a condescending opinion about Alabama hunters.

You cannot really say tinfoil buffoonish crap like that, then try to make an intelligent accusation about the DCNR....stop it, just stop it. How many times must I tell you that deer don't even blip the radar, they are a bazillion items down the list of claims cost--and that's ALL you need to know. Completely irrelevant.
Now if you think the Alabama Farmers Federation has something to do with it, that could be. I cannot imagine what or why, but I don't know their operations. Alfa is not the AFF, not in the sense you are implying. I promise you, insurance companies are not concerning themselves with deer hunting, and even if they were, of ALL companies Alfa wouldn't be (good Lord, half the home office executive staff are staunch hunters. You know, the ones you're saying want all the deer gone).

We must be talking about 2 different things. The one I saw listed everyone that had written a citation. GW, biologist, and even one biologist aide. There were some that received citations that I knew and if it weren't for that posting, I would have never known.

Remember, I am pro GW as long as they are doing there jobs. At this point, I am satisfied with their efforts. Their efforts I realize is a problem with listing the citations written. If a GW is chosen to investigate a poaching ring, go undercover, or whatever else that requires the majority of his time, he's going to write less citations while he may very well be working his A$$ off. The public sees the fewer citations as laziness. Double edged sword.

The one I saw was reposted from wherever 49er is now, Perry County Officer was one of the officers, that's the one trained amongst many more. These thing don't tell the whole story. Officers make circumstantial cases, were they have to go back and get warrants then serve, those are not listed in the system that 49er is accessing.there are times that details are organized and all the cases are split up. The Mastermind is responsible,but the credit he or she is due wouldn't be reflected in that kind of reporting, All counties and regions are somewhat different,don't produce the same results. As far as the hunting Public being made aware of how many citations are being written, I don't see anything wrong with that,but like any statistic it can be misleading to an extent. Also an arrest is not a conviction. That info was arrests, Certainly a few of the ones arrested were eventually found not guilty. GWs do a real good job as a whole, very low on the not guilty part I only had about 4 or 5 my whole career out of thousands of cases. That's pretty normal for career my length. Being a GW is not like being a Trooper, cases just don't come to you,you have to get out find them, everything is misdemeanor below, you have catch the folks in the act. For every 100 cases made probably only 10 to 15 are the result of complaints or information from the public. I know that is hard to believe, but it is true. Every brand new officer I trained, after two weeks of going hard,walking,sneaking observing,staying up late, checking as many hunters could be found, I would ask them,this ain't nothing like you imagined when you and your buddies were sitting around the fire at hunting camp talking about how easy and how many tickets you would write if you were the GW. Not a one of them ever told me, that what they thought is what it turned out to be.

I am really out this time,enjoyed it, very informative ,Thanks

Fact is, we don't give a schit about chuckies opinions. He is a condescending arrogant ass (much like you) and we do not give a damn about his feelings.

Lmao we gonna start this BULLCHIT again? Guess i need (i really don't have the time or give 2 chits) to go digging up old posts again about this chit, cause last time you dissapeared for a while 🤣

Like most of corporate run America.

We got some really great Indians and some really shitty chiefs.

I admit I haven't read every page of this thread, and I admit that I am assuming the original poster actually was a DCNR employee as represented, not someone just trying to stir the pot.

that said, asking an internet forum what they think of the State DCNR is not going to get you any kind of valid results. You need to have a lot more information from a more diverse group than you have here.

For me personally, however, and since you asked, I am wholly disgusted with the amount of public land DCNR has allowed to drop out of the WMA system without replacing it. SOAs don't get it. How do they expect people to get into hunting, when there is no where for the public to hunt for free like you used to be able to? this is particularly true in SW Alabama. I've even asked what DCNR is doing to replace it, and gotten very few answers. It's really, really disappointing.

Further, I'm pretty disappointed with the level of enforcement funded. This is actually not a criticism of individual GWs. It's past time for Alabama to hire more GWs, in fact. Where I am, enforcement is virtually nonexistent. You have one or two GWs covering multiple counties. It's just impossible for them to do that.

Otherwise, I would give our DCNR good marks. They generally listen to what people want, and try to do what they can with the limited scientific information they have (again, lack of funding). This is true on the hunting and fishing side. I've interacted with the fishing guys, and they also do a good job.

If I could do one thing in Alabama for DCNR, I would double the number of enforcement officers - both on land, and on our waters.

We do have a lack of Public Lands available. And I'm not real fond of the whole WMA check in every morning crap either.
I think I got spoiled living near the Talladega, NF for a loooong time.

Barbour is shrinking. Kinterbrish, scotch, coosa (basically) gone. Really wish we could add to the public lands/wma's.

The WMAs are on leases. Depending on the agreement with the state, if they get a better financial deal, decide to cut the timber, want to get out of the WMA for themselves or whatever else, that's their decision.

Sucks but that's how it is.

Forever Wild is the best option at this time for actually purchasing lands and not just leasing.

Let a small game guy chime in... I can see the check in / check out daily permits each day with regard to deer and turkey, but good grief at asking small game hunters for that. It's not like they are actively managing for small game on Skyline, Hollins, etc. I maybe can see them being interested in total overall usage if they are trying to figure how much the roads are going to be torn up. And it's not like deer hunters aren't going to mess them up enough to warrant spending about the same amount of time/resources on them to fix them back anyway.

As many of you here have already said, deer and turkey are the money game animals.... they spend the vast majority of their time, effort, resources, and research trying to handle those animals. If you aren't getting the info you need or want from gamecheck on them, then why bother the small game folks with having to keep up with every second we spend on WMAs chasing rabbits, coons, and squirrels?

Do away with Forever Wild.

Why?

It's been overwhelmingly approved twice by voters, 92% the first time and more than 80% the second. Legislators cannot touch it. FW actually buys land - buys it, not leases - for public use.

Not all of it is for "hunting" use but it's for public use and a lot of people use and enjoy it. In a roiling sea of negative shi*t it's a good thing.

As someone that works closely with DCNR at times I’m going to ask this. How many of y’all have actually gone to a division office and talk with them about what we complain about on here? What about the Montgomery office? I know we like to joke on Buckmasters here but Chuck is there every year walking around and talking to hunters so there’s another opportunity. I talked to him about an thirty minutes last year asking him everything we talk about on here. Besides him DCNR is always represented at this event. Remember folks they work for us and you would be surprised what you can accomplish with a good conversation.

I have.

There’s also a lot of really good young up and coming biologists at several WMA’s across the state that will discuss your concerns about about our Deer herd. Like Brae at Martin just to mention one. Stop and talk to them.

Well said, and if he doesn't believe ALFA sticks their nose in some deer laws and regs he's a dumb ass as well.

Ikillbux is a moron period.

Something I remember seeing years ago. The facts. Y'all can form your own opinion.

In 2000, of the 6.1 million lightweight motor vehicle collisions in the US, 1 million involved animal-vehicle collisions. Deer–vehicle collisions lead to about 200 human deaths and $1.1 billion in property damage every year.[2] State and federal governments, insurance companies, and drivers spend an additional $3 billion in an effort to reduce and manage the increasing number of deer-vehicle collisions.[3] The term "deer-vehicle collision" is commonly annotated throughout safety agencies as DVC.

To say insurance co.s are involved in any way is saying whether you believe $4.1billion is worth addressing. (That's a 20 yo #)

On a side note, what really pisses me off is IF we could totally eliminate that $1.1 billion AND the $3 billion, our vehicle insurance rates would not drop.

They are killing the WMA.

My family and friends quit buying the wma license. We will never hunt them again if we have to sign out for no kills. We aint driving out of the way to check out. Yall dont care nor realize how it hurts to do this. I have to drive 20 miles for no reason just to check out. So we all quit buying the wma license. Each year yall will lose more people.

I have no idea what you are talking about so please explain to me. There is no app for people with smart phones to sign out without the drive? Nothing computerized to sign out with? You HAVE to drive to sign out? And if you don't sign out?

This is my understanding as well, that you have to physically drop off some kind of paper check in-out form when arriving and leaving a WMA.

Like Jake's friends, I'm not driving out of the way to let someone know I'm leaving after hunting tree rats on public land. I don't care what it's for, what other states do or how it's going to affect whatever. I've had to do it in other states and it's a f'king pain in the ass.

So I'm done hunting WMAs because of this.


Some of y'all like to go off on those of us who continue to say that more regulations will affect people. Some of y'all like to say that "it's just $15 for a corn license privilege" or "It's just a permit" or "It's just a closure for special hunts." and if you don't participate you're only a me-first fake hunter/conservationist teat-sucking leech.

Yet before long we have a long list of requirements and mandates and fees that continue to grow. It's like the anti-gunners and anti-hunters chipping away a little at a time, adding just one thing here and there to achieve the goals. Before long they have 10 or 15 things, or a hunting ban, or a gun restriction, or more stuff added to the hunter and angler who just wants to go enjoy a few hours.

There’s never going to be 100% satisfaction for 100% of the natural resource users. I would like to see the activities requiring WMA permits expanded and a state level state park pass made available. We’ve got it pretty good here but as with anything there are improvements that can be made. The best thing the director could do for himself is to get a spokesperson to be his public mouthpiece. Game Check isn’t my favorite part of hunting but it’s not exactly the least favorite either. I’ve been critical of some things but I’m not feeling as negative as before.
If they can make sure I see more deer that would be nice. But since I am seeing signs of deer but not too many of them it’s probably something I’m doing.

I wouldn't mind seeing a statewide park pass, too. As it is now, I can buy an annual for one park but if I go to another I must pay whatever entrance fees for that park.

Reducing Sykes to specific examples would result in a hamster wheel, but it’s designed to be that way.

Sykes is your standard narcissist. Quite capable of turning on the charm and coming across straight-lace when it suits him but he’s gonna do what he’s gonna do for his own reasons without weighing the opinions of others. He’ll make up whatever reason he needs to support his actions and then if something goes wrong or there is criticism he will point the blame at someone else or get louder and more arrogant. Usually buried in his justifications will be blame or a “Shame on you” for questioning me aura. He is haughty, has no accountability and has no business running a McDonalds much less a state DNR. He is a toxic individual. This description has brought someone in your life to mind, that’s the same guy Sykes is.

I have, and I totally agree with what you are saying. Goes back to what I said about internet forums. It's easy to come on here and complain, but how many folks have actually TALKED to someone at the State about doing something about it.

Skewryl check..................

I have discussed numerous times with biologist about the extension in the North zone. We were in agreement is was not warranted. But we have it anyway. Talking with people at the State level has happened So, well, you couldn't be anymore wrong with your assumption. Carry on.

You don’t have to go to the division office to voice a complaint. An email is just as effective. A LOT of folks emailed Chuck and company about the opening date of turkey season being pushed back.

And what was the result of this communication with the State? Was the season returned to where it was?

I'd bet every one of those e-mails went in the waste basket

Ummm , I talked to King Chuck himself.

You can read the thread and the emails MASH HERE

Would you please elaborate if you where able to get a change made? I'm trying to find one person who has had discussions with a member of the DCNR and got a change. I sure havent.

If I'm reading it correctly, the season was not moved back. It was moved for no biological reason. So, this discussion with the DCNR accomplished nothing.

This, 100%

Anybody who says there is biological data to support the season being extended in NA is full of shucks.

When decisions like these are made, it undermines every other decision the dept makes. I have no respect for the dept because of it.

I know you did Anthony and like you and I said in our phone conversation he had a great opportunity to gain a lot of trust but he didn’t. I’ve asked him numerous times to come on here and take questions and he said he would consider it. I’ll ask him again next time I see him.


And no centralala nothing has changed the season starts and end dates in each zone by talking straight with a representative with DCNR. But it’s a start for them to hear from us hunters. It’s better than doing nothing at all. And for me I like a face to face conversation over a email any day.

Austin is a representative on a certain board so it’s very possible.

I can only speak for Jefferson County but Officer Kerry Bradford is a 10. If all GW’s performed like him, this would be a different state to hunt in. He is a great example of what a GW should be like!

If you're referring to him being on the Conservation Advisory Board, he is not on this list of members:

https://www.outdooralabama.com/about-us/conservation-advisory-board

I think you already know the answer. When we were "discussing" the season extension he had previously told me would never happen, Mrs. Jessica Butler came up. Well he just walked off all starry eyed and left me standing there in mid conversation.

I may be wrong but I sure thought he told me a couple years ago when I met him that he was.

He and fellow high fence pal Sweet Tea are not on the CAB anymore. Chuck's puppet Jessica Butler took Ainsworth's spot if I remember correctly . We all know how that turned out.

Every one is stating their opinion he's mine. That answer is a cop out, if you work somewhere for 30 years you know what works from the inside looking out. You know what the problems are but you come on here wanting every one else to help solve the problems knowing all we can pretty much do is belly ache on the computer screen. Folks on here have called, emailed complained etc. but with no results but have tried. About the only way things get changed is from the inside (ex: TRUMP). I guess my biggest issue is if you were there for 30 years and can't see the problems and some solutions you got what you wanted a paycheck and retirement.

For the record don't know Chuck so i'll stay away from that discussion, but GW's I guess do the best they can with what they have to work with.

I believe 2Dogs is correct in that Ainsworth, and that Tuscaloosa guy involved in those rape allegations, previously did a rotation on the CAB.


Speaking of the CAB, the first meeting of the year:

February 29, 2020, 9:00 a.m.
Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, Richard Beard Auditorium
1445 Federal Dr., Montgomery, AL 36107

I agree, to a point . If sgtred has been on the job 30 years he should have a pretty good idea of problems in the department .

I can promise you from an "insider" viewpoint that the opinions/thoughts/recomendations from the game wardens are ignored and thrown in the waste paper basket at the first opportunity by the administration in Montgomery.

Sounds like the same MO used on opinions/thoughts/recommendations from the general public.

100 percent correct.

I was always outspoken, cost me .

I've been a free speaker all my adult life. It's cost me too. Most managers and administrators don't appreciate honesty.

I resemble that remark

Me also , got me in trouble a time or two. My grand daddy said a sugar coated dog turd is still a dog turd.

Same here. Only job I ever gotten fired from was calling a thief a thief. I'm still pretty ill about it and that was 20 years ago.

Ok, then let us have your opinion on things that got you in trouble, your retired now so what can they do? Apparently you know what is wrong so why you dodging the issues?

Yep

Makes 3 of us.

What do you think I am dodging ?

Maybe he did , maybe he didn’t,I have no idea but I doubt the business model for a high fence operation would be affected by 10 days. Much like a cattle breeder , I’m sure the model has more to do with the animals they have raised than days in the field. I have zero interest in those operations much less hunting in a fence, but to each his own. Just my opinion.