I'm glad to hear they quit doing man drives on Cahawba but it still gets hunted quite a bunch. I've hunted it since the place opened. It is a night and day difference from the way it used to be. Maybe the new has worn off and folks will quit going out there and shooting everything that walks. There's going to be a new Dallas County WMA down by Portland Landing/Elm Bluff in the next few years thanks to Forever Wild.

I hope they shut Forever Wild down.

I hope they don't buy another square foot in Jackson Co.

Why is that?

Please keep in mind FW only buys land that the land owner brings to them asking them to buy it. They are not going to the owners looking to buy.

Not true for several large tracts in Jackson Co.

You got a problem with people that can't afford a club hunting? I think it is a great program and would serve on their board or help in other ways if I could.

I am corrected. It was the Ward place, not Calloway. they are in the same area and I'm not too familiar with the area so my mind intermingles the two.

I don't but I heard of one individual that considers not paying to hunt as being on an entitlement program.

Touché

You and me both David. I'm even in a hunting club and still hunt public land. I can't tell ya the number of folks I have ferried to public land honey holes. Most folks have this stigma attached to public land just because of plain ignorance. The next FW meeting is at 5 rivers in Spanish Fort in a week or two I think. Can't remember the exact date but I plan to go.

I'm just across the river from the Ward place so I know the potential. Another underutilized public land hunting opportunity in this area is the bowhunting on Corps of Engineers land. Very high quality land. Alabama Blackbelt quality, not Kansas quality just to be clear that I'm not exaggerating.

This may not be entirely accurate. Their mission statement says they seek to buy lands that exist in environmentally sensitive areas. They are not forcing anyone to sell property, but they may very well inquire if a specific tract could be purchased. I don't know for certain, that's just my interpretation based on some of the things I've read.

The state spends a whole lot of money on things that I will never, ever, ever enjoy or receive a tangible benefit from, FW is not one of those things. I rather enjoy hunting public land from time to time and there was a time when public was all I had access to hunt.

I don't understand the hatred for public lands - state or federal - and desire to shut them down, sell them or whatever.

If they're sold they will not be public land anymore. They'll be developed, scoured, raped and privatized. Rivers access will be closed. Foreign owners likely would be in play.

And then all the bitching about not having anywhere to go, hunting-outdoors opportunities are "only for the rich!" and all the other idiotic bulldoodoo complaining that exists NOW from a lot of people would only get worse.

Not to mention fewer future hunters, and future erosion of hunting rights.

And when hunting goes, gun rights go. Very few people are introduced to firearms outside of hunting, period.

Spot on Clem. If anyone is interested in what goes on at a FW board meeting, how land is nominated, how the money is being spent, read the minutes from the meetings.


PDF> Feb 2017 meeting minutes

I saw/heard FW big shots at a land auction beg Paul Bryant Jr. not to run the price up on them as they only had X number of $ to spend. FW has worn their welcome out in Jackson Co. with many locals. Starting about 15 years ago, folks from LA should have been screaming for them to buy land in their areas.

FW went in on a significant portion of the Delta acquisition, if I recall right, about 10-15 years ago.

To the point about Bryant, FW always has worked to keep the prices low and has not hidden that fact. They don't trumpet it but they don't deny trying to get the lowest price(s) possible. They know once word gets out, people automatically think "Heh, they have a shitpile of money so let's run up the price!" The reality is they do only have x-amount of money to spend and use for management.

If anyone keeps up with FW, too, they never announce what tracts they're considering for that specific purpose - to keep people (or groups) from running up the prices. They've done that since FW's inception. Other land acquisition groups in other states do the same, just like anyone in the public buying a piece of land. If I was looking at 500 acres I wouldn't be going around talking about it and then have to deal with Jacky Dumbass next door trying to pay more. Word may get out but it wouldn't be because I (or FW, in their case), went around tooting horns about it.

Like any government agency they're probably not perfect but IMO they're far from evil scoundrels and are a benefit to the state.

Lol

If you're referring to me, then you're way off base. To the contrary, actually.