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havent beena ble to make it down there in a few years.... use to hunt it all the time...

anybody hunted down there this year or heard anything about it....

Yea been hunting the past few weeks starting to see them tryin to get ready to start chasing. But the problem is they cut just about every tree execpt where the creeks are and still several people hunting it. But as of the other day there were 43 on the log sheet.

Yea, they cut everything! No woods and too many hunters. you may still see deer, but they are NOT stupid. they head for the clear cuts. becomes more of a deer viewing than hunting. very very disappointing with it this year. i have hunted there for a while now, every year it keeps sliding a little down hill. first, they don't plant ag for the deer, then crossbows = more people, now cutting the woods, bad economy and MORE people. sucks really.... i use to be able to see 10-15 a hunt, now it's like maybe 1-2. good luck if you go, but the areas you hunted are prolly at the sawmill

They cut trees on the refuge?

That doesn't seem normal for a refuge. They rarely cut anything. Was there some kind of infestation or something?

what he said

No problem from infestation just having to pay for a big eared president who loves to spend our tax payers money so they cut hardwoods and all. Now they are setting it all in longleaf pines which shouldnt take but a hundred years to get to looking good. The other problem is with the crop land.They want to much crops to be left for animals and want so much money to farm. Had to beautiful coastal berumda hay fields let go to crap and only planted corn on the river for the freakin ducks.

They only place they havent cut was the kennedy and molnar unit.

yea it is just bad. i mean if there wasn't a whole lot of people hunting it you might still do some good. i mean people are still killing deer, but it's nothing like it use to be. i remember when i first hunted it and they planted all the fields in corn and soybeans. omgoodness at the deer. now, it's like a duck refuge. they take of the ducks there. don't get me wrong that is fine, but the deer hunting has gone WAY downhill. i still hunt it but not as much. have to get there hr before daylight to shine folks off, then you get to your tree and find bottles or wrappers from someone else. even going by boat is hard to do now with more people doing that.

I'm not trying to be a nag, but where exactly did they cut hardwoods on the refuge in large numbers and has anyone given any reason why?

That's highly unusual for the National Refuge System to do massive clearcutting and replanting of pines, unless the pines are a definite native species and they're doing some kind of restoration program. Refuge managers typically err on the side of preservation instead of conservation and don't want anything to be touched. Wheeler is like that and so is Bon Secour.

Are you guys sure this is Refuge property? I don't live near there so I'm just curious.

They cut large tracts of hardwoods. They are replanting in either lob lolly or long leaf pines. This is on the refuge.

Pretty much every thing on the main unit was cut except where all the creek fingers ran and saw the guys out there this past thursday planting pines. Its probly why the refudge has got a new manager since the cutting. They got one manager about two years ago and when all the cutting took place, wasnt but a couple of months and they got a new manager.

That's quite interesting b/c it goes totally against the traditional near-preservation aspect of the refuge system to eradicate hardwoods for a pine monoculture.

I think refuges should be managed with conservation and preservation in mind, not one specifically over the other. But wholesale clearcutting seems a bit much for the NWR system.

Thanks.

Yea thats what they should do but i reckon when you keep adding to a federal debt and have absolute complete dumb@$$ in washington spending our money then they just keep going down the line lookin for some more to speed. "Money dont grow on trees but they can sure as hell make it out of some."

yep it is on the refuge. turn into the main unit where the check station is and you will immediatley see what we are talking about. ALL the woods are gone on the left. they only left small fingerso on creeks and on edges of the fields. the Davis Clark unit is completely gone near about. they left some woods on the lake and on creeks like he mentioned. take a ride and see for your self. you will be like all of us probably "wow" is what come out of my mouth.

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here is you a little idea. i could do more detail but this is the blunt of it

sorry about that i will do a photobucket one and have you a visual of what's gone

What sawmill are you guys talking about?My wife's uncle owns Garrison Lumber.

Gobble...PM sent

talked to the manager today and i was told that the timber was cut because the hardwood timber was getting to large and choking out browse for deer turkey and other wildlife....

said the $ recieved fro the timber was going into a restoration program with longleaf pines.... and to plant apple , plum, and persimmon trees on the refuge

Yea thats probly the best excuse the new manager could come up with, where they cut there was nothing wrong with the timber choking out browse that was the only thing left for the anaimals to eat. No farming and now no hardwoods, so no more food for the anaimals to eat. Deer hunting on the refuge has gone way down the drain in the last few years. The only thing the people care for out there are the bird watchers. We was cleaning a deer out there last week and a manager came up there and made a smart @$$ comment about the buck and then got to talking about bird watchers coming in and wanting us to hurry up and dispose of it quicky.