Are the glory days just a memory of the past or can we bring it back to a destination that holds birds ?
I believe we can with a strategic focus on developing a master plan that gives the birds what they need besides fresh water pools that are choked with giant cutgrass. To attract and hold birds you have to provide the food they require and control the pressure by having areas where they can loft,preen and rest undisturbed from PEOPLE and TRAFFIC. The same management concept as providing an undisturbed sanctuary area for trophy deer management as proven by QDMA. You don't develope food sources in the refuge/sanctuary. The food sources are in the calorie rich habitats that are hunted on a limited and controlled basis. This has been proven at Cheyenne Bottoms ,KS. A 41,000 acre state managed property with 19,500 acre man made wetland with hunting.
On Saturday 1-17-2015, the refuge on Hwy 17, I witnessed a waterfowl population of ZERO ! There was plenty of road traffic right next to the refuge pool. A planting of waxmyrtle, a native evergreen shrub, would help isolate the refuge from human activity. This is not a place for birding from September 1 - February 1 . Small liner plants of Waxmyrtle are available at a SC nursery that can be planted with a tree dibble. This would make a great Saturday project for a group of young people during the month of February. There was evidence of a limited control of the water vegetation, primarily giant cutgrass, to open this refuge pool. This needs more control to open it up so birds have more visibility to relax and not feel threatened from what they cannot see, like alligators. Since a deeper water level helps control water plants I would suggest using a trac-hoe to dig islands that run parallel with the strongest winds. A 10 foot width with an over seeding of a short grass like Bahia.
A quality food source to attract and hold waterfowl does not now exist. Moist soil management when invertebrates and plant seeds are maximized is unquestionably the best method to producing a nutrient rich habitat that would fulfill a master plan's long term requirements. To maximize calories per acre you need plants that will produce both the seed and the nursery effect for invertebrate production when flooded. Giant cutgrass is not the plant to meet these requirements. We need a perennial plant that produces the calories & proteins required and lowers the long term management cost of habitat development. That plant is Smartweed ! I have seen it used successfully in many states and it grows naturally in GA. I have located a seed source in TX. It has a seeding rate of 5-10 lbs/acre when broadcast on bare soil. It's not cheap at $20/ PLS, but it has to be looked at as an investment in the future success of Altamaha WMA. Corn, rice, and millet have to be planted every year with an investment in seed, chemicals, fertilizer,labor and equipment. The goal should be, in my opinion, to plant all 3 hunted islands ( Butler, Rhett's, and Champney) with smartweed. The competing cutgrass with its massive root zone of reproductive rhizomes has to be eliminated for a successful stand of smartweed to be established. We have three main mechanical tools for a seed bed preparation. They are burning, mowing and plowing with a chisel and/or a disc harrow. One might consider an aerial spraying followed by burning during the summer growing season. The area that is not now hunted on Butler needs to be cleared and planted as well. One more management note: when flooding these plantings start with an water level of 12-15", with a final completed level of 15-20" but never exceed 24" !
I want to start a pledge drive to raise money to buy smartweed seed to be used on Butler first since it is under the least amount of hunting pressure. After 50% of Butler is planted then the next stage would be for seed to be allocated 30% Butler, 35% Rhett's, and 35% Champney. I will pledge $200 to get this started. :thumbsup: You don't have to hunt any more or ever to get behind this effort. Send me a pm with your pledges and I will report totals on this thread. Pledge what ever amount, $5,$10,$20 or more, you feel comfortable with. Remember $100 will seed 5 acres ! Get your friends and family who are not on here to pledge through you. This will take about 5 years to complete if we can get our DNR to do the soil prep and plant the seed we donate. Hopefully we can show that we are very serious about this with enough people willing to buy enough seed to get this started. I will go to Altamaha WMA managers as soon as we have enough money pledged ($5-10 K) to get them on board. There have been discussions about starting a Coastal chapter of Delta Waterfowl. We could have the money be collected through Delta and those monies counted as a tax deduction. We could make this a state wide campaign with all GA chapters of Delta Waterfowl working to raise funds and to give this project more political clout.
This project will take time to raise the money and to do the work. We will need to convince upper DNR management in Social Circle to commit the funds to do the soil prep and to plant our seed donations. Let's give the birds a reason to stay in Ga and not go to FL. When completed these plantings will increase the hunting opportunies around the greater Altamaha River Delta not just the three islands planted in the WMA. There are more islands in the WMA that could be developed for future waterfowl habitat for more birds and more hunters. Who knows in the future someone might look into developing green tree reservoirs for even more opportunities.
I look forward to your reply, Chuck Thompson, Lyons
I believe we can with a strategic focus on developing a master plan that gives the birds what they need besides fresh water pools that are choked with giant cutgrass. To attract and hold birds you have to provide the food they require and control the pressure by having areas where they can loft,preen and rest undisturbed from PEOPLE and TRAFFIC. The same management concept as providing an undisturbed sanctuary area for trophy deer management as proven by QDMA. You don't develope food sources in the refuge/sanctuary. The food sources are in the calorie rich habitats that are hunted on a limited and controlled basis. This has been proven at Cheyenne Bottoms ,KS. A 41,000 acre state managed property with 19,500 acre man made wetland with hunting.
On Saturday 1-17-2015, the refuge on Hwy 17, I witnessed a waterfowl population of ZERO ! There was plenty of road traffic right next to the refuge pool. A planting of waxmyrtle, a native evergreen shrub, would help isolate the refuge from human activity. This is not a place for birding from September 1 - February 1 . Small liner plants of Waxmyrtle are available at a SC nursery that can be planted with a tree dibble. This would make a great Saturday project for a group of young people during the month of February. There was evidence of a limited control of the water vegetation, primarily giant cutgrass, to open this refuge pool. This needs more control to open it up so birds have more visibility to relax and not feel threatened from what they cannot see, like alligators. Since a deeper water level helps control water plants I would suggest using a trac-hoe to dig islands that run parallel with the strongest winds. A 10 foot width with an over seeding of a short grass like Bahia.
A quality food source to attract and hold waterfowl does not now exist. Moist soil management when invertebrates and plant seeds are maximized is unquestionably the best method to producing a nutrient rich habitat that would fulfill a master plan's long term requirements. To maximize calories per acre you need plants that will produce both the seed and the nursery effect for invertebrate production when flooded. Giant cutgrass is not the plant to meet these requirements. We need a perennial plant that produces the calories & proteins required and lowers the long term management cost of habitat development. That plant is Smartweed ! I have seen it used successfully in many states and it grows naturally in GA. I have located a seed source in TX. It has a seeding rate of 5-10 lbs/acre when broadcast on bare soil. It's not cheap at $20/ PLS, but it has to be looked at as an investment in the future success of Altamaha WMA. Corn, rice, and millet have to be planted every year with an investment in seed, chemicals, fertilizer,labor and equipment. The goal should be, in my opinion, to plant all 3 hunted islands ( Butler, Rhett's, and Champney) with smartweed. The competing cutgrass with its massive root zone of reproductive rhizomes has to be eliminated for a successful stand of smartweed to be established. We have three main mechanical tools for a seed bed preparation. They are burning, mowing and plowing with a chisel and/or a disc harrow. One might consider an aerial spraying followed by burning during the summer growing season. The area that is not now hunted on Butler needs to be cleared and planted as well. One more management note: when flooding these plantings start with an water level of 12-15", with a final completed level of 15-20" but never exceed 24" !
I want to start a pledge drive to raise money to buy smartweed seed to be used on Butler first since it is under the least amount of hunting pressure. After 50% of Butler is planted then the next stage would be for seed to be allocated 30% Butler, 35% Rhett's, and 35% Champney. I will pledge $200 to get this started. :thumbsup: You don't have to hunt any more or ever to get behind this effort. Send me a pm with your pledges and I will report totals on this thread. Pledge what ever amount, $5,$10,$20 or more, you feel comfortable with. Remember $100 will seed 5 acres ! Get your friends and family who are not on here to pledge through you. This will take about 5 years to complete if we can get our DNR to do the soil prep and plant the seed we donate. Hopefully we can show that we are very serious about this with enough people willing to buy enough seed to get this started. I will go to Altamaha WMA managers as soon as we have enough money pledged ($5-10 K) to get them on board. There have been discussions about starting a Coastal chapter of Delta Waterfowl. We could have the money be collected through Delta and those monies counted as a tax deduction. We could make this a state wide campaign with all GA chapters of Delta Waterfowl working to raise funds and to give this project more political clout.
This project will take time to raise the money and to do the work. We will need to convince upper DNR management in Social Circle to commit the funds to do the soil prep and to plant our seed donations. Let's give the birds a reason to stay in Ga and not go to FL. When completed these plantings will increase the hunting opportunies around the greater Altamaha River Delta not just the three islands planted in the WMA. There are more islands in the WMA that could be developed for future waterfowl habitat for more birds and more hunters. Who knows in the future someone might look into developing green tree reservoirs for even more opportunities.
I look forward to your reply, Chuck Thompson, Lyons