Widlife Management Area Milestone

[RednekF350]

Here is a NJDEP news release I got today at work via the DEP email list.
Pretty impressive that we have 304,000 acres of WMA's.
Interesting too how we exceed NY state and the other mentioned New England States.
Add in the State Forests and you'd swear there weren't any people living here!
Scott
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/newsrel/2006/06_0007.htm

 

[Teegate]

It's good to see that we are still adding to them.

I wonder who patrols the WMA's? I have never met up with anyone with authority in them.

Guy

 

[Badfish740]

It's good to see that we are still adding to them.

I wonder who patrols the WMA's? I have never met up with anyone with authority in them.

Guy

The only authority figures I've seen (and heard of) are conservation officers. They're not rangers, but essentially they perform the same function I guess, although they concentrate more on enforcing fish and game laws like bag limits and such. I do know that they can ticket you for various violations from reading posts over at Jersey Devil 4x4. The usual stuff like driving on unofficial roads, mudbogging, and being in the area after dark. That being said they're pretty scarce. Even during hunting season in Colliers Mills I never really saw many. I'm sure it's the same deal as the rangers-two for every 10,000 acres...lol

 

[RednekF350]

Fish and Wildlife is responsible for patrolling the WMA's, not Parks and Forestry, who handles the State Forests.
However, Fish and Widlife CO's have overlapping duties in patrolling the State Forests for fish and wildlife matters.
F&W has a presence in WMA's during the various hunting seasons and they patrol those WMA's with water for fishing enforcement.
The CO's are spread very thin though and I can tell you I have been checked only about 5 times in 37 years of hunting.
I met our newest one for my area this year while walking the woods in front of my house in November (I wasn't hunting at the time)
He said he was unfamiliar with our woods but he was going to be down as often as possible to check on late hour duck shooters on the bogs. I haven't seen him since.
Our last local CO was kicked upstairs to Trenton but he too was spread thin and was covering Gloucester County and Camden County by himself.
Scott

 

[LARGO]

Can't remember ever running into these people myself, except in a park I think. Guess they are spread thin. But then after reading that article this state seems so much bigger. Probably jus' me.

 

[RednekF350]

The last "real" Game Warden we had was a long time ago and his last name was Hutchinson. He was everywhere.
He retired in the 80's and has since died.
He is the stuff of legends around these parts and a lot of older hunters down here have interesting cat and mouse stories of their encounters with him.

 

[RMICKLE]

Fish and Wildlife is responsible for patrolling the WMA's, not Parks and Forestry, who handles the State Forests.
However, Fish and Widlife CO's have overlapping duties in patrolling the State Forests for fish and wildlife matters.

Also they’re responsible for Green Acres properties. Last year they added at lease a 1000 acres that I’m familiar with and most if not all of it was going to be taken care of by Fish & Wildlife. It looks like they will be spread a lot thinner as time goes on.


Roy

 

[woodjin]

I wonder who patrols the WMA's? I have never met up with anyone with authority in them.

Guy

Oh my God!! I ran into these guys once!!! Took me down at Gun Point!! Okay, a little bit of an exagerration, I was on my motorcycle and the guy jumped in front of me put up his hand, and reached for his gun unlatching the holster. There were two of them. They were in a black jeep cherokee. One was real laid back, the other was on a rampage. This was near Old halfway. The one guy tried to nail me on anything he could, he even accused me of switching plates and putting them on an illegal bike. He was in the process of trying to find the vin # on my bike when he finally let me go. The other guy seemed embarrased by him. They already had another guy in custody there on an illegal bike. When they let me go the guy said I was allowed to ride all the roads in the WMA but stay away from the old halfway pits.

I guess it is cool that they are getting the illegal riders, and in the end they were okay once they established I was legal. That one guy would have done anything to nail me though. The guy that they had "in custody" was all upset they let me go. Jerk

Jeff

 

[Badfish740]

I've also heard that they'll nail you for riding any power company ROWs that happen to run through any WMA property. Just FYI because I know that they tend to be popular with both four and two wheelers.

 

[Teegate]

One was real laid back, the other was on a rampage.
Jeff

That is good cop..bad cop. One is nice and tries to talk to you and hopes you will slip up to him, and then they nail you

It happened to me years ago.

Guy

 

[bobpbx]

Remember a couple years ago when I found that stolen Ford Explorer in Double Trouble State Park? They took a long time getting there (the rangers). The nearest one on duty was Island Beach State Park. I have lived next to Greenwood Forest and have covered a lot of ground in the past 24 years, and I have never seen a wildlife officer. I love it. But I wish they would be a little more aggressive as far as going after dumpers.

 

[Teegate]

Remember a couple years ago when I found that stolen Ford Explorer in Double Trouble State Park? They took a long time getting there (the rangers). The nearest one on duty was Island Beach State Park. I have lived next to Greenwood Forest and have covered a lot of ground in the past 24 years, and I have never seen a wildlife officer. I love it. But I wish they would be a little more aggressive as far as going after dumpers.

Did you wait around, or did they contact you when they came for it?

Guy

 

[bobpbx]

Did you wait around, or did they contact you when they came for it? Guy

I waited because I did not have a GPS and they never would have found it without me. I wanted to see if there was a dead person in there but was too skittish to look by myself.

 

[woodjin]

I know what you mean, you want them around to catch the dumpers but don't want them breathing down your neck. One time my motorcycle broke down in Island beach S.P. and the rangers were real helpful. I spoke to one on the phone who was helpful at the front gate, and another stopped by and hung out with me for a bit and offered to get me something to drink if I needed it. My bike is legal, but doesn't look legal, so it tends to cause a commotion, they didn't even question me about it.

Jeff