WMA Survey

[Teegate]

Received this in an email.

Users of the state's 121 Wildlife Management Areas may be asked to complete a survey by Division of Fish and Wildlife volunteers and Stockton University students when accessing the properties. This yearlong effort is to determine the frequency and recreational use of WMAs by the public, as well as attitudes and perceptions of users with regard to their use of WMAs.

The Division will use survey results to update and codify the goals and objectives for the WMA system and gather data on visitor license buying patterns.

 

[46er]

So did I; I'll delete my post.

 

[tsqurd]

This is a $600,000+ project, to help determine if a fee for use of the WMAs will be implemented.

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/...cle_06fd1144-f5f1-11e5-83cd-8379d6539de6.html

 

[RednekF350]

I would have done the survey for $100.00.
Question 1. Do you hunt or fish this WMA ? No ? Then beat it.

 

[46er]

$632,177. That could have paid for quite of bit of habitat restoration.

 

[Teegate]

I would have done the survey for $100.00.
Question 1. Do you hunt or fish this WMA ? No ? Then beat it.

I don't agree. I go in them all the time and I don't hunt or fish. And my money is being used to buy or support them.

 

[RednekF350]

I don't agree. I go in them all the time and I don't hunt or fish. And my money is being used to buy or support them.

Just a little friendly ball breaking Guy.
But $600,000+ is a lot of money that perhaps could have been directed toward actual habitat improvement or property acquisitions.

 

[46er]

I don't agree. I go in them all the time and I don't hunt or fish. And my money is being used to buy or support them.

Actually, it is not used for acquisition; perhaps some for capital projects. The WMA's themselves are supported thru license sales and Green Acres bond sales. This is the reason for the recent interest in public use fee's.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/wmas.htm

The system had its beginning with the purchase of the 387-acre Walpack Tract in Sussex County in 1932. This land was purchased as a "Public Shooting and Fishing Ground" by the Board of Fish and Game Commissioners, the forerunner of today's Fish and Game Council. Presently there are more than 353,000 acres in 121 areas, and new properties and additions to existing properties are continually being added. This acreage represents more than 44% of New Jersey's state-owned public open space.

Initially, the purchase of lands for the Wildlife Management Area System was funded entirely from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses. In 1961, the first of several Green Acres bond issues was approved, enabling the general public to participate in the development of the system. Approximately half of the present system was purchased through the Green Acres bond issues. Operational funding is provided entirely by hunters and anglers. Capital projects such as boat ramps, dams and parking lots are usually funded through combinations of Federal Aid (funds from excise taxes on sporting equipment), Green Acres and General Fund Capital appropriations.

Through the years, particularly with the infusion of Green Acres monies since 1961, the mission of the Wildlife Management Area System gradually broadened from "Public Shooting and Fishing Grounds" to areas where fish and wildlife habitat is protected and enhanced, while providing a variety of compatible recreational and educational opportunities. - NJ Fish & Wildlife

 

[bobpbx]

I wonder how much money (and who's) is being gobbled up to create those management plans that run almost 100 pages long. These are being contracted out to design engineering firms, but they are also overseen by several different branches of the DEP.

 

[46er]

I wonder how much money (and who's) is being gobbled up to create those management plans that run almost 100 pages long. These are being contracted out to design engineering firms, but they are also overseen by several different branches of the DEP.

It makes sense to contract that stuff out since the agencies probably do not have enough personnel with the experience to do it. It's not like a survey which could have easily and cheaply been put online, as they have done many times in the past.

 

[Teegate]

I was driving down 539 this morning and as we passed the blocked entrance to the large rye fields with the large parking area I noticed a woman standing by the cable gate. She was wearing an orange safety vest and had a large sign in both hands just like a striker on a picket line. The cable appeared to be down so the entrance was open and she was just standing there looking out towards the road.


She was exactly here.

http://maps.njpinebarrens.com/#lat=39.85221895631504&lng=-74.38166085284234&z=17&type=hybrid&gpx=


So I am wondering why she was there with the sign. Could she be protesting something or maybe she was stopping the hunters who were entering asking them questions about their use of Greewood? Basically, could she be part of the WMA survey that this thread is about?

If anyone has any input I am sure others would like to hear it. I just wish I had turned around and went back.

Guy

 

[46er]

I was driving down 539 this morning and as we passed the blocked entrance to the large rye fields with the large parking area I noticed a woman standing by the cable gate. She was wearing an orange safety vest and had a large sign in both hands just like a striker on a picket line. The cable appeared to be down so the entrance was open and she was just standing there looking out towards the road.


She was exactly here.

http://maps.njpinebarrens.com/#lat=39.85221895631504&lng=-74.38166085284234&z=17&type=hybrid&gpx=


So I am wondering why she was there with the sign. Could she be protesting something or maybe she was stopping the hunters who were entering asking them questions about their use of Greewood? Basically, could she be part of the WMA survey that this thread is about?

If anyone has any input I am sure others would like to hear it. I just wish I had turned around and went back.

Guy

They hold field trials there, run by bird dog clubs. That is where they enter the fields with their horse trailers.

This shows one being held back in 2012.

http://maps.njpinebarrens.com/#lat=39.853893751186774&lng=-74.38876334231378&z=17&type=nj2007&gpx=

 

[Teegate]

Sounds about right. Thanks!

 

[46er]

I have never seen a notice posted and a couple of times walked in from Bloody Ridge Rd on them when winter Quail hunting.

 

[Gene]

So all those rectangles were cleared to grow rye? I was going to open a thread to ask. The fields used for the dog trials are in an area with particularly low light pollution, and I'd like to take my telescope there for a few hours some night near the New Moon. Who manages the Greenwood WMA so I could ask?

 

[Teegate]

You can walk in there, just don't drive.

 

[Gene]

You can walk in there, just don't drive.

Okay, but that would mean multiple trips humping equipment in, and the dog trial people did drive. Is there no one to ask for an access permit that would allow 5mph entry just that far, at dusk and later? It wouldn't impact hunting or any other daytime use. Of course I'll try observing from the parking area, but passing cars will severely impact that effort. If it proves to be as dark as I hope, I would be willing to pay. Oh, and thanks for responding!

 

[46er]

Who manages the Greenwood WMA so I could ask?

Okay, but that would mean multiple trips humping equipment in, and the dog trial people did drive. Is there no one to ask for an access permit that would allow 5mph entry just that far, at dusk and later? It wouldn't impact hunting or any other daytime use.

NJ Fish and Wildlife manages all WMA's in the state. That particular area in Greenwood is the Quail management area, you will not get a permit to drive into it, especially during Quail season when the division stocks birds, but you can ask. Besides that, all WMA's are closed at dusk. But if you are willing to risk a summons or can get permission for night use, there are many other fields within Greenwood, one roadside next to Bloody Ridge Rd, that are easily accessible. Look at Google Earth or Google satellite maps. You'd probably have better success requesting night access at a state park/forest, I have many times. Just ask the supervisor of the state park/forest your interested in.

The WMA reg's.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/wmaregs.htm

 

[Teegate]

It appears the survey results are out.

https://www.njfishandwildlife.com/p...8.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery