Good news for Oklahoma

[BarryBobPosthole]

Thank you Farm Bill!

Oklahoma just got a federal award to start a WIHA program (Walk In Hunting Area) next year. The program not only adds availble public hunting lands (and fishing!) but also adds habitat. Kansas has an awesome WIHA program and has a million acres under it. If we're ever going to have quail in Oklahoma again like the old days this is a minimum requirement. I've hunted on some Kansas WIHAs with Hombre and his Dad.

This is great news for Okie outdoors type folks!
BKB

[Cards01]

awesome news

[Thumper]

Walk in??? You mean Bucky couldn't take his wheelie? ;)

[BarryBobPosthole]

Here's a link

http://m.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/outdoors/bostiancolumn/oklahoma-to-launch-new-public-hunting-fishing-lands-program/article_e961054d-df0e-536c-95b4-cbf1e87092d4.html?mode=jqm

[Buckrub]

Federal award???

Then it's ME you need to be thankin'!!!!

[No-till Boss]

It pisses me off to no end that it's called a farm bill .......UGH !!!!!!
5471

[Hombre]

Barry - Agreed this is great for Oklahoma. When Trav and I were doing the Quail unlimited banquets I don't know how many times the lack of habitat was pointed to as the number 1 issue with Quail hunting in Oklahoma. It seems like I was talking to Keith one time and he talked about the glory days of Oklahoma quail, but when I moved there in 1995 those days were already long gone. Hopefully this has a positive impact. I've been itching lately to make a trip either back to Northern Ks or S. Dakota.......We should put that on the bucket list, of course I know I'll have to work around your busy schedule.

[LJ3]

Cool. I had assumed every state had that to some degree. Virginny calls them WMAs. Wildlife Management Areas. They're usually full of people who I don't care to be around with firearms but make for some nice hiking places and what not. Not very big by most states standards (total of 203,000 acres) but what do I know.

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wmas/

[Thumper]

Yep, WMA's down here also. Heck, I live right on the edge of a couple of HUGE WMA's, but we have almost 6-million acres!

Florida's Wildlife Management Area (WMA) system is managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to sustain the widest possible range of native wildlife in their natural habitats. These lands are more rugged than parks, with fewer developed amenities. This system includes more than 5.8 million acres of land.

The wildlife management area system provides excellent sporting opportunities and are favored by some of the 3.1 million anglers who fish in Florida and our 226,000 hunters. Wildlife viewers, cyclists, horseback riders, paddlers and other nature lovers also find wild places to pursue their interests.

[Hombre]

I think Oklahoma has WMA too and now WIHA. I believe that WMA tend to be state long-term leased / owned and WIHA can be single parcels where the government is paying not to plant and maintain habitat so WMA tend to be a lot larger in size. A WIHA might be an 80 or 160 parcel that wasn't planted. <- All of this is just a wild ass guess, i really don't know, just what I Think.

[Thumper]

Got it. I think that's what we call co-op areas down here (which is a major portion of the WMA's).

Cooperative Areas - On the majority of these lands (about 4.4 million acres), FWC is a cooperating manager working with other governmental or private landowners to conserve wildlife and provide public use opportunities.

[BarryBobPosthole]

Yep, that's my understanding of it too. landowners actually enroll their land into the program and receive something in exchange for making it available to the public. similar to the CRP and WRP programs (NoTill, I think this is where its related to the Farm Bill) only I don't think under those programs the landowner has to make the lands available to the public.

BKB