photo by Ducks Unlimited
Several waterfowl hunters across Tennessee are expressing dismay that the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has done away with an innovative public duck hunting opportunity. One concerned sportsman (unidentified) even produced a special "protest video" posted on YouTube.
One e-mailer writes, "We need more areas like this in Tennessee not less. I saw more ducks at Bogota last year than I have seen in years."
Three years ago TWRA created a new West Tennessee Wildlife Management Area devoted strictly to duck hunting. At the same time they instituted a novel new approach by only allowing only duck hunters on the Bogota WMA who were selected in a special quota drawing. The goal was to provided a less-crowded, "quality" duck hunting experience compared to the typical, horribly-overcrowded public WMA's.
More than 4,000 hunters applied for the approximate 220 hunting slots on Bogota.
However this year, with seemingly little warning, TWRA did away with the quota drawing, allowing all-comers to hunt Bogota on selected days. At least three hunters have e-mailed Chattanoogan.com Outdors upset about the change.
Region I (West Tennessee) TWRA Manager Gary Cook says there are three reasons they felt compelled to eliminate the quota drawing on Bogota.
"Number One was the number of no-shows," said Cook. "Last year we had slots for 220 hunters. Only 96 actually showed up."
Cook said the annual budget for Bogota WMA was $200,000 to provide hunting for a mere 96 people.
Do the math... that means they spent $2,083 per hunter last year.
"Throw in that we're in significant financial trouble right now," said Cook. "We have to be responsible about what we spend, versus what the license holders get in return."
Why didn't hunters show up?
Cook said, "I'm not God. I don't know why folks would put in for one of the premier waterfowl hunts in the state and not show up. I can't answer that."
Cook said that hunter success rates were very good.
"We conducted surveys and 90% of those who showed up considered it a quality hunt and they were extremely happy with it. That's not the reason they weren't showing up."
Cook said the Number Two reason is that the initial goal was to provide a quality duck hunting opportunity for everyone, including hunters from East Tennessee. He says however that applications showed that few East Tennessee hunters were applying for the hunt.
Cook said the third, and probably most important reason, was leaking ponds.
From the beginning TWRA discovered that several of the flooded fields on Bogota simply would not hold water. It was leaking out as fast as they could run the pumps to keep them flooded. Cook said preliminary soil tests showed the ground should hold water. But after they started experiencing problems they brought in experts from UT with special "ground-penetrating radar." He said they found several very small fissures that basically acted like bathtub drains that couldn't be plugged.
"All the soil around them held water perfectly, but there was simply no way we could plug those holes." Of course that necessitated that they run pumps non-stop to keep the fields flooded. Cook said that was costing about $40 - $50,000 per year... about 25% of the annual budget.
One of those pumps was purchased through funding from Ducks Unlimited. Some folks complaining about the issue are wondering what Ducks Unlimited has to say about the issue.
Cook said, "I have not heard from DU."
Cook admits that the change in the Bogota hunts were not "banner headlines," however he knows it was mentioned in at least one TWRA news release
He also wishes they could continue the quota program.
"It was a great idea," Cook said. "But with the pools not holding water and hunters not taking advantage of it, it just doesn't make sense to continue."
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One day after this story was written, TWRA issued a news release and additional detailed explanation of the situation, as follows:
BOGOTA WMA EXPLANATION
By Gary Cook, TWRA Region I Manager
The Bogota Waterfowl Management Area is a small segment of lands that have been acquired by TWRA in a long-term wetland acquisition project that extends along the Mississippi River from Shelby County to Lake County. The goal of this acquisition project is to connect tracts of land in a continuous corridor of wildlife habitat benefiting a wide array of wildlife species by wetland habitat restoration.
The Bogota WMA is located in Dyer County and is approximately 2,300 acres in size. The original concept of this waterfowl management unit was to develop a system of hunting that would allow waterfowl hunters from across the state the opportunity to experience a quality West Tennessee duck hunting trip. A computer drawing was conducted to choose applicants and those hunters were assigned pools to use temporary blinds for a three day period during the duck season. The system allows approximately 220 potential hunters to participate during the entire duck season, based on the calendar. All open slots are filled from the computer drawing, but only 96 hunters showed to hunt in 2007-08. Approximately 65-70 percent of the hunters at Bogota are from Regions 1and 2. Approximately 40 percent of the parties that were no-shows had one person in the party.
Survey results of those hunters who participated indicated a high satisfaction rating, as was anticipated; however, development costs and operating costs for Bogota unexpectedly rose beyond predictions. Management pools had been constructed with low level levees and water was pumped with electric pumps. Maintaining water levels in some of these management pools became a serious problem and pumping costs soared. The problem was geological. After contracting with the University of Tennessee to perform ground penetrating radar surveys, it was determined that sand fissures were present in those pools losing water. These subterranean veins of sand are difficult to identify without radar and soil samples would not detect the veins unless surveyors were lucky enough to sample right over a vein, as these veins are relatively small in diameter. Last year, TWRA attempted to levee around these known fissures, but the leaks continued.
Recently, TWRA, like all state government, has experienced a poor economic outlook and significant cuts have been made in Agency operations to extend the life of the Agency. During these times, projects which have high costs and yet benefit only a small number of license holders must be reviewed. Bogota WMA budgets have approached or exceeded $200,000 annually and directly benefited through hunting less than 100 hunters last year in the computer drawing. These costs/benefits were considered unacceptable to the Agency. For comparison, the Kentucky Lake/ Barkley budget is approximately $400,000 annually and benefits directly through hunting over 1,800 potential hunters daily. Additionally, applicants for Bogota were primarily from west and middle Tennessee, causing concern that a primary goal of the project was not being realized by hunters in the eastern portion of the state.
Plans are to continue pumping those cells at Bogota that will hold water. Hunting will continue at Bogota WMA in pools 1, 2, and 3. Pools 1 and 3 are flooded by the Obion River overflow. Hunted pools will be managed as Pool 1 has operated in the past, i.e. open with no quotas, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays during the entire duck season. In times of economic hardships, TWRA believes that reduced costs should benefit as many hunters as possible, while maintaining the original focus of the management goals.
---TWRA---