--- title: House Game, Fish & Parks Committee, January 28, 2026 collection: meetings id: 2026-01-28/house-game-fish-and-parks cite_as: House Game, Fish & Parks Committee, January 28, 2026, video https://vimeo.com/1158921638 (machine transcript by Georgia Commons) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-01-28/house-game-fish-and-parks md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-01-28/house-game-fish-and-parks.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-01-28/house-game-fish-and-parks/text source_url: https://vimeo.com/1158921638 date: 2026-01-28 status: machine transcript corpus_version: meetings-2026-10-23-8c15ead0f18d license: Machine transcript and summaries by Georgia Commons from the General Assembly's public video; the video stays on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-01-28.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-01-28/senate-public-safety.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-01-28/house-rural-development.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/index.md chamber: House body: House Game, Fish & Parks Committee body_url: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/house-game-fish-and-parks.md meeting_kind: committee session: 2025-2026 Regular Session start_time: 2026-01-28T13:30:00-05:00 location: 415 CLOB duration_seconds: 3480.0 video_id: 1158921638 video_title: 1.28.26 Game, Fish, & Parks agenda_url: https://house-press.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/gfpjan28.pdf bills_discussed: - HB 946 - HB 443 - SB 420 summaries_model: gpt-6.1-sol transcript_turns: 201 --- # House Game, Fish & Parks Committee, January 28, 2026 House Game, Fish & Parks Committee; January 28, 2026; 2025-2026 Regular Session. Video, on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel: https://vimeo.com/1158921638. Agenda: https://house-press.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/gfpjan28.pdf. > This is a machine transcript of the General Assembly's video, made by a speech-recognition model. It is not an official record and can mishear words, names, and numbers. Speakers are not identified. The video is the record: every timestamp links to the moment it plays. ## Summary written by Georgia Commons Written by gpt-6.1-sol from the transcript below. It is not part of the record. Quote the transcript or the video, not the summary. The committee approved [HB 946](https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb946), which the sponsor said would allow drones to locate feral hogs on private property. No opposition was heard in the voice vote. The Department of Natural Resources commissioner also gave an agency update covering storm response, park fees, outdoor access for people with disabilities, oyster farming, deer disease monitoring and game warden staffing. The commissioner urged support for [HB 443](https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb443) and [SB 420](https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb420), describing harvest reporting as part of an effort to seek a longer red snapper season. Neither received a vote. Members asked about duck season dates, deer populations, shooting range supervision and access to federally managed recreation areas. The commissioner agreed to review whether duck season could run through the end of January. ## Bills discussed (3) Each account was written by gpt-6.1-sol from the stretch of the transcript it names. The bill's number is said in that stretch, unless it was the only bill on a committee's agenda. ### HB 946. Game and fish; authorize hunting and trapping of feral hogs under certain circumstances [HB 946](https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb946) (2025-2026 Regular Session). From [0:12:55](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=775s), turns 24 to 55. The sponsor said the bill would allow drones to locate feral hogs on private property, responding to a constituent's request and a growing hog problem. The sponsor said DNR's review found that current law prohibited the practice. The chair cited damage to farmland, crops and hunting land. Asked whether the bill affected helicopter hunting, the sponsor said it did not and stressed that drone use would remain prohibited on public land. Another member asked about coordinating with neighboring landowners, and the sponsor said sharing information about hog locations on private land would be allowed. Asked what currently prevents drone use, the sponsor pointed to hunting restrictions the bill would remove. The sponsor said hogs can produce two or three litters annually, with about 12 piglets per litter. Another member raised permission to hunt neighboring property and asked about shooting from a boat on a private farm pond rather than a public lake, but no distinct explanatory answer was captured. The committee approved the bill by voice vote, with no opposition heard. ### HB 443. Game and fish; fees for reef and migratory fish endorsements; provide [HB 443](https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb443) (2025-2026 Regular Session). From [0:37:46](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2266s), turns 90 to 93. During the agency update, the DNR commissioner urged support for this bill and [SB 420](https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb420), saying the measures would help collect fishing data and require harvest reporting. The commissioner said Georgia had partnered with Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina to seek a federal exempted fishing permit for red snapper. If approved, the commissioner said Georgia was considering a 62-day season during July and August, with a daily limit of one fish. The commissioner described plans for reporting through a mobile phone application, with Yamaha Rightwaters helping develop the platform, and said a federal response was expected by May. The committee took no vote on the bill. ### SB 420. License, Permit, Tag, and Stamp Fees; fees for reef and migratory fish endorsement; provide [SB 420](https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb420) (2025-2026 Regular Session). From [0:37:47](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2267s), turns 90 to 93. The DNR commissioner discussed this bill together with [HB 443](https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb443) and asked members to support both. The commissioner said mandatory harvest reporting would help Georgia collect accurate fishing data and provide it to federal officials. Linking the measures to a four-state application for a federal red snapper fishing permit, the commissioner described a possible 62-day season in July and August with a one-fish daily limit. The commissioner said reporting would use a mobile phone application being developed with help from Yamaha Rightwaters and that a permit decision was expected by May. The committee took no vote on the bill. ## Transcript (201 turns) [0:00:00](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=0s) Nice to meet you too. That's awesome. Great. So are you feeling settled? Is this like your first session in general or have you been around? I was with Parks before, but I've- Oh ... been with him for about six months before. Okay. And then I came from, um, uh, Shearer South in South Georgia. Oh, where in South Georgia? Prince County. Okay. I'm from Pierce County, which is southeast Georgia. Yeah. Oh, well, that's awesome. Welcome aboard. Thank you. Yes, of course. [0:00:30](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=30s) All right. Let's see. [0:00:36](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=36s) I feel like everyone... Hopefully there will be a good number here. I feel like it's spread so thin right now. Let's... Although I didn't know 100% who was gonna be. Um, I don't know. We, um, we just have to say that, um, Catherine didn't know. We have a neighbor, Tony Anderson, Kevin, Sean, Daniel. [0:01:09](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=69s) They're gonna be responsible for getting whatever he, he needs. But, um, yeah, so he's gonna be staffing this, but he has like four kids at home. Yeah. Yeah. I know, right? Yeah. So we'll have the meeting tomorrow morning. Johnny said he was gonna call me and chat with us. Yeah, I was about to say, I think that we're gonna try to like start with people and- Oh. Oh, no. No? Oh. [0:01:40](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=100s) I don't think so. I think they're all good. Okay. Okay. I'm not used to Adobe. Do we know how we feel present? This one is... [0:02:01](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=121s) It's not a problem. I was about to say, we wanna use that 'cause it is not... Do you want us to? No. You want us to stay? No, not at all. Kim, I feel like it's since I've seen you. I know. I had to keep my... I had to turn, uh, put my oven on 'cause I feel cold. I love that. It's cold in here. Yes. I know. I keep my heater on me almost at all ti- even sometimes during the summer. [0:02:32](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=152s) I don't know what it is with these buildings, but they get- Cold. Yes. Okay. But even with the heater that I have on under my desk, it is still freezing. Really? Yeah, it's crazy. And then I, and then I thought to take them off, and then I was like, you know, "People are gonna [0:02:54](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=174s) think I'm crazy." Yeah. Yeah. Hello? [0:03:00](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=180s) Here. Not sure. I think the toggle's on. I was about to say, I might just have to do that 'cause this doesn't look like it's going to. [0:03:23](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=203s) Um, yeah, I was about to say, if he doesn't mind using... Okay. Um, can I still come on? [0:03:36](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=216s) Yeah. Let's slide some things around. That sound okay? Yeah. Oh. Oh, yeah. Let's see. [0:03:47](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=227s) Well... [0:04:29](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=269s) Hey, I'm Kim. Kim. Nice to meet you. Yes, [0:04:35](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=275s) so welcome. Hi. I'm, I'm Kristen. I'm, I'm staffing here. You're, you're my new lady. Yes. Yes, I got you. I got you. Okay. I'll do my best. [0:04:51](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=291s) We got about 14 names on here. Yeah. You filling in today? I am. How you been? Good. How are you? You know, as much as I can, but I still gotta have a little fun. I know. You gotta have fun. Yeah. That's for sure. Are we gonna hear this bill or not? Yeah, as far as I know, we are. Okay. Better give it then. Are we hearing, uh, draw up the bill? We're gonna do that first, right? Because- We're gonna vote it out? Yeah. Okay. I told him he had to run this prize because we're gonna vote it out. Okay. Hello. Do that now. I'm gonna call Ashley. That downstair. [0:05:22](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=322s) Yeah. What you got, man? The bill? Huh? What you having me do, the bill? Yep. Well, that too, but yeah. What [0:05:31](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=331s) you want to do? You want to open it? You want to open that prayer? He didn't, he didn't let me know. Who wants to o- you want to open the word of prayer? She is. Yes, ma'am. She is. So you want to open the word of prayer? Sure. All right, good. That'd be good if you can. Lord, please forgive us for all of our sins and everything we've done that's bad. In [0:05:54](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=354s) Jesus' name, amen. That's right. So you said we're gonna do the, the bill? Yeah. We're gonna just, we're gonna go on and get him moved. Is he here? Um, I don't see him yet. We still got about five minutes. [0:06:29](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=389s) How were your holidays? Good. Yeah? And fast. You know how it goes. They always are. Yeah. Busy. What about you? Did you do anything? I did. All my family's in South Georgia, so I was down, uh, Pierce County for about nine days. Um, Pierce County, Blackshear. So I was down there- Pretty airy down there. Oh, yeah. Wasn't mosquitoes out, was it? Uh, not bad. Were they still? [0:10:10](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=610s) Got people coming in and out, so we're gonna go on and get started here today. But before we get going, I wanna ask, uh, Representative Ridley if he'll open us with a word of prayer. What number are you? Uh, 20. All right, thank you. Heavenly Father, we come to you today and thank you for another day on this earth, and, uh, we hope that you will build a hedge around us, protect us, keep us safe, let us make the best decisions that we can for the state. And Lord, most of all, we ask you to forgive us for all our sins and the ones that we're about c- commit. Amen. Amen. [0:10:43](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=643s) Cowboy. Even the dogs with me. Good, good gracious. Good gracious. All right, here... B- before we get going, I want to take this time as our first, our kickoff meeting for the year to, to recognize a few, uh, new faces we've got with us this year. First off, we've got two new interns in our office, Victor Avila and Owen Hawkins, in the back of the room. They're helping us out this year, and just want to say a big thank you to them. Um, our analyst, our, our full-time analyst is, is Kevin Daniels, but we've got Ms. Anna Smith filling in today, and I'm gonna tell him that we'll, we'll just take you. [0:11:17](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=677s) Please. Okay. No, I'm just kidding. He was busy today. And our new, um, legal counsel is Ms, Ms. Kristen Harapall, in the corner. And we just want to say thank you, um, for everything y'all do for us. All right, w- we're gonna have our DNR, uh, update today. We had a lot of great things going on the past year, but we've got, uh, Representative Rob Clifton here, and he's got some big events coming up in the next, uh, few weeks, so we're gonna try to get him, uh, help him get his bill moved along before he may be sidetracked a little bit. [0:11:48](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=708s) So, uh, at this time, I want to recognize Representative Clifton to, uh, present your bill. [0:11:58](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=718s) If you wanna tell the crowd what you got going on, go ahead. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Members of the committee, um, I have our third child due in the next couple weeks, so hopefully move very quickly- Is it on? It should be. I think. It, it says it's on. I hear myself. I don't hear the microphone. How about now? Does that... It's not working. No, you, you want to have a light on. You gotta have a light on. Oh. Oh, there you go. Oh, it turned it back down. There we go. [0:12:28](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=748s) I'm not hearing you. I'll try it again. There you go. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, as I was saying, um, my wife is due with our third child here in the next couple weeks, so I'm hoping to move very quickly in the early part of the session, get all my stuff done, and then that way when I get back, we're ready to keep moving forward. So I appreciate you letting me present this bill. Yes, sir. Um, so this is House Bill 946, uh, LC 443279. Um, this bill, uh, essentially allows drones to be used in the locating of feral hogs. [0:13:03](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=783s) Um, the, uh, way this bill came about, I had a constituent reach out to me asking if they could use drones. Um, we have a... For those who don't know, we have a very bad, uh, hog problem, um, that is not going away. W- uh, it's only intensifying. Um, and so in the hope of being able to make this less of a problem, um, they asked if they could use drones, um, to locate where they might be. Uh, I reached out to DNR, and at one point we thought it might not be a problem, and after researching the code, it absolutely could not be done the way it is written now. [0:13:35](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=815s) So this bill, um, essentially just allows, um, hogs to be, um, hunted from an unmanned s- a- aircraft system, um, such terms as code, as defining code 614, uh, again, to locate feral hogs and subjects, um, laws and applications from unmanned aircraft vehicle. So that's the... Just gives a li- makes it easier to hunt, um, locate, hunt, and, um, kill feral hogs. Okay. Thank you, sir. See if we have any question. I know all of us are well aware of the destruction that hogs do to not only our, our hunting land, but also, uh, terrible for our farmers and, and loss of income and crops. [0:14:16](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=856s) Uh, we do have a few questions. Uh, number 11. Chairman Comer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for, for bringing, for bringing this bill. This doesn't affect any way if you, people that hunt them out of a helicopter. That's not a... That doesn't affect that in any way. No, sir. This is just... And then I should have added, too, this is just for private property. So if you're going on WMAs trying, or other people's, uh, f- federal or state property trying to locate, um, with drones, you are in the wrong and you're gonna get in the same trouble you would have anyways. So this is just for private use on private properties. [0:14:48](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=888s) One other comment, M- Mr. Chairman, if I can. Yes, sir. Uh, our, our previous chairman of this committee, Tom McCall, I mean, he, his, um, talking about feral hogs, he said he didn't, we can shoot them with anything from a BB gun to a bazooka, and I, I, I don't have any problem with adding this to it. Maybe it'll go fast. Question number two. Who is number two? Thank you, Mr. Chairman. A- and I want to say, too, I guess you helped with the, uh, along with my question was, I guess you said just only on that person's property, but only... [0:15:19](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=919s) But he cannot contact the, the adjacent person and say, property, and said, "You know, you got some feral hogs. Can, can I come over there and, and, and annihilate them?" I, I would say- Yeah, they do. Yeah, if he... It, it's really more from a personal pro- a private property standpoint. Um, like there's a lot of WMAs in the state of Georgia that you can go on and hunt publicly, um, for multiple different, um, species, depending on the hunting season. Um, if you, you, this bill, or currently you cannot, and this bill does, still does not allow you to use drones on public property [0:15:52](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=952s) But if you're on your land and your neighbor, I don't see any issue at all with, um, calling saying, "Hey, was flying around, saw some hogs if you wanna go get them." Um, really, this is truly making it easier for people to locate feral hogs with the hopes, again, of decreasing the population. [0:16:08](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=968s) Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [0:16:09](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=969s) Thank you. [0:16:10](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=970s) Yes, sir. [0:16:11](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=971s) Number 14, Chairman LaHood. [0:16:12](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=972s) Yeah. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Um, just curious, w- what's prohibiting, um, landowners from doing this now? [0:16:19](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=979s) So currently in the law, the part that we are striking out, um, uh, which is rows about 23 through 32, gives a lot of, um, stipulations on how you can hunt these. We're basically taking this out and allowing you to hunt them however you can get them. And I'll add one more since we are on record, um, and please tell me if I'm wrong. I believe hogs can start having litters about the age of two, and they have somewhere between two and three litters a year, at the tune of about 12, um, piglets per litter. [0:16:56](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1016s) So once they are on your property- [0:16:58](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1018s) That's tough [0:16:59](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1019s) ... it's hard to get rid of them and, and they cause a lot of destruction. [0:17:03](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1023s) Yeah. [0:17:03](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1023s) Yeah. [0:17:04](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1024s) Very destructive. Thank you. [0:17:05](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1025s) Need to get a pig, Brig. Quote number one, is that Representative Dunhee? [0:17:11](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1031s) Yes, sir, Mr. Chairman. Y- let me ask you a question, and while you guys the experts here, I don't ever assume, but I think it would be if my property, and I have permission from my neighbor to hunt his property, and written permission is what we used to do, um, I think you're still covered with that. Is that true? If you don't have written permission, basically you could be trespassing, and that was one thing I would clarify. Let me ask you because, uh, South Georgia's a little bit different. Uh, I have Lake Lanier as my main body of water. [0:17:43](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1063s) I'm not gonna go hunting out of my boat or anything like that. But when it s- you're reading this, if I was in a jon boat on a farm pond, it's okay to hunt out of that boat for shooting pig or whatever? Okay, and I want... I figured that. I wanted to make sure. Lake Lanier, that would be off limits, and your main core lakes. That's, that's basically it. Just wanted to clarify to make sure I was close to right. Thank you. [0:18:09](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1089s) Thank you, sir. Are there any other, uh, questions? Uh, Chairman Williams? [0:18:16](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1096s) Yeah, at the proper time, Mr. Chairman, I'd like- [0:18:19](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1099s) Now's the time [0:18:19](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1099s) ... motion to move, that we move this bill on. [0:18:21](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1101s) Now's the time. [0:18:23](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1103s) I'd like to, uh, motion we move this bill out. [0:18:25](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1105s) Second. [0:18:26](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1106s) I hear, I hear a motion. I have a, hear a second. Is there any other discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? We move on. Thank you, sir. Thank you all very much. [0:18:39](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1119s) Feral hogs are a problem. They're a problem. [0:18:43](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1123s) Hogs are a problem, and I appreciate you. Yes, sir. All right, now I'm about to turn the, uh, meeting over to Commissioner Raven. We've had a, a, a very good year with, uh, DNR, and he has done a tremendous job. I am biased, but, uh, we've got the, the best commissioner and the best DNR staff in, in, in, in the country. Amen. And, and I'm very proud of them, and I'm very proud of what they do, and they do a great job, 'cause they have so many different categories and things that they have to do. [0:19:14](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1154s) And, uh, from the, the winter storm response that he, they just had to be involved in, and, and just proud of them. All the way down from the mountains to the coast, y'all do a tremendous job, and I just want to say thank you. And, um, we just want to hear what you got for us, Buddy. Thanks. [0:19:30](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1170s) Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate those comments, and we do have the best team in state government. Very proud of each and every one of them. Um, it's a pleasure to be before all of you today. I'm gonna, um, go ahead and apologize. Y'all drew the short straw. We've got a, a pretty big event coming up this weekend, and then a lot of our divisions are still tied in with Winter Storm Fern. So instead of bringing the whole team up and letting them present to you, which you would have enjoyed much more, I'm gonna do this high-level overview of our agency, and then tell you about some of the high, high points and some of the cool initiatives that we have going on. [0:20:10](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1210s) Um, most of you are very aware that we, DNR is comprised of five different divisions. Um, I will get into four of those divisions. Again, you know the Environmental Protection Division is run by Director Cowen, and is also a governor appointee. Um, and I'm sure he'd be happy to come talk with you anytime you would need some EPD, uh, guidance. But let me, let me start talking to you a little bit about DNR as an overview. [0:20:42](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1242s) Our FY26 budget as an agency was $355 million. Of that 355, only 181 million of those dollars are state dollars. The rest are se- uh, federal funds and other funds that we collect throughout the year. We have about 2,700 employees in DNR, and that would include EPD. But if you'll look, I'm gonna roll right in, and I know we've got some time constrictions th- this afternoon, um, so I'm gonna hit the very high points. [0:21:16](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1276s) This PowerPoint can be given to all of you. Uh, just make that request and we'll get that to you. But our Coastal Resources Division, which we do have our director with us, Doug Hammons. Many of you know Doug and work with him day in and day out. But it's based out of Brunswick. That division is made up of two section, our mar- two sections, our Marine Fisheries and our Coastal Management sections. Uh, and again, this is very high level. There is a, a lot, about 75 people down there that work for Doug and do some very complex things day in and day out. [0:21:53](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1313s) But, uh- To, to dumb it down where I can speak to you in layman's terms, our Marine Fisheries section provides the information that pretty much manages all of those coastal fisheries, and that's the saltwater populations, and that includes our commercial and our recreational, uh, fishing opportunities that are along the coast. And again, I'm putting that very simple. It's, it's much more complex than that. I think Doug would agree. And then our Coastal Management section works with our local, state, and federal authorities to balance the economic development that has taken place and the population growth that has taken place in those 11 coastal counties that you see outlined up there. [0:22:35](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1355s) But this, this section is pretty much charged with protecting our coastal natural, historic, and recreational resources. So a lot of permitting that goes on within that section. Again, um, they do a great job for our hundred and five miles of coastline that you see up there, as well as our 14 barrier islands. Moving on to our Law Enforcement Division. Uh, today, we stand at about 200 game wardens statewide. Many of you are very familiar with the, the roles that they play in the hunting, fishing, boating, uh, and, um, enforcement that takes place in our state. [0:23:13](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1393s) Um, our game wardens are POST certified just like any other law enforcement officer in the State of Georgia. They are, uh, federally deputized to, to operate and enforce federal laws as well. Uh, we kind of call them the Swiss Army knife of law enforcement. We are pretty much the only law enforcement, uh, agency that gets off the pavement. When the, when the dirt roads end, we're the ones that, that get called for that. But not only off the pavement, as you know, Governor Kemp has tasked us to be a part of the crime suppression units that, that are still working here within the parameter, uh, in Atlanta. [0:23:54](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1434s) So you talk about some uncomfortable people. You ask a game warden to come up here inside Metro Atlanta, and they're looking for a way to get out. But they do a great job while they're here, and we're proud to be a part of that task force as well. Um, we do currently have a, uh, cadet class going on, the 40th Game Warden Academy, and it, the graduation is scheduled for April 17th, so we would love to have you in attendance for that graduation if you want to go ahead and put that on your calendars. [0:24:28](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1468s) Next, our State Parks and Historic Sites Division, um, as you know, not only managing some of the state's most unique cultural resources that we have in our state, but also some of the most beautiful places in the State of Georgia fall within the 60-plus properties that they manage. Um, some cool stats for our Parks Division. 13 million visitors last year. Last fiscal year, we hosted 13 million visitors. [0:25:00](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1500s) That had an economic impact to our state of over $1.7 billion. So we have a, a very robust, uh, inventory of properties in our state parks. We're very proud of those. You can see, see them listed up there on the screen. But such a great job of customer service. I, I would encourage you as you travel around the Southeast particularly, but anywhere in the nation, visit some of those other state park systems and then compare that to what we offer in Georgia, and I think you'll be like me. [0:25:34](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1534s) You'll be very, very proud of what we offer, not only to our citizens of Georgia, but to those that visit that sy- uh, system as well. Our Wildlife Resources Division, I did ask Chris Harper to come up. Uh, Chris, raise your hand so that they can see you. So Chris is, uh, about two months in to a new director position as our Wildlife Resources Division director. He's got a, an extensive fisheries background, and he is quickly drinking from a fire hose learning about all the other things that our Wildlife Resources Division does as well. [0:26:09](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1569s) But super proud to have Chris on. He is a great asset to our team, and I think all of you will look forward to working with him in the future. Our Wildlife Resources Division is comprised of four different sections. We have our Game Management section, our Fisheries Management section, our Wildlife Conservation section, and our Communication, Education, and Outreach section. We manage in, in the Game Management section over a million acres in Georgia through our Wildlife Management Area system that we have. [0:26:42](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1602s) You see there 133 Wildlife Management Areas. Again, public opportunity for people to get out and enjoy what we are blessed to have in our state. Um, our Fisheries Management section, along with managing all of the state fisheries, they run 10 hatcheries in our state and produce over 11 million fish annually for our anglers to enjoy. Um, not only that, I think you saw on maybe the first slide, we've got 16,000, uh, miles of streams in our state, over 500,000 acres of impounded reservoirs in our state. [0:27:21](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1641s) So again, just a huge undertaking with what that Fisheries Management section manages day in and day out. Our Wildlife Conservation section, pretty much all the things that we hunt and fish for, they manage everything else, which comprises of about 95% of the species in our state. So again, a huge undertaking, and that's not just, you know, animal species, bird species. That also includes plant species and those habitats where we get to house a lot of threatened and endangered plants and animals as well. [0:27:58](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1678s) And then lastly, the, the newest constructed section within the Wildlife Resources Division is the Communication, Education, Outreach section. They work to support the other three sections in getting that messaging out. One thing that we realized is we do a great job at managing the resources. In the past, we have not, or we could have done a better job of getting the message out of what we're doing. So they, they are doing a great job of getting the message out of not only what takes place within WRD, but the, the whole agency, uh, in their messaging. [0:28:34](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1714s) So great, great teamwork that takes place within those divisions. With that, I had just a few updates of some things that, uh, that are of interest and fresh off the press. Winter Storm Fern, uh, we, we have been preparing for Fern since about last Monday or Tuesday. Um, we had the first time that we've ever kind of locked arms with the Georgia Forestry Commission and the Department of Agriculture for a unified command for our response to a weather event. [0:29:08](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1748s) It was housed in Macon, and the teamwork, you can imagine when I call out those sister agencies, you, you know their leadership and you know how well the, the, the team members, the ones actually out in the field, melded together very quickly. Um, from our side of it, in the int- in the unified command, we had over 200 personnel that were out there working for this weather event. Um, many of those 200 are still out there as we're standing here speaking today. They were out there yesterday with chainsaws and dragging limbs in single-digit temperatures. [0:29:43](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1783s) So again, the men and women of DNR have truly stepped up for this. In addition to the boots on the ground and the chainsaws on the trees, uh, DNR and EPD also played a role at GEMA, uh, in the overall response from the State Operations Center and supported, uh, many of the emergency support functions that took place there. We currently still have four parks that are closed because of trees down in those parks. [0:30:13](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1813s) We have three golf courses that are still closed. But I, I'm in great hopes and would anticipate in the next day or two getting those parks back open and getting those up and running. We had a lot of cancellations because of this weather event that came in, and just the canceled reservations, uh, were probably at a loss of about $250,000 just from cancellations, not to mention the damage that has occurred to our parks. So, um, I don't know where you were sitting with Fern. [0:30:44](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1844s) Some, depends on where your house was. Some were very bad, and some were like, "I didn't know there was a weather event." But Northeast Georgia, everyone would agree there was a major weather event. [0:30:56](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1856s) I know each of you have heard from me about Outdoors Beyond Barriers. Uh, we, we refer to it as OBB. And the goal of OBB is simply what the bullet says, that they're making the outdoors accessible for all. And that's one of the, the, uh, driving strategies that we have within the department, and we found out that we weren't doing a very good job for our disabled populations, and then this is how OBB was born. Very proud of the work that's been done. [0:31:29](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1889s) This past year, we hosted 20 adaptive hunting events, um, and we had over 140 hunters that participated in those events. We had 14 adapted fishing events. Um, we've had a couple of dove shoots that have taken place. We've had and have more, um, shooting events that's gonna take place that are strictly geared for those with mobility impairments. And, uh, it is so cool. I know a couple of you have been out to a few of those events, but if you truly want a blessing, come out and see some smiles on some faces that hadn't really got to get outdoors or in the woods in a long, long time, if ever. [0:32:12](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1932s) So it's very, very cool. Not only on the, the hunting and fishing side of OBB, again, this is a department initiative, uh, in our state parks. We've hosted mobility impaired hiking events around our state. We currently have 17, uh, Action Track chairs where an individual can get in this chair, and it's, it's in that picture on the right side of the screen. It is like a mini tank, and those individuals, too, get to go out and enjoy the woods, the water, bird watching, and that kind of thing as well. [0:32:48](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=1968s) So very proud of that. We have, um, four grit chairs. We've got some glasses that we've added to our inventory that would allow those that are colorblind to see the colors of the leaves in the fall. So again, uh, you know, we've got kayak launches for those that are mobility, uh, challenged, and then we have some adaptive golf opportunities as well at some of our golf courses. So a great initiative. Very proud of the team and all that they have created with a brand-new initiative that w- honestly, two years ago, you know, it's not even a thought. [0:33:28](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2008s) Some of you I, I, I've spoke with, and you may have got a few phone calls. Uh, we did January 1st, our park pass, uh, went up from $5, from when it was established to $5 in 2009, it went to $10 this year. And if you look at the inflation rate during that time period, you would know that we certainly had not kept up with it, and the $10 still doesn't bring us up to where inflation says our park pass fee should be. [0:34:00](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2040s) Um, but let me stress to you the importance of this park pass fee to us. It's, it ... And that's certainly, you know, just the gate fee. Um, all of those revenues, that's the only dedicated funding in our state that comes back directly to Georgia State Parks. Every dollar of that goes back into maintaining all of those properties that I spoke of earlier. So it's been huge for us. Um, again, I'm sure if you've got a park in your district, you've probably heard of this. [0:34:32](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2072s) The, the comments that we're getting now is, "It's about time. Why, why didn't we do this sooner?" So, um, it's been pretty successful, although, you know, we're less than a month into it. But, uh, the people that enjoy our state parks don't mind paying an additional $5 to get to those properties. [0:34:56](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2096s) And then I know you are familiar with House Bill 501 from 2019. This, uh, established and supported what I call oyster farming, our oyster mariculture industry that we now have in our state. Um, since the implementation, we have three mariculture zones that have been designated, Chatham County, McIntosh County, and then most recently in Glynn County, we, we have those zones. [0:35:27](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2127s) Um, currently we have nine contracted harvesters. Four of those are actually producing, uh, oysters today. Um, I still haven't tasted one. Look forward to that maybe this weekend. Um, we have two of those nine that are currently staging or deploying their gear into their leases, and then we have three pending permits that Doug and his team are working through so that they too can get gear in the water. It's gonna be a great economic impact for our state. [0:35:59](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2159s) As most of you know, a lot of our single-farmed oysters come from Apalachicola, or they come from Virginia. We, we've got the, the place to do it here in our state, and I'm glad that our state has decided to capitalize on this great natural resources that we have. With that, we've also moved within the last year towards a summer harvest, and we're currently updating that. But this past summer, these growers of these farmed oysters were able to harvest their oysters, um, in the mornings and, and get those to a cooler in a specified amount of time. [0:36:39](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2199s) I think it was two hours, and now we're moving that to 10:00 AM so that that gives them a little more flexibility in harvesting their oysters. But again, and then the, the clam and the wild oyster harvest continues. This is not in competition with either of those fisheries as well on our coast. Another hot button topic that I know I've heard from almost every single one of you on is the, the red snapper, not to be confused with the red fish. [0:37:13](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2233s) But the red snapper, as you know, currently, uh, is managed by the federal government. Um, this past year, how many years, Doug, have we had a one-day season? [0:37:25](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2245s) Uh, since 2009. [0:37:28](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2248s) Since 2009, we've had a one-day season, and I know many of you that like to fish for red snapper probably go to the Gulf 'cause they have an extended season. Um, we currently have a bill now that's working to help us gather data, a carryover bill from last year, House Bill 443 and Senate Bill 420. So when you see those come across your desk, please support those bills. But basically what we have done, we partnered with Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina to apply for a red snapper exempted fishing permit, um, and that would be issued by NOAA. [0:38:08](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2288s) Governor Kemp also wrote a letter to the Secretary of Commerce encouraging them to let Georgia manage that saltwater species. Uh, we've had numerous public meetings, have received, um, lots of favorable comment in giving us the, the ability to manage that species. If we receive that exempted fishing permit, what we are looking at doing is a 62-day red snapper season that would run through July and August with a one-fish limit each day. [0:38:45](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2325s) The key to that, and the important part of the bills that you'll, you'll be seeing this session, is it does have mandatory harvest reporting. We want to be as accurate as we possibly can with the data that we collect and the data that we then forward to the federal, the, the feds. So through a mobile phone app with Yamaha RightWater's playing a key role in developing this platform, um, we, we look forward to getting this exempted permit, and we should hear something by May. [0:39:20](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2360s) May. Yep. [0:39:26](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2366s) Another topic of ... Well, before I get to the other topic of great concern, this is not of great concern. This is all good news. Partnering with the Georgia Wildlife Federation, you'll remember that we had $500,000 that was, uh, put in our budget to help with Hunters for the Hungry, and it has helped exponentially. We now have this program in 52 counties of our 159, and we have 56 participating, uh, deer coolers, meat processors. [0:39:59](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2399s) Thus far, we have 108 food banks across our state that we have, we, and I say we 'cause I am a hunter, but hunters have contributed to, uh, which has amounted to 120,000 pounds of venison. And I would say even our chairman doesn't have that much venison in his freezer, and we know it's full. No, our- [0:40:22](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2422s) Even close. [0:40:24](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2424s) Our goal is 140,000 pounds, and we feel like that we will meet that goal for the year with the monies that you appropriated for us through the extended bow season, that still got a few days left in it, as well as through our crop damage permits, and using participating processors in that. Chronic wasting disease, I can look around, and some of you are directly impacted by this. Um, you'll remember I came to you last year and updated you of the first case that we had in our state, um, and then you were kind enough to give us $250,000 to allow us to manage this disease. [0:41:06](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2466s) Since I last updated this committee on CWD, we now have 10 confirmed cases in our state. Those cases are still in Lowndes, Berrien, Lanier, and Atkinson County. And while that sounds like a huge geographic area, if you drew a straight line, they're all within about 20 miles of each other. And when I say Lowndes County, there's not been a confirmed case in Lowndes, but when we have a, what we call a CWD zone, we draw a five-mile circle around where that deer was harvested, and that county becomes part of our management zone. [0:41:42](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2502s) So that's, that's how the northeast corner of Lowndes County, uh, fell into that five-mile radius. Again, the monies you gave us helped us with our sampling sites. It's helped us to put out, um, 78 cooler sites for people to leave their, their deer heads for so that we can do the testing. Chris, I don't know if you know right off the top of your head how many tests we've done throughout deer season. Thousand? At l- at least a thousand. [0:42:14](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2534s) Over 3,000. Let's go with that. That sounds better. Over 3,000 samples. Let me say, there's been a lot of samples that's been taken throughout this deer season. And to say that we only have 10 confirmed cases at this date and time, um, you know, will we have more? The answer is yes. Will it go away? The answer is no. But I want you to know that, you know, Chris, his team, our biologists, our game wardens, are actively retrieving samples day in and day out, and, uh, we will continue to monitor and manage the disease to try to keep it from spreading to other parts of our state. [0:42:55](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2575s) And that's the last slide. I, I thought I had a few more to go. But thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm more than happy to answer any questions. [0:43:03](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2583s) Well, thank you, Mr. Commissioner. And that was a, a, a very well done update, and I appreciate the info. And I, I just want to stress to the committee, when y'all have questions and concerns and you can't get me or can't... Y'all need to call commissioner, call the office. They are great at giving you the direct answers you need that your constituents are, um, are, uh, hollering about or fussing about or needing to get. And, you know, I just want y'all to remember that, that the department does a great job of working with other agencies. Like he mentioned the last couple years, we, we partnered with Department of Ag. [0:43:38](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2618s) Our farmers were really complaining about our, our deer herd eating and damaging their crops and eating up their profits. And the program that we came up with in a joint effort was, y'all, we had 12 people participating in that, uh, 12 processors in the, in the Hunters for the Hungry, and now we've got 56. That was a direct result of, of the effort that we put together the last year, and I, I hope we continue to grow that because, you know, as we all know, y- i- if you can shoot a doe and go drop it off, you're a lot more likely to take two or three more and trim your herd out than you are if you have to go home and, and clean it yourself and do all that. [0:44:16](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2656s) So that's the whole point and premise behind that program, and I just want to thank you for that. Seems to be working really well. All right, you've got a few questions. We're gonna go, uh, Chairman LaHood. [0:44:28](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2668s) Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Great presentation. Appreciate all you do and your team to steward the state's resources. Um, this is timely that I get to ask this 'cause I just was asked by a constituent yesterday. [0:44:40](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2680s) Okay. [0:44:40](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2680s) We have a lot of avid, you know, duck hunters, bird hunters back in my district, back home, and the question was around the dates of duck season. Um, I understand that s- ducks are migratory birds and, and the federal regulations, you know, dictate a lot of this, but, uh, how much discretion does your department have in, in setting the dates? And, and the question was centered around, you know, um, a lot of years it seemed like it's later in the season when it's pushing the, the birds down this, you know, far south in South Georgia. [0:45:13](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2713s) So can we, can we get it, uh, back to, uh, January 31st, um, last day of the season? Is that u- under consideration? [0:45:23](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2723s) So I'm a huge proponent of we should have the season when the ducks are here. [0:45:29](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2729s) Okay. [0:45:30](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2730s) Unfortunately, that's hard to plan for a year or two in advance. Now, currently, the way, the way our seasons are set up for migratory birds, the feds, US Fish and Wildlife, give us, gives us a window of dates, and for us, Chris and his team, to construct our season. The... And when, when we get that window of dates, and if you know those right off, Chris, I'd be willing to throw those out there. I- [0:45:57](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2757s) Still trying. [0:45:57](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2757s) Remember I told you he's a fish guy. [0:45:59](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2759s) Still trying. [0:45:59](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2759s) He's a fish guy, but I'll get you those dates. That, that window of dates, and then within those dates, they give us 60 days that we can have a waterfowl season. So with that, we know that, you know, Thanksgiving's always a traditional time for, for people to get together and hunt ducks. Is that the best time for the migration that's going on? Probably not. That's one of those social sciences that we take into account with that. Um, but I can tell you that we do maximize the time and push it as far back as we can. [0:46:31](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2791s) We'll get those dates to you, but n- no, we, we can't push it back any further than that window of dates. [0:46:40](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2800s) Is that window the same every year? [0:46:42](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2802s) It is. [0:46:43](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2803s) Okay. [0:46:44](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2804s) It is. [0:46:45](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2805s) All right. We appreciate it, and I know there's no way to predict, you know, when, when those migratory birds will be coming through. But, um, the, the, the constituent, um, his, his, I guess, ask was can we move it to the end of that date range the feds give, give us. [0:47:02](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2822s) We, we, we will look at that. [0:47:03](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2823s) Mm-hmm. [0:47:04](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2824s) If there is any wiggle room, we can certainly look at the migration patterns and dates and see if, what we can do. [0:47:10](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2830s) All right. Thank you. [0:47:11](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2831s) To make it as late as possible. Yes, sir. [0:47:14](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2834s) Thanks, sir. Representative Williams? [0:47:17](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2837s) Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you, Commissioner. Um, I've seen a lot of commissioners, got to work with a lot of, I'm the longest serving person by a lot on this committee. I've been on this committee for 23 years. [0:47:32](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2852s) All right. [0:47:33](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2853s) And I've seen most of them. But you do an excellent job. [0:47:36](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2856s) Thank you. [0:47:36](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2856s) Appreciate what you do, and certainly, you know, through the follow through and everything, we appreciate what you did down at, uh, Sapelo. Very tragic situation that you got out in front of. I would like to ask that, at your convenience, I'd like to discuss some leases that are in effect, that we have down on the coast. [0:47:58](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2878s) Okay. [0:47:58](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2878s) Certainly like to talk to you about that. We can do that offline, but- [0:48:02](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2882s) Yes, sir [0:48:02](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2882s) ... thank you and your team, and especially Doug. You know, I'm a little partial to the coastal district, so had to ba- give him a little shout-out. But thank you so much for it all, all your team does. [0:48:14](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2894s) Thank you, sir. [0:48:16](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2896s) Thank you. Representative McClain? [0:48:20](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2900s) Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to say thank you too, Mr. Commissioner, for all, all y'all do, because, um, I'm just glad that, uh, that you are going for $10. But, you know, I do still have some of those fixed income communities and old folks, and they be saying to you, and I say, "Hey, come on." Uh, but at least you got them off of the fishing license, 'cause, 'cause at first they were complaining about the fishing, and now it's kind of like, okay, well, so I like you coming back each and every year with something different. No, just kidding. [0:48:49](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2929s) Yeah. [0:48:49](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2929s) But I do want to say thank you, too. But I know, I heard you say that we lost, you lost about 250,000, 300,000 with Fern. [0:48:57](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2937s) Yes, sir. [0:48:57](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2937s) Um, and you, you, you need, you got that? Or are you... We got, the reason I'm saying it, 'cause I was just talk, talking about two things, and I didn't want the, the fee to go up, and I didn't want the license fee to go up either, so. [0:49:09](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2949s) No. Well, yes, I would tell you that we're, we're gonna make it up. If you're on any of the social medias, you will see that our parks division is pushing out all kind of deals about the parks that we do have open. So we're trying to get those people that canceled those reservations to come back at another time or go to another property so that we can make up those funds. Um, and they do a great job of marketing what we offer. But, uh, no, we hope to make those funds back up. [0:49:38](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2978s) Thank you. I just, I just put those two items out there that, you know, just leave my fishing license alone and I'll- [0:49:44](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2984s) Yes, sir [0:49:45](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2985s) ... it is true. Thank you. [0:49:46](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2986s) Yes, sir. [0:49:48](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2988s) Representative Dunahoo? [0:49:49](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=2989s) Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, I would like the coordinates as to where you're dumping all the, uh, reefs and everything, so if I could get that, would be great. Um, but seriously, thank you. Thank you very much for what you do. And, you know, we had a debacle here on Memorial Day with the Corps of Engineers, and Brent Cox and I spent about 36 hours, Mobile, different places we called. And the gentleman right back here, Thomas, I, I appreciate when I reached out to you. [0:50:20](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3020s) I told a lot of people we had a plan here. Means you guys did. And not everybody understood that. We had people that were upset. I probably had 300 or 400 calls that day, texts and emails, 'cause I used to fish pretty seriously. All the fishing industry was getting into it. And when I told them that, they were like, "You're kidding me." I said, "Georgia, we have a great DNR. We have a great group of guys that's gonna get it done." And we want to keep bragging on y'all about that, because you need to be lifted up for doing what's right. Now, we still are having a little bit of problem here and there. [0:50:51](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3051s) It looks like a lot of us are gonna, on Lake Lanier, start taking over certain ramps. Hopefully, we've done a few. But, um, I just want to compliment you again, and if I ever need you, I hope we'll do that again, because that assured a lot of people that were very ill that something was gonna be done. [0:51:09](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3069s) Good. [0:51:09](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3069s) And, you know. [0:51:09](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3069s) Good. [0:51:09](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3069s) But thank you. [0:51:10](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3070s) No, that was a l- a long weekend. [0:51:12](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3072s) Yes, it was. Yes, it was. [0:51:13](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3073s) Um, holiday weekend, but, and as you know, we have met with the Corps. They've been great partners- [0:51:18](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3078s) Right [0:51:19](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3079s) ... for decades now, back when Moe Thrash was a little boy. Guess he left. [0:51:23](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3083s) Met Robert E. Lee, yeah. [0:51:24](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3084s) Yeah. But, um, no, it, it, they, they're a great partner, and we have carried on those conversations, not just that weekend, but we have ongoing conversations with them now. [0:51:35](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3095s) Well, thank you very much. [0:51:37](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3097s) Thank you. Representative Huddleston? [0:51:40](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3100s) Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for allowing me to be a part of the committee today. Thank you, Commissioner, and all your team members for what you do for the state and, and, uh, the opportunities that we have. Um, uh, in my district, I have West Point Management Area that has a shooting range, and I believe you had up there on your, one of your slides, there was 46 shooting ranges within the state. I've had some asks within my area, uh, just to educate me on, are there usually full-time range supervisors at those, or do we just depend upon the, uh, natural resource officers of opening and closing, and is it due to funding that may be keeping from having, uh, the full-time, uh, safety officers there? [0:52:16](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3136s) I think that was a yes, yes, no, yes. [0:52:20](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3140s) Um- [0:52:21](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3141s) Okay. [0:52:21](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3141s) So do you- [0:52:22](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3142s) No, we, we do. We, uh, we do have a number of shooting ranges, and we have a lot of partners that we partner with, too, on a number of other shooting ranges across the state. We do maintain some type of supervision at all of our ranges. Um, some of our partners, and I speak of, like, national forests, the US National Forests- Some of those ranges may not be manned, you know, the whole time that they're open. Um, so we may have some oversight there, but there may not be an individual there. [0:52:54](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3174s) I do think West Point is one that we, we do maintain full-time staff there. [0:53:00](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3180s) Thank you, Steve. [0:53:01](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3181s) Thank you. [0:53:03](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3183s) Thank you. I think that wraps, wraps up the questions, but I had one. Um, just- [0:53:10](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3190s) I- [0:53:10](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3190s) Oh, I'm sorry [0:53:11](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3191s) ... that's not, I'm- [0:53:12](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3192s) You go, go ahead. [0:53:13](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3193s) I'm sorry. I apologize. Thank you very much for this information. I am from Cherokee County, and we have a overload of deer population coming into our neighborhoods. There is not a day that I drive out of my neighborhood that I don't see probably 20 or 30 deer just eating away, having a grand time. Are we doing anything about, um, the population in Cherokee County, which is around Lake Allatoona, of course? And my second question is, the Corps closed some parks around, um, Lake Allatoona in Cherokee County, and w- do you know if those will be opened again at some point, please? [0:53:51](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3231s) So, so on the deer first, we, we do encourage, we have, again, bow season is still going on in those metro counties, so we encourage, we like for our hunters to help us maintain those populations. We are just dipping our toe in the water with our OBB initiative and marrying that in some of the metro communities where there are lots of deer, lots of opportunities to harvest, and then when that harvest takes place, it saves your rose bushes and all your other shrubs as well. [0:54:22](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3262s) So we're working towards that, but we, we do have an urban, uh, wildlife program within our Wildlife Resources Division. They are day in and day out in those homeowners, uh, homeowner associations educating the best ways to help manage those deer populations. And then the, the core question on Allatoona, a few of their ramps were kind of lumped in with what Representative Dunnahoo was talking about earlier. [0:54:53](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3293s) Um, again, we're in conversations with the Corps on how to keep those open, how we can work as partners so that those opportunities don't go away for our boaters and anglers. [0:55:04](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3304s) Thank you. [0:55:05](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3305s) Thank you. Um, the question I was gonna ask is, I know last year we had, we had made great strides. I think we only had seven or nine counties that did not have a game warden, and you mentioned a new academy. How's that looking now? [0:55:22](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3322s) It's still a challenge, the recruitment and retention of our law enforcement officers, not just law enforcement officers, but particularly our law enforcement officers. We have a number, I don't know what that number is. We probably have not whittled that number down from what we gave you last year. Um, normal attrition, we've had a few that have retired throughout the year. We've had a few that thought they were going to greener pastures. S- every now and then, some of them want to come back to our pasture, which is good too. Um, but no, it's an ongoing battle in the profession of law enforcement and getting, you know, young people interested in coming in and enforcing the law. [0:56:01](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3361s) But so far we're, we're meeting the demands, um, with what we can withhold with our budget and with our available positions that we have. So, um, we're in a m- in a good place with that number. [0:56:12](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3372s) I might have been looking at my phone. How many people do we have in the academy, did you say? [0:56:16](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3376s) What'd I say? 23. [0:56:18](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3378s) 23. [0:56:19](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3379s) 23. [0:56:19](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3379s) Okay. Good. [0:56:20](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3380s) Yep. [0:56:20](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3380s) Thank you. [0:56:21](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3381s) And then our, the window on our dates, and it closed, but it did, and he, Chairman LaHood left, it does go to the end of January, so we'll look at shifting those dates. I think it went out January 20th. [0:56:32](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3392s) 25th, I think, was the... Wasn't that the last day? [0:56:36](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3396s) I think it was just flex day. [0:56:37](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3397s) So we, it's the, here, here's the windows. So we have a early teal window that allows us to construct dates from September 1st through the 30th, and then for regular ducks, the Saturday nearest to September the 24th through January 31st, and then I was correct with the 60 days in there. So we'll, Chris is certainly taking notes, and, uh, we'll go back to our team and see if we can push it back till the end of the month. [0:57:08](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3428s) Okay. That'd be great. Well, I sure thank you. I don't have my, uh, screen blinking anymore. Does anybody else have any thoughts or questions or discussion? [0:57:59](https://vimeo.com/1158921638#t=3479s) You have