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By KEITH LONG Local sportsmen have become openly concerned recently over a contract signed between the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and the Oklahoma National Guard. In effect, the contract states that the National Guard may use the Atoka Game Refuge for military practice maneuvers.Fred Holley, a local hunter from Atoka has led a charge by interested individuals In an effort to keep the National Guard out of the Refuge for fear It will damage the wildlife and hunting resources of the area.“I don’t have anything against the Guard in any way, we just feel there are better, more suitable places around for them to work,'* Holley said. *Tm just like everybody else who likes to hunt up there. We're just afraid all the jeeps and gunfire will force the wild game to leave the area. ”“We're getting a good stand of turkeys in the refuge and there aren't many turkeys around. The Guard will be in there most of the summer and that might foul up the turkey’s mating process. Besides that, there are a lot of deer in the area and they’re apt to leave if the area becomes too crowded with all that military involvement.”Holley and others have put together a petition addressed to GovernoAavid Boren in an effort to stop the military action in the refuge. Holley estimates that he has around 1,200 names on the list already and is anticipating the number to climb.the few areas left where anybody can hunt.”Dean Graham, the chief of the InformatiomEducation Division of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, has a different outlook on the situation.“I can understand how the hunters in the area feel about the situation,” Graham said from his Oklahoma City office. “Most of them feel as though the extra activity in the area will drive Off all the wildlife and reduce the hunters’ chances of a successful hunt.** ‘This is not the case at all. The National Guard has gone into a number of such areas across the state and we have seen no .adverse effects on hunting yet. The Thunderbird and Lexington Hunting Areas are two excellent examples of where the hunter and the National Guard have used the same area effectively.”The reason the contract was signed was to save tax dollars. If the Guard can use the Atpka Refuge for their maneuvers they, won’t have to travel to some distant place like Ft. Chaffey. And the Guard promised to build a rifle range in the Atoka Refuge that will be open to public use. Another thing the Guard will do is improve the road conditions in the area which will involve money we won’t have to spend.”' Even though the deal has certain monetary-gains in sight for the ODWC, Graham emphasized that the wildlife in the Refuge remains the top priority of his department.• “We’U keep the area closely monitored to make sure no detrimental effects show up among the game in the area,” Graham said. “Our biggest contem is the destruction of natural habitat that may result from military traffic in the area. Of course, tf’there is a good deal of habitat destroyed, some sort of deal will have to be worked out to stop that.“A lot of hunters have the impression the Guard will come in with a lot of vehicles and big guns and run the game from the area. This is not the case at all. Sure, a deer may m6ve a • quarter-mile to get away from the commotion, but in a few days he’ll be right back where he’s always been.“An important fact is that anytime there is an open hunting season the Guard will not be allowed in the area,” Graham added.Bill Ashley is the manager of the game refuge and had bis own sentiments about the situation. “Of course, I shouldn’t be-saying a thing about it, but J’m afraid of what may happen with all the roads that may be formed. Everything here is up and down and I’d hate to see some of the area washed away because of the new roads on the hills. V“This area is run oh money from taxes on sporting goods. It seems to me that since the bill is being footed by the sportsmen, they should have some say-so in this case,” Ashley said.Hunters Upset With (Mis)Use Of Atoka Refuge* »•***•. “Because this is an election year, maybe someone will stand up and take notice.of what we are trying to get across,” Holley said. “The bad thing about the deal is that the refuge is one of
Newspaper Details
Ada Evening News
Ada, Oklahoma, US
Sun, Sep 19, 1976
Page 15
Full Page
Clipped by
Chris N.
USA 17 Jan 2019
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