2009-2010 Annual Report - Alabama Department of Conservation ...

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operational. It must be recognized that as others have added these
job responsibilities, some of their other duties and responsibilities
have been pushed aside or not completed with the thoroughness
normally expected. For the section to accomplish all that it can and
be as prepared for the future as practically could be expected, this
position must be filled.
The loss of leased land and the threat of losing leased land in
Wildlife Management Areas is a significant problem. During the
year we worked with Forever Wild in an effort to secure long term
(ninety-plus years) leases on two WMAs. Both of those areas are
near Birmingham and serve a high population area. Approximately
4,000 acres were withdrawn from the Coosa WMA. All of the leased
land was withdrawn from Kinterbish WMA resulting in the closure
of that WMA. Twenty acres at the Kinterbish WMA owned by WFF
was disposed of under the Alabama Land Sales and Lease Act. Land
lost is usually closed to the public and leased to a relatively small
number of individuals. More leased land is likely to be lost in the
future. The Wildlife Section will attempt to lease or purchase other
lands and provide additional incentives to encourage landowners
to include lands in the program. We will also continue to work with
Forever Wild in an effort to purchase land for public hunting.
A serious discrepancy exists between the salaries of Wildlife
Section biologists who are certified law enforcement officers and
the few who are not. The difference is as great as 22 percent in
the top salaries of some classifications. Division administrators
recognize such salary inequities can and do affect morale and work
performance and continue to seek a solution to this problem.
Funding for the Nongame Wildlife Program is not adequate.
Revenue from the income tax check-off is minimal. Funds from
federal initiatives are becoming available but they require a state
matching share of 25 to 50 percent. Additional sources of revenue
are required to meet this need.
Nuisance wildlife problems continue to grow, especially as more
of the public is urban and is not familiar with dealing with wildlife
issues. As the Division becomes more active in dealing with these
issues it will present challenges for time management and funding
to deal with this non-traditional wildlife issue.
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Sport shooting is closely related to hunting activities and it is
important for the public to have safe areas to participate in that
sport. We will continue our efforts to increase developed shooting
and archery range sites.
We plan to continue the youth dove hunting program by offering
youth dove hunting sites across the state next year. This program
has not only been popular with young hunters, it has opened
many new areas for public hunting and has helped to create new
partnerships. It has also brought national attention to our program.
We will also maintain and continue to add sites to the Hunting Trail
for People with Physical Disabilities.
The Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries is cooperating
with the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Southwick and
Associates, and Responsive Management to develop a survey of
hunters who have purchased a hunting license in recent years
but not this hunting season. Our goal is to determine reasons
existing hunters do not purchase a license annually and to develop
a communication or outreach program to recruit them back into
the ranks of active hunters. Fully understanding reasons for not
hunting each year is becoming increasingly more important as we
try to maximize public support.
Most wildlife in Alabama resides on private land. For that and other
reasons we plan to increase and improve efforts to engage private
landowners and offer assistance that better helps them manage
their property.
The Forever Wild Program sunsets in 2012. We will be working with
division and agency personnel as appropriate to seek passage of
reauthorizing legislation.
On a trial basis we will employ wildlife biologists who will work for
both the Wildlife and Enforcement Sections at various times of the
year. The goals are to provide increased assistance to the public
to manage wildlife and to increase law enforcement presence and
effectiveness at critical times of the year.
Future Plans
n The Wildlife Section will continue operating WMAs for outdoor
recreation. Every effort will be made to add acreage to WMAs,
including contacts with corporate and private landowners and
working with the Forever Wild program to identify appropriate
tracts of land to purchase.
ALDCNR 09-10 Annual Report 55