Area turkey hunters will have extra opportunities this spring

The Latest Local News from the Rome News

As the spring turkey season approaches March 21, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources has added to its acreage at the Paulding Forest-Sheffield Wildlife Management Areas in Polk and Paulding counties.

“We’ve added a couple of large tracts over the last couple of years,” said Brent Womack, a wildlife biologist with the Georgia DNR office in Armuchee. “I hope we’ll be getting a couple more but that’s not set in stone.”

Together, Paulding Forest and Sheffield conjoined management areas now encompass more than 30,000 acres, half of it owned and permanently protected by the state and the rest is under lease.

The Paulding Forest Wildlife Management Area enjoys one of the highest harvest-to-hunter ratios for spring gobblers in all of Northwest Georgia. That has been hovering right around 10 percent for several years.

The Sheffield portion of the acreage also draws close to 600 archers each year.

“That makes for a longer season and there is no competition from firearms hunters,” Womack said.

The Paulding Forest tract has general firearms hunts that draw close to 1,000 hunters each fall.

The Paulding Forest is headwaters to Raccoon Creek, which includes the Etowah darter, a federally endangered fish species, and the Cherokee darter, listed as a threatened species.

Womack said the Etowah darter found in Raccoon Creek is genetically unique from others in the Etowah watershed.

Womack said the area would be ideal for horse or bike trails, although there are none right now.

“If we could do it (trails) in the future, we might,” Womack said. “People could ride on the open roads.”

Womack said anglers also have access off the Silver Comet Trail for a unique trout fishing experience. The spring trout season opens March 28.

Source: Rome News

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