Video-SCDNR Cat 1 WMA MISMANAGEMENT

[Tranquility]

What can be done at Samworth to bring ducks back to that area?
You, Charles, Taylor Hill, Pipe Down, whitehouse, etc don’t have the ducks in that area anymore. Chicora Wood has spent millions to attract the ducks they have. The state can’t spend the same money at Samworth at the expense of the rest of the Cat 1s.
Look at the expense SCANA had with Ramsey
Grove?
Good moist soil management is the only thing that’s feasible at Samworth. If there are ducks around, good, if not, that’s unfortunate. To try and plant Samworth would take resources away from every other Cat1.

[Quackhead22]

What can be done at Samworth to bring ducks back to that area?
You, Charles, Taylor Hill, Pipe Down, whitehouse, etc don’t have the ducks in that area anymore. Chicora Wood has spent millions to attract the ducks they have. The state can’t spend the same money at Samworth at the expense of the rest of the Cat 1s.
Look at the expense SCANA had with Ramsey
Grove?
Good moist soil management is the only thing that’s feasible at Samworth. If there are ducks around, good, if not, that’s unfortunate. To try and plant Samworth would take resources away from every other Cat1.

Exactly! Gonna be hard to compete with CW!!


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[BOGSTER]

Samworth, Delta West, Delta East, Donnelley, Bonneau Ferry, and Sandy Beach should all be sold and the monies from should be spent on building green tree reservoirs up and down the Santee River corridor from Packs Landing down to Wee Tee. IF public hunting opportunity really is priority. I, for one, have never believed it is.

GTRs have proven to be the best case for Joe public to get the most out of his tax dollar, with minimal cost and management from the state.
But most in the House, Senate, and DNR turn a blind eye to that fact.

We’ll continue to pump money and resources into failing properties that the state can’t manage all because our nostalgia with tidewater impoundments. It’s absurd.


In other news, return management of South Island back to the Yawkey Foundation and let them manage their own land.
Stop utilizing State resources for a private org.

I’m not wrong, I just have unpopular opinions.

[Tranquility]

Delta East and West will both be fine areas in the next year barring massive damage from this oncoming freshet. The new dikes and trunks at DE are incredible, DW is headed that way as well.
BF and Samworth are in areas that used to be great duck hunting. Not so much in the last 20 years. Nobody on the East Branch of the Cooper River had had birds in many moons, same with PeeDee except a couple special cases

[Catdaddy]

Exactly! Gonna be hard to compete with CW!!


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Wasn't CW mostly ringnecks until this year?

If so, what caused the turnaround?

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[BOGSTER]

Point made - for 20yrs they have been a cost to the state at no benefit to the taxpayer that funds them. Sell them.
Delta West hasn’t been a productive property (mallards or otherwise) for 12 seasons.
Do we need to discuss Delta East?

The juice isn’t worth the squeeze on these properties and anyone that doesn’t lick short bus windows knows that.

[DRDUCK]

Samworth, Delta West, Delta East, Donnelley, Bonneau Ferry, and Sandy Beach should all be sold and the monies from should be spent on building green tree reservoirs up and down the Santee River corridor from Packs Landing down to Wee Tee. IF public hunting opportunity really is priority. I, for one, have never believed it is.

GTRs have proven to be the best case for Joe public to get the most out of his tax dollar, with minimal cost and management from the state.
But most in the House, Senate, and DNR turn a blind eye to that fact.

We’ll continue to pump money and resources into failing properties that the state can’t manage all because our nostalgia with tidewater impoundments. It’s absurd.


In other news, return management of South Island back to the Yawkey Foundation and let them manage their own land.
Stop utilizing State resources for a private org.

I’m not wrong, I just have unpopular opinions.

I am with you on that statement, BUT!!!!!!

[bitesize]

Samworth, Delta West, Delta East, Donnelley, Bonneau Ferry, and Sandy Beach should all be sold.

Think that’s the goal here!

[Quackhead22]

Wasn't CW mostly ringnecks until this year?

If so, what caused the turnaround?

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Consistency. And no they’ve been killing mixed bags for a couple of years now.


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[Quackhead22]

If Samworth were sold to someone with pockets deep enough to manage the property the right way I would say it’s a win win for the state and the public water hunter! I say just sell the duck ponds and a section of the upland for the buyer to build a shop/house. There has been a lot of really good work done to the dove fields there and I’d hate to see the state lose that.


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[Tranquility]

It’s a new day on the Delta. DW/ DE are headed in the right direction.

[sprigdog]

When does the day arrive and y'all just admit SC is a has been. A "used too" state.
Used to have ducks. Never coming back.
I lived there from 2006 to 2013. I'd lived in 9 states prior. It saddens me to see this. SC truly has the worst waterfowling than any state in the nation. Brutal. If the litmus test is wait 4 years and hunt for 4 hours and not shoot a limit. Here's your sign. Y'all cuss and hate me for even mentioning this, but I joined SC ducks in 2006. The exact same complaints were prolific on this site. It is what it is. No Cat 1 improvement will fix this. I can get enough points in western states to kill a great bull or buck in 4 years while you wait for a teal/wigeon shoot that lasts 4 hours.
Open it up.
Carry on.

[Duck Tape]

Canal is planting upland impoundments.

[Tranquility]

You are right Curtis.
You are wrong on one count though, opening Cat 1s up to daily pressure would destroy what’s left of a “ has been.”

[sprigdog]

You are right Curtis.
You are wrong on one count though, opening Cat 1s up to daily pressure would destroy what’s left of a “ has been.”

We obviously know each other!??!
Not daily. 3 days a week. It's a conundrum.
I will never ever forget the day I drove across the bridge heading into Georgetown on 17. I looked left I looked right. Had a giant smile on my face thinking how absolutely beautiful the duck habitat looked.
I do know SC hates change. I sat in many WAC meetings and going from 50 to 60 day seasons seemed like the idea was spawned from the devil. WE got it changed though. Same with a 3 woody limit.
My absolute without a doubt observation. Hunting "free roam" no reservations 3 days a week on tidal CAT 1's will actually improve hunting for everyone. There is absolutely zero chance they will get too pressured. Murphy too big and muddy. Cedar too big. Cape too big. You can't really wade far. The edges will get hunted. Zero motorized access. A few younger folks may get centered. Hell, it's 2.5 miles from any dike to the middle of Murphy. I won't even hike 2.5 miles 1 way for a bull elk.
Y'all keep trying to figure it out. Good luck. I can assure you what you've been doing or trying to do sucks donkey balls. Change ain't always bad.

[Tranquility]

This leads me to the question, if the habitat sucks so bad, why would you want to hunt it all the time?

[Dog Man]

If private landowners on adjacent properties, managing the same wet soil ricefields as Samworth,can produce ducks Year in and year out and DNR cannot,there needs to be a major management change. These management changes need to start at the top. Deputy Director Emily Cope hired these managers. I want everybody to ask themselves, would this be allowed in the private sector? It starts at the top! If a company’s sales were down 64% over the past 13 years,like CAT 1 WMA’s,the company would have been bankrupt many years ago. SCDNR waterfowl management is bankrupt.
A good manager does not allow breaches to get out of control. A dike breach starts as a small,shallow ditch. If not attended to over many months it becomes a major,expensive issue. Emily Cope put in a report in 2022 that Samworth WMA had experienced 50 breaches. My property 2 miles north has experienced no breaches since before Hugo. It is all about how you manage your dikes. 50 breaches is indicative of no management.
I could write a novel about what needs to change. The requirement that managers on CAT 1 WMAs be biologist (Masters Degrees) must change. This literally means a manager must have a degree studying turtles,squirrels,etc. None of these degrees should qualify somebody to manage a CAT 1 WMA. None of these CAT 1 biologist majored in Ricefield management. The rapidly declining harvest numbers support this. The best managers I know graduated from Tech’s Forestry and Wildlife programs. SCWA also has a training program that produces great managers.
Deputy Director Emily Cope reported in 2022 that 8 of the ricefields at Samworth WMA had completed infrastructure repairs and were operational. Why were these ricefields not worked during the summer of 2022?Why weren’t these ricefields hunted during the 2022/23 season? This is not bad management this is horrible management at the expense of the public waterfowler and the waterfowl resource.
It continues to get worse. Santee Delta East,Santee Delta West and Samworth WMAs were not even flooded for the first split of this season(2023/24). What kind of waterfowl management is that? How would you feel if you were a public waterfowler who took the day off to take his son or daughter hunting and unbeknownst to him the ricefield he setup beside was dry. THIS IS STATE GOVERNMENT AT ITS WORST!
These are several of many changes that need to take place. Totally change the staffing of the waterfowl segment of the Wildlife Division starting at the top.
Get rid of “diplomas” and staff these properties with qualified individuals willing and capable of doing the job.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WATERFOWLERS CAN DO TO HELP CORRECT THIS PROBLEM IS E-MAIL THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. THE CONTACT INSTRUCTIONS ARE AT THE END OF THE VIDEO. LET THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY KNOW YOUR FRUSTRATION WITH DNR.

[DRDUCK]

This leads me to the question, if the habitat sucks so bad, why would you want to hunt it all the time?

It's just like usuc football, there is always hope that it will happen,

[bitesize]

Duck hunting is age old example of haves and have nots- this is but a small view into that reality!

[Dog Man]

If Samworth was managed properly for wet soil plants and flooded to the correct depth, it would hold a-lot of ducks. It is all about management. Samworth, Delta East and Delta West were not even flooded for the first split of this season. That is horrible management at the expense of the public waterfowler and the resource.
I am not going to speak for other land owners but our harvest in wet soil fields has been better than average this year. It can be done with good management. This is what DNR is lacking.
If you want to make a difference e-mail the General Assembly and express you frustration. The e-mail instructions are at the end of the video.
Also,if you would e-mail your name and e-mail address to
historicricefieldsassociation@gmail.com
I will put you on our contact list.