Oakridge Ranch Wildlife Management Association
Weimar, Texas
Volunteers from Oakridge Ranch Wildlife Management Association (ORWMA) showed up Saturday April 9, 2022, to pick up litter on County Road 215. On the 3.1 miles from the North Gate to County Road 215, about 8 bags of trash were picked up. Thanks to everyone who participated.
To All Oakridge Landowners,
Well, 2022 is here and as we begin a new year, I would like to take a moment to let everyone what is happening. As you may or may not know, ORWMA no longer issues doe permits. This is now done through the State on the Texas Parks & Wildlife Landowner Management Assistance (LMA) website. In the past, ORWMA charged a $30 participation fee to issue permits. This fee is now paid directly to the State of Texas and ORWMA receives nothing.
All Oakridge Ranch property owners are considered inactive members of ORWMA when they buy property in Oakridge Ranch. To be considered an active member and be part of the Managed Land Deer Program (MLDP) sponsored by TPWD you must pay your ORWMA dues, register your property on the LMA website, and pay your $30 participation fee to the State of Texas. It is the goal of ORWMA that all Oakridge property owners become active members and active participants in all ORWMA activities so that our area of the Oak Prairie region of Texas may continue to thrive under our leadership and stewardship of this land
Besides the MLD program, ORWMA hosts various wildlife/habitat related seminars during the year, social events such as the annual Fish Fry, picks up trash on County Road 215 (you may have seen the sign on the way into the Ranch) and hosts the Texas Youth Hunt.
ORWMA is also a member of CCWMA (Colorado County Wildlife Management Association) and contributes to the annual spring banquet, which raises money for scholarships for Colorado County youth. To date, CCWMA has awarded over $130,000 in scholarships.
Dues for ORWMA members are payable January 1st of each year. Dues will be going up to $25 this year. With the loss of revenue from the doe permit fees, we find ourselves having to reevaluate our situation. ORWMA cannot continue to exist in our current form unless everyone pays their dues. ORWMA cannot survive on just dues alone but also depends on the generous donations from our members. Dues can be dropped in the ORWMA mailbox or mailed to:
ORWMA
1904B Oakridge Rd
Weimar TX 78962
Thank you for your support.
Earl Fly
ORWMA President
Following the October 3 ORWMA Board Meeting the following results are announced:
Vice President – Steve Jaap reelected
Whitetail Deer Chairperson – Vernon Wallace
Secretary/Treasurer – Position unfilled
The term is for 2 years and will begin January 1, 2022.
Earl Fly
ORWMA President
1. In person burn seminar, September 24 http://orwma.org/event/texas-am-agrilife-extension-fire-seminar-at-weimar-civic-center-1754-ih-10/
2. When the deer checker information is finalized I will send out the list of contact information. I will also include Scorer information.
3. According to Mark Lange we should be getting an email later in the week about printing tags. DO NOT REPRINT TAGS! This is a felony! Ask Mark if you have any issues.
4. Our next board meeting is October 3 at 2:00 pm at the Community Center.
YOUTH HUNT – November 19-21, 2021
1. If you wish to donate a blind (that can sit at least 2 people) please email oakridgewildlifemanagement@gmail.com and I will forward to Keith and Vernon.
2. We will have a ranch wide dinner on Saturday, November 20. More details to come.
3. If you wish to help, please email oakridgewildlifemanagement@gmail.com and I will include you when the planning meeting is scheduled.
Well, it’s August, Friday the 13th and summer is finally here. The February freeze and May rains are behind us. We can look forward to a couple months of warm temperatures before things begin to cool off.
Herd Composition Sheets have been mailed out and spotlight surveys are being held every Saturday night in August. If you want to participate, we meet at the Community Center at 8:30 pm and head out at dark.
This year’s Fall Meeting (formerly known as the Doe Permit Meeting) will be held September 11th at 9 am at the Community Center. Mark Lange the Wildlife Biologist will be present to explain the new rules and regulations. By now, everyone should know that if you want doe permits, you must have signed up on the Land Management Access (LMA) website. Your ORWMA dues ($20) must be current, and you need to have paid your $30 fee to the State of Texas on the LMA website. If you have done this, you will print your own doe tags. If you haven’t, then you can only hunt with the tags from your license, which means bucks only and does on the 4 county wide doe days in November.
The September ORWMA Board Meeting will be held September 4th at 4 pm at the Community Center. All Landowners are invited to attend. If you are interested in serving on the ORWMA Board, please come to our board meetings. Elections will be held at the October ORWMA Board Meeting on October 3rd at 2 pm at the Community Center.
Also, this year ORWMA is again planning on hosting a Texas Youth Hunt November 19-21. The Texas Youth Hunting Program (TYHP) was formed with the Texas Wildlife Association and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in 1996 to provide opportunities for youth to participate in hunting activities safely, legally, and ethically, while learning about the role landowners and hunters play in wildlife conservation. If you want to volunteer a deer stand or help in any way, drop us a line at the e-mail below. Or come to one of the board meetings. We are still in the early planning stages, so we will be sending out further communications as we firm things up.
Earl Fly
President
Oakridge Ranch Wildlife Association
1. Deer spotlighting is every Saturday night in August. Meet at the community center at 8:30 pm if you wish to participate.
2. It is VERY IMPORTANT that you fill out your deer census and turn it into Jerry. If you don’t, your doe permits could be in jeopardy. VERY IMPORTANT!!! Attached is Mark Lange’s letter to all the WMA,s, but we made it specific to Oakridge. The second document is the herd composition form and instructions.
3. The fall meeting (doe permit meeting) is September 11, 2021 at 9:00 am at the community center with Mark Lange.
4. The next ORWMA meeting is September 12, 2021 at 4:00 pm at the community center.5. The Texas youth hunt is November 19-21. If you wish to donate a stand, get with Vernon vwallace@satyainc.com or Keith kpete7777@gmail.com. Saturday night will be a dinner and the ranch is invited. Please bring a side dish or dessert. The meats will be brisket and sausage. Also, the kids need something to do on Saturday so if you wish to allow fishing at your pond, please let Vernon know.