To enter the White Tail contest you can sign up here https://ccwma.org/payment-center/ . Remember for online entries, if you are not paying dues for one of the WMAs you do not need to select a WMA for the contest, if you harvest a buck the scorer will mark on the data sheet which WMA it was from. For online entry select the number of hunters to enter and then enter the same number of names below. If you enter by mail you can include all the names you would like to enter and payment at $20 per person. Keep in mind there are deadlines on entry, get it in ASAP so you don’t forget and there will be entry forms at the fall meetings.
To add to it, if you check a buck in that doesn’t place you could win $100 gift card just for checking it in and being entered in the contest.
The herd comp counts were due the first week of September and dues plus the MLD fee need to be paid ASAP if you haven’t already. Mark Lange will be issuing tags in the next week or so only to properties that have completed everything. So if you have counts they need to be turned in to Jerry Rogers via email at Jerry.Rogers@mcdermott.com very soon and dues need to be paid to your leadership or online at ccwma.org under payment center. The MLD via needs to be paid at https://lma.tpwd.state.tx.us/ by logging in and clicking the shopping cart on the upper right. Currently we have roughly half of the properties signed up in MLD that have returned herd comp counts, it’s a requirement to get tags so if you want tags you need to send in counts.
The ORWMA Fall Meeting (AKA the Doe Permit Meeting) will be held Saturday, September 10 th at 9 am at the Community Center. Colorado County Wildlife Biologist, Mark Lange will be present to go over new rules and regulations. In order to print out doe tags, landowners must be registered on the Texas Parks & Wildlife LMA data base. A $30 fee must be paid online to the State of Texas by October 1 st and $25 ORWMA dues must be paid by September 30 th .
The September ORWMA Board Meeting will be held Immediately following the Fall Meeting. (The ORIA Board Meeting is Sunday September 11 th at 2 pm). Among the topics for discussion will be election of ORWMA Board members that will be held at the October Board Meeting. Currently, 2 positions are up for election for a term of 2 years.
A) President (Currently Earl Fly)
Provides the administrative leadership, sets the Board Meeting Agenda and presides over Board meetings.
Maintains the by-laws and interprets by-law questions for the association. B) Communications Chairperson (Currently Angie Peters)
Will post events/news on the ORWMA website and ORWMA Facebook page.
Will ensure that advertising events and notices of events are emailed to Landowners through the ORWMA g-mail account.
Will prepare calendar of events/news to be turned in to ORIA for quarterly newsletter.
Will help to maintain ORWMA Bulletin Boards at North & South gates.
In addition, the President is also a member of the Colorado County Wildlife Management Association (CCWMA) Leadership Team. In this role the President helps in the planning and execution of the CCWMA Spring Banquet. The President also takes part in the CCWMA Scholarship selection process.
Also, up for discussion at the board meeting, will be the November Youth Hunt. We are looking for cash donations, landowners to volunteer deer stands, and volunteers to help with the event.
Hope to see you Saturday Earl Fly President Oakridge Ranch Wildlife Management Association.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the spotlight surveys, not only to those who rode in the trucks and counted deer, but to those who bought all the goodies, such as chips, dips, cheese, crackers, sausage, cookies, cakes, pies, wine, etc. The list goes on. We had a great time visiting with old friends and new neighbors. Hopefully, we can do it again next year.
Next up, the Herd Composition forms need to be turned in to Jerry Rogers by the first week of September. The forms can be emailed to Jerry at jerry.rogers@mcdermott.com, or mailed or dropped off at his mailbox at 1128 Starridge Road. Please remember to total the columns at the bottom of the form. Jerry will then submit our information to Mark Lange.
The Oakridge WMA Fall Meeting (AKA doe permit meeting) with Mark Lange will be held September 10th at 9 am at the Community Center. The September ORWMA Board meeting will be held immediately following the doe permit meeting. Among the topics will be discussion to elect the ORWMA President and Communications Chairperson at the October Board Meeting. If interested in serving as ORWMA President or Communications Chairperson, I will send out the roles and responsibilities as defined in the ORWMA Bylaws. Also, up for discussion will be the upcoming Youth Hunt scheduled for November 18-20. We are looking for landowners who want to volunteer their deer stands (must be registered on LMA). We are also looking for cash donations to help fund the event as well as volunteers to help with the event. This includes setting up, as well as cooks and servers.
Thanks again to everyone who participated in the spotlight surveys. Hope to see you September 10th.
Earl Fly
President Oakridge Ranch Wildlife Management Association
As Bob Dylan might say, “You don’t need a weatherman to know it’s hot and dry”. (Oops, I’m showing my age). It is so hot and dry the trees are dropping their leaves and I’m seeing tons of tiny acorns that have also fallen. I don’t think there are going to be any acorns for the deer to eat this fall. That should be good for the hunters since the deer should be coming to the feeders. The armadillos are digging for water and the deer are hungry now. Protein is best to feed now if you are able.
Spotlight surveys will be held every Saturday & Wednesday night in August. The Saturday night surveys we want to make into a social event like we did in the past. This will be a good time to meet your neighbors or just chit chat with friends. You can bring cheese & crackers, chips & dip, or whatever you want. The spot lighters will meet at the Community Center at 8:30 pm and head out at dark. If you want to ride one of the trucks you can let Jerry Rogers (jerry.rogers@mcdermott.com), Angie Konvicka (rucajun2@yahoo.com), or Vernon Wallace (vwallace@satyainc.com) know.
Herd Composition Sheets will be mailed out in the near future. If you want doe permits, you MUST fill this out and turn in to Jerry Rogers by September 1st. Speaking of doe permits, you should also know that you must be registered on the Texas Parks & Wildlife Land Management Access (LMA) website https://lma.tpwd.state.tx.us). The deadline for doing this was June 30th. You need to have paid your $30 fee to the State of Texas on the LMA website. And your ORWMA dues ($25) must be current. ORWMA dues can be mailed to:
ORWMA
1904B Oakridge Rd
Weimar TX 78962
Or we now have the option of paying our $25 dues on the CCWMA website.
https://ccwma.org/payment-center/.
You can also enter the CCWMA Big Buck contest on the same website. The deadline for paying the
$30 to the State and your ORWMA dues is September 30th. If you have done this, you will be able to print your own doe tags. If you did not register, 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.
This year’s Fall Meeting (formerly known as the Doe Permit Meeting) will be held September 10th at 9 am at the Community Center. Mark Lange the Wildlife Biologist will be present to explain the new rules and regulations.
The September ORWMA Board Meeting will be held at the Community Center immediately following the above mentioned Fall Meeting. All Landowners are invited to attend. If you are interested in serving on the ORWMA Board, Elections will be held at the October ORWMA Board Meeting (date to be announced TBA).
Also, this year ORWMA is again planning to host a Texas Youth Hunt in November. 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.
ORWMA met yesterday and Yolanda Gonzalez was appointed as the new event chairperson. We thank Lisa Kelly for her past service.
Deer season preparation will start next month. There will be spotlighting every Wednesday and Saturday evenings in August. We also HAVE TO FILL OUT AND TURN IN DEER COMPOSITION worksheets or Mark Lange said no permits for you! More detailed information on both to follow so don’t panic. Earl is getting this all together.
The annual Doe Permit Meeting will be September 19 at 6:30 pm at the Community Center. Annual Dues of $20 and Participation Fee of $20 must both be current.
The Colorado County Wildlife
Management Association’s Spring Banquet is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Saturday,
March 16th, 2019 at the Columbus Hall (formerly K.C. Hall) in Columbus,
Texas. We will have a full catered barbecue meal at 6:00 p.m. with free
soft drinks and beer while it lasts. Meal tickets will be $10 for adults
and $5 for kids 12 and under. There is no cost to attend if you don’t
plan to eat.
We will have our big raffle, bucket raffles, scoring contest and card raffle items. We will also have many vendors with nice merchandise to look over and purchase. The 2018 Scholarship winners and the Whitetail Contest winners will be recognized.
Bring your buck mounts and be eligible to win one of five $50 gift certificates. All bucks harvested on C.C.W.M.A. property in 2018 and over the past years are welcomed and will be appreciated and enjoyed by all. Make sure they can be hung for viewing. Also bring your game cam and regular photos for the Photo Contest. We will have Will Newman with Pheasants Forever talk about habitat incentive programs and your options as a landowner to get cost share money to improve wildlife habitat. The general public is also invited to attend this family friendly event.
SURVEY DATES:
We conduct our annual deer survey during the month of August. We encourage all who are interested in the road survey we do to come on out. Surveys will begin and end at Jim Trickett’s house LOCATED AT 1278 Oakridge Rd. You may bring a beverage of your choice.
Saturday, Aug 12 Gather at 7:15PM, Start at 8:00PM Visit while trucks are out if not counting
Saturday, Aug 19 (Taylor Reunion) Come on out and visit
Friday, Aug 25 Gather at 7:15PM, Start at 8:00PM Visit while trucks are out if not counting
Your personal survey results should be turned in to Jim Trickett no later than September 1st.
ANNUAL PERMIT MEETING
Saturday, September 23, 9:00AM at the Community Center
ORWMA Dues $20 / Deer Hunt Participation Fee $20
There are several new regulations that will impact hunters at Oakridge that will be discussed at this meeting
Due to a change in TPWD regulations ORWMA will be responsible for printing the doe permits and will have them at this meeting
A list of deer checkers with their contact information will be provided at the meeting.
If you don’t attend this meeting and pickup your permits then they will be available by appointment only
DOE SEASON
September 30, 2017 to February 28, 2018
Does may be taken with a MLD permit only
Does may be harvested with any legal means (firearm, bow, crossbow, muzzle loader etc.) during this season.
All does must be checked in with an ORWMA deer checker or the TPWD biologist. The deer must be field dressed when checked in.
You will receive a replacement permit each time you check in a doe.
BUCK SEASONS
The TPWD seasons, restrictions, and bag limits for Colorado County apply. For example: September 30 – November 3 is Archery Only Season, Bucks may only be harvested with archery equipment. Youth, General, and Muzzleloader seasons and restrictions all apply to buck harvest.
All bucks must be checked in with an ORWMA deer checker or the TPWD biologist. The deer must be field dressed when checked in.
Bucks are tagged with a tag from your hunting license.
If you have any questions feel free to give me a call.
Thanks,
Jack Jetton
ORWMA President
Whitetail Deer Chairman
281-910-1432
