Georgia Outdoor News

The Georgia Outdoor Network is a non-profit organization founded for the sportsmen of Georgia. The Network's mission is to preserve, protect and enhance the heritage and future of sportsmanship and the land, water and wildlife on which it depends. The Network serves two primary functions. The first is to unite sportsmen to protect the future of hunting, fishing, and wildlife conservation. Each day sportsmen face threats to hunting, fishing, gun rights, wildlife conservation, the loss of places to hunt; the list goes on. Threats come from all levels, ranging from national anti-hunting groups that file lawsuits to stop hunts; to our state legislators who rarely hear a unified voice from sportsmen and therefore often don't keep our interests in mind when passing laws; to the local county commissions and city councils that try to pass ordinances that could end our past-times in local areas. History shows that when sportsmen speak up, they rarely lose. But more times than not the meeting rooms are empty when laws and ordinances are passed. Through an extensive website and emailing system, the Network will become an information vehicle on both the local and statewide levels that protects sportmen's interests. A membership with the Network places you in a district. These districts mirror the senate districts of Georgia. One additional district will be created to include members residing outside the state, making a total of 57 districts. Each district will have one representative elected by district members. The second primary function of the Network is to offer a way for sportsmen to raise money. In an effort to promote and protect grassroots efforts, the Network will allow these local sportsmen to decide how they want to preserve, protect and enhance the wildlife opportunities in their community. The Network will help a local group of sportsmen form a local committee, then organize and conduct a banquet. The local committee gets to keep 50 percent of the money they raise. The other 50 percent goes to a statewide fund, and the Network membership gets to vote on how to spend that money, too. Half the money goes to local projects, the other half goes to a statewide fund that can do bigger projects. What can you do in your community? The Network's Hiawassee group held a banquet, and they've narrowed the projects down to a short list that includes a new handicapped-accessible boat ramp and park in downtown Hiawassee on Lake Chatuge, a food-plot program on Chattahoochee National Forest land, and local scholarships for high school students. If you'd like to become a member of the Georgia Outdoor Network, you can register online now.