What will the Harvey WMA accomplish next?

The Harvey WMA has gone from a loose association of Texas Parks and Wildlife cooperators with a few signs on gates scattered throughout eastern Brazos County to a nonprofit corporation of landowners effectively managing bottomland hardwood and post oak savannah habitats and associated wildlife populations through landowner cooperation and education. In the last 12 months Harvey WMA has:

• Established a set of bylaws
• Acquired nonprofit corporation status from the Secretary of State's office
• Established a permanent mailing address
• Opened a bank account which now has a balance of more than $1,000
• Hosted a prescribed burn workshop where attendees learned about the benefits and techniques of prescribed burning
• Grown to more than 40 paid members representing more than 16,000 acres of land
• Created poster-size maps of all properties represented by HWMA members available for viewing at all HWMA functions
• Held a membership meeting where nearly 30 members enjoyed fajitas, beverages, a presentation on local habitat conditions, and instruction on how to age deer using the jawbone method

None of this would have been possible without the leadership of Dennis Rother, Leon Williamson, and Judy Riley. These individuals have invested many hours of their time and their own resources over the past 12 months because they felt strongly about taking care of our natural resources and the positive effects of working together as a group to accomplish this. These individuals have laid the foundation for Harvey WMA to accomplish even more for conservation and its members in the coming year.

It's now time for a new board of directors (officers). It's time for other members to step up and contribute to the Harvey WMA. If you believe that we can more effectively manage the lands of eastern Brazos County by working together, you enjoy sociallizing with your neighbors and other like-minded landowners, and you want to learn more about how to improve the quality of your property for wildlife, I'm convinced you're more than qualified to be the President, Secretary, or Treasurer of the Harvey WMA. As a member of the board of directors, you'll help plan at least 2 general meetings and 1 field day/workshop/activity, keep the membership roster updated, deposit checks and keep financial records updated, correspond with members through this blog, and use your enthusiasm and individual talents to help the Harvey WMA accomplish its mission. If you are willing to assist with these tasks by serving on the board of directors from August '08 through August '09, please let me or the current Board of Directors know before the August 28th meeting. If you are considering it, but would like more information about serving on the board of directors, please write harveywma@gmail.com . Dennis, Leon, and Judy will be relieved of their duties August 28th and the Harvey WMA cannot continue without your help!

Join the Harvey WMA

Word is spreading about the wildlife habitat management activities, workshops, field days, and social events of the Harvey WMA. Landowners and leaseholders of properties in eastern Brazos County are visiting this site and benefiting from the information they find. If you own property or lease land for hunting or grazing in eastern Brazos County or along the Navasota River in Grimes County and would like to join the efforts of the Harvey WMA in maintaining and improving wildlife populations and wildlife habitats, contact us for a membership application. Join more than 40 owners and managers of more than 16,000 acres of land in Brazos County as they work together to improve bottomland and upland habitats for the benefit of white-tailed deer, waterfowl, song bird, and other important wildlife populations. Dues are $25/year. Membership includes a gate sign, invitations to meetings, field days, and social events, and the satisfaction of belonging to group that is making a difference for wildlife along the Navasota River. E-mail harveywma@gmail.com for a membership application today!

Welcome to the Harvey WMA blog site

Many of our members and potential members have requested a web location where information about upcoming activities, relevant information, and pictures could be posted. Well, it's finally here! We hope that this blog will help to achieve our goal of fostering relationships and communication among Harvey WMA members. If you have suggestions for information, links, pictures, etc. you would like to see on this blog, please let us know and we'll do the best we can.