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October 2, 2006  

Pee Dee Station WMA deer hunts cancelled

Santee Cooper, the state-owned electric and water utility, will cancel its three Pee Dee Station site Wildlife Management Area (WMA) public deer hunts this year. The hunts were scheduled for Oct. 3-7, Oct. 17-21 and Nov. 7-11.

Contractors are working on the Pee Dee land, surveying the land and performing environmentalWhitetail deer assessments in order to complete the Pee Dee site permitting work. Santee Cooper does not want to place the numerous contractors in any potentially dangerous areas, so the hunts have been cancelled in order to avoid conflicts.

General locations of WMA areas are shown on the map in the rules and regulations. For detailed maps showing Pee Dee Station and other WMA lands write WMA MAPS, SC Department of Natural Resources (DNR), P.O. Box 167, Columbia, SC, 29202 or call 803-734-3886. Also contact Jose Stephens, Santee Cooper’s supervisor of forestry and undeveloped land, at 843-761-8000, ext. 5327 for more information on the Santee Cooper hunts.

Wildlife Management Areas are provided for the enjoyment of all wildlife enthusiasts through the cooperative effort of private landowners, the U.S. Forest Service and DNR. Funds generated from the sale of WMA permits enables DNR to lease approximately 1.2 million acres of land for wildlife conservation and management.

Heritage Preserves are properties acquired by DNR for the primary purpose of protecting habitat for rare and endangered species. Some Heritage Preserves offer game hunting opportunities and are therefore included in the WMA Program.

All persons using WMA lands are reminded that only U.S. Forest Service lands and those areas marked by WMA signs are open to the public. Lands not posted with these signs are the property of private individuals, and landowner permission must be obtained.

Santee Cooper, based in Moncks Corner, is South Carolina's state-owned electric and water utility and serves more than 154,000 residential and commercial customers in Berkeley, Georgetown and Horry counties. The utility also generates the power distributed by the state's 20 electric cooperatives to more than 665,000 customers in all 46 counties. Santee Cooper is the state’s largest provider of electricity based on energy sales and number of ultimate customers served. More than 2 million South Carolinians receive their power directly or indirectly from Santee Cooper. Based on generation and energy sales, Santee Cooper is the nation’s fourth largest publicly owned electric utility among state, municipal and district systems. The Santee Cooper Regional Water System is the source of water for four Lowcountry water utilities.

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