Morganfield, KY (September 24, 2004) - Waterfowl hunters who want to participate in a public drawing for waterfowl hunting blind sites on the Grassy Pond-Powell’s Lake and Highland Creek Units of Sloughs Wildlife Management Area (WMA) should be present on October 4, 2004 at 6:00 p.m. Central time at the Union County Extension Service office.

Registration will close at 6:30 p.m. Central time and the drawing will be held immediately afterward. The Union County Extension Service office is located on US 60 west of Morganfield, Kentucky.

This drawing will be only for the 20 blind sites located on the Grassy Pond-Powell’s Lake Unit and the 7 blind sites on the Highland Creek Unit. These properties are owned by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and licensed to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) as parts of the Sloughs WMA for wildlife management purposes.

Under the revised system passed by the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission, drawn hunters will be responsible for maintenance of the blind sites, applying camouflage and in general making the blinds ready for hunting. Drawn hunters will have priority for use over these blind sites for the entire season; however, blinds will be available to hunters on a first-come-first-serve basis if the drawn hunter(s) do not occupy the blind site by 30 minutes before shooting hours each day. A drawn hunter can have one alternate (partner) registered for the site. Hunters will need a current hunting license, state waterfowl permit and federal waterfowl stamp to apply. You must be 18 years old to apply. Hunter/Alternate can only hold one permit.

The blinds were constructed by the KDFWR in 1988 and were under a system that made them available on a first-come-first-served basis for several years. But, according to Area Supervisor Mike Morton, the blind sites are very underutilized by the general public.

“There is a significant opportunity for the waterfowl hunters in the local area to have a reasonable waterfowl hunting blind site, similar to the system used on several other Corps of Engineers properties,” Morton said. This system should also make the blinds better for those first-come-first-serve hunters, since blinds will be better camouflaged and in many cases decoys will be out.

Both of these units are subject to frequent flooding events from the Ohio River and Highland Creek. The KDFWR will not be responsible for access to the property or loss and damage to personal property left at these blind sites. When these units are under flood condition and access requires using boats, these units are open to waterfowl hunting from boat blinds spaced no closer than 200 yards apart.