Fort George G. Meade: The First 100 Years

Masters of the Hunt
Although most hunters will shoot at any deer that wanders
into their sights, others, such as Gene Hyatt and Tracy
Ford are out there for the big prize.
“I strictly hunt for big bucks,” said Hyatt, a 20-year
veteran of the Fort Meade woods. “Fort Meade has some
very good trophy bucks out here.”
The two hunters who met in 1977 while hunting on Fort
Meade agree that there is usually a good deer population
on post.
Ford said that the first year he was stationed here he
didn’t hunt on post because he didn’t think the deer could
live in the thick underbrush which is so prevalent in the
woods here. The hunting grounds he used to frequent
in New Hampshire, before coming here were totally
different.
“There is a lot of camaraderie between the hunters
here,” said Hayatt. “Everyone gets back to the hunting
control point at night and compares notes. That is one
thing you don’t have if you hunt on private property.”
Besides being a place where sportsman swap tales of
what happened in the woods that night, the Hunting
Control Point is also the nerve center for all hunting on
Fort Meade.
From here hunters sign-in daily before going out to
the 9,000 acres of hunting grounds the post has. It also
provides hunters with information about which areas are
off limits.
Before hunters can go into hunting areas they must
present to the Hunting Control Point a valid Maryland
Hunting license, a hunter’s safety card and applicable
stamps.
Over the years Ford and Hyatt have seen many changes
at Fort Meade’s woods. One of the biggest changes for
these hunters has been the wild dog population.
“Before Game Warden Roger Francis got here you had
to be careful of wild dogs. There were dogs everywhere,”
stated Ford, as Hyatt nods his head in agreement. “Every
day you would see wild dogs out there.”
“That man (Francis), for the most part, took care of the
wild dogs,” he added. “I don’t think I’ve seen a single dog
this year. I’ve seen a few tracks since we’ve had snow, but
THE EIGHTIES AND NINETIES
By Jeff Toth, SoundOff!
that has been it.”
“It could be someone’s puppy dog that got away or a
coon dog that didn’t come back,” said Francis. These he
returns to their owners.
Bill Harmeyer, HCP natural resource specialist, says the
fees with the post started charging hunters for the use of
the land goes back into the hunting areas.
“The fees pay for such things as wood duck boxes,
mallard structures, winter forge feed and equipment for
surveying and monitoring the wildlife,” added Harmeyer.
“It goes back into the program for wildlife beautification.”
Some of the people going into the woods are going
just to get away and are not really interested in hunting ,"
elaborated Harmeyer. He says that some just go out and
sit in the woods and listen to the sounds. They use it as a
method of escaping from the humdrum everyday life.
During the Hunting Control Points off season,
February through August, the staff members’ days are
anything but slow.
Harmeyer and his people play host to different youth
and school groups; such as the Child Development Center
III and Baltimore’s Camp Concern.
***
(left) Erik Olson of Crofton, Md, walks down Range Road
towards hunting area. (right) Hunters would check in and
pay for permits at the Hunting Control Point.
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