Pine Log WMA Is Coming Back: Georgia DNR Announces Deal to Protect 14,640 Acres
Georgia hunters who thought they had lost Pine Log Wildlife Management Area for good got some welcome news Thursday: the Georgia Department of Natural Resources has announced an agreement to purchase and protect 14,640 acres in Bartow and Cherokee counties, including most of the former WMA.
The property will be named The Neel Family–Pine Log Wildlife Management Area. DNR plans to reopen it to the public in time for the spring 2027 turkey season. The acquisition is still pending, so hunters should wait for DNR to announce an opening date and hunting regulations before making plans.
DNR leased Pine Log as a WMA from 1977 until 2023. When that arrangement ended, hunters, anglers and other visitors lost access to a large stretch of north Georgia public land. Its future remained uncertain as the area around it continued to develop.
Now, a deal among the state, the landowning Neel family’s Aubrey Corp., and Bartow and Cherokee counties is set to bring most of that land back into public hands.
“Over the last four years, we never lost sight of the goal to acquire Pine Log and permanently secure it for public recreation and wildlife conservation,” DNR Commissioner Walter Rabon said in the agency’s announcement.
Gov. Brian Kemp and the Georgia Legislature appropriated $15 million toward the purchase, and Bartow and Cherokee counties are providing matching funds. Bartow County Commissioner Steve Taylor said approximately 12,000 acres of the property lie in his county.
What Hunters Can Expect
Pine Log has long been valued for deer, turkey, small-game and dove hunting. DNR also lists fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing among the recreational opportunities the property can support. For now, the agency has announced its target reopening season, but it has not released a new hunt schedule or access details.
The purchase matters well beyond the next hunting season. At 14,640 acres, Pine Log is the largest contiguous tract of private forest in north Georgia, according to DNR. Protecting it would also conserve 31 miles of headwater streams and habitat for several rare species, including the Cherokee and Etowah darters.
DNR says it will develop a long-term management plan for the property that addresses wildlife habitat, water quality and recreation.
For the hunters who watched Pine Log close in 2023, the practical news is straightforward: public access is on track to return. If the acquisition closes and DNR meets its timeline, turkey hunters could be the first to hunt the restored WMA next spring.
Source: Georgia Department of Natural Resources announcement, September 24, 2026.
