Many hunters and fishermen who use the Camp Gruber Public Hunting Area may be looking for new places find quarry if the military has a say in the matter.

The Daily Press recently learned of an effort by the military to take back 31,000 acres of Camp Gruber favored by hunters and anglers in Cherokee County. The Oklahoma National Guard plans to use the space to train troops in light artillery, rather than having to send them to either Fort Chaffee, Ark., or Fort Sill, in Lawton.

“The governor is working with the wildlife department and the Oklahoma Department of the Military to reach some sort of agreement,” said Sen. Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah. “The alternative is for the U.S. Department of the Army to go around the governor. Apparently what they want to do is create a light artillery range that will chew up a lot of land.

“I don’t know how bad they need this place; they’ve got Fort Sill and the place in Arkansas, but they’ve decided to take Gruber. I don’t know who started the ball rolling, whether it was the U.S. Army or the Oklahoma National Guard, but the governor’s office needs to answer that question.”

Camp Gruber was a U.S. Army training camp between 1944 and 1949. In 1942 and 1944, the federal government acquired 65,650 acres of land in Muskogee County and Cherokee County. The Army used the property as a military reservation known as Camp Gruber.

In 1949, slightly less than half of the acquired acreage was deeded to the state of Oklahoma. Since that time, the property has been used as a wildlife management area. The Wildlife Department and the National Guard have held joint licenses on the 32,000 acres in eastern Muskogee County.

According to Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Information Supervisor Micah Holmes, the plans are being negotiated with the Oklahoma National Guard.

“I don’t know all the details yet,” said Holmes. “I know we’re working closely with the National Guard to find a solution for both them and the hunters and anglers. It’s in the initial stages right now, and we’re working on an acceptable arrangement. I would expect that it would take a while for that decision to be made to revoke the deed on property to turn it back over to the National Guard, but I don’t know how long it will take. It’s not something that will happen immediately.”

Wilson said the wildlife area at Gruber is extremely popular with hunters, and there may be some blowback if the land is taken.

“I expect the hunters will be upset about it,” said Wilson. “They use that space a lot. When I was chairman of the Tourism and Wildlife committee, we sent a road grader in there to widen roads just because of its popularity with hunters.”

Wilson said quite a few farms are close to the site, but he doesn’t think the military operations would pose a danger.

“There may be a noise problem, but we won’t hear about that unless they go through with the deal to take back the land,” he said.

A portion of the land falls within District 3 Cherokee County Commissioner Mike Ballard’s jurisdiction. Ballard learned about the situation from Wilson.

“Lots of people use that area to hunt, and it will eliminate a lot of places to hunt,” said Ballard. “People use that place to hunt deer, coons, just about any kind of hunting season there is.”

Ballard said he couldn’t guess at what kind of effect the move might have on residents close to Gruber.

“They used to do artillery training there years ago,” he said. “It’s a little more populated area now, so I don’t know what will happen. I’m sure the noise level will go up. I’m sure I’ll get calls about it, one way or another.”

Local sportsman Larry Setters said he won’t be affected by the move.

“I’ve only been there once, and didn’t care for it much because it’s overcrowded with hunters,” he said. “As far as the military is concerned, it’s their land, and they should be able to train on it.”

The Daily Press contacted both Gov. Brad Henry’s office and Congressman Dan Boren’s office for comment, but both were unavailable at press time, due to holiday commitments.