Powers and Duties of Department Generally

  1. Law
  2. Georgia Code
  3. Game and Fish
  4. General Provisions
  5. Powers and Duties of Department Generally

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The department shall have the following powers and duties:

  1. Subject to all applicable state laws, to acquire by purchase, condemnation, lease, agreement, gift, or devise lands or waters suitable for the purposes enumerated in this paragraph and to develop, operate, and maintain the same for the following purposes:
    1. For fish hatcheries, nursery ponds, game farms, sanctuaries, reservations, and refuges;
    2. For wildlife restoration, propagation, protection, preservation, research, or management; and
    3. For public hunting, fishing, or trapping areas, where the public may hunt, fish, or trap in accordance with the provisions of law and the rules and regulations of the board;
  2. To capture, propagate, transport, purchase, sell, band, or release any species of wildlife for propagation, research, or stocking purposes; to safeguard and enhance the habitat on which the wildlife depends; and to exercise control measures of nuisance or destructive species;
  3. To enter into cooperative agreements with educational institutions and state, federal, and other agencies to promote wildlife management, conservation, and research;
  4. To purchase all uniforms, equipment, and supplies necessary for the administration of this title;
  5. To carry out the operational, field, and administrative functions contained in this title;
  6. To publish in print or electronically and distribute magazines, pamphlets, books, or literature of any nature as may be necessary to inform and educate the public concerning the wildlife resources of the state and the functions, duties, activities, laws, rules, and regulations of the department pursuant to this title and pursuant to any other title;
  7. To keep a public record which correctly discloses all moneys received and expended by the department and all such information as may be necessary or proper in the conduct of the affairs and business of the department. The books and accounts of the department shall be audited in the same way as other books and accounts of the other departments of the state are audited;
  8. To pay to each game warden the expenses incurred by such warden in the performance of his duties;
  9. To contract with private landowners for the purposes of managing and operating public hunting and fishing areas on the property of such private landowners; and
  10. To develop an official waterfowl stamp for the State of Georgia and to issue such stamp to any interested person and to contract with any person granting such person the right to reproduce and market the official waterfowl stamp in stamp, print, poster, or such other form as the department shall determine and to contract with any person for the purpose of promoting, supporting, or otherwise assisting any waterfowl program of the department, including, but not limited to, public education; research; acquisition of wetlands; and management, development, and protection of waterfowl programs; provided, however, that not more than 15 percent of the funds retained by the department, if any, shall be used for law enforcement activities. The department is authorized to establish a special fund to be known as the "Waterfowl Stamp Fund." This fund shall consist of all moneys paid to the department as royalties, all moneys derived from the sale of any official waterfowl stamp, and all moneys contributed to the fund for the purposes provided in this paragraph and all interest thereon. All balances in the fund shall be deposited in an interest-bearing account identifying the fund and shall be carried forward each year so that no part thereof may be deposited in the general treasury. The department shall administer the fund and may expend moneys held in the fund in furtherance of the purposes provided in this paragraph. Moneys paid into this fund shall be deemed supplemental to and shall in no way supplant funding that would otherwise be appropriate for these purposes. As used in this paragraph, the term "waterfowl" means any species of ducks, swans, or geese.

(Ga. L. 1911, p. 137, §§ 1, 4; Ga. L. 1924, p. 101, §§ 1, 3, 4, 7, 26; Ga. L. 1925, p. 302, § 22; Ga. L. 1925, p. 339, § 31; Ga. L. 1931, p. 7, § 25; Code 1933, §§ 45-106, 45-109; Ga. L. 1937, p. 264, §§ 1, 4, 9; Ga. L. 1943, p. 128, §§ 1, 2, 12, 14; Ga. L. 1945, p. 404, §§ 4, 8; Ga. L. 1952, p. 206, § 1; Ga. L. 1955, p. 483, § 3; Ga. L. 1960, p. 228, § 1; Ga. L. 1966, p. 149, § 1; Ga. L. 1968, p. 497, § 5; Ga. L. 1972, p. 1015, § 1527; Ga. L. 1973, p. 344, § 1; Code 1933, § 45-105, enacted by Ga. L. 1977, p. 396, § 1; Ga. L. 1985, p. 691, § 1; Ga. L. 1987, p. 357, § 1; Ga. L. 1989, p. 506, § 1; Ga. L. 2010, p. 838, § 10/SB 388; Ga. L. 2019, p. 808, § 7/SB 72.)

The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, substituted "game warden" for "conservation ranger" in paragraph (8).

Cross references.

- Department of Natural Resources generally, § 12-2-1 et seq.

Code Commission notes.

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1987, "Moneys" was substituted for "Monies" in the next-to-last sentence in paragraph (10).

Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2019, "such warden" was substituted for "such ranger" in paragraph (8).

Administrative Rules and Regulations.

- Boating Infrastructure Grant Program, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Rules of Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Coastal Resources, Subject 391-2-7.

Law reviews.

- For article discussing regulation of selected activities to effect environmental planning, see 10 Ga. L. Rev. 53 (1975). For note, "Regulation of Artificial Lakes and Recreational Subdivisions in Georgia," recommending methods for future regulation, see 8 Ga. St. B.J. 580 (1972).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Cited in Thornton v. State, 353 Ga. App. 252, 836 S.E.2d 541 (2019).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Proposed acquisition of game and fish areas by the state for custody in the Department of Natural Resources, in which sellers reserve timber rights for a limited time, will not violate the constitutional prohibition against the state becoming a joint owner. 1989 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 89-16.

Authority of department to contract for use of waters on state park property.

- An agreement between the Department of State Parks and the Game and Fish Commission (now consolidated in the Department of Natural Resources) pursuant to which the latter would utilize waters located on State Park property for the stocking and breeding of fish, with the right to fertilize such waters and perform other functions incidental thereto, was authorized. 1963-65 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 554 (rendered under Ga. L. 1955, p. 483, prior to amendment by Ga. L. 1977, p. 396, § 1).

Authority of department to restrict use of alcohol and firearms on state property.

- The Department of Natural Resources is authorized to adopt and enforce rules and regulations restricting the use of alcohol and firearms on state property, and in particular, property acquired as a public hunting area. 1963-65 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 237 (rendered under Ga. L. 1955, p. 483, prior to amendment by Ga. L. 1977, p. 396, § 1).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 26 Am. Jur. 2d, Eminent Domain, § 72. 35A Am. Jur. 2d, Fish, Game, and Wildlife Conservation, §§ 25 et seq., 40, 49, 55.

C.J.S.

- 29A C.J.S., Eminent Domain, § 52. 36A C.J.S., Fish, §§ 6, 24 et seq. 38 C.J.S., Game, § 4.


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