December President’s Corner

-I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and is looking forward to a Happy New Year.

-Desert quail numbers are really poor.  Much of the habitat looks pretty good and we had decent rain this year but not at the right time for the chicks.   Very few first year chicks are being taken.

-Mearns has been average to below average – it would best be described as spotty.  AZ G&F has 5 wing barrels out in visible locations (Gardner Canyon, Ruby Road, Highway 83 south of Sonoita, Harshaw Road and Hog Canyon).  Use of these barrels helps the department track bird information and sets you up for an annual digital hunter survey.

-Please support local merchants when hunting in the Sonoita or Patagonia areas.

-U.S. Fish and Wildlife staff at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge [BANWR] has released a little over 400 Masked Bobwhite chicks. Last report was that survival has been fairly good.

Lost Shotgun:  Passed to me by Brit Oleson.  Lost Shotgun Dec 25 by hunter, in Lyle Canyon – Forest SVC Research Area – 1/4 mile W of West Gate Village FS-4893 south 1/2 mile along Lyle Canyon to FS-4894.  Gun laid on ground at road jct.  Picked up between 12:15 and 1:30.  Special light weight 28 ga favorite of 88 year old Korea War Disabled vet which allows him to continue hunting.  Generous reward to finder – call John at 307.690.4810.

-Hog Canyon.  Currently there is only an agreement to keep Hog Canyon open and the agreement for Adobe Canyon is still in work.

-San Rafael Valley.  The public has lost driving access to a large area in San Rafael Valley.  Details were provided to those that attended our Dec meeting.  CNF is evaluating bypass routes before starting the NEPA process required before road building can start.  Our next meeting with CNF and AZ G&F on this subject is in Feb.

-Please respect the land and landowners whether you are on private or public land.  Leave the gates in the proper position, pick up you trash (and trash from others), keep speed and dust down, be careful around livestock and don’t trash roads by driving on them when they are very muddy.

-Jim Littlejohn and Sarah Gandaria have scheduled a meeting with a private landowner in January to assess a habitat project.

-We have provided some additional funds for Dr Alberto Macias to continue his Montezuma Quail diet study.  He is considering requesting the permits needed to take a few spring/summer birds to see what they are feeding on.  Alberto was at QuailFest to collect crops and answer questions.

-Bill Brake, one of the AZ G&F Commissioners has agreed to speak at our 17 Jan meeting in Sonoita.  This should be a very good meeting.

-We will hold our last meeting of the year 14 Mar in Sahuarita at the American Legion Hall Post 66.

-All meetings will be 7-9 PM with social starting at 6:15.

-We have a few leftover QuailFest shirts that will be available at our next meeting.

–Please send me your thoughts on our meetings to help us provide what members want. 

Our 7th annual banquet is Sat 2 Feb at the fairgrounds with doors opening a little before 5 PM.  This is a prime rib dinner.  Tickets for a couple are only $100 and include an annual membership.  Youth tickets are only $20 and also include an annual membership plus they will be entered in a free raffle for a gift card to buy a shotgun or other merchandise from Sportsman’s Warehouse.  Early bird pricing has been extended to 5 Jan, prices will then increase $10 per person.   We have several great prizes for raffles and auctions at the banquet.  If you have ideas or have something in work let)  Banquet tickets are on sale at https://pheasantsforeverevents.org/event/3354 or contact Steve Geerligs sgeerligs1@yahoo.com.  We have already sold about 65% of our tickets and will sell out again this year.   For those that want to stay in Sonoita or Patagonia do not wait too long to make room reservations.  If you buy tickets and let us know at least one week before the event you are unable to attend we will refund your ticket price and resell your ticket to someone on the waiting list.

We work to keep our sites current.  If you see an error or recommendation for improvement please let us know.  We are always looking for pictures, stories or articles to add.  Many of you have seen our slide show that we show at QuailFest and the banquet – if you have pictures that would be a good addition please send them to me.

Please consider volunteering to be a member of one of our committees.  We need help on habitat, banquet and youth committees or you can just help out with an event like QuailFest, the banquet, road cleanup or BANWR habitat.  Thanks to those that stepped up to volunteer for the habitat committee at our last meeting.