03/28/President’s Corner -N.R.C.S.Info included

March 28, 2018 / SAQF

2018 Youth Hunt Attendees

Overview:
-Overall this has been a below average hunting year.  Hunting reports have been mixed with the majority of folks having a tough season for both desert and mearns quail due to warmer than normal temperatures and tough scenting conditions.  Bird numbers for desert quail appeared lower than normal and mearns also low but better than desert quail.  Our springs rains have been decent and with a little more at the right time we will keep our fingers crossed for decent desert numbers next fall.  Mearns quail number are driven more by the summer monsoon rains.  Overall habitat looks fairly good.
-Our monthly meetings had good attendance averaging around 25 attendees.
-Our road cleanup efforts which are intended to help keep Hog Canyon access open were well supported.
-Banquet was well attended with positive income and good reviews.
-Our youth hunt was a success although youth attendance was off compared to the last few years.  The adult volunteers had a good time.  We added an animal identification station this year which was well reviewed.
-The chapter donated $4000 to QF national to support legislative activity to support the farm bill and the No Child Left Indoors program.
-We did not complete a significant habitat project this year.  Several have been reviewed and are in various stages of planning.  We want to insure we work meaningful projects and the planning is key to doing the right things.

Dogs on point in Mearns Habitat

Looking Forward:
-Our chapter election cycle has started and we have received several nominations to fill officer positions that will make our chapter stronger.  I expect we will complete the cycle with co-chairs for habitat and youth.
-We have a committee assigned to review our monthly meeting location in search of a place or places with improved presentation capability (quieter).  We are always looking for your recommendations to improve out meetings and speakers.
-We will co-host the second annual Quail Festival with AZ G&F during the opening weekend for mearns in Dec.
-Our youth hunt will be reviewed with the goal of more family involvement.
New QF/PF Western Region Director:
-Al Eiden was recently left AZ G&F and was hired by QF/PF.  Al will continue to reside in AZ and I see him much more involved with our chapter.  He attended our March monthly meeting.  He brings a wealth of information on wildlife issues in AZ.  The following are comments he provided to forward to the chapter.

Windmill -SE Arizona

Hello Everyone,
My name is Al Eiden, and I am the new Western Regional Director for Quail Forever.  I am excited to be a part of Quail Forever, and want to start providing you all with some information about what Quail Forever is doing for you all in Arizona on a regular basis.  So, here we go.
We are expecting Sarah Gandaria, our Farm Bill Biologist working out of Phoenix and Yuma, to be moving to Tucson in the next few months to provide wildlife expertise to NRCS, AZ Game and Fish, US Forest Service, BLM, and the State Land Department.  Sarah will be filling the role that Rana Tucker had for AZ Game and Fish, but will be a QF staff person, helping us get our name in the ranching community.  This change is expected to occur in the next couple months, but in the meantime Sarah will be working in Tucson a couple days a week.
NRCS recently approved a grant that will direct $1.25 million in funding to improve quail and pronghorn habitat in SE Arizona.  The AZ Game and Fish Department, AZ Antelope Foundation, US Fish and Wildlife Partners Program, and the AZ Department of Agriculture have committed another $1.25 for a total of $2.5 million in funding to go on the ground in SE Arizona.  The best part is that Sarah (our Farm Bill Biologist mentioned above) will be developing all the projects for these funds.  This is the value of the Farm Bill to SE Arizona Quail, and this project will lead to better habitat for quail and a bunch of other wildlife.
Just an FYI to the group, a future opportunity is coming our way through the Farm Bill and NRCS’s Working Lands For Wildlife Program.  This grant will pay for 1/2 of another person like Sarah to do habitat restoration work on riparian habitats throughout Arizona.  The riparian systems this position is likely to focus on are the San Pedro, Santa Cruz, Gila River west of Phoenix, and parts of the Verde River.  All these areas are key for quail as well as the most important habitat for wildlife in our desert state.  There are about $1.5 million dollars in NRCS and other grant funding available in Arizona each year to improve riparian habitat if a person can develop the projects, which is what I envision this person to do if we can get the funding together for this grant.  Part of this grant would be me asking the chapter to provide a little funding towards paying this person.  If this is something you think is valuable, let you chapter habitat chair and president know and I will work with them to see if we can get another person working for us here in Arizona.
Finally, I want to thank you all for your support of Arizona Quail and Arizona Wildlife.  You all are the future of conservation, and your dedication is the backbone of our organization.  I am proud to be a part of such and outstanding group of people.

Male Mearns Quail

Chapter Elections:
-Nominations will close at the end of the day Friday 30 Mar.  After nominations close they must be accepted/rejected and then seconded before a ballot will be distributed.  Nominations received to date:
President – Jim Littlejohn
President – Zack May
President – Dave Struyk
VP – Dave Struyk
VP – Zack May
Secretary – Brian Tackett
Secretary – Ron Walp
Treasurer – Linda Pfister
Banquet Chair – Dave Struyk
Youth Chair – Nick  Besenick
Youth Chair – Tony Valentino
Habitat – Tom Sullivan
Habitat – Jim Littlejohn
Website & social media – Dave Brown
At Large – Steve Hopkins
At Large – Ron Walp
At Large – Howard Swenson
Future dates:
  • 14 Apr Spring Road Cleanup
  • 1 Jul New Board in Place
  • 19 Oct Desert Quail Opens
  • Fall Road Cleanup TBD
  • 7 Dec Mearns Quail Opens
  • 8 Dec Quail Festival w G&F Sonoita
  • 2 Feb 19 7th Annual Banquet Sonoita
  • 17 Feb 19 Quail Closes
  • 18/19 Season Meetings TBD
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Gambels Quail