CouesWhitetail

Good letter Keith. It will be interesting to see what you hear back. Amanda

That hat looks good on you Doug!! Amanda

Yes their site has been down a long time. I keep mentioning it to them and offering to help fix it, but it just doesn't seem to be a priority for them. Hopefully they will get it back up. Amanda

Need a side view pic of him to show off those tines. Sorry I didn't get to chat with you and your family much this weekend, but it was nice seeing you out there! Amanda

It was a great time and thanks so much to Lance and Carrie for putting this together. They provided dinner on Friday night and bisquits and gravy on Sat morning! It was great to meet your kids and see them having so much fun catching fish, hiking with us and shooting their bows. here are some pics from the weekend. Marshall Lake the first evening.... My husband and Doug and Lance's daughters and dogs after a nice hike around the lake at sunset. Beautiful evening with perfect temperatures! Julie and Rica (dogs) spent lots of time in the lake and had a great time. Lance's family caught some trout the first evening, here are a couple of them: Marshall lake in the morning. There was still some snow on the peaks in the background, but not sure you can see it in the photo. The shooting competition was pretty close. Doug and Dan (Traveler) were the top shooters, but everyone seemed to be shooting really well. We had some block targets and also some 3-d targets. Each person picked a shot that everyone else in the group had to do. Here is one through some trees to a block target. here is doug shooting with the group watching. Lots of kids at the event and they took an interest in watching me score the racks. And also in watching the precision of the 80 yard shots through the spotting scope My husband and I enjoyed meeting everyone. What a great bunch of people. Thanks to all the guys who helped me get my new sight on my bow and my peep sight adjusted after getting a new string this year. Amanda Oh, and Doug is being modest in his post by not mentioning that he won both the guess the score contests! And he was pretty darn close to winning that archery competition too!

I will send out an email reminder to all forum members. Amanda

The AZ Deer Association is holding its annual member meeting to elect officers and discuss topics. I encourage you all to get involved and if you can make the meeting, please do. Come and meet some of the board members and see what you can do to help deer in AZ. We are always looking for interested, passionate people to join the organization and even for those dedicated individuals who would consider serving on the board. for more info: http://www.azdeer.org/08_member_meeting.htm Amanda

I've seen them in the catalinas and other places. I don't know the scientific name, most people call them glow worms. You can probably look them up on the internet for more info. I do a lot of night work surveying for owls and I still don't see very many of them, so I don't think they are all that common. Amanda

awesome! no pics to go with the story? Amanda

Below is a statement from the Arizona Deer Association and the Arizona Elk Society. This statement has been sent to the Arizona Game & Fish Department and will serve as our comments on the procedural changes being discussed for the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Program. We are asking all Arizona Sportsmen Conservation Organizations to send in comments to the AZGFD by the June 25th deadline. Please feel free to use any or all of our information in your statement to the AZGFD. An Evaluation of Proposals to Expand the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Area Prior to European settlement of western North America, the Mexican wolf occupied much of the American Southwest, ranging as far south as perhaps central Mexico. This subspecies occupied most biotic communities with the exception of low deserts. The Mexican wolf’s diet consisted primarily of deer (both white-tailed and mule) and elk. With European settlement of northern Mexico and the American Southwest, domestic livestock including cattle and sheep were introduced and wolf depredation on these animals occurred. This in turn set up a conflict between livestock operators and wolves that lead to programs to eradicate the Mexican wolf, which was accomplished. Two decades, the 1980s and 1990s were dedicated to the evaluation of the potential to recovery the Mexican wolf and to establish the most appropriate approach to Mexican wolf recovery. During this time, public involvement and agency coordination were extensive. As a result of the nearly 20 years of discussions and scientific review relative to the best approach to take in recovering the Mexican wolf, the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area (BRWRA) was established as the core of the recovery program. This decision was based on both societal and biological factors and was believed to be the best location to begin recovery efforts for this extirpated wildlife resource. To date, the Mexican wolf recovery program has failed to achieve goals outlined in the 1996 Final EIS, and in fact, Mexican wolf population levels were reported to have declined in 2007 compared to reported data from 2006. Further, the population count as projected in the FEIS has failed to meet objectives in all but one year and the number of breeding pairs has never met the FEIS targets and in 2006, were less than 40% of the FEIS targets. In reviewing the current status of the project, it is a poor plan to expand the wolf reestablishment area until greater success is achieved and targets outlined in the FEIS are met. Therefore, for the following reasons, we urge the Adaptive Management Oversight Committee and all of the cooperating agencies to stop consideration of reestablishment area expansion and focus on meeting the goals of the 1996 FEIS within the BAWRA, the site selected for the high likelihood of success. • The Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area was selected in part due to the relatively low human activity and residence in the area and hence, reduced likelihood of human-wolf conflict. Recreational use of the area being considered for recovery area expansion is among the highest in Arizona, which will lead to a high rate of conflicts and likely higher wolf mortality or removal; a factor that could reduce public support of the effort in the BRWRA. • Lead agencies indicate that adequate funding is needed to carry out the reestablishment project in BAWRA. Greatly expanding the wolf recovery area to include areas of the Mogollon Rim and Coconino National Forest would dilute available funds, that to date have been limited. This will reduce the likelihood of obtaining the population goals outlined in the 1996 Final Environmental Impact Statement. • Dietary studies have documented that Mexican wolves prey heavily on native ungulates, including elk, mule and white-tailed deer, and potentially bighorn sheep and pronghorn, and that their diet does contain domestic livestock as well. Livestock production is a common practice in the area being evaluated for recovery area expansion and it is likely that introducing wolves into this area would heighten conflict between legally-permitted livestock use and wolf reestablishment efforts. This has a high potential to cause eroded support for the reestablishment program in BAWRA, an unfortunate outcome. • Published data from Mexican wolf diet studies indicate that nearly 90% of the diet of this subspecies consists of native ungulates, primarily elk. It is important to note that both wildlife viewing and big game hunting are important economic factors in the Mogollon Rim/Coconino National Forest area and any conservation program that would have the end result of reduced native wildlife densities would be viewed negatively by the conservation community, which could erode support for the BAWRA program. In summary, the Mexican wolf recovery effort has had very limited success and expanding efforts to other areas before meeting projected targets in the 1996 FEIS will have adverse societal and biological ramifications. Until greater success is obtained in the recovery program, all efforts should focus on the Blue Area, the area selected after 2 decades of study. To do otherwise is both fiscally and biologically irresponsible for all cooperating agencies. Please take a few minutes and protect our Elk, Deer, Antelope and Bighorn Sheep populations here in Arizona. Send an email to mexwolf@azgfd.gov or mail it to Mexican Wolf Project, Attn: Terry Johnson, 5000 W. Carefree Highway, Phoenix, AZ. 85086.

Subject: Big Lake and 26 Bar Projects Big Lake-Burro Creek Fence Removal Project 5/30-6/1 See arizonaelksociety.org 26 Bar Adopt a Ranch 6/27-6/29 Please pass along the preliminary info on the 26 Bar Adopt a ranch project which will be completed 6/27-6/29. We will provide dinner to workers on Friday 6/27, Breakfast lunch and dinner on Saturday 6/28 and breakfast and snacks on Sunday 6/29. Camping are will be determined soon and updates on the project will be posted on the Arizonaelksociety.org website. We need 20 or more workers for this project. Please RSVP to Tom Schorr 602-431-4131 or thomas.schorr@fcssw.com. Duane Coleman and USFS have agreed on 3 projects that the AES could do at the Adopt-a-Ranch Project. When we see how many volunteers we get, we can determine if we tackle one, two, or all three jobs. The work sites are all in the same vicinity as last year’s project, so, if you want, we can use the same camping area as we did last time. The projects, in no particular order, are: Fence repair/ maintenance is needed around a cattle-enclosure area, which provides forage for elk. A spring needs to be ‘revamped’. This spring will not require a backhoe or as much work as the springs we worked on last year, but we would replace the drinker, maybe add a short bit of pipeline, hook everything up, and do a little maintenance around it. Erosion control measures are needed at a site where a spring/stream is back cutting and destroying habitat. This would involve shovel and pick work.

Want to give a little back to wildlife? How about helping redevelop a water source on the Kaibab? Visit the AZ Deer Association website for more info: http://www.azdeer.org/Projects/rice_hollow.htm Amanda

Correct. I had that in the subject heading for this post. I will go add it into that press release. Amanda

I know how hard that is to go through since I put down my 15 year old dog last year. Very tough. Only time and thinking about the fact that you gave your dog a good, long life will help with the pain. you asked for pics, so here is a pic of my old girl, she was a great friend And here is one you guys might appreciate since it has some bone in it.....

My husband and I are coming. Amanda

Neat encounter. I believe that bird in your photo is an adult male kestrel. You can tell by the blue on his head and wings. Females don't have so much blue. Perhaps the one that flew off was his mate. Amanda

Thanks for the input Jim! One question for you. I recall Ockenfels telling me that even within the enclosure they were losing close to 50% of the fawns and no one knew why. Is that accurate and do you know anymore about that? Thanks. Amanda

I agree with mandatory reporting requirements. I don't see it as a barrier to hunter recruitment or retention as the dept has suggested. However, I feel it sends the wrong msg to refuse to fill out the cards. Seems to me as hunters we have a responsibility to help manage the deer herds in the best way possible. Giving back honest data to AGFD about your hunt success is one way to do that. Mandatory reporting would give them better data, and I suggest that you join a wildlife group that is supporting that stance (I think all of them do). Send a letter to the commission requesting they institute mandatory reporting. Or go to a commission meeting to push for it. The more people that the commission hears from the better. It's possible that whoever takes Leonard's place as game branch chief will be more in favor of implementing mandatory reporting. The new director may even favor it, I don't know. But there are some changes going on in the dept and the commission that may make this a better time to get this idea implemented. Amanda

Wow, that's a bummer...hope you heal as good as can be expected. Amanda

Lance, Yes, both my husband and I are planning to come. Looking forward to it! I will bring some stuff to raffle off. Amanda

Hi All, CouesWhitetail.com is having another Guess the Score Contest. To see the buck and read the rules, just go to the link below. After you check out the buck and have a guess on the GROSS score, come back here and enter a post with your guess. Top 5 guesses that are closest to actual gross score will win a prize. Take your time on your guesses, you have until Aug 24 to enter. http://www.coueswhitetail.com/guess_the_sc..._score_2007.htm Amanda

Nice! I enjoyed those descriptions! Amanda

Neat! I will let some superior archers know in case they haven't heard of it already. Amanda

Nice pics Jim! Always fun going along with you on your trips through your posts! Thanks for sportin' the colors!! And SilentbutDeadly, I guess you better try GRONG orange! Amanda

Some of the guides in Mexico I have hunted with like the stoneypoint monopods. They are easy to use for resting your binos on for quick scans of areas as well as for shooting off of. http://www.stoneypoint.com/products/mp_exp...on_monopod.html Amanda