tjhunt2 Report post Posted March 16, 2009 It was a good time to get out and help on this water project and to meet Tracy, Angie, and Jeremy from coueswhitetail.com along with a few members of the Tuson Rocky Mountain Elk Society. I'm guessing there were around 20 volunteers. The Az G&F employees were friendly and Ben put together a first class outing with tortilla soup for super, EXCELLENT IF I MAY SAY SO, and an enjoyable camp fire which was a perfect ending to a hard days work. Many stories were told and a good time by all. It was nice to have represented coueswhitetail on this project and to have spent some time with Amanda. If any of you get a chance to get out and experience a water catchment project I highly recommend you do so. I believe we got more done than expected on Sat. and ran out of material so Sunday's work was called off. I was hardly able to pull myself out of bed Sun. morning. Them young guys worked this old man to the limit. LOL Maybe Amanda could post some pictures if she got any. TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy350 Report post Posted March 16, 2009 Here are some pics. of the work we got done. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjhunt2 Report post Posted March 16, 2009 Glad you got some pictures Jeremy. Sorry I didn't get to talk to you much but I didn't know who you were until after we were back at camp. Thanks for the pictures. Now my wife can see what we accomplished. TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted March 16, 2009 I had a great time and thanks to everyone that helped out. As was mentioned Ben Brochu did some outstanding cooking including a great chicken tortilla soup Sat night and egg mcmuffin-type sandwiches on Sun morning! The weather was perfect....storms around us kept nice cloud cover while working and then cleared up at night so we could enjoy the stars. It was very nice to be able to chat with members of the forum as well as AGFD personnel. Anyone considering going on one of these projects really should do it. They are fun and productive. It's a great feeling to complete something like this that will provide water for wildlife for many years. Saw this gopher snake out sunning itself on the way to the project. He was still cold enough that he didn't really even respond to me, just a flick of the tongue to show he was indeed alive: Flowers were gorgeous on the way in and out: brittle bush: desert marigold: There were a few kids at the project and one was too small to help out so he spent a little time collecting some flowers. What a nice bunch! His father was the welder for the project: here is the boy with his dad's welder helmet on later in the day: Raul Vega, sector supervisor for AGFD, also brought his boy along: This water project is designed to collect rain water on an apron that is built over the large holding tanks. I believe the whole system can store 10,000 gallons and Ben Brochu, WM for the area, suggested that would be enough to last two years if it was full and then we were in a bad drought. Overview of the work site: Some of the storm clouds that kept the day cool: TJ working on the framing: The tank sitting under the framing: A fence is constructed around the entire project to keep cattle out. A spacing bar is used to keep the fence wildlife friendly: The AZ Deer Association helped fund purchase of a 1000 gallon water buffalo last year and we used that to help add water to the system: water trickling in: The water in the tanks and the trough are always at the same level due to some cool engineering. In addition to the water buffalo they also brought a much larger water truck and added water. The trough is angled and lined with concrete and rocks so wildlife can walk in and out safely. Oh and here is Angie sportin' the CW.com colors!! Great chatting with you Angie and Tracy! These projects are a great reason to get outside and help wildlife. It's a great way to meet some new people and talk with AGFD personnel informally. We will be working on the second water project in the area April 3-5. For more info: http://www.azdeer.org/37b_water_project.htm Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gr8 White Jr Report post Posted March 16, 2009 Angie and I had a great time! It was very nice meeting TJ and Jeremy and of course as always getting to chat with Amanda. TJ didn't have a clue who I was at first but of course he recognized Angie. As I said before these projects are alot of fun and a gathering of some really great people. The weather was absolutely perfect to be outside and we were in some of the most beautifull desert I've ever seen. Ben Brochu is a stand up guy and was a pleasure to work with and as TJ and Amanda already mentioned his soup was EXCELLENT!!! I really hope we have more members show up for the second half of the project April 3-5. -Tracy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WM U37B Report post Posted March 18, 2009 All, The first of two projects in the 96 Hills was nearly completed over the weekend of March 15. The project was a huge success and went very well. I was amazed how much work was completed in only 1 day. I would like to acknowledge the following people for volunteering their time, labor, and tools on the project. Without you guys, this project would have taken nearly a week to complete. A special thanks to Jason Saline, Tom Joiner, Scott Henderson, Thomas Gulino, William B. Snelgrove, Olympia Snelgrove, Tate Snelgrove, Tracy Boorn Jr., Angela Guzman, Mike Wiemann (RMEF), Wesley Stark (RMEF), Zachary Haws (RMEF), Jeremy Selting (RMEF), RJ Vega, Dave Brochu, Amanda Moors, and Larry Audsley. I had a lot of fun and hope to see another good turnout at the next project over the weekend of April 4th. After this project, I will prepare a write-up of both projects with pictures for the next ADA newsletter. Also, I'm happy everyone liked the tortilla soup and several have asked for the recipe. Here's what I used: Tortilla Soup for ~25 people -12 cans of Swansons chicken broth - 4 cans of diced tomatoes - 8 small cans of diced green chilis - 4 bunches of cilantro - 2 for soup and 2 for topping - 4 bunches of green onions - 2 for soup and 2 for topping - 1 large onion - 3 cloves of garlic - 12 cans of diced chicken breast from Costco - 15 limes - shredded cheese - tortilla chips - salt and pepper to taste Put all of this together and bring to a boil and cook for at least 30 minutes until the onion is soft. Once this is done, it's ready to serve. Top with cheese, tortilla chips, cilantro, green onions and a squeeze of lime. You can also top with peppers and avocado if you want. I think the soup is actually better the next day after the flavors have combined better. Thanks again for everyone's help and I hope to see more people at the next project. Contact me if your interested in helping out. Also, see the attached file for more information. Ben Brochu Wildlife Manager U37B Arizona Game and Fish Department (520) 229-3222 bbrochu@azgfd.gov Attention_all_Sportsmen___Volunteers_Needed_.pdf Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted March 18, 2009 Thx for the recipe Ben. I will print that out and maybe make it this weekend for some friends! Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
