rthrbhntng Report post Posted August 3, 2015 Arizona Elk Society Water For Wildlife Catchment Repair Squad. 9 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elkaholic Report post Posted August 3, 2015 ok -- they adapt or they may die -- they are creatures of habit for the most part I'm just saying seems like for the general area between the rim country and the canyon - unit 9 has 3 times as many catchments I know of a rancher in 10 who spent 6-8 weeks digging out tanks on his own dime he had cattle stuck over knee high in mud after the rains they couldn't or wouldn't hold water - mostly due to neglect and filled in with wash down soil Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Explorer Report post Posted August 4, 2015 alot of tanks were not built properly to begin with.. You cant just dig a hole and call it a pond. You have to put clay in the bottom to retain the water otherwise it percs right back into the ground. Seen alot of big tanks that never hold water for long due to bad soil conditions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lucky2hunt Report post Posted August 4, 2015 Up here helping AZ Elk Society Water for Wildlife right now... They should be here close to Payson until Sunday. If you're close by you should come lend a hand we always need help, contact rthrbhntng to find out where we are! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rthrbhntng Report post Posted August 4, 2015 Explorer you are right about the dirt tanks, we have seen new, hobby, ranchers come in and dig tanks right past the clay bottom and then stand there and wonder why they don't hold water. Others hit bedrock and think it will hold. Crazy stuff. The AES Contractor had NRCS come out and rod every tank before we did any digging. A practice that saved a lot of aggravation. Steve 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elkaholic Report post Posted August 4, 2015 yep 100% correct on rancher digging down as deep as possible to bedrock huge piles of clay and fines just piled and covered over in the berms- when I suggested using some of the clay to reseal- I was basically told that he always digs them as deep as he can and usually after one season of run off they reseal the soil in the area is extremely full of clay I know of one which took 3 yrs and I've never seen it full yet Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
have2bhuntn Report post Posted August 4, 2015 I thought about 4 0r 5 years ago the wildlife manager for 22 got a grant to fix the non-working catchment in unit 22. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
idgaf Report post Posted August 4, 2015 I think funding for different areas has something to do with it.I also believe unit managers (G&F) have input. I know Ben in 37B worked tirelessly organizing the installation & volunteers over the years. I'm guessing he campaigned for funding of the tanks too. It is my understanding that Ben acts as his own grantwriter to pay for his units water improvements and improvements in general. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Sparky Report post Posted August 4, 2015 Has anyone found a catchment on the habimap that they couldn't locate when they went to find it? I was curious how accurate the habi map is because I seen a carchment on the map in a deer unit I hunt and plan to hike in to find it but wonder if it's actually there. So depending on the type of catchment they built you can see it on Google Earth. Also depending on the date of the picture you can see if the dirt tanks have water in them. Secret spots aren't so secret anymore. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GJMauro12 Report post Posted August 4, 2015 I Looked at the habimap again and it actually has a picture of the tank that I didn't see before. The picture is a square concrete tank that looks extremely old and probably not working anymore. I'll have to hike in to check on it next time I get a chance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PRDATR Report post Posted August 6, 2015 I Looked at the habimap again and it actually has a picture of the tank that I didn't see before. The picture is a square concrete tank that looks extremely old and probably not working anymore. I'll have to hike in to check on it next time I get a chance. I was looking at Habimap but I did not see if there was a way to enable a layer for Water Catchments. It also does not seem to be able to zoom in as much as GOOGLE Earth. If someone could help me with it I would appreciate it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azshtr Report post Posted August 6, 2015 I Looked at the habimap again and it actually has a picture of the tank that I didn't see before. The picture is a square concrete tank that looks extremely old and probably not working anymore. I'll have to hike in to check on it next time I get a chance. I was looking at Habimap but I did not see if there was a way to enable a layer for Water Catchments. It also does not seem to be able to zoom in as much as GOOGLE Earth. If someone could help me with it I would appreciate it. It's one of the layers you turn on. It's called AGFD Wildlife Waters Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GJMauro12 Report post Posted August 6, 2015 The zoom isn't as good as google earth and I don't think the picture quality is quite as good either. And as mentioned above- check the wildlife waters under the layers screen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
