Tracker Summer 2007

S u m m e r 2 0 0 7

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14508_Arizona_Elk.indd 1 3/1/07 2:17:26 PM

Arizona Elk Society 3

Prior to March 17, 2002, AES Founding Memberships were available. These individuals and couples came forth to show their support for the AES in it’s early stages of development. During the formation

of the AES, administrative funds were needed to pay for organizational costs that led up to the first fundraising banquet on March 16, 2002. Founding Members paid a premium membership fee to help make the first year a success. For their support and dedication, the following Founding Members will

receive permanent recognition by the AES.

+ Membership upgraded * Deceased

ARIZONA ELK SOCIETY FOUNDING MEMBERSFounding Associate Members

Douglas Sr & Donna Obert

Founding Life MembersKen Alexander+

Michael J Anderson Ernest Apodaca, Jr+

Randy BeckKeith Berger

Esther CadzowJohn CadzowHarry Carlson

Randy A Cherington+ Pete Cimellaro

Steve Clark Todd A Coleman

Richard CurrieDon DavidsonKay Davidson

Sharon EichelbergerRon Eichelberger

Peter EkholmDaron Evans

Ed Hightower Michael Horstman+

James JohnsonEarl C Johnson

Edward E Johnson Richard Johnson+

Mitchell JonesSandra G Kauffman

Richard E Kauffman, SrBill Kelley

Peter S Klocki+John Koleszar+

James LaraTim Littleton

James Lynch Jr+Don Martin

Russ McDowellWilliam D Meredith

Anthony NicholsCookie NicosonWalt NicosonMark Nixon

Donna ObertDouglas Obert, SrShawn Patterson

Jan PurdyForrest Purdy

Mel Risch+Tom Schorr

Gregory StaintonDouglas Stancill

Vashti “Tice” Supplee+Dan TaylorJohn Toner

Corey TunnellRick Vincent, SrDon Walters, Jr

Dee White Larry White+

Mark WorischeckJoseph Worischeck

Chuck Youngker

Founding Sustaining MembersBridgid & Ron Anderson+ Everett & Joyce Nicoson

Founding Couple MembersJohn & Patty AndersonDenny* & Paula Bailey

Robert F & Shirley J BanksJohn & Taina Beaty

Robin & Billie BechtelBrad & Shelley Borden

Philip* & Jamie Brogdon+ Mark & Shanna BrooksShawn & Lisa Carnahan

Kim & Lynn Carter, SrDanny R Cline & Pat Thompson

Will & Fran GarrisonTim & Patti Garvin

W Hays & Suzanne GilstrapDon & Gwen Grady Steve & Bobi Hahn

Igor & Christy IvanoffDaniel & Danny Johnson

Glen & Tracey JonesRichard & Wendy Kauffman

Bill & Mary KeeblerMark & Lynda KesslerMel & Diane Kincaid

Richard & Christine KrantzDick & Nancy Krause

Eric & Wendy KruegerRon & Lisa Lopez+

Gary & Lin Maschner Shane & Tiffany May

Kevin & Donna McBeeRoger & Micaela Mellen

Denny & Pat MossRobert & Diana Noel

Richard Oberson & Bonnie McAuley William & Vera Rezzonico

Clarence Rodriquez MDRichard & Anna Schmidt

David Scott & Rosemarie NelsonBruce & Lisa Snider

Macey & Becky StarlingEd & Ace Stevens

Tim & Ellena Tanner Craig & Susan ThatcherTom & Kristel Thatcher

Marvin & Margo Thompson+ Keith & Lois Zimmerman

Founding General MembersKendall Adair

Gary R AndersonJim Andrysiak

Denny AshbaughRon BarclayDavid BarilCal Bauer

John F BauermeisterRobert BaughmanManny Bercovich

Dr Tom Boggess, III Tom BrownTom Carroll

Steve CheuvrontCarolyn Colangelo

Mike CupellJack Daggett

Kyle Daggett+Bob Davies

Gary A DavisLarry Day

Nathan Day John W Decker*Chris Denham

Neal E DialCraig Dunlap

Jennifer EvansBobby Fite

Chris FlandersLorenzo A Flores

Roger GibsonCourtney Gilstrap

Floyd Green Jon Hanna

Douglas HartzlerArt HathawayDean Hofman

David J HofmanNorma E Hook

Russ HunterDavid Hussey Rick JohnsonMike JonesDoug JonesTodd Julian

Charlie KellyCharles A Kerns

John Krause Joseph M Lane

Robby LongAaron Lowry

Rick MacDonaldJoe Makaus

Daniel MartinMichael L MasonMike McCormickDonald Meakin

James O MeeksJason Mercier

Jim MercierTracey Miner

Ken MossRonald J Nadzieja

Mike N OliverCraig Pearson

Kenneth B Piggott Bethena PughCarlos Quihuis

Mark RabyRobert L ReadNeal ReidheadKyle SanfordCraig SanfordTony Seddon

Arnold SheltonDennis Shipp

Tom SiscoBruce Sitko

M. Scott SouthCarl Staley

Randy StoutKenneth K Stringer

John W Stuckey Dave Swayzee Troy TartaglioGary TeBeest

Todd ThelanderCharles B Thompson

Stan ThompsonThom Tokash

Brian Van KilsdonkRick Vaughn

Kathy L VincentRick Vincent II Don R Walker

Douglas WatsonVince WattsTodd Weber

Donald D Weber Jr Tom Wooden

Douglas Woodward

Founding Junior MembersTyler GetzwillerKevin H Knight

Daniel RabyNathan RabyJames Rawls

Sheena SmithBlake Tartaglio

Alexandra TartaglioAlexis TartaglioTravis Thatcher

Clayton Thatcher Nathan ThatcherWayne ThatcherTaylor Thatcher

Alexandra Vincent Emma C Vincent Justin M Vincent

The members and volunteers have really come out in support of the AES.

At the annual Big Lake Burro Creek Fence Removal Project in the White Moun-tains the terrain was tougher than anything we’ve seen in the past and the volunteers still succeeded in removing more fence than last year. This year, over 60 volunteers removed well over 5 miles of fence.

Two weeks later, at our annual 26 Bar Adopt-A-Ranch Project, we were able to remove another 4 miles of fence. We also dug out and reactivated two springs near Crescent Lake then piped the water to wildlife troughs away from the main springs. Not only did the springs start running again, but by piping the troughs away from the springs, we’ll be able to keep the wildlife and cattle out of the riparian areas.

Two weeks after the Adopt-A-Ranch project, the Arizona Elk Society hosted our Annual Wapiti Weekend for 113+ kids at Sipes White Mountain Wildlife Area. If you ever get the chance to go to this event as a camper or a volunteer, I guaran-tee you will want to go back each year. Two days observing kids participating in outdoor activities, learning about wildlife and smiling from ear-to-ear the entire time is invaluable and immensely rewarding.

It is very satisfying to attend these events and projects and see the faces of new volunteers. Please stay informed on our events and try to come out and help. Giving back and being a part of the accomplishments of a group such as the Arizona Elk Society is a great feeling – especially when it involves our youth. All members are invited to the Annual Meeting on Aug. 4th. The Annual Meeting will be preceded by our Elk Clinic during the day on Aug. 4th at the El Zaribah Shrine Auditorium. Learn about elk and their habits and make yourself a more successful hunter. Check out the website at www.arizonaelksociety.org for information on upcoming events that you can attend and projects where you can be involved.

With the continuing drought, dry conditions and fire danger, this will be a tough year. Adding to these challenges is the fact that the AZGFD is revising hunt structures and the Forest Service is working on their Travel Management Plans. The AES is committed to staying in the forefront by attending all the right meet-ings and working to make sure our hunting heritage is maintained and hunting opportunities for our youth are preserved.

To top off all the hard work and educational programs, the Arizona Elk Society will be inducted into the Wildlife for Tomorrow’s Outdoor Hall of Fame. Being a relatively new organization and receiving recognition of this caliber is a very special honor. As a result of being involved with the AES, I can honestly say that all the members, volunteers, donors, committee persons, Board of Directors and Executive Board members should be proud – because they truly are what makes the Arizona Elk Society successful.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT AND ALL YOU DO FOR ELK AND OTHER WILDLIFE IN OUR GREAT STATE.

4 The Tracker - Summer 2007

INSIDE ThIS ISSUE

In the Crosshairs: HB 2443 Fails in Senate by John Koleszar ............................. 5

Flat Top by Lori McGaughey ......................6-7

In Memory of Robert E. Peterson .............. 8

My First Javelina by Ryan Scalf ................... 9

BB Summer 2007 by John Koleszar ........... 10

Archery Bull Elk Hunt by Mark Nixon ........ 11

Wapiti Weekend by Steve Clark ...........12-13

Electric Wildlife Crosswalk Up and Running by Norris L. Dodd, Research Biologist ........ 14

On Target by John Toner ............................ 15

AES Supports Safe Passage for Wildlife by Norris L. Dodd, Research Biologist ....16-17

Bass Pro Shops Grand Opening by Steve Clark ............................................ 18

Burro Creek Fence Removal by John Koleszar ........................................ 20

Upcoming Events .........................Back cover

Over the last few months, I have attended several meetings along with all of the AES projects and events and all I can say is, “WOW” and “THANK YOU”.

pRESIDENT’S MESSAGE by Steve Clark

2007 ExECUTIvE BOARDPresident .................................Steve Clark Vice President ............Ron Eichelberger Treasurer .........................Cookie Nicoson Secretary....................................Tim Evans Past President ..... Sharon Eichelberger

BOARD OF DIRECTORSHarry Carlson Jim MullinsShawn Carnahan Tom SchorrJohn Koleszar Greg StaintonGlen Jones Tice Supplee Gary Maschner John Toner

COMMITTEE ChAIRSBanquet ..................Sharon Eichelberger

& Cookie Nicoson

Membership ............................... Dee Clark

Projects ......................... Ron Eichelberger

Merchandise .............. Steve & Dee Clark

Newsletter ....................... John Koleszar & Maria DelVecchio

Website ................................ Leo Balthazor

Wapiti Weekend ................Shelly Hargis

Scholarship .................Wendy Stressman

You may contact any officers, board members or committee chairs at [email protected]


Particularly galling to most people was the way this bill was defeated and the fact that there were NO organized groups or parties that were in opposition to the bill. The demise of the bill can be traced directly to politics, misinformation and a few senators who refused to acknowledge that this was a user fee wanted by the user groups. Instead, they painted it as a new tax.

This bill would have reduced costs by an average of $100 a year for those individuals who currently register and plate their vehicles. For those who have paid nothing over the years, it would have represented a $20 yearly user fee – a figure that was debated long and hard by many. I know families that spend $20 at McDonald’s when they go through the drive-thru. The bill covered many more items than just a plate charge. Also included were provisions for fines and penalties for habitat destruction. Currently the written laws are so vague and misstated that most law enforcement agencies are reluctant to attempt to issue cita-tions, as they are routinely thrown out of court. The Arizona Game & Fish Department would have had funding for 7 OHV Rangers (as we like to call them). Their responsibilities would have focused on education, safety training, meet & greets for events and patrolling heavily abused areas dur-ing critical seasons.

The Off Highway Vehicle Advisory Group, which was formed to be the board where organizations and individu-als could apply for grant monies for related projects, would have received a much needed financial shot-in-the-arm. This Board works with the Arizona State Parks Board which administers the fund that was established almost 15 years ago. Each year, .55 of 1% of the gasoline taxes is attributed to off highway vehicle use. The dollars raised through this tax is what the OHV user groups have had to rely on over the years for their projects. The total monies raised through the taxes amounted to about 1.25 million dollars yearly. For their work in administering the Off Highway Vehicle Adviso-ry Group funding, the Arizona State Parks Board takes 18%. In rough terms, that represents about $200,000 – not a bad fee, but one that the users groups had agreed on. In theory, that would leave about $1 million dollars for the groups to use for their projects and grants. Sadly, for the past 5 years, our esteemed legislature has swept $692,000 from that fund for the purpose of paying for Arizona State Parks employees and overhead. Please bear in mind that OHV’s are not allowed in state parks, and there is not a single mile of trail in any state park that an OHV could ride. That leaves a paltry figure of about $350,000 for grants and projects out

of the original $1.25 million. Certainly, once the legislature finds a source of funding, they show as much remorse as a pack of sharks in a feeding frenzy. The OHV community has been shafted by the legislature and this year they received a double dose. The session bill that went through with the budget took not only $692,000 for 2007/2008, but also took $692,000 from 2008/2009.

A few of the professional politicians in the senate used the “new tax” excuse to vote the bill down. That came as a surprise to many people, particularly republicans who wanted to see the bill passed. When the republicans were voted into office, most signed a pledge stating they would not vote for any new taxes. Barry Aarons of the Aarons Company, Senior Fellow Americans for Tax Reform, was the originator of the pledge, and was consulted by Represen-tative Weiers after the bill was roughed up in its first pass through the Senate. Mr. Aarons sent an e-mail to Senators Gould, Gray, Vershoor, Huppenthal, Leff, Burns, Johnson, Tibshraeny and Bee telling them HB2443 was NOT a new tax, did not violate their pledge and encouraged them to call if they had any questions. Of course logic and reality are hard to come by down in the senate. Those senators that wanted to kill the bill used the same rhetoric even on the final day. Senator Blendu and Senator Gould should specifically be held accountable for their actions. On the Democratic side of the floor, there was even more conster-nation. The Democratic party has long been tooting their horn as being the “environmentally conscious” party. Sadly, several democratic senators also voted no. Senator Rios of Florence would not give a reason for her “no“ vote, and her district is one of the hardest hit by OHV vandalism. Just two weeks prior to the vote, a front page piece in the East Valley Tribune showed some incredible damage to the BLM and grazing lands of ranchers in her district. Her “no” vote should be noted by everyone in her district.

So we’ll have another year with no viable laws, no funding for enforcement, no monies for trail markings, no funding for reparation, and each month another 6,000 off highway vehicles will be purchased in Arizona. To those individuals who worked hard to support and pass this bill, sportsmen should extend a great big thank you. Representative Weiers spent countless hours putting together a coalition of many different parties. He was absolutely responsible for get-ting this bill as far as it went. For those that killed the bill as Senator Blendu is fond of saying … elections are coming – and we know who to target. See you all next year at the legislature!

IN ThE CROSShAIRS: hB 2443 FAILS IN SENATE by John Koleszar

HB 2443, sponsored by Representative Jerry Weiers and approved and endorsed by multiple organizations and user groups, failed in the Arizona State Senate after passing in the House by a vote of 51-4.


My husband Stephen started scouting right away. He saw and filmed many bulls over several weekends. Stephen’s brother Tim and his brother’s best friend, Tim Haffey, had archery cow elk tags in the same unit and used some of their hunt time scouting for bulls. On their two week hunt they found several large bulls so we started to name them to keep track. There was Flat Top, Seven-up, Sticker, Norman, and the one we decided to go after first – Flair.

With the hunt drawing near, we met our hunting party and set up camp near where we had seen most of the larger bulls. My father and two of my brothers took time off work to be my guides. Stephen’s brother and friend stayed on after their hunt to help out as well. The night before open-ing day was exciting and the weather looked very threaten-ing. We scouted a little that evening and saw several bulls, Norman in particular. Things were looking pretty good for opening day. Bedtime came and so did the rain, thunder and cold. I didn’t think the night would ever end. At 4 a.m. opening morning it was cold and wet, but I was ready to go as my six guides and I headed out. We stepped out of our trucks to listen for that first bugle. Our breath was in the air and the clouds overhead were covering the brightness of a full moon. Then came that first bugle we were listening for and we were off. Going after that bugle would prove to be very difficult as the mud was thick and sticky. I felt like I had concrete stuck to my boots, but the mud quieted our steps. As daylight came we were getting close to that first bugle – my heart began to pound and my excitement grew. Troy (my brother and caller) continued on toward the sound of the bugling elk. All of a sudden the bull was right in front of us. My adrenalin was now flowing. We set up in front of some trees and waited. Before long we had three bulls bugling in the area. I thought wow, here it is first

light on the first day and I’m going to get an elk. Boy was I wrong. I studied each bull as he came in through my sights, but none were first day shooters. A nice 5x5 came within 40 yards and the other two came close but they were not what we were looking for. Eventually we moved off in search of another bugle. Having 7 bulls in my sights, I felt the first day was very successful over all.

Days two and three were much the same – I had several good bulls cross my sights. We noticed that most of the bigger bulls we had scouted and were now seeing during the hunt had broken off some of their points. Some were missing a complete side of antler. The rain and clouds had cleared making the full moon nights great for the elk, but bad for the hunter. The elk decided to do all their moving at night – hunting during the day was now difficult. Most of the bulls were only bugling a little in the early morning.

On the morning of day two we finally caught up with Flair. He was a beautiful six by six that we thought would score well. He was truly the trophy of a lifetime. He had moved some distance from the area where we first spotted him. He no longer had any cows and was being pursued by three smaller bulls. His fifth point on his right side was now broken off. We had a hard time closing the gap and never did get within shooting range. That evening while we were sitting on a hill glassing where we last spotted Flair, my brother Troy spotted a different bull. I didn’t get a good look at him and we were loosing light so we decided to go after him hoping for a better look. As usual, we set up in front of some trees. My brother Delvern was next to me – Stephen and Troy were behind us in another tree calling. The bull was bugling and headed our way – I was really nervous on this one. The question going through my head was wheth-

FLAT

TOp by Lori McGaughey

After waiting fourteen years since my last Arizona elk tag, I finally drew the coveted early rifle bull

tag in one of the states’ top units. I think my husband and brothers

were more excited than me.

(Continued on page 7)

er or not to shoot. I couldn’t see Stephen to actually get the ‘okay to shoot’ signal. When the bull finally stepped out and I had him in my sights at 40 yards, he looked huge. My brother whispered, “No, don’t shoot”. He was a big 5x6 bull. After passing on this bull, Delvern coached me on where to aim. There was a calf with the bull that actually came within 10 yards of us. This was all too exciting. We watched this bull and his cows until it was too dark to see and quietly moved out of the area.

In the evening of day three my three little boys wanted to go out hunting with Mom. My dad, Stephen, and the boys left Delvern, Troy, and I on top of a mountain while they drove around to glass us from another hill. As they dropped us off we saw some cows, but could not locate a bull with them. Then we finally heard a raspy old bugle and took off toward the sound. As we got closer, I once again thought this is it! We set up and started calling the bull in. I just knew we had a great bull coming toward us. At about 30 yards in the thick brush we saw a horn. I could tell this was a huge bull and my heart started pounding out of my chest. Troy said, “It’s Norman”, but he now had an entire side of his ant-lers broken off. Oh well, I thought, we’ll eventually find one that’s not broken. Stephen, dad, and the boys were on the other side of the mountain by now and were watching for us. We worked another bull that evening, but once again it was not what we were after.

Day four started at the usual 4 a.m. We stepped out of the truck to listen for that first bugle of the morning. We finally heard one and were off in that direction. I guess we mis-judged the distance because we came upon some cows suddenly and spooked them. But true to form there was another bugle and we were off in another direction. Some-how in our excitement or haste, I’m not sure which, Troy, Delvern, Stephen and I walked right past another group of elk to our right. Stephen got just a glimpse of the bull before it went into the thick brush. He thought it was the bull we named Sticker. So we continued on after the bugle in front of us. We were now close to the bugle. We set up and called only to have another small bull come in – and then we heard HIM. Troy worked the bull with his calls and here he came. I could see his breath in the cold morning air and had him in my sights. I was given the OK if you like him go ahead and shoot sign. At that moment, the 20 to 30 bulls I had witnessed over the past couple of days went rushing through my head. Most of the bigger bulls were broken and I wondered if I would get anything better.

I took the first shot at 289 yards. My adrenalin was really pumping now. I jacked another bullet into the chamber and took off behind Troy in pursuit of the bull. All of a sudden he was in front of us again. I got down on my knees and set up my shooting sticks. As I was looking for the bull in my scope, Stephen said, “Wait, he’s going down.” As we made our way over to the bull we determined he was the same bull we passed up two nights earlier. After studying the bull he was not a 6x5 after all, he was actually a 6x7. He had broken off his entire G2 on his left side. Later the boys determined from the scouting video that he was actually Flat Top, one of our original bulls. He looked a little different because he had several broken points besides the missing G2. Even with the broken tips and missing point, he still grossed 345 B&C.

I would like to thank my loving husband Stephen for persis-tently putting me in for this hunt. Many times I had wanted to forget about the early rifle bull hunt and put in for archery instead, but with that many bonus points he knew it was a matter of time. I had a lot of fun sharing this experi-ence with him and my family, Dad, Troy, Delvern, Tim and Tim and my wonderful boys Zachary, Hunter, and Westen. This was definitely a hunting trip to remember!

FLAT TOp (continued from previous page)

by Lori McGaughey


Send us your story and we’ll include it in a future issue of The Tracker. Email your

story and email or mail your photos. Materials mailed for publication will not be returned to the sender unless accompanied

by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Send to Steve Clark at [email protected]

Arizona Elk Society P.O. Box 190 Peoria, AZ 85380

SEE YOUR STORY IN THE TRACKER


Robert E. Petersen, 80, an entrepreneur, automobile enthusiast and avid sportsman, passed away on Friday, March 23rd, 2007 at St. Johns Hospital in Santa Monica, California after a short but valiant battle with neuro endo-crine cancer.

Mr. Petersen started Hot Rod Magazine in 1948 and sold his first copies by hand for 25 cents a piece at Southern California racetracks. Those humble beginnings resulted in the largest publishing company in America of spe-cialty magazines and books, Petersen Publishing, where he served as chair-man of the board for decades.

His legacy in the automobile industry is legendary. In 1994 he created a $30 million endowment for an educational museum to pay tribute to the automobile. The 300,000 square foot Beverly Hills museum was named in his honor and fulfilled another of his lifelong dreams.

Everything that he did for the automotive industry he also did for the outdoorsman as well publishing outdoor greats Guns and Ammo, Petersen Hunting, Petersen Bow Hunting, Handgun and others. Because of his interest in firearms and shooting he was chosen to serve as Shooting Sports Com-missioner of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

He was an avid hunter and shooter who contributed greatly to wildlife causes, Ducks Unlimited, SCI and the State Run Convervation Programs. Over the past 25 years, he bought Conservations Tags from Montana to Cali-fornia contributing in excess of $2 million to various Wildlife Organizations including but not limited to FNAWS, ADBSS, The Arizona Antelope Founda-tion, The Arizona Elk Society, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and others. In Arizona alone he purchased 18 tags for a total of $1,202,850 that all went to wildlife and wildlife conservation.

He and his contributions will be sorely missed in both the automobile and conservation industries.

IN MEMORY OF

ROBERT E. pETERSON

ROBERT E. PETERSON PASSES AWAY AT 80


Now that I was 12 years old and with a hunter safety course under my belt, it was my time. So on Friday I skipped school and went up with my dad and grandpa. Unfortunately we had no luck on our first day out. The next day we glassed all day again and saw no pigs. This was a new area for my dad and I learned how important scouting is. My dad encour-aged me by saying, “For every day you go out and find nothing, you are a day closer to the day you will.” We were not able to go back out hunting until the very last day of the season but this time we brought our secret weapon, my brother Tyler. He is a great glasser. Sure enough, within five minutes of getting to our spot my brother glassed a pig that was all by itself. After a few minutes the javelina

moved out of sight around the hill. We moved to a new location and found it again. Now we were ready for a stalk. Tyler stayed back to keep an eye on it and to signal us if it left the area. My dad and I headed for a knob to set up a shot. Once there, we couldn’t find the pig for several min-utes but all of the sudden my dad said “There he is!” I got set up for the shot and was looking through the scope praying to God that I wouldn’t miss. All I can remember from that point was the boom and the kick. After about two seconds of shaking I heard my dad say that I dropped the pig. I re-member getting on my knees and giving thanks to God for this experience.

The Arizona Elk Society is a 501.C.3 non-profit organization. For more information, please visit

our website at www.arizonaelksociety.org

MEMBERShIp AppLICATION

Date:

Name:

Email: Address:

City: State: Zip:

Day Phone: Evening Phone:

Membership Category (select one):

m General $40 m Junior $20 (17 & under) m Couple $65 m Sustaining $250 m Life $750 (Jacket size:_______)

Method of Payment:

m Cash m Check m Visa m MasterCard m American Express

Card#: Expires:

Signature:

Mail to: Arizona Elk Society, P.O. Box 190, Peoria, AZ 85380 or call: 623-594-7074

MY FIRST JAvELINA

by Ryan Scalf

This was my first hunt and I was very excited. For several years I had

to sit back and listen to the hunt-ing stories of my dad, mom and

older brother.


His letter was simply a confirmation of the date and time and quite honestly, I was really looking forward to see-ing him. In the letter, he promised to provide me with an “eyeful” of beautiful racks. Little did I know just how big an eyeful it would turn out to be.

As I drove along the 260 nearing Woods Canyon, the sky was blanketed with thick acrid smoke. Once again, another “human caused” fire had reared its ugly head and was con-suming chunks of land just north and east of Christopher Creek. The news crews were doing their sound bites, and the locals were worried about their homes and livelihoods. As I crested the Rim, I glanced back to see the smoke hover-ing over Christopher Creek. It was said that the fire was 40% contained, and I was delighted to later hear that the Hot Shot crews felt it was only a matter of time until it was completely contained.

I worked my way over to Black Canyon Lake road, and headed south. BB had been very careful about providing a map, but his sketches were a bit off. Suffice it to say that his directions soon had me on Tribal lands. As I rounded a bend in what was generously called a road, I noticed the tank he had marked as the spot. Sure enough, by the edge of the tank was my buddy BB. He was sprawled out in the grass, chewing his cud and looking remarkably composed. I parked the truck and walked over to kick back along with BB.

“So BB, what’s the news from up here?” BB gave me that goofy stare of his and started off toward a small meadow. “Take a look yonder my citified friend.” I followed his gaze and my jaw just about hit the dirt. There were two magnifi-cent bulls grazing quietly in the meadow. Each had at least 30 inches of growth on their main beams and I could swear that they were already into their 5th point … and it was still the end of May! “BB” I said, “those are two of the finest looking bulls I have ever seen. They still have at least 60

days of growth and they are awesome.” BB looked over at me and grinned. I swear he puffed out his chest as he said “Yep … those are my sons … from 4 years ago of course. They are the future of the finest elk stock in Arizona and the fruit of my labor of love from 4 seasons past.” They looked identical in almost every way and I wished I had brought my binoculars. “How can you tell them apart BB – they seem to be identical?” BB laughed and said. “Julius is the one on the left. He can be a proud bull when he wants to be, not nearly as polite as his brother. But oh, how he reminds me of myself. You humans would say that he has a great heart.” I was stunned to learn he had named his offspring. “Why did you name him Julius?” I asked. BB gave me the look like I had asked another stupid question. “Why, they go together – the two of them, kind of like milk and cereal – know what I mean?” I was hopelessly lost and said “Nope, I haven’t a clue what you are talking about, please try and fill me in.” BB did that deep sigh of his and said “Julius is the one on the left, Caesar is the one on the right. Caesar is the quiet one … until the rut comes around, then he lets loose a little.” I almost lost it at that point. “You mean to tell me that you named your sons Julius and Caesar?” BB shrugged his shoul-ders and said. “I heard about this famous dude that was the greatest leader of the Roman era, and when I saw them with their momma the next spring, I could tell that they were going to be something special. So, I named them after someone who was a great leader, kind of like I think they will become.”

I looked the bulls over and then glanced at BB. I could make out the genetics in their beams and the size and spread of their tines. Certainly BB could never deny that these were indeed his progeny. There was one small problem … BB was just slightly smaller than the two youngsters. “BB” I said, “those young bulls seem to be a tad bit bigger than you are, and that may spell trouble for you this fall. Know what I mean?” BB stared at me like I had lost my mind. “Boy, you

(Continued on page 21)

BB SUMMER 2007

by John Koleszar

The hoof-stamped envelope came in the mail just prior to the work project at Burro Creek.

Earlier, I had agreed to meet with BB at a loca-tion that cannot be divulged.

ARChERY BULL ELK hUNT

by Mark Nixon

After many years of waiting it finally happened – I drew an archery bull tag

in Unit 8.


Every weekend after, my fiance Kathi and I were in the woods to look for some good areas to hunt. We found 4 different spots where we put up tree stands and areas to put up my ground blind. These spots were water holes and wallows and each was being used every day. Our first two spots were good but after the opening day and a lot of other hunters coming into the area, the elk disappeared. We then went to our number two spots. I was seeing small bulls use the water hole I was sitting on every evening, but did not want to shoot a small elk so I waited. Most archery hunters prefer to hunt on the ground as I do, but this is very hard for me because I am deaf in my left ear. This makes it really hard to locate the direction of a bull I hear bugling, so this is why I hunt water holes and wallows. A very good friend of mine by the name of Brandon Haight and his girlfriend Elisa Aguilar came up from The Valley to help me hunt on the second weekend. They both love to hunt, so they were happy to come up. The first morning we went out the elk were pretty hot. Brandon and Elisa told me they were hearing over 9 different bulls bugling in the area I took them to. By 7:30 a.m., Brandon had 1 bull really worked up and he told me to move ahead of him about 25 yards and to get ready. Again, I have really bad hearing and did not hear the nice 6x6 bull coming up on my right. When I turned my head and saw him standing 25 yards from me, he had already decided something was not right – no cows, only me moving, and Brandon shaking his head. The bull moved out pretty quick. After that, Brandon told me he wanted me to stay right beside him. I agreed that was a good idea. Brandon and Elisa said they could hear more bugling and we all took off in the direction of the sound. As we got closer, again they were telling me they could hear 5 or 6 bulls and a lot of cow calling. At a closer distance, I was able to hear all the bugling. It was wonderful and exciting. Then the worst thing imaginable happened – my launcher on my arrow rest caught on my pants and broke. So that we would not scare off the bulls, we backed out of the woods

and went back to the camp of some other friends of mine and waited for Kathi to show up. I really needed to get to a bow shop. Kathi finally arrived and we all took off for Flagstaff. I was able to find a shop in Flagstaff with a brand new launcher. I bought 3 – one for my bow, one for my pack, and one to put in my archery box. It was about 2 p.m. and Kathi was ready to get back to the waterhole she had been hunting and I was ready to get back out with Brandon and Elisa. By 3 p.m. Brandon and Elisa could hear the elk bugling again. We took off after them and within 40 min-utes I could see horns moving through the trees. Twenty minutes later I could see the herd moving over a draw in front of us. Brandon told me to wait since the herd had gone over the top of the draw. He said he could hear a bull less than 60 yards from us to our right. He bugled one time and sure enough the bull sounded back. Within 10 minutes we were looking at a small 3x4 bull standing 12 feet from us looking around, I was hoping for at least a 5x5 or larger so I let him turn around, bugle and walk away. That was a great moment to have a bull that close and bugling. I had decided it was time to shoot the next bull Brandon called in. He only had one more day to hunt with me. That evening we did not hear many more bulls, so we went to meet Kathi. Kathi came to our friends’ camp that evening and she was all grins – she had shot a bull out of a ground blind. We all gathered up our lights and spent the rest of the night locat-ing her bull and returning to our super camp site – Walt and Cookie Nicoson’s house. They were so gracious to let us stay with them since they lived across the highway from our unit. The next morning found all of us in the same area where Brandon called in the nice 6x6. Brandon did a few locator calls then looked at me and said he heard 3 bulls on top of Coleman Knoll. This is a place I did not want to go because it is really brushy and thick. As we move up close to the edge of Coleman Knoll, Brandon and Elisa told me they could hear a very hot cow (Continued on page 19)


Wapiti Weekend 2007 was absolutely awesome! This year

115 campers and their families came together at the Sipes White

Mountain Wildlife Area. As usual Shelly, Wendy and Bessa did a great

job planning and orchestrating all of the events. Sharon and her kitchen crew

kept the campers and their families fed. This year, with so many volunteers for the kitchen,

Sharon was able to find some time to take a few breaths and enjoy the fun. Smiles were on everyone’s faces.

Even the weather cooperated – we enjoyed mild temperatures for both days of events. This years’ events consisted of track making, animal history and identification, predator calling, fly fishing, bird watching, birdhouse building, backyard bass, hunting ethics and situation interac-tive class, .22 shooting, pellet guns, muzzle-loader shooting, archery, a shotgun event and probably the most favorite of all – the Game and Fish fishing pond with trout for the kids to catch.

The AES is proud to give children the opportunity to experience many different facets of enjoying the outdoors. We have held Wapiti Weekend almost every year the AES has been in existence. The AES would like to say a big “THANKS” to all of the team leaders and event volunteers. Without your help and support this event would not be possible.

One of the special projects this year was the building of 115 birdhouses. These birdhouses are going to be used in the Big Lake area to provide nesting sites for Mountain Bluebirds. The AES extends a special “THANK YOU” to Dan Bradford. Dan supplied all of the birdhouses for the attend-ees to assemble and decorate.

John Toner of Continental Divide Knives, again donated one of his cus-tom-made knives for a camper to win and give to their Dad for Father’s Day. John was on hand to present the knife to the winner and to wit-ness the winner presenting the knife to his dad. THANK YOU John for all you do for the Arizona Elk Society, Wapiti Weekend and all of the groups you donate to.

If you have not had a chance to visit Sipes White Mountain Wildlife Area near Springerville, please take the time. The ranch is a wonderful place to learn the history of wildlife and ranching in our state. The main ranch house has been turned into an interactive museum of wildlife informa-tion and is worth a visit. THANKS to Charlene and Dennis Sipe for having the vision to preserve the ranch for Arizona and THANKS to AZGFD, Brian and Bruce for maintaining the ranch and making it a great place to visit and learn. by Steve Clark

G O O D T I M E S A L L A R O U N D ! !W

AP I T I

W

E E KE

ND


Adolfson and Peterson Construction Anton Sport

Arizona Deer AssociationArizona Game and Fish Department

AZ Desert Star Automotive, Inc.Bashas’

Broken Wheel EnterprisesBurke’s Towing and Recovery

Cabela’sCam Repair

Charlene SipeChris and Robin Herrera

Complete Fire Protection, Inc.

Continental Divide KnivesCruise America RV Rentals and Sales

Dan BradfordDesert BowhuntersDesignAShirt.com

Four Peaks Landscape ManagementJade Grading

Jim, Laila and Hunter WoodJoAnn’s Fabrics Desert RidgeJoe and Mary Jo Worischeck

Maricopa Ready MixMeritage Homes

Pepsi Bottling Group

Performance Suspension Components

Ponderosa Outfitters

Primos Hunting Calls

Round Valley Shooting Sports

Skippy’s Grill & Cantina LLC

Southern Apache County Shooters

Sportsman’s Warehouse

Snyder’s of Hanover

Tom Fowler Trucking

Walt and Cookie Nicoson

Western Drug and General Store

G O O D T I M E S A L L A R O U N D ! !

WAPITI WEEKEND 2007 SPONSORS


Unlike the Christopher Creek Section where elk crossing be-havior has been successfully modified with wildlife under-passes and fencing, this new project also relies on modified motorist behavior to be successful in reducing the incident of collisions with elk and other wildlife.

On the Preacher Canyon Section, the first section along SR 260 reconstructed by ADOT, 8-foot elk-proof fencing was erected along only 10% of the section when it was com-pleted in 2001. Though the section includes two wildlife underpasses (at which nearly 4,000 elk have been recorded on videotape) as well as a large bridge over Preacher Can-yon, the incidence of elk-vehicle collisions has actually gone up since the section was reconstructed. Over the past three years, an average of fourteen elk per year have been in-volved in collisions, compared to six per year in the ten years before reconstruc-tion and the first two years afterward. Arizona Game and Fish along with ADOT pursued enhancement funding to fence the entire 3-mile Preacher Canyon Sec-tion. Work that began last May and was completed in December 2006 should dramatically reduce, if not eliminate, wildlife-vehicle collisions here as animals are funneled toward passage structures by fencing. After all of that, there was still just one small problem to contend with …

At the eastern end of the highway sec-tion, there was no underpass or bridge, nor large canyon or cliff for that matter, in which to tie the terminus of the fence so that animals wouldn’t be inadver-tently funneled over the highway by an “end run effect.” To address this situation, we constructed the state’s first “electric

wildlife crosswalk” to get animals safely across the highway. This crosswalk is comprised of a complex set of “high-tech” components integrated to alert motorists to crossing wildlife. Once deer or elk cross around the terminus of the fence, high-resolution thermal infrared cameras mounted on 30-foot towers pick up the approaching animals. The im-ages are fed to computers loaded with military-grade target acquisition software programmed to determine if the object is a risk to motorists – a rabbit, squirrel or gray fox passing by will be ignored. But if the software “recognizes” the object as a crossing deer or elk, it immediately sends radio signals to a series of signs placed in advance of the crosswalk in each direction. A variable message board will alert motor-ists “CAUTION – ELK DETECTED” followed by an elk warning sign with flashing lights at the crosswalk. The crosswalk zone

has been cleared to improve visibility so that when the signs are activated, there’s a good chance motorists will see (and hopefully slow down for!) the crossing animals.

Our experience elsewhere along SR 260 tells us that we can successfully funnel elk and deer to the crosswalk zone with fencing. What remains to be seen is to what degree motorists will fulfill their role in this endeavor. To measure the success of this project, we will monitor the wildlife-vehicle collision rate, track elk with GPS telemetry to see how fencing affects permeability, and count animals at the crosswalk with video cameras. But to measure how motorists respond, we’ll be tracking and comparing average vehicle speeds when the signs are idle to when they are activated – in order to see how much speeds drop. Before the project was

(Continued on next page)

ELECTRIC WILDLIFE CROSSWALK Up RUNNING

by Norris L. Dodd, Research Biologist, Research Branch, AGFD

Cutting-edge technology was recently implemented on State Route (SR) 260 east of Payson which will alert motorists to wildlife

crossing the road at a designated “wildlife crosswalk.” in Unit 8.

That is one of the reasons we elect our public officials to speak for us and to stand their ground for our beliefs. The silent majority never have the time or money to become active in the political system. The special interest groups that have money, file lawsuits and tie up our legal system, and may end up destroying the things that most of us enjoy in life.

Roads are being closed on our public lands and this is about to affect all of us who believe in hunting. If we can’t get in to harvest the animals, their habitat will be destroyed. En-vironmental groups are trying to make it hard, hoping that we give up fighting for access. I hope there are enough of us who will make our voices heard and eventually, a sleep-ing giant will awaken.

Hunting and fishing is our heritage–we have carried it down from generation to generation. The special interest groups that want to stop hunting and fishing will continue to work against us. It is up to us to work equally hard to preserve these rights. They spend all their money in the po-litical arena, but never put money into wildlife habitat. The Arizona Elk Society and other wildlife organizations do put their money into the habitat, working in conjunction with the Arizona Game and Fish Department and other agencies.

I feel that this is really about the Second Amendment. If

there is no hunting … then why do you need guns? The politicians are bickering so much amongst themselves, they have forgotten the people they were elected to represent.

As I write this, we have just completed the AES work project near the Big Lake area–the 2nd annual fence removal proj-ect. This will help wildlife avoid being caught in the fence wire. I didn’t see any of those special interest groups there to help. It was great to see so many volunteers, including several new members. There was rain and mosquitoes but we were still able to remove over 5 miles of fence. I forgot all my sore muscles after a rum and Coke and a great dinner. Our head cook, Diane Kincaid, and her helpers did a fan-tastic job of feeding the hungry workers. Throughout the weekend we saw a wolf, elk and deer.

Everyone can help by passing the word on to other sports-men they know about issues that will affect all of us, or by participating in meetings where sportsmen are being asked for their opinions.

Good hunting, good fishing and may the good Lord take a liking to you.

P.S. It’s just not right–when you are young, you are young and carefree; but when you are old, you are just OLD. I’m only 35 years from being 100.


People never seem to have enough time to engage in debates or to express their opinions on important issues.

ON TARGETby John Toner

completed, westbound motorist speeds often averaged in excess of 80 mph (posted 55). When an animal enters the detection zone and the signs are activated, it’s imperative that motorists heed the warning and slow down (and then slow down some more!). This will hopefully prevent an un-

wanted encounter with a 600 to 1,000 pound elk. If success-ful, this concept could be applied elsewhere in the future with animals funneled to a crosswalk from both directions – providing a highly cost-effective alternative to a $4 million wildlife underpass.

ELECTRIC WILDLIFE CROSSWALK Up AND RUNNING (continued from previous pg.)


16 The Tracker - Spring 2007

The June morning was already warm and smoke lingering from the prior evening’s campfire permeated the air as AES and Mogollon Sportsmen volunteers gathered at a brief-ing for their work assignments. The weekends’ work was planned around a “traditional” habitat improvement project – removing an old, barbed-wire pasture fence below the towering Mogollon Rim. I had “crashed the party” hoping to muster some volunteers to help me maintain fence along State Route (SR) 260. By the looks of the very small contin-gent (if it could even be called that) standing on my side of the fire ring though, it was apparent that not too many vol-unteers were keen on spending their weekend listening to the roar of traffic zooming by as they worked. That was un-til I described the tasks at hand which included maintaining elk-proof fencing along the highway that was responsible for reducing the number of elk killed along a single 5-mile highway stretch from 52 animals in 2004 to only 8 in 2005! I could see the volunteers coming to the realization that though the traditional fence removal project would yield long-term benefit to wildlife, helping to reduce the carnage on Arizona’s high-country highways would yield immedi-ate returns to the resource. I watched with glee as many volunteers made their way to my side of the fire ring. I was especially satisfied that they so readily grasped the impor-tance of resolving conflicts between wildlife and highways and were committed to doing something about it!

Like the AES volunteers that day, biologists and transporta-tion managers across North America are just beginning to fully grasp the huge impacts that highways have on wildlife. These impacts range from the direct loss of ani-mals in collisions (more than a million deer are killed each year by vehicles in the U.S.) to the barrier effect (or limited “permeability” across roadways) created by highways when animals cannot get from wintering to summering areas or from food to cover to water, thus isolating and fragmenting populations. The growing number of collisions between wildlife and vehicles tied to Arizona’s burgeoning human population is a major highway safety concern. Collisions with wildlife result in many serious human injuries each year in Arizona, along with hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage. The indirect impact of highways goes far beyond the actual roadway “footprint”, extending out as much as 10-15 times the width of the roadway – highways have altered 20% of the total land area in North America!

Since 2000, ADOT has been reconstructing SR 260 from a narrow 2-lane to a divided 4-lane highway to accommodate not only increased traffic but to address safety and wildlife permeability issues. This project is now regarded as one of the most comprehensive efforts in North America to make a highway permeable to wildlife. When complete, 11 sets of large, bridged underpasses will be built specifically to facilitate wildlife passage under the highway, in addition to 6 sets of large bridges over streams, all the while making the newly upgraded highway safer for motorists. To date, seven underpasses and six bridges have been completed in the first 3 of 5 construction phases.

Since 2001, Game and Fish’s Research Branch has been working with ADOT to evaluate the effectiveness of under-passes and other measures to make the highway perme-able and safe. One mainstay of our research has been the use of integrated, infrared 4-camera video surveillance systems in and around the wildlife underpasses to assess wildlife use. To date, we’ve recorded over 9,000 animals and

AES SUppORTS SAFE pASSAGE FOR WILDLIFE



11 species on videotape at six underpasses, of which elk account for nearly 80%. Of these animals, half have crossed through the underpasses – that’s 4,500 elk and deer that motorists didn’t have to dodge and potentially hit!

An even “higher tech” aspect of our research is our applica-tion of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology in track-ing elk movements and highway crossing patterns. To date, we’ve fitted 110 elk with GPS telemetry collars that receive and store a fix every 90 minutes for 22 months, yielding up to 8,000 fixes per animal. In our first 2 phases (of 3) of elk tracking, we obtained over 230,000 fixes from 64 elk, and determined 6,037 highway crossings, or an average of 94 crossings per elk. One cow crossed 692 times, and lived! Other frequent highway crossers didn’t fare so well. Five of thirteen elk that crossed at least once every other day were killed in vehicle collisions, while only one of the 51 that crossed less often was killed.

We used GPS telemetry to compare elk permeability across the highway among different construction stages. We used “passage rate” as our measure of permeability, calculated from the percentage of times elk crossed SR 260 compared to the times they approached to within 250 yards of the highway. Highway sections before and during construction posed virtually no barrier to elk, as they crossed 86% of the time they approached the highway. However, on the sec-tion where construction was completed, the passage rate was only 43%, reflecting the barrier effect from the widened footprint and traffic zooming by on all 4 lanes.

Elk crossing patterns from GPS showed large crossing zone peaks along the highway in proximity to lush meadow areas that attract elk for foraging (especially during our prolonged drought). From the elk crossing patterns, we pro-vided data-driven guidance to ADOT on which sections of the highway should be fenced to reduce crossings over the highway. We’ve recommended fencing high crossing zones to intercept crossing elk and funnel them toward under-

passes. On the Christopher Creek Section, we projected that fencing just 50% of the section would intercept 89% of elk crossings, a good “bang for the buck.” This highway section was completed and opened to traffic a year before the fenc-ing was installed, allowing us to compare the elk-vehicle collision rate, underpass use, and permeability before and after fencing.

In the year before fencing was erected, only 12% of the deer and elk that approached the underpasses success-fully passed through them – the remainder crossed up and over the highway continuing to present a risk to motor-ists (and themselves). But after fencing, 56% of the elk and deer passed under the highway via underpasses and none crossed over the highway. And elk-vehicle collisions dropped 85% in the year after fencing was erected, this with only 50% of the section fenced! Most significant however was the benefit fencing had on permeability. Before fencing, elk crossed the highway 79% of the time they approached. As expected, the passage rate dropped to 52% when re-construction was complete but before fencing. Though we hoped fencing would not heighten the barrier effect, we were surprised that the passage rate actually increased to 83% with fencing! Thus, fencing plays a pivotal role in pro-moting permeability along with passage structures, funnel-ing elk toward the underpasses where they can pass under the highway with lessened impact from vehicular traffic compared to crossing over the highway.

Along with ADOT, our research efforts are helping to increase the effectiveness of the underpasses and fencing that ADOT has built as an investment in increasing highway safety and promoting wildlife permeability. Motorists that travel SR 260 stand to reap the benefits of this investment in travelling a highway that’s safer for people and wildlife alike. And eventually, the lessons learned here will help make more of Arizona’s highways safer and permeable for wildlife.


After a year of anticipation the new Bass Pro Shops store in Mesa is open.

On June 6, 2007 the Arizona Elk Society and about 10,000 sportsmen were on hand for the grand opening. The store

lived up to all the hype with tons of hunting, fishing and camping gear and

lots of great outdoors displays.

The Arizona Elk Society had a booth inside where we distributed materi-

als and outside where we cooked and served Johnsonville Brats and Hot

Dogs to all the hungry customers wait-ing in line for the grand opening.

The AES would like to welcome Bass Pro Shops to The Valley and thank

Nikole and Jim for the opportunity to participate in the grand opening.

BASS pROShOpS GRAND OpENINGby Steve Clark


calling. Brandon started to use his cow call when all of a sudden the cow came running down the hill toward us. We just stood and watched as she moved off to our left and out of our sight. Brandon started to cow call when a bull bugled and was headed our way. We stopped by a large pine when we could see the bull coming down the hill and boy was he hot. The bull was running and bugling at the same time. I nocked an arrow and was ready. I was think-ing the bull was going to come by us to our left when the bull stopped and looked around. This is when Brandon said, “Get ready and watch this.” He started bugling at the bull and when the bull heard him, the bull bugled back and

started to move toward us. The bull was standing 10 yards from us when he stopped. I was ready at full draw and had a perfect shot. The bull was hit hard and we watched as he went only 50 yards after my shot and dropped. All I could do was think WOW!!! I finally shot a bull, a nice 6x7. What a great morning this was! We spent the rest of the day get-ting my bull out of the woods and to the meat processor in Williams. To me there is nothing better than having good friends and a great hunt. I want to thank Brandon and his girlfriend Elisa for helping me experience hunting on the ground. I would also like to thank Walt and Cookie for their great hospitality in letting us stay with them.

ARChERY BULL ELK hUNT (continued from page 11)

by Mark Nixon

The AES is committed to making

sure every dollar it receives is

wisely spent. The AES Projects

Committee keeps busy trying to

get good, sound projects that the AES can fund or

work on for the benefit of Arizona’s elk. For more

information, visit www.arizonaelksociety.org and

click on “Projects & Activities” at the top.RESULT: The upgraded catchment holds 22,000 gallons of water.

pROBLEM: The old Unit 9 concrete water catchment held about 2000 gallons which was inadequate for the wildlife.

pROBLEM: These photos show the encroachment of Jack Pines in a traditionally open meadow.

RESULT: By removing the Jack Pines in Unit 7, we restore the meadow and encourage wildlife forage to grow.

AE S F U N D S

A T W O R K

The people who were able to arrive early were greeted by almost 2 inches of hail which covered much of the project area. Fortunately, the hail had melted by the time Saturday morning arrived and the skies that had threatened rain held off while the ground crews removed “T” posts, fence stays and 4 strands of barbed wire. The initial objective had been for the crews to remove 5 miles of barbed wire over the weekend. As it turned out, each team created a unique system of work resulting in the completion of the whole project on Saturday. The crew I was on found that at some time in the past, our fence line had been replaced and the old 4-strand had been just left lying on the ground in a haphazard fashion. Some of the wire was under tree limbs or deadfalls and just half buried by the forest debris. So the crew that Pete Cimellaro & Bruce Sitko were in charge of wound up pulling almost 2 miles of 4-strand barbed wire along with the stays and “T” posts.

Vicente Ordonez, Staff Wildlife Biologist for the Apache Sit-greaves National Forest on the Springerville Ranger District,

was once again delighted with the progress that was made removing fence. Each year brings new challenges and cer-tainly as time goes by, the old fencing will be more difficult to remove. Several attendees who arrived early were treated to an appearance by a lone Mexican Wolf that was seen circling around the campgrounds scrounging for its daily meals. Elk, antelope and other wildlife were readily visible. Those who decided to spend some time at Big Lake on Sun-day, found that it offers excellent fishing. Diane Kincaid, Joan Toner and several other ladies were kind enough to head up the cooking arena and served some awesome meals for the work crews on Saturday and Sunday. Steve Clark, the president of the Arizona Elk Society, was encouraged by the increase in workers this year and said he looks forward to increased numbers each year as word of this work project and the successes that we have had continue to spread. To all who shared in the scratches, bumps, bruises and tired muscles, the Arizona Elk Society thanks you for your hard work and your contribution of time and energy. We look forward to seeing all of you next year at Big Lake.


BURRO CREEK FENCE REMOvAL 2007

by John Koleszar

On May 19th and 20th, 2007 more than 60 volunteers worked their way to the Big Lake

recreation area for the 2nd annual Arizona Elk Society fence removal.

“Boy, you have so little faith in me don’t you? Those are young bulls, and old age and cunning can always overcome youth and strength.” And with that he started his nasty little chuckle. “Come fall, those two will wear themselves out chasing every cow from here to Show Low. I on the other hand, will bide my time until the cows are ready to be bred and then I’ll sneak in and herd up the good look-ing cows and head off. Those two youngsters will have their day, but it won’t be this year.” I looked over at the young bulls and I thought about life, and how the progressions of time can never be slowed. “Someday BB those boys will kick your butt, and I don’t just mean literally.” BB looked again at his offspring and said, “Was a time when I did the same thing myself. No sense making it sound sweet and nice. I’m having my day and my time, theirs will come soon enough. Then you and I can swap tall tales come fall instead of me traipsing halfway across the Rim looking for freshening females.” As usual his logic was unassailable. It is his time and place, and just as sure as I put in for the draw each fall, BB will be out there living life to its fullest. I was ready to leave when he bellowed out, “Hey Julius, hey Caesar, come meet my friend. Their heads snapped up at his shouting and they eyeballed me suspiciously and then bolted from the meadow. BB rubbed his nose against a sapling and said “First smart thing those two have done all day. There may be hope for them yet.” With that he laughed, broke out into a deep chuckle and started to leave. Just before he turned to go into the cedars, he looked back and shouted. “Hey, you ever try doing the Ordway shuffle?” Once again I was hope-lessly lost. “What the hell is the Ordway shuffle?” BB started doing a mean dance that resembled the Arizona two step, but with him it was an Arizona four step and said, “Every

time the summer comes, you humans do your best to burn everything down. Everybody wrings their hands and says how tragic it is that all those trees burnt to the ground and how this beautiful forest is no more. Hell 3A and specifically 3C looked tragic for all of at least two years. With seeding and just the right mix of rain, it’s become some of the most delectable areas in all the creek bottoms for miles around. The heavy canopy is gone, our little cousins the mule deer are back, and turkeys are flocking to get in to that country. Green is coming up where the forest floor was just duff before the fires. Nature has a way of dealing with all the mishandling by you humans. So, when the season comes, we all do our fire dances, and hope that they don’t get too big or too dangerous. We named our little dance the Ord-way shuffle, in honor of that big Kahuna down in Phoenix. Seems that he wants to grow a few more elk, just can’t figure out the best way to do it. Taking old growth forests and burning a few thousand acres in selected spots sure doesn’t seem to be a bad start.” With that BB disappeared, leaving me with a couple of great quotes, and more than a few attempts at the Ordway Shuffle or the Arizona four step. Anybody know how to do the Arizona four step?


The Tracker is a quarterly publication for the members of the Arizona Elk Society. Letters, comments, news items, articles, pictures and stories are welcome and will be

considered for publication. You may mail or email any such items. Materials mailed for publication will not be returned

to the sender unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Arizona Elk Society P.O. Box 190, Peoria, AZ, 85380

[email protected] 602-885-0835

AES MISSION STATEMENT

The Arizona Elk Society is a non-profit 501(c)(3) wildlife organization. Our mission

is to raise funds to benefit elk and other wildlife through habitat conservation and restoration

and to preserve our hunting heritage for present and future generations.

“BB” SUMMER 2007 (continued from page 10)

by John Koleszar

ADVERTISING IN THE TRACKERGet your product information in front of thousands

of Arizona outdoor enthusiasts and hunters by placing your full-color ad in The Tracker.

Ad Rates for interior pages:Quarter page: $100; Half page: $175; Full page: $350

Ad rates for inside back or inside front cover:Full page: $500

Discounts for 1 year+ contracts. Accepted format is high resolution PDF.

For more information, email [email protected].


With the rapid loss of open space to development, wildlife habitat is being reduced at a rate of 7 square miles per day. Arizona’s elk herds are loosing traditional migration corridors, calving grounds, forage meadows and other important habitat. The new “Habitat Partners of Arizona” pro-gram is designed to help protect that land. The main focus of this program will be to preserve land and prevent the rapid decline of Arizona’s elk habitat.

HOW WILL MONEY BE USED?

Conservation Easements: An agreement between land-owners and a qualified conservation organization in which the owner of the land agrees to place restrictions on the type and amount of development that can take place on the property.

Land Donations: A gift of land or real estate from a corporation or private landowner.

Bargain Sale Purchase: The purchase of property with a portion of the price being discounted as a property donation.

Possible Land Use Changes: By partnering with ranchers, landowners and govern-ment agencies the Habitat Partners of Arizona program will be able to maintain forage-rich grasslands, critical elk winter and summer ranges, migration corridors, calving grounds, natural water sources such as riparian areas and

increase wildlife habitat. After the land has been designated saved, the AES can then plan projects to restore and improve the habitat.

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP:Become a Habitat Partner with your tax deductible donation starting at $2500 ($1000 for 17 and under).

Payment Plan Available: $500 minimum commitment per year. You will be recognized for a donation level once your pay-ments reach that level for each level you attain.

All program participants that reach the $2500 level and above ($1000 for youth) will be recognized in literature and on the AES website and will receive a plaque at each level.

If you are interested in donating property or a conservation easement, the AES will work with you to designate the ap-propriate level based on the value of the donation.

DONATION LEVELS:

Legacy Partner $500,000

Habitat Guardian $250,000

Monarch Partner $50,000

Imperial Partner $25,000

Royal Partner $10,000

Supporting Partner $5,000

Sponsor Partner $2,500

Spike Partner (17 & under) $1,000

Habitat Partners of Arizona

TO DONATE:

Complete the Habitat Program donation form on the AES website and mail to:

Arizona Elk Society P.O.Box 190, Peoria, AZ 85380

Walt and Cookie Nicoson Supporting Partner Level

Steve and Dee Clark Sponsor Partner Level

Ron and Sharon Eichelberger Sponsor Partner Level

AES Habitat Partners Cabela’s

Sponsor Partner Level

Harry Carlson Royal Partner Level with goal of

Imperial Partner Level

Sportsman’s Warehouse Sponsor Partner Level

Pacific West Representatives Sponsor Partner Level

Arizona Elk Society P.O.Box 190, Peoria, AZ 85380

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EVENTSJULY

July 14 Arizona Antelope Banquet

July 21, 22 AES Unit 9 Water Tank Project

AUGUST

Aug 4 AES Annual Meeting

Aug 4 Annual AES Elk Clinic

Aug 4 AES Hunt of a Lifetime Drawing

OCT

Oct 18, 19, 20, 21 AES Junior Hunt Elk Camp

Don’t forget the all-day

Elk Clinic followed by the Annual Meeting on Aug. 4th. Learn about elk and their habits to make yourself a more successful hunter.

Events to be held at the El Zaribah Shrine Auditorium.

Documents

Tracker Summer 2007