Regional Reports
March/April 2008
- Fawna Gregory
Nevada, Arizona and Texas Regional News - Scott Hampel
Report from the Rockies - Ron Knapp
News from the Northwest - Mike Laughter
High Desert News - Brandon Mason
Northern Great Plains Region - Don Brown
Northern California Regional News
News from the Field
March/April 2008
By Bob Meulengracht
Things Going On
As usual for the first part of the year there are a lot of “things going on” within the MDF. We have just completed our National Convention to celebrate our 20th anniversary, and what a celebration it was! Not only did we have a great time, but we also did a little business. First and foremost we raised a lot of money for the conservation of mule deer, black-tailed deer and their habitat. Additionally, we held a meeting with representatives from the U.S. Forest Service, attended meetings with the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) Mule Deer working Group, we recognized and awarded our volunteers, we held a reception for our life members, we saw Alan Jackson, we saw some old friends and made some new ones, we worked hard and had some fun!
Immediately on the heels of convention we rolled into the heart of banquet season. The bulk of the banquets are usually in the spring, and this year is no exception. With the addition of a number of new chapters that will be hosting their first-ever MDF fundraisers, we look forward to a banner year for MDF. View the banquet schedule here, and we hope you will attend one of these exciting events in your area.
2007 Wrap-up
Before we jump into what happened at Convention or what will happen in early 2008, we need to take a moment to highlight some of the things that happened in November and December of 2007.
First a big hand to Rob Nielson of the Ripon Chapter who on Dec. 15, 2007, held their first event with a prime rib dinner and auction for 42 people. A great time was had by all in attendance. Rob and the rest of the Ripon Chapter committee have scheduled their next banquet for June 14, 2008. For ticket information contact Rob at 209-617-0911.
Regional Director Fawna Gregory, with the help of Shawna Huckabey, our Special Events Director, hosted a Ladies Luncheon in Reno, Nev., on Oct. 27. Fawna and Shawna decided to start a Ladies Chapter and thought a great name would be Women of the Wilderness (WOW). Our first event was a small one with 38 women in attendance, but a great time was had by all the ladies. The women found it quite amazing to be able to sit with other women and tell hunting stories and show pictures. Fawna and Shawna are already planning the second event for the fall of 2008. For information on the 2008 event or to help please contact Fawna (fgregory@muledeer.org) or Shawna (shawna@muledeer.org).
On December 1 the Snowy Range Chapter of Laramie, Wyo., set a record in attendance with 320 guests and net proceeds exceeding $32,000. In addition, these chapter volunteers supplied a significant amount of volunteer “sweat equity” time and 2006 chapter reward dollars to install a spring on Ring Mountain (to the west of Laramie).
On December 8 the Teddy Roosevelt Chapter of the MDF in Dickinson, N.D., held their first banquet and fundraiser. What a banquet it was! With only a few tickets pre-sold the week before the banquet, Regional Director Brandon Mason was a little worried about what kind of attendance they would have. The two days leading up to the banquet minds were eased as tickets were being sold rapidly. We had 112 people in attendance, and everyone seemed to have a great time. The chapter raised around $6,000 for mule deer projects in North Dakota and across the country.
2008
On January 10-11 , 2008, Regional Director Ron Knapp, Director Ray Rugg and Montana State Chair Dan Dellinger attended the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association (MOGA) annual convention. Ron, Ray and Dan sold eight MDF Outfitter Memberships and three Annual Memberships to start the year off on the right foot!
The 2008 banquet season literally broke the ice on a very, very cold night east of the Mississippi. The night before the third coldest game in NFL history was played in Wisconsin, 56 attendees braved the foul weather conditions and attended the “first-ever” MDF banquet held in near Milwaukee. Although attendance was smaller than expected, the chapter was able to get its inaugural event “under its belt” and raise additional funds to help MDF meet its mission. In all, 58 new or renewing memberships were collected and reported. This may seem small, but this is a great start for MDF in a state that does not have mule deer. A special thanks to Andy Nichols, Larry Thompson, Rita Thompson, Dave Thompson, Ryan DeWyse and Christina DeWyse is well deserved for their help in making this event successful. A bigger event is expected in 2009. For information, please contact Andy Nichols at 847-846-0913 or Larry Thompson at 608-658-9520.
On January 26, 2008, one week later, 120 people attended the second annual MDF Wind River Chapter event. This is an increase of over 30 people from 2007. In addition, preliminary figures indicate that the chapter increased its net revenue by 100% from 2007 to 2008. Stan Harter and Carrie Dobey, each from the Wyoming Game & Fish Department, were in attendance and provided a brief overview of mule deer habitat projects taking place in Wyoming’s Fremont. A special thanks to Clarke Daniels, Laura Daniels, Justin Daniels, Jarred Daniels, Stan Harter, Don Molyneux, Blake Moats, Jenny Moats, Kimberly Womack and Rayne Hoffman for their help planning, organizing and hosting this event. To help this chapter, please contact Clarke Daniels at 307-330-4760.
State Chairs Announced
One of the items of business at the National Convention is the affirmation of volunteer State Chairs for the New Year. This year we are pleased to announce the following as our State Chairs:
George Corder – California (Banquets and Membership)
John Terry – California (Sweat Equity Projects)
Rich Fletcher – California (Legislative Liaison)
Joe Straley – Colorado
Jacob Tolk – New Mexico
Wayne Windsor - Utah
Dan Dellinger – Montana
Mike Jones – Washington
Billie Gregory – Northern Nevada
Oly Flach – Southern Nevada
Jon Mott – Arizona
Matt Bales – Oregon
Dennis Neier – Missouri
Congratulations and we look forward to your help and most of all passion in helping MDF achieve great things in 2008!
Special Auction Items or Raffles at Banquets
North Dakota – The Teddy Roosevelt, Northern Badlands, West Dakota and Lake Agassiz Chapters are selling tickets for the North Dakota Statewide Mule Deer License. For information or to purchase tickets contact Brandon Mason at 701-527-0609 or brandon@muledeer.org or Ryan Krapp at 701-471-8788.
Redding, Calif. – The Redding Chapter will auction a Wyoming Governor’s Deer/Elk/Antelope License and a Paunsaguant, Utah Deer Tag at their annual fundraiser. For information on bidding contact Steve Boero at sboero@sbcglobal.net. This event is scheduled for May 3. Additionally, the chapter is raffling a 4x4 ATV, and tickets are $20 each or six for $100. For more information on how to obtain tickets for the raffle or banquet, please call Patrick Jones at 530-222-3223 or Mark Malouf at 530-222-4996.
Denver, Colo. – The Mile High Chapter is raffling a 2008 Colorado Statewide Deer License. For information on obtaining tickets contact Boyd Anders at 303-841-7799. You can also download a ticket order form from HERE. Sorry, no credit cards can be used to purchase tickets for this raffle.
Rifle, Colo. – The Pass the Buck Chapter is again raffling the Colorado Statewide Pronghorn License. For information on how to get tickets call Regional Director Scott Hampel at 303-659-2088 or 720-261-6232. Download the ticket order form HERE. Sorry, no credit cards can be used to purchase tickets for this raffle.
Yuba City, Calif. – The Sutter Buttes Chapter is offering an early bird incentive for their April 5, 2008, banquet for a 2008 Arctic Cat Prowler XT 650 4x4. This side by side work horse is camouflage just in case you want to use it for hunting. The early bird package is limited to 150 - $300 packets. Each packet includes a 1 in 150 chance at the early bird Arctic Cat Prowler, $400 in raffle tickets, 20 bonus tickets, 3 - $100 progressive tickets, and 1 - $300 progressive ticket. This is a great package, so don’t wait! Tickets will not be sold at the door. For more information please call 530-673-2666.
Livermore, Calif. – Will be auctioning off a California Open Zone Deer Tag and a Wyoming Governor’s Deer/Elk/Antelope License at this year’s banquet scheduled for March 14, 2008. You can contact Rich Fletcher in Livermore at 925-373-6601 for more information or bidding procedures.
San Jose, Calif. – Will be auctioning off a Grizzly Island Tule Elk Tag, a Wyoming Governor’s Deer/Elk/Antelope License and a California Pronghorn License at their annual banquet scheduled for April 12, 2008. Contact Stan Atwood at 408-370-5070 for more information on these tags.
Ripon, Calif. – The Ripon chapter is having a raffle for a Christensen Arms rifle with a Swarovski scope. Tickets are $10/each. Get yours by calling Rob at 209-617-0911.
New Mexico – MDF in 2008 will again be holding a raffle for the New Mexico Lt. Governor’s Mule Deer Lottery License. For information or to obtain tickets contact Bob Meulengracht at 303-907-8702.
Additions
It is our pleasure to welcome Ken Hand to the staff at MDF. Ken has been hired as our newest Regional Director. Ken will be assigned to Oregon. We look forward to great things happening in that state. If you are interested in helping out in Oregon, please contact Ken at 541-274-1106 or ken@muledeer.org. For more information about Ken see a related article in the March/April 2008 MDF Magazine.
Congratulations
The Reno Chapter and Kiwi Safaris gave away a hunt of a lifetime. The hunt includes a five-day Red Stag Trophy hunt for one hunter and one non-hunter guided by Kiwi Safaris, to be taken between March 1 and July 31, 2008. Airfare, luxury lodging and transportation are all included. Congratulations to the winner, Brian Hilton, of Phoenix, Ariz., who is the lucky winner! He is really looking forward to going on this hunt. The Reno committee would like to issue a very special “Thank you” to George Jones of Reno and Mike Freeman of Kiwi Safaris for this generous donation.
Needing Help
Seed gathering has started in Nevada. With so much of the state lost to wildfire over the last couple of years, it is really important that as much seed as possible is gathered to get the state reseeded. If you would like to help with the seed gathering, go to www.ndow.org and sign up on their volunteer page.