"For Hunters by Hunters"

2008 - 2009 HUNTING INFORMATION

September 2008

by Ron Tobeck

Valley Waterfowl Board Member/Blind Coordinator

Once again it is time to prepare for the upcoming waterfowl season. Last year many of you were able to take advantage of the fine hunting opportunities provided by our organization. This year we have again been able to expand our hunt areas, and have added a fourth blind. These four blinds are located on four separate properties. Three of these blinds are four-man blinds and one of them is a three man blind. Once again this year I will be the coordinator of our hunting program. As such, I will manage all hunting applications, storm day requests, and will be the contact person for all information pertaining to Valley Waterfowl blinds.

All of these blinds are pit blinds which are located in rice. The McRae Blind (Richvale Area) is located northwest of Gridley and is the same blind that we hunted here last year. This property is located on approximately 300 acres and there are only three blinds total on the property, one of which is only for Valley Waterfowl use.

The second blind is the same Delevan Road/Sac Refuge Blind that we hunted last year. This blind is located 500 yards directly south of the Sac. National Wildlife Refuge and approximately three miles northwest of the Delevan Refuge Closed Zone. This four-man blind has approximately eighty acres of flooded rice surrounding it. South winds make this blind a real shooter.

The third blind is the Nelson Road Blind. This blind is new for us this year. It is located off Nelson Road near the Butte Creek tree line approximately two miles northeast of the McRae Blind.

The fourth blind is the Cherokee Ranch Blind. This is also a new blind for us this year and is our only three-man blind. It is located in the Butte City Duck Club approximately a mile east of Little Dry Creek Refuge.

We did try to locate our fourth blind in the Grasslands area for our southern members but found that there were a very limited number of blinds available and none of them met our needs.

Our draw hunts will be conducted similar to last year. Every hunter who is interested in hunting on one of the Valley Waterfowl properties must complete and return a draw hunt application and a signed release of liability waiver. Both of these forms are attached to this news letter and will be available on our web site. Hunt days will consist of Saturdays, Sundays, and Wednesdays throughout the season. However, like last year, we have expanded the hunt days to include foul weather days. If there is a rain storm forecasted for a non hunt day (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday) any member can call Valley Waterfowl’s hunting line and request to hunt on that storm day. The storm must be forecasted two days in advance and a request to hunt must be made two days prior to the requested hunt day. To prevent calls from coming in at all hours of the day and night we will only be accepting hunt requests that we receive between 2PM and 5PM two days prior to the storm day. A second requir ement for those who wish to hunt the storm days is that they have a release of liability on file. If there is no 2008-09 release of liability waiver on file for the member they will not be permitted to hunt or access the Valley Waterfowl properties.

Due to factors related to the rice crop and water availability, etc., it is uncertain when our properties will be open for hunting. Also, keep in mind that we are experiencing drought conditions in our Northern California water delivery systems and may not have water available to all blinds through the end of the season. Information regarding the opening dates of our blinds will be published on our web site as soon as it is available. We suggest that you complete and return both the hunt application and liability waiver as soon as possible. Each application allows a selected member to bring a guest, however, that guest is also required to be a Valley Waterfowl member. Any hunters who are currently not Valley Waterfowl members can print a membership form from our web site and submit that form with the $35 membership fee. This can be included with the hunt application.

The 2008-09 hunt application and waiver will contain a phone number for our hunting line. This number should be used for questions regarding hunting and to request storm day hunts. Please note that waivers must also be completed for the guest that is listed on each application. It is required that applications and waivers be received by Valley Waterfowl at least fourteen days prior to the requested hunt days. For more information please visit our web site at www.valleywaterfowl.org.

In addition to the above requirements, we ask that you e-mail or phone us as soon as possible after your hunt with the results of your hunt: how many hunters shot how many ducks/geese. It is preferable that this be done via e-mail to limit the number of phone calls to our hunt line. The e-mail address is lizron@comcast.net. If I am not available via a phone and you do not have access to a computer, please leave the hunt results on my voice mail. This information is critical to our decision on which blinds to consider for lease from year to year.

Directions to each of the four blinds will be available by contacting me just prior to the start of the season. I also will provide directions when needed at the time I notify you of your hunt date.