Fundraiser, Special Tags Announcement
After careful consideration, the ADA Board of Directors has decided to postpone the 2021 Annual Fundraiser, originally scheduled for March 6th, until later in the year. An exact date has not yet been determined, but we are hoping for some time in August at the Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino. Our members and supporters will be kept apprised of details as they happen, so visit our website often and look for us on social media.
On a bright note, ADA was awarded the state of Arizona Commissioners’ Special Mule Deer Tag, the state of Arizona Commissioners’ Special Coues’ Whitetail tag, and the 2021 Hualapai Scholarship Elk Tag, all to auction to the highest bidder. We held this auction on March 6th in a live, on-line event.
The Scholarship Elk Tag had a winning bid of $50,000, the Coues Whitetail Tag had a winning bid of $50,000 and the Mule Deer Tag brought in $300,000! Thank you to the bidders and to everyone who helped support this event that funds wildlife conservation!
We look forward to seeing you all later this year when we can gather in a large group, have a fantastic dinner, drink adult beverages, and raise funds for deer conservation in Arizona.
operation santa claus
The ADA supports our corporate partner, Sanderson Ford, and its amazing program, Operation Santa Claus. Operation Santa Claus is a golf tournament fundraiser with proceeds going to those in the community who would not otherwise have a Merry Christmas. Sanderson Ford hosts this event every year, and each year the ADA fields a golf 4-some. This year, our intrepid players were ADA Board Members (l to r) John Koleszar, Steve Sutherland, Randy Stalcup and Rick Miller. Thanks to Sanderson, and their donors, Operation Santa Claus 2020 was an incredible success.
Take Charge Against CWD
Help Protect Arizona's Deer and Elk Herds
As you can see in the map above, Arizona one of the few states without a confirmed case of Chronic Wasting Disease. Through 2019, The Arizona Game and Fish Department has tested more than 1,200 samples provided by hunters, taxidermists and game processors. The Arizona Deer Association, along with many other conservation organizations, supports the Department's efforts to keep CWD out of Arizona.
To learn more about CWD, this link will take you to an article on HuntingFishing.com.
To see a list of CWD-related regulations for Arizona and other states, along with a list of recommendations if you are hunting in a known CWD area, download "Know Before You Go" below.
ADA to Auction Hualapai Elk Tag
The Arizona Deer Association is set to offer the 2021 Hualapai Tribe Special Scholarship Elk Tag! Depending on the COVID situation, this coveted tag will be auctioned at an event or online in early 2021. The high bidder can choose any consecutive 16 days, from August 1st – December 31st, 2021 and will have 1 million acres of prime elk habitat to hunt. Meals and lodging are included for the hunter and one guest. This tag also includes the assistance of an experienced tribal guide.
ADA President Don McDowell says, “ADA is honored to work with the Hualapai Game and Fish Department to auction this special tag, benefiting the Tribal Youth Scholarship Fund. The Hualapai is known for huge Elk and this tag is the pinnacle for any avid Sportsman. This is truly the hunt of a lifetime.”
There are only two of these special elk tags available each year from the Hualapai Game and Fish Department, where in 2018 the two auction tags resulted in 450” and 433” Bulls! The Hualapai boasts some of the best elk habitat in country and their herds are managed for older/mature bulls.
For more detailed information and those interested in bidding live or by phone, please contact Jim Lawrence at jim@azdeer.org or Don McDowell at don@shakerattleandtroll.com.
ADA Supports CWD Awareness Campaign
The Arizona Deer Association (ADA), founded in 1995, Arizona’s premier Wildlife Conservation Organization for Mule and White Tailed Deer applauds the current efforts of the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) to monitor the CWD outbreak and halt the spread from neighboring states into our deer and elk general populations.
The current efforts of the AZGFD will be greatly enhanced and improved by the proposed grant for the media outreach programs to our hunting and general sporting populations to further define facts and state regulations about CWD and the methods of transmission, proper game carcass care, transporting and disposal. Tutorial methods of testing and how the hunting population can assist the department in proper sampling and symptomatic reporting in CWD management practices will be invaluable in gathering scientific data from the field.
We stand ready to assist the AZGFD in manner we can to help the process of education in the hunting and wildlife community.
ADA Supports Northern Arizona Grasslands initiative
"The Department has demonstrated tremendous success with this RCPP, it only makes sense to extend it and maintain its benefit for wildlife and producers. This Project fits the ADA board’s criteria of benefiting all species of wildlife, not focusing on a single species. If this RCPP is selected for an extension, the ADA will vigorously support providing a minimum $25,000 per year from the revenue generated through the Big Game Special Tag fund over the course of the project’s five years.
The ADA is proud to be a cooperator in concert with our Mule Deer Foundation and Department counterparts and other partners on this outstanding long term, multi-phased project for the betterment of Northern Arizona."
Support of Expanded Hunting Opportunities
Arizona Deer Association Supports Expanded Hunting on National Wildlife Refuges in Arizona
We at the Arizona Deer Association, located in the State of Arizona, founded in 1995 as Arizona’s premiere wildlife conservation organization, are writing to applaud the efforts of President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of the Department of the Interior David L. Bernhardt to open the Cabeza Prieta, Buenos Aires, Cibola and Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuges located in southern Arizona to recreational hunting opportunities.
We feel the opening of the noted NWR’s is important to sportsmen-women and families plus the economic impact to Arizona, to have the ability to hunt big game species, other than Big Horn Sheep, to include but not limited to antelope, mule and white tailed deer, mountain lion, coyote, bobcat, badger, ringtail cat, kit and gray fox, spotted skunk, cottontail rabbit, black-tailed jack rabbit, Gambel’s and Mearns quail, mourning, white-winged and Eurasian collared dove, as well as, other various species as identified by the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
18A Fuel Reduction SUpport
In a letter to Arizona Forestry Program Supervisor John Richardson:
I am writing to you in regards to the Department of Forestry and Fire Management’s 2020 Hazardous Fuels Reduction Grant. The Arizona Game and Fish Department staff formally presented this project to the Arizona Deer Association (ADA) on August 20th 2019. At the conclusion of their presentation, the motion was made and accepted by the ADA Board of Directors to adopt the Project as an ADA premier habitat enhancement project.
This Project fits the ADA board’s criteria of benefiting all species of wildlife, and restoring ecosystem health. Many of the acres being treated through this project will reduce hazardous fuel loads and reduce the wildfire risk to homes, ranches, and the fences and waters that they need to operate. The ADA has reached out to District 4’s Congressman to provide additional support for this project.
The ADA is proud to be a cooperator in concert with our Mule Deer Foundation and Department counterparts and other partners on this outstanding long term, multi phased projects for the betterment of some 50,000 acres.
Yours in conservation,
Don McDowell
President
Arizona Deer Association