Arizona Deer Association

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
July 15, 2007

Members Present                                                      Guests

Pete Cimellaro                                                             Leonard Ordway

Keith Gaines                                                               Ron Sieg        

Craig Dunlap                                                               Don Martin

Kevin Harris                                                                Brian George

Rick Miller                                                                  Steve Cheuvront                                

Chris Denham                                                             Chasa O’Brien

John Koleszar                                                              Blaine Bickford

Brad Freitag                                                                Tracey Martin

Mark Bool

Joe Allen

Terry Herndon

Dom Lopano

I.  Welcome and Call to Order

The president called the meeting to order at 6:15 pm 

II.  In-depth Discussion about the Kaibab Research Project

Leonard Ordway, Chasa O’Brien and Ron Sieg presented a comprehensive report on the status of the Kaibab research project and the Kaibab deer herd.  Dates for samplings and research will be distributed in early August.  There will be a commission work session August 9^th for the Kaibab in Flagstaff that will be open to the public.  The board also decided to have quarterly Kaibab updates from the AZGFD starting in November after the August work session. 

III.  Minutes of the June Meeting

Mark Bool moved, Brad Fretaig seconded, the June meeting minutes as presented.  Motion carried. 

IV.  Treasurer’s report

Brad Freitag moved, Chris Denham seconded, to approve the Treasurer’s report as presented.  Motion carried. 

V.  Guest Speakers

Blaine Bickford thanked the ADA for the payment to Hunters Lair.  He also mentioned the possibility of a youth and new archers camp at Big Lake with the wildlife manager on August 24^th.  He may come back to the board to request the use of the ADA trailer. 

VI.  Old Business

Super Raffle Report – after the final numbers come in, the Super Raffle committee expects to have raised close to $600,000.

Sales Tax Initiative - There will be a meeting at the August 7^th at 10:00 am  at Phoenix Zoo arranged by the Heritage Alliance on the proposed sales tax initiative, which is designed to bolster revenue for the AZGFD.  Recent poll data has said that with $6,000,000 dollars, a good title, and no opposition it may pass.  

Game and Fish Meeting - The Arizona sportsmen and department personnel met on July 17, just prior to the ADA board meeting.  It appears that several problems and concerns were identified by sportsmen, and the department has decided to narrow these issues down to the top five by asking those present to place the problems in rank order.  The department will then get back to the sportsmen for another meeting to concentrate on the most important issues.  Sportsmen had a good showing at this meeting and expressed their concerns.  The issue now is to keep pressure on the department and to stay focused and committed to a change in the way the department and commission and sportsmen communicate.   

VII.  Committee Reports

Banquet - Live auction items are coming in slowly right now and Mark will be drafting a letter to send out to individuals to solicit sponsorship of a rifle or other auction/raffle item.  He hopes to have an all-rifle raffle.  We are also looking to set aside “something” for the Hunt of a Lifetime group at our banquet that would solely benefit them.  Pete is also looking for ideas to include the conservation partners in the banquet.  Several ideas were discussed and more input is needed to get them more involved 

Clinic - Our clinic is on September 11^th and we need to confirm speakers for this event.  As of this time, Duane Adams is scheduled, more are needed.  Terry Herndon and Chris Denham volunteered to be in charge of the clinic. 

Habitat - John Koleszar is chair of the Habitat committee.  We need to discuss a proposed project in the Pozo Nuevo in 36c on the Buenos Aires with the Tucson SCI. The ABA is also interested in seeing if we would work with them on a water project in the Prescott area, and calling it the Van Clark project. 

Game and Fish – Wilderness Watch and the Arizona Wilderness Coalition are suing the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the KOFA refuge over the construction of artificial waters in designated wilderness.  A coalition of Arizona conservation organizations have formed to counter the lawsuit, including the ADA, Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society, Safari Club International, FNAWS.  ADBSS is the lead group in this matter and has filed a motion to intervene; they’ve hired the firm of Bryan Cave and its attorneys Mitch Kline and Steve Hirsch.  Terry Herndon moved, Keith Gaines seconded, to approve $10,000 for the Kofa defense lawsuit.  Motion carried. 

Youth - As previously discussed, Terry is working on a youth hunt in unit 23 on October 4^th and 5^th.  Unfortunately, Terry will not be able personally to attend and needs help with this camp.  Pete mentioned the possibility of partnering with several groups, most notably the AES, to come up with a youth camp that could handle 100 kids a week for a 6 to 8 week period in the summer, maybe June through August.  This idea needs to be discussed and we need to come up with a plan to make this happen if possible. 

WCC/Legislature – The WCC and AZSFW are distributing a joint electronic newsletter, The Arizona Sportsmen’s Connection.  The listserv newsletter will contain issues of timely relevance to Arizona sportsmen, a revolving calendar of events, a listing of the public meetings conducted by land management agencies, and an outline of legislative issues when the legislature is in session.  Subscription is free, and members can visit the WCC or AZSFW websites to join. 

Membership - Renewals should have been mailed, but no board members have received theirs.  Tracey will check on the status of the membership renewal mailings. 

Public relations - No report. 

Conservation Partners - Included with the banquet discussion.   

VIII.  New Business

The water hauler that was brought up in Kevin Harris’s e-mail was discussed.  We can get a new trailer for $7,500 dollars, the board is in full support of this and will await the outcome of the Buckskin meeting before taking action.  There is a possibility of getting two of these for easier accessibility on the Strip.  If ADA purchases any trailers, they will need to be insured appropriately.   

IX.  Adjournment

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 9:30 pm.  Jim deVos will be at the next meeting for an update on the 3-Bar.

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