Sunday, February 27, 2011
Buffalo Steaks
Friday, February 25, 2011
Snort
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Logo Ram Official Score
Ron emailed today and he had the his ram officially scored. It came in at 170 3/8 net. Congrats to Ron Arndorfer on such a pretty ram
Monday, February 21, 2011
On Road to Hoover Dam, bighorns get a bypass
This was on AZCENTRAL.com today, written by Shaun McKinnon of the AZ Republic,
"Along the final few miles of U.S. 93 in northwestern Arizona, as the highway approaches the new Hoover Dam bypass bridge, three smaller concrete spans cross the freshly repaved traffic lanes.
The overpasses are not for vehicles or pedestrians, at least not the two-legged kind. They were built by the state for wildlife, specifically the desert bighorn sheep that roam the rough-hewn Black Mountains.
Ceremony for Hoover Dam bypass bridge
State officials know critics may question the need to build bridges for wildlife or object to the cost, $4.8 million for the three structures. But the two state agencies behind what is thought to be a first-of-its-kind project say the overpasses will help preserve Arizona's largest herd of bighorn sheep and improve highway safety by steering the animals away from traffic.
"You get only one shot at this," said Bob Posey, supervisor for the Kingman office of the Arizona Game and Fish Department. "If, 10 years from now, we saw problems, there'd be nothing left to do but watch. This was an opportunity to make a bad situation better."
The bad situation wasn't all new. U.S. 93 was built decades ago, carrying traffic across Hoover Dam between Arizona and Nevada. The highway cut through the middle of bighorn sheep habitat and isolated the only real water source, the Colorado River, on one side.
The Black Mountains are home to about one-third of Arizona's desert bighorn sheep. Rams from the herd have been transplanted in other parts of Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Texas.
Biologists knew some of the sheep crossed the two-lane highway, 15 harrowing miles of sharp turns and steep inclines, but some sheep stopped and turned around. The fragmented habitat made it difficult for the sheep herd to recover from drought or disease and to breed properly.
"Movement is critical for bighorn sheep," said Zen Mocarski, education manager for the Game and Fish Kingman region. "As we cut animal populations into smaller and smaller segments, we start to see inbreeding. . . . It's not a good thing to have happen."
Losing genetic diversity in a species can hasten its decline. The sheep are important to Arizona's landscape not only for their value as an iconic native species and as popular game animals, but also for their role in maintaining a diverse ecosystem.
A long drought had already contributed to losses in the Black Mountain herd, which shrank from about 1,800 sheep to about 500 in the early part of the last decade. So when the Arizona Department of Transportation decided to widen U.S. 93 to four lanes and add medians and fencing as part of the bigger bypass-bridge project, wildlife officials became involved.
The project initially called for wildlife underpasses, which have been built for deer and elk in other parts of the state, but the Game and Fish Department wasn't sure that was the right option for bighorn sheep.
"Bighorn sheep are very visual," Mocarski said. "They can see movement up to a mile away. Their eyesight is one of their primary defenses, so asking them to go underground, in a dark and dank tunnel, might not work."
Biologists decided to ask the sheep. Working with sportsmen's groups, the agency captured and collared 75 bighorn sheep in areas along U.S. 93 and Arizona 68, the highway between Kingman and Bullhead City.
Underpasses had been built on Arizona 68, so the study enabled the state to collect two kinds of information: Where sheep crossed the highway and whether they used the underpasses.
The underpasses were not popular. And the sheep definitely had strong preferences about where they wanted to cross, locations longtime hunters knew about.
"The sheep have crossed the road at the same several places for as long as I've been out there," said Curt Steinke, vice president of the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society, a group of sportsmen long active in sheep conservation.
"They want to look down on things," Steinke said. "They're happy when they can see things from above."
The group contributed $60,000 toward the tracking collars and put up more money to help the state monitor the sheep.
With more than 100,000 data points from the collared sheep, the Game and Fish Department and ADOT found three locations, one 12.2 miles from the dam, the second 5.2 miles from the dam and the third 3.3 miles from the dam.
ADOT added the overpasses into the design of the expanded highway. Federal highway money paid 95 percent of the construction costs, both of the overpasses and of the full $71.3 million widening project, ADOT officials said.
The sheep bridges look much like any highway overpass: built of concrete and anchored to ridgelines on each side of the highway. But the surfaces are dirt and have been seeded with native plants. They are not accessible from the highway or from any developed trails.
Mocarski said he knows some people will ask why the government went to so much expense for a few hundred sheep.
"We've already interfered with them," he said. "We've built roads and fences, we drive cars. Now the goal is to manage wildlife."
The question now is whether the sheep will use the overpasses and begin to move more freely across their range.
"Nobody's really ever tried it before, not an overhead bridge," Steinke said.
The overpasses were finished in late January, and fences were removed. On Feb. 1, remote cameras attached to the overpasses snapped the first photographs of sheep crossing the highway.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/02/21/20110221hoover-dam-bridge-bypass-bighorn-sheep.html#ixzz1Ee55wers
"Along the final few miles of U.S. 93 in northwestern Arizona, as the highway approaches the new Hoover Dam bypass bridge, three smaller concrete spans cross the freshly repaved traffic lanes.
The overpasses are not for vehicles or pedestrians, at least not the two-legged kind. They were built by the state for wildlife, specifically the desert bighorn sheep that roam the rough-hewn Black Mountains.
Ceremony for Hoover Dam bypass bridge
State officials know critics may question the need to build bridges for wildlife or object to the cost, $4.8 million for the three structures. But the two state agencies behind what is thought to be a first-of-its-kind project say the overpasses will help preserve Arizona's largest herd of bighorn sheep and improve highway safety by steering the animals away from traffic.
"You get only one shot at this," said Bob Posey, supervisor for the Kingman office of the Arizona Game and Fish Department. "If, 10 years from now, we saw problems, there'd be nothing left to do but watch. This was an opportunity to make a bad situation better."
The bad situation wasn't all new. U.S. 93 was built decades ago, carrying traffic across Hoover Dam between Arizona and Nevada. The highway cut through the middle of bighorn sheep habitat and isolated the only real water source, the Colorado River, on one side.
The Black Mountains are home to about one-third of Arizona's desert bighorn sheep. Rams from the herd have been transplanted in other parts of Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Texas.
Biologists knew some of the sheep crossed the two-lane highway, 15 harrowing miles of sharp turns and steep inclines, but some sheep stopped and turned around. The fragmented habitat made it difficult for the sheep herd to recover from drought or disease and to breed properly.
"Movement is critical for bighorn sheep," said Zen Mocarski, education manager for the Game and Fish Kingman region. "As we cut animal populations into smaller and smaller segments, we start to see inbreeding. . . . It's not a good thing to have happen."
Losing genetic diversity in a species can hasten its decline. The sheep are important to Arizona's landscape not only for their value as an iconic native species and as popular game animals, but also for their role in maintaining a diverse ecosystem.
A long drought had already contributed to losses in the Black Mountain herd, which shrank from about 1,800 sheep to about 500 in the early part of the last decade. So when the Arizona Department of Transportation decided to widen U.S. 93 to four lanes and add medians and fencing as part of the bigger bypass-bridge project, wildlife officials became involved.
The project initially called for wildlife underpasses, which have been built for deer and elk in other parts of the state, but the Game and Fish Department wasn't sure that was the right option for bighorn sheep.
"Bighorn sheep are very visual," Mocarski said. "They can see movement up to a mile away. Their eyesight is one of their primary defenses, so asking them to go underground, in a dark and dank tunnel, might not work."
Biologists decided to ask the sheep. Working with sportsmen's groups, the agency captured and collared 75 bighorn sheep in areas along U.S. 93 and Arizona 68, the highway between Kingman and Bullhead City.
Underpasses had been built on Arizona 68, so the study enabled the state to collect two kinds of information: Where sheep crossed the highway and whether they used the underpasses.
The underpasses were not popular. And the sheep definitely had strong preferences about where they wanted to cross, locations longtime hunters knew about.
"The sheep have crossed the road at the same several places for as long as I've been out there," said Curt Steinke, vice president of the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society, a group of sportsmen long active in sheep conservation.
"They want to look down on things," Steinke said. "They're happy when they can see things from above."
The group contributed $60,000 toward the tracking collars and put up more money to help the state monitor the sheep.
With more than 100,000 data points from the collared sheep, the Game and Fish Department and ADOT found three locations, one 12.2 miles from the dam, the second 5.2 miles from the dam and the third 3.3 miles from the dam.
ADOT added the overpasses into the design of the expanded highway. Federal highway money paid 95 percent of the construction costs, both of the overpasses and of the full $71.3 million widening project, ADOT officials said.
The sheep bridges look much like any highway overpass: built of concrete and anchored to ridgelines on each side of the highway. But the surfaces are dirt and have been seeded with native plants. They are not accessible from the highway or from any developed trails.
Mocarski said he knows some people will ask why the government went to so much expense for a few hundred sheep.
"We've already interfered with them," he said. "We've built roads and fences, we drive cars. Now the goal is to manage wildlife."
The question now is whether the sheep will use the overpasses and begin to move more freely across their range.
"Nobody's really ever tried it before, not an overhead bridge," Steinke said.
The overpasses were finished in late January, and fences were removed. On Feb. 1, remote cameras attached to the overpasses snapped the first photographs of sheep crossing the highway.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/02/21/20110221hoover-dam-bridge-bypass-bighorn-sheep.html#ixzz1Ee55wers
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
THE HUNT FOR A 400 Part 1 of 6
This elk hunt was alot of fun and many great bulls were seen. I ended up harvesting a great bull. Enjoy!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
3D Shoot
This morning my wife and our took our boys over to the Full Draw Bow hunters 3D shoot at Ben Avery Shooting range. My father in law Ward joined us at the range. The boys and I shot the course that had 20 targets. We had a great time. Shooting 3D is great practice for the off season. My boys really enjoy shooting at the many different targets.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Ski Tour, Gore Range, CO
Went for a hike on skis the other day. We spent the day touring the Gore Range. Great weather, good snow, and excellent company! I'm always amazed at how many elk rubs I see on these adventures. Enjoy the pics!
On top.
It was a chilly start at -18 F.
Beatiful views.
Taking a breather and discussing future tours.
Jimbo on the summit after four hours uphill.
On top.
Evaluating the snowpack.
Descending, one at a time.
Our tracks from the summit.
Tired at the end of a long day.
Week 1 Training
Hunting season officially ended for me about a week ago. This off season I have decided to stay in shape. I have signed up to hike the Grand Canyon with my friend Dave Martin in May, We will be hiking from Rim to Rim to Rim in in one day! I think it is around 46 miles with 20,000+ feet in elevation changes. Dave has done this trip the last several years and has gotten me started in the right direction. I have roughly 12 weeks to get my body ready for the trip. This last week was my first week of training. I managed to get in 25 miles for the week (8 running & 17 hiking). This morning I finished up my first week with a 3 hour and 20 minute 11.4 mile hike in the Cave Creek Recreation area. I will keep you posted on my progress over the next few months.
Friday, February 4, 2011
The Hunt for the Logo Ram
This is a video account that kind of tells the story of Ron Arndorfer's Arizona Desert Bighorn sheep that he harvested in Unit 44B North with Colburn and Scott Outfitters. Most of the footage is new stuff that has not been seen before. Enjoy!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Tyler Hall's 2011 Archery Coues Buck
My friend Tyler Hall just harvested a real nice Coues Buck! Here is Tylo's story,"Long story short, I was blessed with this beautiful buck with a few days left of the bow hunt. I glassed him up at first light, watched him until he bedded and was able to sneak in and get a shot. Unfortunately, my shot was a little far back so I decided to sneak out and hike around to where I had left my pack and binos. I started glassing into where I shot him and was able to glass him up going into a small cut just as it got dark. I was back at it at first light the next morning accompanied by my friend Trale. After scouring the cut that I last saw him in the night before and not finding any blood, we began walking grids of the area hoping to get lucky. After about an hour of searching, Divine guidance led me to my buck. He had somehow broken his G3 on his right side sometime during the night. He must have taken a tumble because I found some hair on some rocks 5 yards above where he laid. I thought I would dig around in the grass and rocks uphill from him and couldn’t believe my eyes when I found the point he broke off. To say the least, I feel very blessed to have had it all work out for me like this. I want to thank my buddy Josh for backpacking into the area the weekend before with me and my buddy Trale for packing some meat out of the canyon for me. Sometimes it just all works out!"
Another fantastic buck Tyler Congrats!
Another fantastic buck Tyler Congrats!
