Steve Merlo: California Waterfowl Banquet features some new twists
| Thursday, Oct 01 2009 10:28 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Oct 01 2009 10:28 PM
The California Waterfowl Association will hold its 12th annual Kern County Fundraising Banquet on Oct. 15 at the local Elk Lodge Banquet Facility, 1616 30th St. Cocktails will be served at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:30.
The popular CWA event draws a large number of people dedicated to the continued enhancement of waterfowl numbers and habitat construction for all wildlife.
Live and silent auctions, youth and regular raffles and door prizes with tons of outdoor gear, fine art work and hunting equipment headline the event, which includes quality gun giveaways and special hunt packages. New for this year is a special women's-only raffle and additional auction items, so ladies, plan on attending with or without the old men, or miss out on some neat stuff.
Cost for the event remains at $75 per person, $125 per couple, $50 per life member, $100 per life member couple and $40 per sprig. Contact Jim Delmarter (661) 327-1486 for more info or to make a donation to one of the finest wildlife organizations in existence.
With millions of waterfowl winging their way south, hunters and other people who love the birds need to keep funneling funds into the organizations like CWA that keep the birds returning year after year. Numbers of ducks and geese are up once more, including several impacted species, and shooters should be in for another wild year in the blinds and marshes.
Basic daily limits for the 2009-2010 season, thanks to a lot of hard work by staunch conservationist groups like CWA, are very liberal, with ducks set at seven birds per day and geese at an astonishing eight. The Pacific Flyway pintail limit, after years of a stiffling and unnecessary one-sprig-per-day limit, has finally been increased to two per day.
All of these positive environmental upgrades have been made possible by the CWA and its members, all willing to help build and pay for new habitat, do political legwork or simply donate their money. Remember, the continuing work of maintaining and enhancing our waterfowl numbers not only for us today but for our children and theirs does not come cheap. The California Waterfowl Association stands tall in waterfowl and wildlife enhancement and should be supported by every conservationist.
Book signing
What do "Gone With the Wind," "War and Peace," "1984," "The Iliad," "The Grapes of Wrath" and "The Old Man and the Sea" have in common with my new novel, "Oren's War"? Absolutely nothing, other than the fact that those authors are all dead, and the last time I checked, I'm not. But I am having a signing at 1 p.m. Friday at Russo's Book Store in the Marketplace to celebrate my novel's publication. If you have time, come by and pick up an autographed copy of a book about American values, patriotism, gun control and Constitutional rights.
Duck season on the near horizon
Waterfowl season begins Oct.10, and first reports indicate a strong San Joaquin Valley duck base. The Kern Refuge, while filling slowly, will have a decent amount of ground under water for the opener, hopefully close to last year's figures. Counts so far place the numbers of birds at about 10,000, with green-wing teal, shovelers, mallards and gadwalls heading the list. Dave Hardt, refuge manager, hopes to allow close to 50 hunters at a time on the refuge by opening day.
Club owners in the area are also reporting that lots of new birds are filtering into recently flooded marshlands, indicating a fair to good opener for privately owned ponds.
By the way, sportsmen are warned to get their duck stamps now, rather than waiting until next week, before stores and the post office run out. Hunters need to have both a state and federal stamp in their possession while in the field, along with a 2009-2010 valid hunting license. Duck and goose hunters are cautioned to make certain they sign the front of the federal duck stamp before hunting or risk an autograph exchange with the local fed-agent or state game warden.
