As I write this, I am preparing to go into the field to guide my first sheep hunter of the 2021 season. In fact, due to a cancellation, Director Shawn Wood, winner of the 2021 life member raffle, will be that hunter. With some luck, by the time you read this, many of you will have already learned of his success. For sheep hunters, much of what we do is driven by hope and hard work.
With that said, I’m proud of the hard work your Board has done on your behalf this year. Currently, we are working hard to help mitigate the impacts of the current drought impacting California’s desert bighorns. In this issue, there is much to read regarding our progress with emergency water hauls, temporary water projects to support CA’s struggling wildlife, and legislative challenges facing CA’s sportsmen and wildlife. We’re very thankful for all of our collaborative efforts
with other wildlife conservation NGO’s and specifically our affiliate organization the Society for the Conservation of Bighorn Sheep. All of us have a disproportionate responsibility that we gladly embrace to do our best for wildlife conservation.
As I prepare to board a Supercub and fly into Alaska’s frontier, I regret that I have not had time to write up a proper update for our Annual Fundraiser upcoming in 2022. We are looking forward to an in-person event and expect that the turnout will be excellent. It’s never to early to start planning to attend so plan now and save the date for our April 30, 2022 event. We’ll be giving away a couple great hunts again next year including a Stone sheep hunt with Golden Bear Outfitting. Tickets are on sale now at: cawsf.org/store.html and in addition, we will be giving away a Dall sheep hunt with Ultima Thule Outfitters to a lucky life member and the old rules will apply; YOU MUST BE IN THE ROOM TO WIN IT! So make plans to attend and don’t miss out on our reunion event celebrating 20+ years of sheep conservation in California.
I’ve still got some gear to pack and prepare, so I will sum up by wishing all of you the best of luck this Fall and I look forward to seeing all of you in Sacramento next Spring.
Good hunting! Donald C. Martin