Chevron Canada Resources Presents Cheque To

The PF Calgary Pheasants Forever Calgary BanquetChapter is coming  April 21, 2004

December 2003 ContactEverybody Us reach for your calendars! The Calgary Chapter will Volume 3, Issue 4 proudly host their 11th Annual Banquet & Auction on PheasantsWednesday, Forever, April 21, 2004. This entertaining event will once Calgary Chapter Mailingagain & Street take placeAddress in the Palomino Room at the new Roundup Inside This Issue Suite 6A,Centre in Stampede Park. Over 130 live and silent auction items 2115-27packed Avenue NEfull of outstanding trips and merchandise, themed  2004 PF Calgary Banquet Calgary,bucket AB T2E raffle 7E4 tables and big-ticket raffle items will highlight the Canadaevent.  Annual General Meeting Phone (403)Your 802-3777 participation and generous support has made the PF  This and That Fax (403) 247-9648 Calgary Banquet one of the largest and most respected  Chevron Canada Resources www.pheasantsforevercalgary.comconservation fundraising events in the city. We look forward to sharing another wonderful evening together with you and your  2003 Fall Events & Hunting friends, family and colleagues. Banquet ticket order forms will  Editorial – Women, Guns & Announcementsbe mailed in early January - book your tables and tickets early! Clays CALLING BANQUET VOLUNTEERS! Each year our need for  Calgarymore Sportsmen’s banquet Show:volunteers continues to grow. We need Februaryvolunteers 12-15, 2004 for the day and the night of the event. If you are interested in volunteering, or if you have a youngster who would This and That…  Southern Alberta UplandThe next Annual General Meeting of the Calgary Habitatlike Symposium: to join our youthChapter team will of be bucket held onraffle Wednesday, ticket sellers, February please call the office at 802-3777. New Chapter Mailing Address March 25-26, 2004 25, 2004. The meeting will begin at 5:30 pm at  PF Calgary Banquet & the Alberta Hunter Education Instructors’ Effective December 15, 2003, the Calgary ChapterAuction: Annualwill Aprilbe changing 21, 2004 General Associationits mailing addressMeeting building to coincidelocated atwith our NEW office location. As of the 15th, please send all correspondence to PF 911Calgary Sylvester at: Suite Crescent 6A, 2115 SW. – 27 Avenue NE, Calgary, Alberta, T2E 7E4. Please remember to update your database as well!

2004 Southern Alberta Upland Habitat Symposium

One year ago the Calgary Chapter announced its plans to organize and host the first ever Southern Alberta Upland Habitat Symposium to be held in Brooks. Throughout the year we’ve gauged the interest levels of groups throughout the conservation, business, industry and agriculture community, as well as government, and we are pleased to announce the symposium is a go! The two-day convention will be held on March 25 & 26, 2004, and will feature guest speakers, panelists and representatives from a diverse cross-section of organizations.

Registration packages will be available in January. If you are interested in attending or for more information, please contact PF Calgary.

2004 Calgary Sportsman Show Call for Volunteers

For the last two years the Calgary Chapter has been participating in the Sportsman Show in conjunction with the Sarcee Fish & Game Club and the Alberta Junior Pheasant Project. This year we have been offered more booth space allowing for increased visibility, promotional opportunities and public interaction.

With 25,000 expected visitors to the show and an enhanced PF Calgary booth, we are looking for 3-4 volunteers who can assist us in promoting the Calgary Chapter, upland bird hunting and chapter membership. The dates for the 2004 show are February 12-15. If you are interested please call the office.

Chevron Canada Resources Presents Cheque to PHD Program

On November 4th, Ms. Diane Wenarchuk of the Chevron Canada Resources office in Brooks presented the Partners in Habitat Development program (PHD) with a cheque for $15,000 to help protect southern Alberta’s wildlife habitat. Gregg Norman, PF Calgary’s Executive Director and Rick Martin, Wildlife Projects Manager of the Eastern Irrigation District in Brooks accepted the cheque on behalf of the PHD program.

Chevron’s $15,000 donation is a three-year commitment to the PHD program of $5,000 per From left to right: Diane Wenarchuk, Rick Martin and Gregg Norman year. The funds will go towards the continued five- Chevron Canada Resources has been one of the year expansion of the Partners in Habitat largest and most enthusiastic corporate supporters Development program, designed to redevelop and of the PHD program. By contributing funding and enhance wildlife habitat throughout the cultivated employee volunteer resources, they are proudly regions of southern Alberta, primarily on privately- giving back to local communities where they have held land within the province’s Irrigation Districts. operations. Fall 2003 Events & Hunting Season Update

Fall Shoot Recap excellent facilities at the Gun Club. With our partner, the Alberta Hunter Education Instructors’ It was a hot summer day at the Calgary Gun Club Association (AHEIA), our goal is to continually on September 6th for the 2nd Annual PF Calgary Fall attract more first time shooters, both youth and Shoot. We were thrilled to see the Trap and Skeet women, in order to perpetuate education, fun and participation double in size over last year. As well, a the challenge of shooting sports. We look forward handful of youth and adult shooters were on hand to next year’s event and an even greater turn-out! for novice shooting instruction. Everyone had a great time! Alberta Junior Pheasant Project 2003

Year by year we see this event growing in size It was another outstanding season for the young thanks to word-of-mouth promotion and the hunters who participated in the Alberta Junior Pheasant Project. This year Dan Radomske, who created and runs this excellent program, added The number of pheasant licenses sold in Alberta chukkars to the pheasants and wild turkeys has been declining in recent years, in no small part released for each youth hunt. There was also a due to the declining number of birds. But this falconer in attendance at many of the sessions and season should clearly show the naysayers and the he flew and hunted his bird for those in attendance. cynics that it is not too late to turn things around. Every Saturday and Sunday morning for twelve For most of the last decade, while pheasants have weeks each fall, four young hunters attend the one- been in decline in Alberta, we have also been day course at Dan’s farm east of Bowden. They are experiencing drought conditions which hurt the instructed in gun safety, gun handling and clay birds and the habitat. At the same time, Pheasants target shooting, field safety and etiquette, and all Forever and other like-minded conservation other important aspects of upland bird hunting. In organizations have been working steadily to the afternoon they hunt with adult mentors and improve habitat conditions. volunteer dog handlers. Several PF Calgary members volunteered again this year and had a The fruits of those labors become evident when we great time hunting with the kids. Your chapter have a year like 2003. Weather conditions in most supports this program with a cash donation each parts of the province were excellent for both birds year and awards complimentary junior and habitat. Spring moisture was plentiful but did memberships to all participants. This program is not disturb or damage the hatching and rearing of free for youngsters and is a wonderful volunteer young birds. Both existing and newly created opportunity for PF members. Call the office for habitat also benefited greatly from that moisture more details. and from the warm summer that ensued.

Pheasants are prolific breeders. When good habitat is available for nesting and protection from predators, and when weather conditions are conducive, they can and will hatch and successfully rear many young. In other words, the pheasant 2003 Pheasant Hunting Season a Success population can recover in a hurry, relatively By Gregg Norman, PF Calgary Executive Director speaking, if Mother Nature and we, as conservationists, both do our part. By all accounts it was a banner year for upland birds in southern Alberta. Every where I went I Farmers and ranchers all over the province are heard glowing reports about the numbers of embracing the conservation ethic and the Hungarian Partridge, Sharptail Grouse and, best of protection and enhancement of wildlife habitat like all, wild Ring-necks. At the Brooks Pheasant never before. We, as users of the wildlife resource, Festival, held on the evening of the second day of owe them a debt of gratitude. With their help we the pheasant season, the scores of hunters in can realistically expect to once again enjoy attendance were all smiles. Most agreed that they excellent ring-neck pheasant hunting in our hadn’t seen so many wild pheasants in years. province. Editorial – Women, Guns and Clays By Mona Slattery, PF Calgary Marketing Director

For this newsletter, Gregg suggested it was my turn to write an editorial. Not a bird hunter myself and certainly not at the top of the “information” ladder concerning industry news and issues, I thought to myself “what could I possibly contribute that would be meaningful to bird hunters of the male species?” In answer to my question, I decided I would reach out to the women in your lives. Girls, with thousands of males, including your own, flocking to the uplands each fall to hunt, all I can say is “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!”

There are only three times in my life I have fired a shotgun. The first and third times were at the PF Calgary Fall Shoots in 2002 and 2003. In between time I got to brush-up on my technique on Rick Martin’s back 40 near Brooks. On all three occasions I was excited to try and all three times I left feeling more excited about the next time I could shoot again. All this thanks to the encouragement of a few PF guys I work with and the expertise of the AHEIA (Alberta Hunter Education Instructors’ Association) instructors at the Calgary Gun Club. With superb instruction came great success my first time out. The thrill of blasting those clay disks was very rewarding and feeling the recoil of the gun against my shoulder was impressive to say the least. As I continued to devastate my clays (also missing many along the way), my competitive nature kicked in. It wasn’t long before I started setting lofty goals for how many clays I wanted to successfully hit in a row. I was addicted from the very start.

And although most of the fun was in assuming I would already be a great bird hunter if you set me loose in the wild, the experience also brought home some life lessons. One, shooting is a valuable lesson in patience! Two, anything can be achieved with confidence and the support of others. And three, half the fun of shooting is the camaraderie shared between friends or family enjoying the same experience. I had the good fortune of being joined by a good girlfriend of mine at both Fall Shoots and had just as much fun watching her enjoy the novice shooting experience.

So, to all you gentlemen bird hunters out there, the reason for my story is to encourage you to invite the women in your life, whatever age, to join you in the sport you are so passionate about, even if it’s only once a year at the PF Calgary Fall Shoot. To all you women out there – you don’t need to substitute shopping with shooting – but I encourage you to give it a try. It’s a real neat experience that will leave you feeling uplifted and empowered. And where else can you so boldly earn the nickname “Killer” as I did!

Happy Holidays!

On behalf of the entire PF Calgary organization, we would like to extend our warmest wishes to you and your family for a joyous and festive Christmas season and the very best for the New Year. We would also like to extend our deepest thanks for your continued support of our chapter. You have helped make PF Calgary one of the leading wildlife and habitat conservation organizations in Alberta today!