Utah Chukar & Wildlife Foundation

Chukar Partidges in Utah

Information & Events

President’s Message Fall 2019

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Greetings,

We hope your fall is starting well and you have had a chance to get out. It looks like forest grouse and chukar numbers this year will be spotty, with some good pockets, some below average and some average. See the more detailed report composed by Avery below. It was interesting to see some chukar chicks that were less than 4 weeks old at the end of August. There have definitely been some late hatches in chukar country and there are lots of hoppers for those late hatching chicks. Hopefully that means numbers may be better than we first thought.

Those who went to the sage grouse count saw low numbers, but they are up from last year, which is good. We hope they will continue on the upward trend. Thanks for your help with this event and with the youth fair in Farmington which hosted more than 700 youth. Also, much thanks to those that helped with the many guzzler installs this year! We hope you have a safe and fulfilling fall and winter as you venture out with friends, dogs and family. Enjoy another memorable season!

President’s Message – Winter 2019

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Greetings,

It’s Banquet time again. We hope most of you will support us again at our annual banquet on March 2nd this year. The banquet order form link is on our website utahchukars.org . For those of you who help us each year and donate, we hope you will find yourself in a position to help again this year. Please contact Alan at alan.smith@grousecreek.com or Travis at travis.chukar@gmail.com or 801-360-6553.

Some Foundation Highlights from this year include:

  • Central Region Guzzler projects with guzzlers installed in 3 different ranges
  • Chukar releases
  • Supporting quail trapping and transplanting
  • Supporting and volunteering with two youth fairs
  • Continuing sage grouse and other grouse data collecting projects
  • Partnership with a USU forest grouse study
  • Volunteering and providing input/feedback on many upland projects in the state

We are a strong voice and partner for upland game and upland sportsmen/women in the state. Your support at our annual banquet provides the necessary funding to support upland projects on Utah’s public lands. Working as a partner with the UDWR and other agencies we make your money stretch much further than if we tried to do everything on our own. Thanks as always for your support!

This year’s annual banquet will be held at the Sheraton in downtown SLC on March 2nd. Please sign up early for the banquet to make sure you have a spot. Even with our new location we anticipate filling up and the earlier you sign up the better the deals and the better we can plan accordingly. Sign up for the banquet using link at at utahchukars.org

Quail Trapping

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We hope your season is going well.

We are planning on helping trap quail again this year from Dec to Feb to get new populations going throughout the state. Avery Cook from the UDWR is looking for quail trapping volunteers who would be able to help trap or grant access to locations along the Wasatch front (Utah Valley, Salt Lake Valley, Davis County). Avery does an amazing job coordinating the trapping and transplant efforts. The project is eligible for dedicated hunter credit.

We believe there is strong potential for Valley Quail expansion in our state with this effort. We have a number of successful populations resulting from transplant efforts already.

If you are interested, contact Avery at averycook@utah.gov

More info on the project is also available at: https://wildlife.utah.gov/available-projects/event/73-quail-trapping-and-transport.html

President’s Message – Fall 2018

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Greetings,

Fall is here, hopefully it will cool down soon!

See information below about our first annual chukar challenge. We hope this will be a positive event that gets us together in the field for a good cause. Bird numbers appear to be spotty this year, be open to trying new areas in a variety of locations and find the pockets where the insects, cover and bird numbers aligned for good numbers.

Enjoy the adventure and the memories!

Be a part of our first ever UCWF chukar challenge the first Saturday of December each year, December 1, 2018 this year.  Come join like-minded people for a friendly weekend at a memorable location with a bit of competition and raffles for a good cause.  Money raised will go to the Utah Chukar and Wildlife Foundation a 501c3 charitable organization focused on improving upland game and wildlife habitat on Utah’s public lands.

Two divisions: 2 person teams, or single hunter.  Go to 2018 Chukar Challenge for more details and rules.

Registration before October 1, 2018

Teams:  $200 per team if registered before October 1, 2018:  Includes breakfast and dinner on Saturday, 2 UCWF memberships, 4 participation raffle tickets (more can be earned during the hunt), and a commemorative hat for each person.

Singles:  $110 if registered before October 1, 2018:  Includes breakfast and dinner on Saturday, 1 UCWF membership 2 participation raffle tickets (more can be earned during the hunt), and a commemorative hat for each person.

$230 per team if registered after October 1, 2018 or $125 for singles.

President’s Message – Summer 2018

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Greetings,

I hope your summer is going well, fall will be here soon.

Now is the time to put in for the limited entry upland permits, go to the UDWR website for more information. Join us for the annual Parker Mountain sage grouse count on July. Also, we are excited to continue participating in the youth/family Utah Youth Waterfowl Fair and Outdoor Festival on Sept. 8, at the Farmington Bay WMA (http://www.utahwaterfowlfair.com/). This is a great youth event for you to attend, or contact Alan at alan.smith@grousecreek.com if you can volunteer to help.

We have more guzzler installations that will take place later this summer and fall, look for emails with dates and contact information.

Enjoy the rest of Summer!

President’s Message – 2018 Spring

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Greetings,

Thanks for uniting to support upland game in Utah! Many volunteer hours and donations by members of this foundation and supporting companies enable us to make a difference! We made just over $34,000 at our banquet this year.
It is amazing what we are able to do with $30K+, a dedicated volunteer group, and a respected voice representing outstanding sportsmen/women. We are greatly pleased with the work we are able to accomplish with the UDWR and other agencies like the BLM, SITLA and partnering organizations. Some quality upland projects we are planning on this year include:

  • Finishing the Central Region guzzler projects
  • Install 2-4 Box Elder guzzlers
  • Supporting and volunteering with two youth fairs.
  • Continuing sage grouse and other grouse data collecting projects.
  • Continuing our partnership with the USU/UDWR forest grouse
  • study.
  • Continuing with trapping, transplanting and releasing upland birds.
  • Volunteering and providing input/feedback on many upland projects in the state.

The UCWF pledges to make sure your voice is heard and to ensure that monies dedicated to Utah’s upland game are used in the best possible way. My deepest thanks to the UCWF board, members, donors and volunteers who do so much to make good things happen for Utah’s upland game! Please support our donors first!
Some of our current and future goals are (many of these are long term):

  1. Continue to support Upland research and implementation of research into effective management plans.
  2. Aid in transplanting chukar and building guzzlers in each region.
  3. Continue supporting youth recruitment.
  4. Be involved in upland management decisions.
  5. Be involved in habitat improvement for upland game species including grouse species.
  6. Provide money and a volunteer work force that will help make upland game projects and research happen.
  7. Help create a Utah guzzler crew. 8.) Manage, maintain, and improve our website.
  8. Increase trapping and relocation of valley quail.
  9. Continue to work together with state and federal agencies as well as other wildlife organizations.