In 1985, 15 guys threw $25 into a hat and decided they wanted to start raising chukar and the Carson Valley Chukar Club was formally hatched. Longstanding board member, Lance Modispacher, built a pen in his back yard to raise chicks hatched from an old incubator. Lance raised the birds in his back yard for about a year before it became necessary to find a location that could house more birds. The China Springs Youth Camp was just being built and it was a perfect opportunity to provide a project for the kids that were at the camp. Flight pens were built along with a brooder house and the Carson Valley Chukar Club raised hundreds of birds each year.
Our club raised and released chukar in Douglas and Lyon County for over 10 years. In that time, thousands of birds were released in the Pine Nut Mountains, Singatse Range, Buckskin Range, Churchill Canyon and Horseshoe Bend. Our release efforts seemed to have little impact and research indicated our resources would be better utilized by developing and funding water development.
The CVCC was instrumental in funding the guzzler program in Northern Nevada. Money was donated to the Nevada Department of Wildlife and matched by the Pitman Roberts Foundation to pay for the material and installation of the guzzlers. Later the Nevada Chukar Foundation joined forces and between our two organizations NDOW has installed over 1,000 guzzlers in Northern Nevada.
Between our member’s generous donations and matching funds from various grants, the CVCC has provided over $1,000,000 in funding toward Nevada’s wildlife. The primary source of our donations is the annual fundraiser which is always held on the first Saturday in March and consists of a raffle and auction along with dinner and drinks. We are very fortunate to have a fabulous membership of devoted chukar hunters and outdoorsmen who show up each year and open their pocketbooks.
The Carson Valley Chukar Club is a non-profit organization and currently has more than 500 members. Our purpose is to support efforts to improve chukar populations as well as enhance habitat for all upland game birds in Northern Nevada. The Carson Valley Chukar Club believes there are habitats currently unpopulated that can maintain a favorable chukar population with assistance. In keeping with these beliefs, the organization provides assistance in the following manner:
- Funding to the Nevada Department of Wildlife for water development projects statewide. These funds are used in the agency’s guzzler program by installing, maintaining and mapping guzzlers within the State of Nevada.
- Provide assistance and funding to the Nevada Department of Wildlife for a wide range of projects that help to enhance and development all upland game birds habitat in Northern Nevada. Recently the club has put more emphasis and money into the declining Sage Grouse populations in Nevada in hopes to keep these birds off the endangered species list.
- Annually evaluate NDOW and Non-Profit requests related to habitat improvement, youth wildlife opportunities, biological studies and assorted topics related to Nevada Wildlife and grant requests based on priority and available funds.
The Carson Valley Chukar Club is a pro-hunting, pro-wildlife, conservation organization dedicated to improving upland game populations within Nevada.
