The 2021 DHCC will be a hunt-only meet held in Portal, Arizona. There will be no official social gatherings. Each falconer who chooses to attend this meet can limit their amount of social contact according to their own comfort level and within the restrictions which may or may not be in place in Arizona and New Mexico at that time. Ideally attendees will arrange to interact in small groups in low-risk settings (i.e. outdoors with social distancing, mask use, etc.) that protect fellow falconers from Covid while still providing the opportunity to have a falconry meet.
Portal is located on the east side of the Chiricahua Mountains. It is an area rich in biodiversity with stunning views of unique geological formations.
I will do some intense scouting leading up to the meet and develop game maps. The area historically has good numbers of cottontail and Black-tailed Jackrabbits. You can expect Gambel's, Scaled, and Mearns (Montezuma) quail to be readily accessible. Ducks are in the area as well, and duck season will still be open at that time.
I recommend that you have both Arizona and New Mexico hunting licenses for this meet:
https://onlinesales.wildlife.state.nm.us/
https://www.azgfd.com/license/
There are many lodging options available.
*Portal Lodge has waived their pet policy and will allow birds and well behaved hunting dogs. 16 double occupancy rooms @85 a night. 2 Stand Alone Cottages $150 a night.
Restaurant adjacent to the lodge.
http://portallodge.com/
*Cave Creek Ranch
A beautiful location with lots of wildlife viewing opportunities. They even have a resident Coatimundi that hangs out around the visitor center.
They have waived their pet policy and are very excited to meet some birds. Please make sure your hunting dogs are well behaved and under control as there is abundant wildlife on the property.
They have 13 cottages that sleep 2-9 people.
https://www.cavecreekranch.com
*Chiricahua Mountain Lodge
4 apartments that can house up to 8 guests each. $150 per night.
Bookable on Airbnb or visit:https://www.chiricahuamountainlodge.com
*Chiricahua Desert Museum Dormitories
Two 8 room dorms with 4 private bathrooms with Showers. $35 per night call the museum to book.
https://www.chiricahuadesertmuseum.com/
*Rusty's RV Park
https://rustysrvranch.com/
*AirBnB
There are many wonderful private residences and additional smaller lodges in the area. When searching for BNBs include Portal, AZ and Rodeo, NM in your search areas.
I know this isn't quite the meet we all look forward to each year but I hope you'll join me and take advantage of the unique opportunities a Portal, AZ hunting meet will provide. It is our hope to host a full Desert Hawking Classic in this location in future years, and this meet will be an excellent opportunity to see what the area holds for falconers.
There will be an event page set up on Facebook, and there will be a T-shirt available for purchase through an online T-shirt vendor that will ship directly to you.
If you have any questions please email me.
Nate Danforth, 2021 DHCC Chair
director2@arizonafalconers.com
