Yesterday we held a meeting with club mamagement and several members to discuss some upcoming issues in conducting a coot shoot. Here are the minutes from that meeting.

Coot Committee Meeting
Monday March 19, 2012

In Attendance:

Tom Shephard, Tim Skogen, Jennifer Dammeyer, Tom Sprott, Jim McClean, John Prater, John Doherty

Tom Shephard will draft a letter to the City of Palm Desert and the Palm Desert Sheriffs Department. There are several reasons for the letter. First will be to let them know that we have applied for a Coot Depredation Permit from the Department of Fish and Wildlife Services and that we will be shooting in the near future to eradicate the coots (application will be included). Second, will be to find out if they have any restrictions or requirements that we need to be aware of, such as who we need to contact prior to shooting and how far in advance. And lastly, to hopefully get something from them in writing that they are aware of our permit and our future plans, and that we have documentation of their approval and requirements.

Tim Skogen will draft a letter to be sent out to all homeowners explaining all the methods that we’ve taken so far and what our upcoming plans are for eradicating the coots. This letter will not be sent out until we are closer to actually shooting.

The members will get Tim the correct HOA contact information and will assist him in making sure that all homeowners receive prior notice to any shooting.

Tom Shephard will be responsible for contacting all Federal, State or Local Government Agencies prior to shooting, as well as all required necessary reporting after shooting.

Tom Shephard will also contact other property superintendents in Palm Desert to obtain any information they have on shooting in this city, as well as contacting the superintendent at Mission Hills C.C and Desert Island C.C. to get any assistance on how they conduct a shoot. Email updates will be sent out periodically as information is obtained.

Everyone was in agreement that it is too early to determine exact specifics on conducting a shoot, but did agree on several issues.

1. That the first shoot would be around October 2012.
2. That Mondays and Tuesdays would be the best days to shoot.
3. That shortly after Sunrise would be the best time to conduct a shoot.
4. That using a single tee while shooting on the opposite nine would be the safest.
5. That homeowners, as well as local officials would be contacted prior to all shooting.
6. That Tom Shephard would be the lead contact person and responsible for conducting the shoot.
7. That birds should only be shot on land and not in the water.
8. That a boat and operator would be available to get any birds that go into the water and die.
9. That the birds need to be picked up as soon as reasonable possible after the shoot.
10. That once the permit arrives we would meet and finalize plans to conduct the first shoot.