Paul,
He can get the permits for this its just a long process to get approval. He has a yearly permit for any birds that are not raptors. Raptors are a seperate permit and only issued for 2 weeks. We have access to a trap built to live catch hawks but can't use them with out the land owner filing for the permits. I told him that if he filed all the proper paperwork we would act as his agent. I tried to sell him on the netting over the ponds but he said the price to cover four ponds this size was cost prohibitive. I thought like you with average price per fish was 2000.00 and cost per net would be about 3,000.00. I would spring for the nets and watch the investment grow in saved breeders.

I was told that a Heron decoy worked for this unless its mating season. Something about herons staking claim to a pond. If one is already there others will fly over and keep going. I have not tried this personally but I can tell you that if one is at the pond on my property fly overs just keep going.

I've seen up to thirty herons leave a trout facility at various times of the year. Maybe if they only see one they figure there is not much to eat. Of course, grizzlies are solitary until the salmon spawn so a fish dinner can change things. If I reccomended a heron decoy I'm afraid I would get hung from a fence to scare herons!

Hey Andy, man I gotta tell you that the post about the mink laying out the fish and then carrying then to the woods is the absolute best piece of info I have gotten on " What the heck happens to the fish?" My customers have been asking that question over and over again. Thanks!

A buck mink one time caught four 1 1/2 pounders and had them laid out beside him on the metal grate he was hanging from by his back feet. Problem was it was about 5 below and his back feet froze to the grate. Must be a common trick for them, I always figured it was to get the most fish and get out as quick as possible, before the coons come.

I fixed my issues with thing getting in my koi pond. I just brought it inside lol.











now we can enloy it all year round.

That is one beautiful Koi pond, Dew! I'll bet you also have a high mounted vent fan to keep the moisture level down.

Here's a new combination, client with a leaking koi pond due to pocket gopher burrows. She didn't like the service call price I quoted but it ain't cheap to drive 60 miles one way that includes 10 miles of gravel road.

Dave, you'll get a kick out of this: we have one road that is three miles long and it is the only gravel road left in the county. About every four years the people on that road have to fight to keep it from being paved. Many are horse owners, all are rich, and many are customers. If I can drive slow, so can everybody else!

Paul,

I just heard some folks in a small village here (very affluent village) telling me the same thing, they like not having a county
or town maintained road because if it is made into a county road they will straighten it, cut down about 20 huge cottonwood trees
(something we in the desert value for some shade!) and speed up the folks in cars speeding passed their horse riding and dog walking!

Dave,

The p. gopher koi pond sounds like an interesting version of the p. gopher livestock impoundment situations. Bet when the water all runs
out their tunnels she'll re-evaluate the cost option!

I have lots of people who have p. gophers in their irrigated horse pasture and many of them never put 2 and 2 together to realize how much water
is heading out away from the roots and plants. I saw one where the gopher tunnels caused about 1/2 of their irrigated water to go under a dirt riding arena and end up in a ditch where nothing desired was growing and just end up wasted, till we discussed what was going on. Didn't even have major gopher populations, just enough to do the job and keep the tunnels open!

Justin

I would say about 15-20% of my driving is on gravel roads and I understand their wanting to keep it gravel. A gravel road is less traveled and is hoof friendlier than pavement. Our gravel roads get so washboarded I've had my truck go into a bounce that turned me sideways and I was only going 10MPH. I have what I call a rough road charge, it's not itemized on the bill but it is figured into the overall price. One road was so bad I had to have my doors readjusted by the body shop, it shook them loose.
Justin, our outdoor koi pond season is just about over, it snowed today. She's putting the house on the market so I'll bet it's one of those hidden problems that doeasn't make it to the disclosure statement.

I know what you mean about the washboard, when my wife and I met we lived and worked on a ranch in NE Utah. The roads were as you mention, you knew that any bolt or piece of gear not strapped down was likely vibrating its way off the vehicle! Let alone the slide outs in corners and such, as you say, very dangerous and take extra time just to drive down without your teeth rattling out!

I see some of those out here in NM, but most of our ranch roads its just washouts you have to watch, not too many gravel roads, more clay and sand, which presents its own issues!

The disclosure deal makes me laugh, I just finished a very tightrope style walk between a sellers agent and seller and the buyers agent and buyer about bats that were supposedly never noticed in the siding.

Where the seller went wrong, just a week before they took over the house and had the inspection done, she took a can of great stuff to that side of the house only to seal out the bats all over. The statement to me was "that foam is used commonly to seal out air leaks and insulate."

My response.... "c'mon now, if she did that for that purpose she better be able to explain to these folks or a judge why the other sides of the house with the same siding aren't foamed!



People are crazy!

For my ER (grab 'n go) jobs I charge based on time. After the last two, I'm thinking about starting the clock when I leave pavement.

Work like a charm for me! Also, for coon and other critters, too.