The Greenhead Hunting Club

By: David K. Rice

"It was then that I realized that the Greenhead Hunting Club (GHC) wasn't just a place to hunt ducks. It was hallowed ground, steeped with tradition, where bankers met gas station attendants on a windy day to enjoy perfection together-a club founded by sportsmen of Churchill County and the surrounding areas to hunt game and to protect and enhance wildlife for themselves and future generations." Gib Mackedon, The Greenhead Hunting Club, (c) 1999, IN FOCUS, Annual Journal of the Churchill Co. Museum Association, Vo. 12, No. 1.

That very important thought or realization has stayed with current GHC President, Gib Mackedon, Fallon, since his first opening day duck hunt about 20 years ago as he gathered with others at the clubhouse to have his day's harvest recorded. That year he became part of a tradition that started, at least in modern times, about 1910, when it is believed the club was formed. Later, in 1925, its founding fathers would formerly incorporate, recording the issuance of twelve shares of stock, according to Mackedon.

GHC has continued to exist through good times and bad, including recurring periods of severe drought, an attempt to sell and privatize the lands on which it sits, and even an early threat to close the area to all hunting by the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), administrators of the 24,000 acres of withdrawn public land known as the Carson Lake Area.

Seasonal wetlands within the Carson Lake area that make up the GHC vary in size depending on upstream precipitation levels and actual water allocations to farmers which affect the amount of return flow water from agricultural lands in Lahontan Valley.

According to Nevada Dept. of Wildlife, development of the Newlands Project that brought water to the Fallon area for agricultural purposes, reduced the wetland area of Carson Lake to about 850 acres. The Carson Lake area includes what is known as the Carson Lake Pasture that provides water righted farmers and ranchers in the Truckee Carson Irrigation District a place to graze their livestock during the summer.

Carson Lake wetlands consist of a series of shallow ponds and extensive marsh areas. It is one of the Pacific Flyway's major stopovers for many species of waterfowl, including ducks, geese and swan, making it a very desirable hunting area. Since its inception, it has been open to public hunting during seasons established by the State Wildlife Commission.

According to Mackedon, GHC is composed of approximately 300 members, with a maximum membership set at about 350. Bylaws of the club provide that no more than 51 percent of the members can be from the Newlands Project (Fallon-Fernley), with the remaining 49 percent coming from other areas of the state and country. GHC members pay the annual hunting Pasture Pass (hunting) fee of $50 just like non-members, but also pay about $155 the first year they join (includes their first $50 annual hunting fee) and then an annual assessment of a $30 membership fee plus the pass fee.

Although Mackedon said that many believe GHC keeps the $50 pass fee, that is not the case. The club is required to pass the fees they collect on to the BOR. The annual membership fees are used in part to pay the salary of the caretaker who oversees the area throughout the year.

Hunting and related management practices are cooperatively handled by GHC and NDOW. All changes are required to be reviewed and approved by an advisory board consisting of members of the club, representatives of the Truckee Carson Irrigation District and one member of NDOW. For many years, NDOW's representative was Norm Saake, 34 year waterfowl biologist for the agency. When he retired, the duty was assumed by Elmer Bull who heads up wildlife management areas for NDOW in the north. Mackedon praised Bull in saying, "Elmer is always pleasant and extremely easy to work with. GHC is very fortunate to have him to assist in the management of the area."

The amount of water received each year continues to be the area of most concern to GHC as well as sportsmen organizations like Nevada Waterfowl Association. According to Mackedon, prior to OCAP (Operating Criteria and Procedures of BOR, established 1988) GHC received about 30,000 acre feet (AF) of water annually in the form of return flows from agricultural lands in the valley. Now, restrictions which have led to tighter controls on this "waste" water have reduced the level to about 15,000 AF. "And of the amount we receive today, about one half--about 8,000 AF-comes in the form of purchased water rights bought from willing sellers," Mackedon said. Water is currently transferred at a duty rate of 2.99 AF per acre of water (AFA) purchased. NWA has filed with the Nevada State Engineer to have the water transferred at the full duty rate-as purchased-of 3.55 AFA as it should be (see related story in the FLYER ). A decision is pending at this time.