VENTURA : Quail Unlimited Group to Build Watering Hole
The Ventura chapter of Quail Unlimited this week plans to build another watering hole deep in Los Padres National Forest to help wildlife survive during the dry season.
The group of conservation-minded hunters will place the concrete-lined tank at a location off Lockwood Valley Road about halfway between Frazier Park and California 33, said Frank Garner, the group’s habitat chairman.
“The cement tank captures rainwater and can hold as much as 900 gallons to help animals through a drought,” he said.
This concrete structure is one of four that Quail Unlimited plans to build in the Ventura County backcountry, Garner said. The group has matched $3,800 in funding from the Forest Service to install the watering holes.
Volunteers will erect wooden forms for the cement by midweek and plan to pour the concrete on Saturday.
Los Padres National Forest has more than 100 of the structures. More than 200 species of animals have been recorded using the watering holes, Garner said, including bears, deer, coyotes and mountain lions.
Garner said Quail Unlimited is the leading group that donates dollars and labor to build and maintain the watering holes. The water helps quail thrive during the hot summer months, shortening the distance they must travel to reach water and limiting their exposure to predators, he said.
“It helps them survive and gives them larger coveys,” he said.
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