ARGYLE — Green County Conservation League annual meeting and Gun/Cash Raffle will be Thursday at the Argyle Rod and Gun Club, W9408 WI 81.
Doors open at 5 p.m., followed by lunch, a speaker, door prizes and raffles.
The main speaker will be representatives from Hoo Haven Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center, which primarily serves five counties of Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin, including Winnebago, Boone, Ogle, Stephenson and Jo Daviess counties in Illinois, and Rock County in Wisconsin.
Hoo Haven operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week with an entirely volunteer staff. They are currently at 15 dedicated volunteers who assist with animal care, building maintenance, fundraising and education programs. Hoo Haven works with Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with no State or Federal funding and incorporated and changed to nonprofit status in 2000.
The operation also moved from inside a private residence to a separate facility on the property that year, which includes 13 acres with 360 feet of river frontage, seven and a half acres of prairie and even more woods, making it an excellent release site for many of the animals rehabilitated at the facility. The facility includes an Eagle Flight Exercise Pen which is the largest pen for several states. This enabled them to gain certification as a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service “Regional Eagle Recovery Center” in 2005. This year, the facility expanded with a new Aquatic Wildlife Treatment and Recovery Center to better care for injured water mammals and birds.
Representatives of Hoo Haven will have either a hawk or an owl for demonstration purposes.
Six campers the league sponsored at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point/Central Wisconsin Environmental Station at Amherst Junction, will also speak.
League memberships and tree orders for the next year will be available at the door, as well as raffle tickets and information from league officers and directors.
Officers for next year include Kim Christen, president; Craig Zenter, vice president; Norm Williams, secretary; and Nate Bloom, treasurer.
