Arizona Game and Fish Welcomes Public Input on Game Management Guidelines
Arizona Game and Fish Department 05.13.13
Based on public input received this year, the Arizona Game and Fish Department has developed a first draft revision of the hunt guidelines and wants to hear your ideas on how this draft might be improved.
The hunt guidelines provide the biological and social parameters used by wildlife managers to formulate the annual hunt recommendations (season structures, season lengths, season dates, permits allocated, etc.) and results in the hunts in which sportsmen, women and children participate. While hunting opportunity is important, wildlife is held in the public trust, and using science-based principles in shaping the guideline process remains paramount to assure healthy, sustainable and diverse wildlife populations in perpetuity.
Draft hunt guidelines will be available on May 24, 2013 on the department’s website, http://www.azgfd.gov/h_f/hunt_guidelines.shtml.
Comments on the draft hunt guidelines may be submitted through June 12, 2013 electronically to azgamebranch@azgfd.govor by mail to Hunt Guidelines, Arizona Game and Fish Department, 5000 W. Carefree Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85086.
“We are seeking your ideas, concerns and observations on how to meet the many demands of our varied hunting public, as well as ways to foster new opportunities that help pass along our hunting heritage to future generations,” said Big Game Management Supervisor Amber Munig. “The department receives comments running from one end of the spectrum to the other and attempts to balance hunting opportunity and experience with maintaining healthy and sustainable game populations. This is your opportunity to get involved in this bi-annual process.”
The department will host nine public meetings across the state to present the draft hunt guidelines, answer questions, and collect additional public input. The draft hunt guidelines, public meeting input, and all public comments will be shared with the Arizona Game and Fish Commission at the June 14-15, 2013 commission meeting. Final proposed hunt guidelines will then be prepared and posted on the department’s website prior to being presented to the commission at its September 6-7 meeting in Pinetop.
The public meetings will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on the following dates:
- May 28, Sierra Vista, Sierra Vista Police Department, 911 N. Coronado Drive
- May 29, Tucson, International Wildlife Museum, 4800 W. Gates Pass Road
- May 30, Mesa, Arizona Game and Fish Region 6 office, 7200 E. University Drive
- May 31, Payson, Payson Public Library, 328 N. McLane Road
- June 3, Yuma, Arizona Game and Fish Region 4 office, 9140 E. 28th St.
- June 4, Prescott, Yavapai County Administrative Building, 1015 Fair St.
- June 5, Flagstaff, Arizona Game and Fish Region 2 office, 3500 S. Lake Mary Road
- June 6, Pinetop, Arizona Game and Fish Region 1 office, 2878 E. White Mountain Blvd.
- June 7, Kingman, Arizona Game and Fish Region 3 office, 5325 N. Stockton Hill Road
For a copy of the current hunt guidelines, details about the guideline review process, and meeting addresses, visit www.azgfd.gov/huntguidelines.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department does not receive general funds from the State of Arizona. The conservation and management of the state’s game animals is made possible by funding generated from the sale of hunting licenses, tags, and matching funds from the Wildlife Restoration Act, a federal excise tax that hunters and manufacturers pay on guns, ammunition and other hunting/shooting-related equipment.
