Permits for Kaibab Archery Hunt?

[spectr17]

Permits for Kaibab Archery Hunt? ###

###Should a permit system be established for the archery hunt on the Kaibab Plateau and Arizona Strip areas?

That is one of the recommendations being put on the table for consideration when the Arizona Game and Fish Department conducts its annual public hunt meetings across the state in January and February.

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission on December 8 approved the "Guidelines and Recommendations for the 2002-2003 Hunting Seasons." Those recommendations were scheduled to be available by December 14 on the department's Internet Home Page at http://www.azgfd.com.

Game Branch Chief Tice Supplee explained that the draft "guidelines and recommendations" for the hunting seasons are used by wildlife managers in the six regions to prepare their annual recommendations for next year's hunts.

"The Flagstaff Region is recommending we go to some type of permitting system for the archery hunt north of the Colorado River so that we can better regulate the number of hunters and the deer harvest," Supplee said.

The Kaibab archery hunt is just one of many "recommendations" being put before the public. The guidelines will be distributed at public meetings in January and February at 11 or more locations around the state. More than 500 people attended such meetings last year. Public comments will be accepted by letter and e-mail through March 1, 2002.

The public comments collected during this process will be provided to the department's six regional offices for consideration when they are preparing final hunt recommendation packages. The final recommendations will come before the Game and Fish Commission for consideration at its April 13 meeting in Phoenix.

[spectr17]

Permits for Kaibab Archery Hunt? ###

Should a permit system be established for the archery hunt on the Kaibab Plateau and Arizona Strip areas?

That is one of the recommendations being put on the table for consideration when the Arizona Game and Fish Department conducts its annual public hunt meetings across the state in January and February.

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission on December 8 approved the "Guidelines and Recommendations for the 2002-2003 Hunting Seasons." Those recommendations were scheduled to be available by December 14 on the department's Internet Home Page at http://www.azgfd.com.

Game Branch Chief Tice Supplee explained that the draft "guidelines and recommendations" for the hunting seasons are used by wildlife managers in the six regions to prepare their annual recommendations for next year's hunts.

"The Flagstaff Region is recommending we go to some type of permitting system for the archery hunt north of the Colorado River so that we can better regulate the number of hunters and the deer harvest," Supplee said.

The Kaibab archery hunt is just one of many "recommendations" being put before the public. The guidelines will be distributed at public meetings in January and February at 11 or more locations around the state. More than 500 people attended such meetings last year. Public comments will be accepted by letter and e-mail through March 1, 2002.

The public comments collected during this process will be provided to the department's six regional offices for consideration when they are preparing final hunt recommendation packages. The final recommendations will come before the Game and Fish Commission for consideration at its April 13 meeting in Phoenix.

[nobuckkev]

Jesse, thanks for the info. I am planning on retiring in Arizona in just over four years and have heard that this is a good area to hunt. There is another area just outside Kingman that I want to get familiar with. Some mountain range that begins with a "W". The Walapia or something like that. Any info on this area?

[arizona jim]

A drawing for the Kaibab archery hunt may push more resident hunters into other areas of the state because it is so hard to get drawn up there. The rest of the state already has low deer numbers. We don't need to have those area deer populations affected with more hunters. The deer in alot of those areas already have competition with the elk.

A check-out station during the archery hunt along with a crackdown on road hunting may be the ticket. It should give those fork horns & spikes a chance to get some experience. In the archery hunt alot of young deer are taken that stand by the side of the road. I have always wondered if a 3 point minimum on at least one side might help. ###

[AzBuckSnort]

###Thos one is sure to liven-up the annual local AZG&F public input meetings! Everyone has an opinion on this issue so I'm sure there will be some good hearted debating going on about these proposed hunts,
### Here's what I'm kinda thinking about concerning the Kaibab. First, I've always been led to believe the actual harvest of buck deer during the archery hunts is quite low, so none of these proposed changes should have anything to do with harvest but rather with hunter crowding or the perception of crowding.
### If that's the case, and with a 1000 tag antlerless rifle hunt being held the past couple years, it surely must be, then the issue is how do you spread the hunters out to relieve the perception of overcrowded hunting conditions?
### Do we really want to go to a drawing? One of the grandest things is to know that if all else fails in the drawings, you can purchase an archery deer tag and escape the heat of summer and roam the Kaibab at a beautiful time of year in pursuit of mulies. Kiss that goodbye if it goes to a draw.
### ###I can only speak for myself but I haven't had a drawn deer tag in Arizona since 1990...and I'm a resident! The season used to start in late August and lasted 5 weeks, many of those days were hunted without seeing a soul.
### ###If a drawing is determined to be the way to go, I'd like to see them allow applicants to apply for both an archery tag and a rifle tag. Do the rifle tag draw first, and if you draw you're eliminated from the archery drawing.
We'll have to see how this all goes!
###

[Craig Steele]

Jesse,
I am born and raised in Arizona and I think it would be a good idea. ###The mule deer here are hurting and the hunters flock there when the season opens just trying to get a crack at those bucks. ###My self as a bowhunter don't even attempt in going up there. ###In my experiences your chances of getting a big mule deer are slim and almost impossible when you have 20 other hunter hunting the same buck. ###So, yes I think it would be a good thing!

Nobuckkev,
I am born and raised in Kingman with three generations here before me. ###Back in the 50's,60's,70's and even the 80's there was some monster bucks around here. ###Since the early 90's everthing has gone down hill. ###Land developers have destroyed alot of the good mule deer habitat. ###Lions have trived in this rocky country. ###Water is scarice do to inconsistent ranching. ###And what that has not taken care of the game & fish has by sticking to there thirty year old play books. ###The deer have a good fawn year so what do they do jack the tags up by 400 permits. ###They kill all of the little bucks before they even get a chance to get big!!
But F.Y.I. the mountain range is called Hualapai mountains and they are in game management unit #16A. ###Located just south of Kingman. ###Don't get me wrong there are some and I mean some good bucks around here but few and far and tough to hunt.

Enjoy

Craig Steele

[nobuckkev]

Thanks for the info Craig. I don't think it can be any worse than SOCAL hunting. I'll have to get back to you when it comes time to hunt there and see if you can point me in the right direction.