Commission approves budget, dove orders, special big game tags and more at June meeting
By Doug Burt, public information officer, Arizona Game and Fish Department

Last week’s Arizona Game and Fish Commission meeting proved to be more than just a routine gathering in an air conditioned auditorium during blazing 110-degree June temperatures.

In addition to a full two-day agenda, this marked the last meeting for Commissioner Michael J. Golightly, of Flagstaff, after serving three 5-year terms, the longest-tenured commissioner in Arizona’s history. Golightly is being replaced by incoming Commissioner Norman Freeman from Chino Valley.

Another big change is the departure of Deputy Director Steve Ferrell. Ferrell began his career with the department nearly 30 years ago and will be taking the director position for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Both received accolades and standing applause from the commission and department for their dedicated service and contribution to the resources of Arizona.

Highlighting Friday’s meeting was the approval of the budget for fiscal years 2010 and 2011, which included increasing and extending the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) funding.

Saturday’s meeting focused on a number of topics.

The special big game hunt license tags, sometimes called commissioners’ tags, were awarded to requesting nonprofit entities for the purpose of raising funds for wildlife conservation. Three tags for each of the following species were allocated: pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, black bear, buffalo, elk, javelina, mountain lion, mule deer, white-tailed deer and turkey. The hunting season for those tags, regulated under Commission Order 29, was set for Aug. 15, 2009 – Aug. 14, 2010.

In the small game arena, the commission approved orders 19, 20 and 24 – the 2008-09 hunting season and guidelines for dove, band-tailed pigeons and sandhill cranes. New this year is a juniors-only season for sandhill cranes. Regulations for all three should be available online by the second week of July.

The department briefed the commission on the status of the vendor selection for the online draw and licensing system. The commission scheduled another public meeting for July 3 to further this matter.

The commission awarded $87,550 to six grant applicants from the Shooting Range Grants Program for fiscal year 2009. The grant monies are for the construction, improvement, enhancement, or expansion of public shooting ranges located throughout the state.

The department gave a presentation to the commission about Senate Bill 1552, a new dust abatement law which addresses fugitive dust or “PM-10″ emissions within Maricopa County. A new and complicated matter, it is resulting in ordinances by Maricopa County and the cities within the county to “prohibit vehicle operation on unpaved surfaces that are not a public or private road, street or lawful easement.” The department expressed its concern about how far-reaching this situation is and how it potentially affects hunters, anglers, and all Arizonans that enjoy the desert outdoors – with a direct impact on motorized access and use. For example: Maricopa County has 4.28 million unincorporated acres; all or the majority of GMUs 26M, 39, 40A, 42 and 47M are in the county, with portions of GMUs 20B, 21, 22, 24B, 25M, 40B, 41, 42 and 44A; there are 500,000 acres of A.S.L.D. trust lands and mountain ranges that are in the county, including the Superstition, Mazatzal (Four Peaks), Maricopa, Gila Bend, White Tank, Sierra Estrella, Eagle Tail, Big Horn, and Harquahala Mountains. Game species that could be affected by this situation are desert bighorn sheep – 7 tags possibly affected (11 percent of all opportunity), deer with 1,448 tags in primary GMUs and another 8,231 in other GMUs, javelina with 190 tags in primary GMUs and 5,174 tags in other GMUs. Not to mention the effects on more than 125,000 small game hunters, since dove hunters utilize agricultural areas that are private lands. The commission agreed this was a top priority and requested that the department work closely with the county and municipalities to accommodate constituents and keep them informed of the situation.

The commission also set its meeting schedule for 2009-10. Dates are very similar to this year’s meeting dates and will be available online soon.

There is no July commission meeting. The next public meeting is August 8-9 in Flagstaff. For the location and detailed agenda, visit www.azgfd.com/commission.