Proposed hunt guidelines available for public review
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Guidelines to be considered at Arizona Game and Fish Commission meeting Sept. 12
PHOENIX — The proposed hunt guidelines that will be used for developing the specific hunt recommendations and permit levels for the fall 2010 through spring 2013 hunting seasons are available for review on the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Web site at www.azgfd.gov/huntguidelines.
“The hunt guidelines were formulated through an extensive collaborative effort between department biologists and the public,” said Brian Wakeling, the department’s chief of game management. “During many stages of this process we have asked the public to provide input to help shape these guidelines, using many venues including statewide public meetings, direct mailings, surveys (mailed and online), and general comments via mail or email.”
The department regularly reviews and revises the existing hunt guidelines according to the commission-approved schedule and recommends changes that address the current direction of the commission. The direction for the 2009 package is for standardization, simplification, and increasing hunter participation. The hunt guidelines set the framework, social and biological, that the department uses to develop specific hunt recommendations and permit level guides for commission orders (elk, deer, antelope, etc.).
Wakeling added, “The guidelines are based on sound science, but ultimately the social desires are also critical to crafting the document that will guide our hunt recommendations into the future.”
The proposed guidelines will be presented to the commission for approval at its Sept. 12 meeting at the Arizona Game and Fish Department headquarters on 5000 W. Carefree Highway in Phoenix. For a full agenda, visit www.azgfd.gov/commission under “Meeting Agenda.”
“Anyone still wishing to provide comment is encouraged to attend the Sept. 12 meeting when the commission considers the final package,” added Wakeling.
To learn more about the hunt guidelines process, visit www.azgfd.gov/huntguidelines.