Newbie2012

Only closed for a week. The notice says it opens back up Jan 10 at 6am. I imagine someone went up there after this past storm and got stuck in a snow drift.

Fine print says….Antelope requires Customer ID. Elk requires Sportsman’s ID. Everything else requires SS#. 🤪

Safety. https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd985007.pdf

So are we using the new Customer ID, Sportsman’s ID or our SS number to fill out the application? Lol

But it’s not official. They still need to complete the comment period through January. Then in mid March, the final proposed guideline changes published for review. Then it’s presented to Commission in April for final action. Only one Commissioner expressed his desire. Until they all vote, it’s not official. Will they all favor the changes? Probably. But ya never know.

Where’s the official announcement from G&F?

Been 8 years since my last. Drew my AZ rifle tag with 7 points, so you never know!

My boot search never ends. I suffer from Metatarsalgia (ball of foot pain). I’m good until about mile 3, then the discomfort begins. Surprisingly, after I got back to the truck on a recent hunt, I threw on my tennis shoes and finished the hunt with zero pain! Support was lacking, but man, having no pain and discomfort felt great. I’ve pretty much giving up on hunting boots now. Just gonna go with a trail or hiker shoe that’ll give me a little more support than my tennis shoes.

During the meeting, Chairman Davis included in the motion both the original tag allocations if the Big Bo was opened along with the new tag numbers if it was closed. It said if they do reach an agreement, they could revert back to the original numbers presented by Amber Munig. He also said that if the Big Bo is closed, that they would encourage the Department to not only remove GU10 from the Alternative management program, but to possibly close the area down completely to prevent a “private hunting ranch” scenario. You can hear his remarks at the 5:03:50 mark (pronghorn) and at the 5:11 mark (elk). https://azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/archive/Commission-12-10-21-WEB.mp3

I know. I was replying to your statement…….”I might be wrong but there are not even 65 antelope tags in any unit anymore”, showing at least this year, GMU10 did.

GMU10 had 140 antelope tags this year. 1975 elk tags.

Entire hunt in 19B was cancelled. Both archery and rifle. —————————————- Friday, March 25, 2011 PHOENIX - Faced with the loss of public access to a vast area of Game Management Unit 19B north of Prescott, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission on March 23rd decided to cancel the pronghorn antelope hunt there prior to the big game draw for the 2011 season. The commission's decision affects the hunting prospects for 65 hunters who would have received allocated tags. Commission Chairman Robert Woodhouse said, "There have been closures of other hunt units for a season or more based on biological reasons such as severe winter die offs, loss of habitat due to fires, etc...but this was the first time a decision was made to eliminate hunt tags due to public access closures. This was a difficult decision made only after extensive staff input and a long discussion by the commission." During the discussion, commissioners pointed out that this was a "no-win situation" for the commission, the department, and for the hunters who applied for the general and archery pronghorn antelope hunts in Unit 19B this fall, but the commission was compelled to do what was most fair to all concerned. Late last week, the property manager for the Chino Grande Ranch, which is a checkerboard of private and state trust land parcels, verbally notified the department that the ranch is now closed to public access, due to a proposed renewable energy project. Access to other portions of the unit has also become restricted, with some private lands being closed entirely and other ranches allowing access by payment of "trespass" fees. The Chino Grande Ranch contains a significant portion of the available pronghorn habitat in 19B, its lands also hold the greatest density of pronghorn numbers in the unit. The deadline to apply for the upcoming draw was Feb. 8 and the draw results are pending, giving the commission only days to modify the affected hunts without affecting thousands of other hunters. There are 4,780 people who applied for the 65 pronghorn antelope hunt permits in the two hunts (one general hunt and one archery hunt) scheduled for 19B. Game Branch Chief Brian Wakeling said "the antelope hunts in 19B are some of the most coveted in the state." The commission also considered reducing the number of permits in the hunt but after significant discussion, the members felt that option would do a disservice to those who applied, as the area left open for 2011 would differ substantially from that available when hunters applied in February. With the elimination of these two hunts, the draw program will treat any choice where these hunts were selected as if all tags had been issued and move to the applicant's next choice. The draw examines first and second choices primarily and then third,fourth, and fifth choices secondarily. The majority of the commissioners felt that to be the most equitable approach. The commission also expressed its desire to open up a dialogue on the whole land access and wildlife availability issue with land management agencies, county governments and stakeholders to include hunters, anglers and other recreationists. At issue is access to public lands and state trust lands and the management of public resources, such as wildlife and fish.

There’s actually precedent for this action. In 2011, G&F cancelled the antelope hunt in 19B due to access loss on the Chino Grande Ranch. So they could do it again. March 24, 2011 PHOENIX – Faced with the loss of public access to a vast area of Game Management Unit 19B north of Prescott, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission on March 23 decided to cancel the pronghorn antelope hunt there prior to the big game draw for the 2011 season. The commission’s decision affects the hunting prospects for 65 hunters who would have received allocated tags. Commission Chairman Robert Woodhouse said, “There have been closures of other hunt units for a season or more based on biological reasons such as severe winter die offs, loss of habitat due to fires, etc. ... but this was the first time a decision was made to eliminate hunt tags due to public access closures. This was a difficult decision made only after extensive staff input and a long discussion by the commission.”

Pretty much Steve himself. https://www.bowsite.com/bowsite/features/livehunts/arizonaelk2018/