A Call to Action...McDowell Mountain Preserve

[1uglydude]

http://www.azcentral.com/community/...e-concerns.html

 

I have never hunted the preserve, although I have plans to try it in the future. But even if you've never hunted there and don't plan to, this is something that we should all be concerned about.

 

Safety issue? Please! We're talking about bowhunting on 33 square miles.

 

Here's what really gets me. Scottsdale can't ban hunting, it needs action from AZGFD to do so. As I read ARS 13-3108 (F)(5)©, the director can ban hunting where it is deemed to be "unsafe." I don't think the department should be setting a precedent by deciding that bowhunting on 33 square miles of open country is "unsafe." For crying out loud, the freaking chairman of the preserve was "surprised" to learn that hunting even takes place there!" So, the conflicts with sportsmen must be really common (eyeroll)!

 

Now, I can see why the department might want to appease other users in the park, but public perception is NOT grounds under the statute for closing it.

 

I can understand that trespassing may be an issue when it comes to guys wandering onto private property. There's a solution to that, enforce the trespass laws.

 

I'm usually one for compromise, but this situation doesn't warrant it. We can't keep rolling over.

 

AND WHY IS THE MEETING SCHEDULED FOR 3PM ON A MONDAY?!?!

[ready2hunt]

I just read this article and it just goes to show the stupidity of some people. It speaks of saftey issues and how hikers have seen animal populations dwindle...seriously??? It also says they are looking to expand the preserve....so where does it stop if they change the city ordinance to ban archery there?

 

Here is the text:

 

Bow hunting in Scottsdale preserve met with concerns

 

A little-known rule allowing bow hunting in Scottsdale's McDowell Sonoran Preserve will take center stage during an upcoming public hearing, when preserve leaders are expected to debate the practice amid concerns about trespassing and hiker safety.

The hundreds of thousands of hikers who visit the nature preserve to explore each year share the vast desert with bow hunters tracking deer or javelina.

Critics have questioned the practice, saying it poses a threat to hikers' safety and animal populations, which are already down due to abnormally dry conditions, wildlife officials said.

Hunters have been known to cross over illegally onto private property, drawing complaints from nearby homeowners, said Kroy Ekblaw, Scottsdale's preserve director.

"We know we have had some concerns from various neighborhoods adjoining the preserve," Ekblaw said.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department regulates hunting in the 33-square-mile desert refuge, which requires a license and a tag to track deer or javelina during the bow-hunting season, said Jim Paxon, a Game and Fish spokesman.

"The hunting in the preserve is minimal," Paxon said, adding that it is "very rare" for an archer to actually kill and remove an animal there.

Most bow hunters go out before daybreak but the preserve is only open from sunrise to sunset, Paxon noted.

A ban on bow hunting would require the city to change its preserve ordinance.

James Heitel, chairman of the Scottsdale McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission, said he was surprised to hear about bow hunting in the preserve. Some 300,000 visitors came to the preserve last year.

"There are clearly some safety issues," Heitel said. "The preserve is a fairly unique piece of property, and there is a lot of the public that is utilizing the preserve. We expect visitors to increase substantially over time as we expand the boundaries."

Heitel said the hearing will include an information session with Arizona Game and Fish.

The McDowell Sonoran Preserve spans 21,400 acres across eastern Scottsdale, encompassing mountainous terrain east of Pima Road and west of McDowell Mountain Regional Park.

Scottsdale voters passed sales-tax increases in 1995 and 2004 to bankroll land purchases for the preserve. So far, the city has spent approximately $800 million, including debt service, to acquire the land and build trailheads and other improvements, Ekblaw said. Scottsdale plans to buy another 6,400 acres of state trust land later this year for the preserve.

With the expanding preserve and growing numbers of hikers, resident Michael Mayer has pushed to ban unfettered bow hunting.

A frequent hiker at the preserve, Mayer said he has watched animal counts decrease there since 2003.

"I started raising the issue of how it doesn't make common sense to promote thousands of hikers and spend almost a billion dollars on developing the preserve and still allow unlimited bow hunters," Mayer said.

Unlike hikers, bow hunters are allowed to veer off of trails in the preserve.

Residents want the unlimited policy stopped, Mayer said.

Paxon said the Game and Fish Commission would work with Scottsdale if the city chooses to end bow hunting.

 



[elkhutnaz]

I am off at 2 that day and plan on going, I have hunted that area for 10 plus years and have shot pigs and deer out of there and NEVER ran into anyone out there unless I was at the trailhead. I want to hear the safety concern because most archery hunters aren't going to be around hikers.

[Snapshot]

I find it extremely ironic that these people don't seem to realize that hunters are taxpayers also. Ban the hunters, and let the hikers have free reign.? I could understand it if it was a real safety concern.

[Non-Typical Solutions]

Unfettered......wow, such terminology........interesting read thanks for red flagging it for us.