Arizona Bait Ban - AZGF wants "Bait" ban

[DesertBull]

baiting was legal 30 years ago.

[ForkHorn]

I find it ironic when someone says that baiting is unethical and is a direct cause of more deer being killed. Then that very same person will go out and use a high powered rifle and take a shot at 300 + yards. Many would argue that is more unethical and the cause of way more deer being shot every year. The reality is that archery hunters (the primary bait users) kill way less deer than the average rifle hunter with a high powered scope.

 

Just because you don't do it doesn't mean it is the wrong way. I don't use "bait" but I have been known to throw a salt block down next to a trail hoping it would get something to stop in front of my camera.

 

Ranchers will still be using minerals, which completely throws out the cwd argument. If that's the case, why can't I?

[Snapshot]

I personally feel that hunting has become way to technical. Baiting is just another harvest tool for those that feel the need to use it. If G&F does not want an unfair harvest advantage, then they would have to outlaw Bait, Trailcams, long range shooting, fast bows, blinds, tree stands, hunting over water, etc, etc, etc, etc.

 

Where does it end.?

 

Pretty soon, sportsman will be darting animals with GPS tracking devices to be able to monitor the animal 24/7, unitl hunting season arrives, then sportsman will cry foul when that is outlawed. It seems alot of hunters want the easy path to success.

 

I do not, and will not, use bait. It makes no difference to me if it becomes outlawed. If others want to use it, so be it.

 

Enjoy the hunt, See the forest through the trees.

[OpticNerd]

baiting was legal 30 years ago.

 

Yes you are correct. I was talking about hunting in general not referring to baiting. I could be wrong but hunters 20-30 years ago seemed to get along much better then they do now days. Having the internet might have something to do with that but that's a completely different topic. Back to baiting as coues & sheep pointed out earlier baiting tends to be getting more and more popular over the years and this could be causing baits to be less effective. I'd still like to know if any of you have also noticed a decline in the effectiveness of baiting over the past few years as coues & sheep has?

[gotcoues]

I started using "ambush" methods of blinds and stands in 05'. I've tried it all including sitting water, baits of all kinds, salt and salt type products and last but not least, singing loudly in the sexiest voice I could muster from my treestand. To date, I have one mature coues buck taken with archery equipment from a treestand. I've never had a shot opportunity out of blind and I have had three misses out of treestands (two jumping string & one misjudged yardage). This timeline I have given includes at minimum, 300 hrs sitting on my behind with one successful kill. I've climbed into my stand long before light after a 45 minute walk in, and many times, have sat all day until sundown. I've passed on a fair amount of shot opportunities over the years due to rack size and/or distance. Besides the long hours sitting, there are many more hours of prep, maintenance, card swapping and miles put on the dodge etc.

 

I laugh at the notion anyone can go sprinkle some bait on the ground, set up a blind and go kill a mature coues deer with archery equipment. Good luck with that!

 

Oh and the one coues deer I did manage to kill was from a stand set at 30' to the foot platform.

[DesertBull]

baiting was legal 30 years ago.

 

Yes you are correct. I was talking about hunting in general not referring to baiting. I could be wrong but hunters 20-30 years ago seemed to get along much better then they do now days. Having the internet might have something to do with that but that's a completely different topic. Back to baiting as coues & sheep pointed out earlier baiting tends to be getting more and more popular over the years and this could be causing baits to be less effective. I'd still like to know if any of you have also noticed a decline in the effectiveness of baiting over the past few years as coues & sheep has?

 

maybe because they were not worried about how other people hunt?

[THE RIFLEMAN]

Try putting some corn or oats out in the forest for wild deer to eat and chances are the ants and birds will get it well before the deer even notice it! On the other hand rural deer that grow up eating bird seed and grain in back yards are totally differant! This backyard style of baiting is why the late hunts have been canceled in some units! Red lights go of when the archery sucess rate raise's above 12% .... 99.9% of the deer shot over bait in Arizona are shot in someones back yard! The property owners are also inviting their buddies to fill out their tags on the last day , a deer for each of the family members the list goes on ........When its easy everyone gets in on the fun!!!!

Some counties (Pinal &Maricopa) already have county laws prohibiting feeding deer and elk on private property and not 1 citation has been issued! The folks feeding can just say they where feedin the birds.....If the G&F LEO's really want to prosecute some one for this they would really have to work at it! Not likely to happen ...It's easier to just make more uninforcible laws and act like they are real busy!

I had a feeder way out in the woods and it took 3 years of feeding the pigs and birds before any deer statred hitting it regular enough to count on for slying a buck! My point is baiting out in the forest does not guarantee instant sucess.....Why the new laws enforce the existing laws!

My take on this baiting ban is that it is generated by died in the wool rifle only hunters who have allways resented archery hunting in some way or another! Some local archery shop ownwers are also for the ban because they feel baiting will cause the loss of over the counter deer tags and a loss of buisness!

The king baby rifle only complainers and greedy archery bizz folks need to shut the front door and quit rockin the boat!

As for what OpticTurd proposes about baits becoming less effective that is probably true with the salt products that hunter joe buys at Bass Pro - I recently hiked the areas around some popular water holes and found multiple salt/mineral licks at each hole several with cameras on them... The deer don't have far to go and lots of selection when it comes to salt licken!!!! Its a biological fact the the deer are healthier when they have these minerals so I am all for it .... It would work better for slayin deer if there was only one lick per water hole!

As for feed or licks concentrating deer and spreading CWD faster this is a moot point ; In AZ the deer are already concentrated around water sources!!!! The main reason we dont have CWD is because it dosn't weathter the hot dry conditions here in the southwest! If a CWD pathogen is going to survive a long hot/dry summer here in AZ it will be at a water source!

Again I say enforce the existing laws before making new one's ..........

[bowhunter4life]

The time is here, voting tomorrow and Saturday

 

 

 

AZF&G Meetings tomorrow and Saturday.

http://azgfd.net/art... ... -7-8.shtml

 

 

 

Commission meeting to consider fishing regulations; raptor, reptile, amphibian, crustacean & mollusk regulations; and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking amending Article 3 (taking and handling of wildlife)

Sept. 5, 2012

 

 

The next meeting of the Arizona Game and Fish Commission will be this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 7 and 8, at the Game and Fish Department headquarters at 5000 W. Carefree Highway in Phoenix (1.5 miles west of I-17). The meeting begins at 8 a.m. both days.

Items on the Friday, Sept. 7 portion of the agenda include:

• Update on state and federal legislation.

• Presentation on a pilot project proposal to evaluate a landowner-departmental compact to manage public access.

• Request for approval of several Memoranda of Understanding with various entities.

• Request for approval of disposal of a portion of commission-owned sovereign lands located along the Gila River.

• Request for approval of a Notice of Docket Opening, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and Economic Impact Statement amending rules within Article 3, addressing taking and handling of wildlife.

• Request for approval of Notices of Docket Opening, Notices of Proposed Rulemaking, and Economic Impact Statements amending rules within Article 7 (addressing Heritage Grants) and rules within Article 9 (addressing Arizona Wildlife Conservation Fund Grants).

• Request for approval of a Notice of Docket Opening, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and Economic Impact Statement amending rules within Article 5, addressing boating and water sports.

• Hearings on license revocations for violations of Game and Fish codes and civil assessments for the illegal taking and/or possession of wildlife (time certain at 2 p.m.).

• Overview of the 2012 Commission Award nominees and request for the commission to vote to select the 2012 Commission Award recipients.

Items on the Saturday, Sept. 8 portion of the agenda include:

• Consideration of Commission Order 40 (Fish) establishing open seasons, open areas, closures, and bag and possession limits for 2013 and 2014. Click here to see the commission memo.

• Consideration of Commission Orders 25 (Raptors), 41 (Amphibians), 42 (Crustaceans and Mollusks), and 43 (Reptiles). The commission orders establish open areas, season dates, possession limits, and annual permit limits for 2013 and 2014. Click here for links to the proposed commission orders.

• Consent agenda items, including updates on various department programs and activities.

The public can view the meeting any of three ways: (1) attending the meeting in person in Phoenix; (2) viewing it via video stream at any of six Game and Fish regional offices; or, (3) viewing it over the Web at www.azgfd.gov/commissioncam.

 

Members of the public may submit Speaker Cards (Blue Cards) if they wish to speak to the commission at the Phoenix meeting or from any regional Game and Fish office. Public comment is not available for those viewing the webcast online.

 

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission is the policy-setting board overseeing the Arizona Game and Fish Department. It consists of five members (serving staggered five-year terms) appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. No more than one commissioner may be from any one county. No more than three may be from the same political party. Since its inception in 1929, this organizational structure has served as a buffer for the best interests of science-driven wildlife conservation during eight decades of back-and-forth political change.

 

For a complete meeting agenda, visit www.azgfd.gov/commission(click on the Commission Agenda link).

 

 

The Arizona Game and Fish Department prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, or disability in its programs and activities. If anyone believes that they have been discriminated against in any of the AGFD’s programs or activities, including employment practices, they may file a complaint with the Director's Office, 5000 W. Carefree Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85086-5000, (602) 942-3000, or with the Fish and Wildlife Service, 4040 N. Fairfax Dr. Ste. 130, Arlington, VA 22203. Persons with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation or this document in an alternative format by contacting the Director's Office as listed above.

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[bojangles]

man i wish i could be there to put my two cents in.

 

baiting makes it possible for me to hunt with the idea of being successful. I don't always use bait, but sometimes it's nice to have a cornpile in the woods so you can hunt after or before work. I don't have enough savings to be able to take off 2 or 3 weeks from work to chase deer. Sometimes it's easier to get the deer to come to you. Really, it's a financial decision for me. I just can't afford to miss work.

 

It seems the complaint is that hunters are too successful. But i've never heard anyone say the whitetial numbers are down. I sure don't have any problems finding bucks. There seems to be plenty to go around, so why is being successful bad? We've lost the december hunt in 22 and 23, because of success, now baiting too? seriously, it sounds like they don't want us to be successful.

 

 

i could go on...

[Coach]

I say, let it play out. Years ago when people first put out salt, they had good concentrations of deer. After a while, there was salt everywhere and the deer returned to their normal distribution and patterns. In the last couple of years, people have learned that salt was less effective in the winter than corn, so we started seeing deer attracted to corn piles in the colder months. Now, there's corn piles everywhere - and my guess is, they'll return to their normal distribution.

 

We don't need to limit legal take methods, we need to focus on intentional poaching, IMO.

[THE RIFLEMAN]

What do they say about people feeding the birds in their back yards... As the deer and pigs love to eat birdseed ...

I have found that food plots work way better then corn, By accident the grain sprouted at the bait station and the deer prefered the sprouts to grain! So now I rake wild bird seed into areas around my tree satnd if ya get this done before the monsoon the sprouts are iresistable ....

Wild parsimons are also irrestable to whitetail... Hmm a wild food plot .....

[swwildlife]

If I set up a stand and place this sign near by will this keep me legal?

[bowhunter4life]

All,

If you have any input, comments or want to give your ideas or concerns with regard to the removal of hunting over any eatable substance “bait” except salt, minerals, water. Here is your chance to be heard.

As a side note, I want to thank Brian Wakeling from AZGFD for his help and honesty with regard to this potential rule change.

 

The Commission has just begun the official process to amend Article 3 rules.

 

I will file the Notices of Rulemaking Docket Opening and Proposed Rulemaking with the Secretary of State’s office this week. I anticipate the Secretary of State’s Public Services Division will publish the notices in the October 5, 2012 Arizona Administrative Register: http://www.azsos.gov/public_services/Register/2012/contents.shtm

 

This will start the official public comment period, which will run from October 5 to November5, 2012.

 

In addition, once the rulemaking is published in the Register, I will post the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to the Department’s Internet Rules page: http://www.azgfd.gov/inside_azgfd/rules/rulemaking_updates.shtml

 

Once you’ve had a chance to review the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (preamble and proposed rule language), you may submit any comments you may have in writing (via USPS mail or e-mail) or by telephone.

 

The Department will review and consider all comments received during the comment period and will draft the Notice of Final Rulemaking and Economic Impact Statement for the Commission’s review at the January 11, 2013 meeting.

 

At the January 11 meeting, the Commission may approve, deny, or modify the final rulemaking. The public is welcome to attend the meeting and address the Commission (a speaker slip is required, they are provided at the meeting).

 

If approved or approved as modified, I will file the Notice of Final Rulemaking and Economic Impact Statement with the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council for their review. The council will vote on the rulemaking package at the May 7, 2013 meeting.

[JMP]

"The Department will review and consider all comments received during the comment period"... and then quickly proceed to wipe their culos with them. They started this a few years ago. I'll give them my thoughts, but highly doubt they consider any public input.