New Bison Hunting Regulations for House Rock Herd

[Heat]

I see that there is a whole new management strategy for the bison herd on the Kaibab plateau. Very disappointed to see that the opportunity to hunt bison during the deer hunts has gone away. As a bowhunter, I looked forward to one day having a bison and deer tag in my pocket for the Kaibab. I guess that can still happen but it will cost a lot more and I will probably have to wait a lot longer. I also think the price of the tag is way to high considering the limited opportunity presented. I'm curious what you guys think? Take a look at the new regulations and let me know.

 

[AZLance]

Unfortunaltey all the decisions this department make are financial based, not what is best for our wildlife and the hunters of AZ.

[wildwoody]

par for the course!!!

[Flatlander]

They got rid of the companion tags correct? Were there any other changes?

[Heat]

Yes I guess what you would call companion tags have gone away. Hunts will now occur from Aug 15 through Dec. 4th. 7 tags per hunt, 8 two week hunts. Two archery only hunts, and 6 general hunts. 56 total tags for cow or yearling only.

 

Not sure what more than 3 months of constant pressure versus "companion" pressure will do to the hunting and availability of the buffs. I am very curious how this will turn out. Also curious what the Guides and Outfitters think of this new set up. Wonder if they drove this? It is certainly too late for any comments for this round of the Hunt Guidelines process but something to watch out for next time for sure!

 

Also the Park Service is soliciting comments on Bison Management within the National Park. Might not be a bad idea for hunters to let them know their thoughts on that as well.

[Flatlander]

I guess I am not offended by this. The purpose of the companion tags was to give deer hunters the ability to harvest buff opportunistically because they were trying to reduce the numbers off of the ranch and it was pretty tough to rely on finding them on hunt able ground in the past.

 

That has changed, some guys have gotten pretty efficient at patterning them and have been very successful. I doubt outfitters would have driven this change, since previously they were doing pretty well at knocking down buff and now their pool of hunters is reduced drastically.

 

I don't know how many companion tags were sold in the past but with the limited number of buffalo tags available, those tags are not a significant source of revenue. Just increasing the application fee for big game hunts this year would have generated probably 10x the amount these changes can produce.

 

Most people will disagree, as the general consensus around these parts is that anything AZGFD does is centered around greed, corruption and destruction of the individual agenda of each and every sportsman in the state. But what I see here is a herd doing well and an increased opportunity for people who would like to hunt buffalo without drawing a kaibab deer tag.

 

Ok let the burning at the stake commence . . .

[coues krazy]

Too bad its for cow and yearling only. Cant hunt the big bulls.

[Tunachaser]

I was blessed to kill a huge cow with a Companion tag on the west side in 2008. Those buffalo are so spooky that there's no way any buffalo Guide would push for 4 straight months of nonstop buffalo hunting pressure. I killed mine on the first day and as soon as my gun went off, the herd bee-lined it for the park. The next year, we had another friend draw the tag and the night before the hunt, my dad accidentally got winded by the herd and they did the exact same thing. 2 miles in a straight line over night.

 

This new set-up is a bummer. I don't think It's a money deal as far as game and fish. I think It's the park service pressuring g&f to do this. And It's actually pushing the buffalo even further into the park due to the pressure. And what they really need to focus their efforts on is the wild burros ruining sheep habitat, and not a neat little herd of truely wild Buffalo. Something that is extremely rare today, and a cool story of conservation.

[Lance]

Not any of my idea.

 

They are looking for ways to be more successful at taking more buffalo. During the deer hunt the buffalo were usually hammered with a ton of hunters and pressured back into the park the first couple of days with only the first couple of lucky hunters filling tags and the rest left with unfilled tags and shattered dreams. I imagine their thought behind it was to create less hunting pressure in hopes the buffalo would come out of the park more and create more hunter success in the end.

 

From what I know of the buffalo, I think this logic is sound. However, I think the non stop back to back hunts without a break in pressure is going to cause them a problem in the long run. Much like the constant depredation hunts they held down on House Rock every time a herd showed up there. A handful of constant hunts over a couple of seasons and the buffalo just quit coming down. They are smart enough to catch on pretty quick. Imagine what elk would turn into if the general rifle season was year round without a break.

 

It will be interesting to see what these new hunts bring to the situation.

But, They need to keep looking into what the core of the problem is because band aids will always be temporary and only help so much. Studies show that only a very small portion of the herd ever leaves the park and most never leave the park at all. The major portion of the herd doesn't even live near the boundary of the park. That's because Everything the buffalo need is on the park...

The only thing that they don't have on the park that they have off the park is Salt.

Obviously they cant limit the bison's food and shelter that is on the park.

The one thing they can limit is the access to water. The G&F have already built bison proof pole fences around water in other areas that are friendly to deer and other animals. My suggestion was to build these around the water sources in the park. This would force more buffalo to expose their selves to hunters outside the park. They would have to come off to drink or go down to the river to drink. I think that will be about as good of a band aid as they can get. Good, but still a band aid.

I also wish that a cow or yearling wasn't once in a lifetime! If that was the case, they would have a half dozen less buffalo just from my family alone!

 

In the end, if they want to control the herd, the real answer is ever so plain and simple. They will have to allow some kind of harvesting of buffalo on the park. And if they think it over just a little, They'll realize that they will all be able to make their precious money on it so all agencies are happy.

 

Lance

[Heat]

Great info Lance, I really appreciate it!

[DesertBull]

Have to McCain props when due----

 

 

Grand Canyon Bison Amendment, S.A. 3240. Over the years, bison from the House Rock Wildlife Area on the Kaibab National Forest have migrated to Grand Canyon National Park, where bison numbers have grown to more than 300. Hunting is prohibited in the national park, which has become a safe haven for an expanding bison population that overgrazes and damages the parks natural resources. The National Park Service (NPS) during the past decade has had limited success removing the bison. Earlier this year, NPS, in collaboration with other agencies (including the Arizona Game and Fish Department), initiated an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) with a public scoping process to develop a range of alternatives for managing bison at the park.

 

The amendment proposed by Senator McCain would allow the Secretary of the Interior to authorize highly regulated lethal removal of wildlife inside a national park where wildlife is causing habitat or cultural resource damage. Federal regulations make it difficult to convey ownership of the carcass to the hunter who harvests wildlife on NPS land. The amendment allows authorized volunteer hunters who harvest bison from Grand Canyon National Park to take ownership of the bison carcass.

[azslim]

just spent 2 weeks at the Park on the Galahad Fire, nice herd hanging in the meadow by the front gate, Park folks figure the total herd size is about 700, they have been having discussions on how to allow limited hunting on the Park, one scenario - Hunter shoots a buff, Park signs it over to G&F, G&F signs it over to hunter, kind of convoluted but this would be a first - hunting at a Natl Park. Would like to get herd down to 300 to 400.

 

One young kid got a nice bull while I was there, Russ Jacoby guided him, we ran into his wife coming off the line with the bull in the truck.

[Flatlander]

Common sense legislation . . .

[Heat]

Bravo to all involved!

[coues7]

Except that the EIS can be used just like it has been with wolves. Those little bastards are protected from I-10 to I-40......