AGFD announcement regarding budget

[IHunt2live]

I was just thinking, why hasn't the game and fish posted anything about this on their web page or even their news-letter. I get their news-letter and this site is the only place I've herd about this. If its such a big deal for the game and fish why haven't they tried harder to get the word out?

[IHunt2live]

You guys are wiggin'!!

Let me give you a clue. Amanda is smarter than about 20 of us all put together. She is very familiar with wildlife management and the workings of the Az Game Dept, as well as other game departments.

It is Amanda that is using her site, time space and energies to help the Az G&F get the word out on this issue.

This is an important issue. This is one of those issues that WILL easily affect the future of hunting in Arizona.

The Az. G&F Dept, is not the bad guy here. The Governor and representitives that the non-informed and ignorant people of the great state of Calizona elected into office are now looking to rip-off a well organized and effecient Game Department that has enough forsight to fund itself for the future of OUR hunting privelidges.

Apparently they don't think that habitat improvement and wildlife management is as important as what they want to spend the money on (and maybe it's not). But the Game dept. has its act together (in spite of what a lot of people on this site think), and this is money that is coming from us, the hunters, and earmarked for our continuing hunting future - not the governer's plans.

What you are saying about the G&F not listening to the survey and now wanting help has some truth to it but is largely SPIN, narrow-mindedly focused on selfishness and pales in comparison to the importance of this issue at hand.

If you don't understand what is going on and who the bad guy is, then quit typing long enough to go and find out what this issue is and what it will do to our hunting future.

The Game and Fish bashing that goes on here on this site is deploreable and detrimental to what we all really believe to be good and right.

WE are the Game and Fish.

Devided we fall.

Do the right thing.

Mike

 

Well put, I agree with you but I still am confused why the game and fish hadn't got the word out more

[25-06]

I was just thinking, why hasn't the game and fish posted anything about this on their web page or even their news-letter. I get their news-letter and this site is the only place I've herd about this. If its such a big deal for the game and fish why haven't they tried harder to get the word out?

I don't think the azgfd even knows what the heck is going on untill it's just about too late

[az4life]

I don't think the azgfd even knows what the heck is going on untill it's just about too late

No Argument on that .

[CouesWhitetail]

Here is the contact info for the AGFD person who sent out the budget flyer and asked me to post it to help spread the word.

 

Give him a call or send him an email and ask him for more details if would like to learn more about this. I don't know him personally, but I imagine he will gladly answer questions.

 

Tony Guiles

 

Legislative Liaison

 

Arizona Game and Fish

 

602.789.3280 aguiles@azgfd.gov

[mattys281]

I received a response from one of the members of the state senate already, thanking me for my comments & stating that she would do what she could. I'm sure that not everyone of them is going to read all of our e-mails/ letters, but some of them are & some of them will be influenced. Keep hitting 'em.

[muleybull]

Unfortunately, as far as I am concerned, AZGFD is on thier own. I live in northern AZ. Someone please name one habitat improvement project that has taken place up here in the last 5 years. Projects lead by AZGFD, not by someone else. I'm not saying there not there, I just dont know of any. The only projects I know of are projects that I myself have put together (repairing game waters, dirt tanks, etc.) or the agency I work for has put together, with absolutely no help from AZGFD.

 

Yes, I'm bashing them. I have hunted for over 25 years of my life. On averag I spend over 120 days of my own time in the field (not counting the days I spend in the field due to my job). I have run into two GF officers during that period. Once during a rifle elk hunt in unit 7, and once at a dirt tank while dove hunting.

 

I have reported 3 seperate poaching incidents that were very near town, with no outcome. One of which was an illegally shot deer during the archery season, the guys spent all day tracking a shot deer after I reported them, and came back the next day and continued tracking the deer until almost dark.

 

I dont live in the big city, I live in a small town thats population is a majority of hunters.

 

Maybe if they dont have the money from all the licenses and tags, they'll stop funding habitat projects for non-game species and start concentrating on the game species that brings revenue to their department.

 

Case in point, we will be conducting a prescribed fire in unit 15a. The primary focus is habitat improvement for the Mule Deer. AZGFD did kick down money to help pay for this burn.............but, its not thier money, the money is comming from the Mule Deer Foundation, so my hats off to the MDF for their money. Down with AZGFD.

[coues7]

I got a reply from Paula Aboud.....here is here response:

 

 

Scott,

I'll be working for passage of the complete Game and Fish budget. Thanks for your interest and your comments!

Sen. Paula Aboud

 

That makes me happy.....I'm still pissed at the AZGFD for pulling crap like this. Let it be know that I stand behind honest and upright game wardens 150%......the appointed leaders of the AZGFD.....they scare me!

[DesertBull]

That makes me happy.....I'm still pissed at the AZGFD for pulling crap like this. Let it be know that I stand behind honest and upright game wardens 150%......the appointed leaders of the AZGFD.....they scare me!

 

 

It's not the G&F that is cutting their budget. It's the Legislature that won't cut spending that wants to raid the G&F coffers. Even that is not the worst of it. If $1 of the G&F money from license sales goes to the general fund, the G&F loses $18M in matching Federal funds. That's moeny that you and I paid in the form of taxes on sporting goods. A tax that we, as sportmen and women ASKED for in order to improve habitat, build shooting facilities, etc. It's robbery and in some sense, taxation without representation.

[Rembrant]

Thanks desertbull for taking the time to read through the attachment that Amanda sent us and making an effort to understand it.

I'm sitting here getting really concerned about us all and our negative responses towards the Game Dept, when now is the time to stand together.

Muleybull, I had a similar experience in unit 10 a number of years ago: archery hunt, deer poached by rifle, I got the discription liscence plate - everything and reported it. Went to the field with a couple of game guys and showed them everything I could. They knew who it was, where they lived (Ashfork's local finest), but only did a 'knock and talk'. A Flagstaff detective friend of mine told me the game guys screwed up - that no judge in the world would deny a search warrent with that kind of info/witness. What the problem is here is a burnt-out game guy that doesn't care anymore. I should have gone over his head and still would, but this was 20 years ago. This stuff makes the dept. look bad, but is not representitive of the dept as a whole, just one piece of dead wood - that needs burning. I know some other game guys that you would not looking into your eyes and aking you questions if you had just poached something. These other guys will figure you out and bust you proper! The dead wood needs to be reported.

Also, I agree that the sportsmens groups in this state are awesome! The Game dept needs them and us to help with everything. Your example of the Mule Deer Foundation doing work in 15A is beautiful, but the Mule Deer folks did not do this by themselves. Who do you think did the science?

Don't they work WITH the Dept to determine where, how, and what to do? Can the Mule Deer people afford a wildlife habitat specialist? The Game and Fish WAS there.

Here's another example of the impossible job that OUR Dept does for us: Every other year the Dept flies a helicopter for 50 hours over unit 12A to survey sheep, yet they only sell 2 tags a year. The finances aren't quit adding up are they? But if the sheep herd in this cliffy area is gonna be managed, they gotta do the flight surveys.

So when folks start talking about the money-hungry Game Dept, just trying to get rich, they don't know what they are talking about. The Game Dept has an impossible job, yet they pull it off with OUR money for US.

Thanks again desertbull.

Mike

[missedagain]

Has anybody heard the outcome of the hearing?

[muleybull]

Hey rembrandt, my example of help from the MDF. There was help from the agency, but not the G&F. The agency I work for went to the game and fish to look for a little kickback, since it was a project they were interested it. AZGFD didnt do the work, the money from MDF went through their hand first since this was to benefit a AZ big game species.

 

The agency I work for did all the planning, went through all the clearances, wrote the burn plans, and when it comes time, we will put together the burn organization and complete the prep work, complete the burn, and complete all post burn activites. Guarantee, no fishcops will be present during any of this.