In This Issue · Here is a picture of Cory Kreuzer’s first deer which was harvested in the Kaibab in the beginning of November. His brother, Ryan, found a new interest in Geocaching

Winter 2008/2009 VOLUME 51 * ISSUE 1 ARIZONA WILDLIFE NEWS 3

In This Issue

Page 4 Sportsmans MailpouchPage 5 From the PresidentPage 6 Historical TalesPage 7 Streams & Game TrailsPage 8 Passing it On!Page 10 BOW HappeningsPage 11 Conservation DistrictsPage 12 Out Where Critters...Page 14 Whose Public Land...Page 18 AWF RoundupPage 20 Agency NewsPage 21 The Camp CookPage 22 Membership

On the Cover: This issue of the Arizona Wildlife News we onceagain dig into the archives of the Arizona Wildlife Sportsman.This one is from November 1953. Larry Toschik is the artist.

If you have a photograph or painting that you would like to sub-mit for consideration on a future cover of Arizona Wildlife News,please contact AWF at the address below.

ARIZONA WILDLIFE NEWS * VOLUME 51 * Winter 2008/2009published by the ARIZONA WILDLIFE FEDERATION

An Affiliate of the National Wildlife FederationP.O. Box 51510 Mesa AZ 85208 * 480-644-0077

The official publication of the Arizona Wildlife Federation, the state affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation, Arizona Wildlife News (ISSN)is published quarterly as a service to affiliate members and Federation members. AWF is Arizona’s oldest conservation organization. The edi-torials and commentaries in this publication do not necessarily reflect the mission or position of the Arizona Wildlife Federation. AWF is an equalopportunity provider.

The Arizona Wildlife Federation welcomes stories, art and photographic contributions. We will consider, but assume no responsibility forunsolicited proposals, manuscripts, art, photographs and transparencies. Contact the Federation office at 480-644-0077 for details.

Advertising inquiries should be directed to the Arizona Wildlife Federation at the above address or phone number or by [email protected]. AWF does not assume any financial responsibility for errors in advertisements that appear in this publication. If notifiedpromptly of an error, we will reprint the corrected ad.

Board PresidentVP Operations

VP Conservation SecretaryTreasurer

NWF RepresentativeDirectorDirector

Immediate Past President

EXECUTIVE EDITORMANAGING EDITOR

EDITORCOPY EDITOR

DESIGN & LAYOUTPRINTING

John UnderwoodRyna RockLinda DightmonKim KreuzerLinda DightmonLithotech

Larry AudsleyHolly Dickenson

Ryna RockTy Rock

Ken AlexanderLarry Audsley

Tom Mackin

Rick Erman

Brian WakelingJohn UnderwoodRichard SnellKate Mackay

Ryna RockTom MackinBrad PowellDon Hoffman Jerry Thorson Meg BuchananTony BossartDon HoffmanMary Jo Forman Miller

Jim SolomonKim Crumbo

Fred Fillmore Emily Wunder

Chris FonotiBob Vahle

Steve GallizioliLee Kohlhase

John UnderwoodJim Walkington

DIRECTORS AT LARGE

DIRECTORS EMERITUS

CONTRIBUTORS

AWF Mission Statement:AWF is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating, inspiring andassisting individuals to value, conserve, enhance, manage and pro-tect wildlife and wildlife habitat.

ARIZONA WILDLIFE NEWS

2008 OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

ARIZONA WILDLIFE FEDERATION

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

OTHER BOARD OFFICERS AND MEMBERS

REGIONAL DIRECTORS

Federal Agency LiaisonLegistative Liasion

OpenJohn Koleszar

4 ARIZONA WILDLIFE NEWS VOLUME 51 * ISSUE 1 Winter 2008/2009

An AnswerRE: Whose Public Land Is It A simple answer, not a solution

would be to not sell permits for gamehunting in the non-accessible publiclands that are in dispute. If you and Ican't get to the area to hunt, then noone can hunt in that area. That wouldtake some back bone to make that hap-pen, which I don't see from the powersat hand.

Paul Andrews

Passing it onDear Editor,Here is a picture of Cory Kreuzer’s

first deer which was harvested in theKaibab in the beginning of November.

His brother, Ryan, found a newinterest in Geocaching during thecamp. I was introduced to Geocachingat the Becoming an Outdoor Womanevent in Prescott. I shared my knowl-edge of how to use the GPS with theboys while sitting at the campfire. Oneused it for hunting animals and theother used it for hunting treasures. Ihave also included a picture of one ofthe cache’s we found near Jacob Lake.

Thanks to Becoming an Outdoors

Woman for the great insturction thatthey offer. I am proud to be part of it.

Kimberlee KreuzerArizona Wildlife Federation

Farm BillDear Editor, Since the 2008 Farm Bill was

passed last spring, the rules for the newprogram that provides federal funds tostates to benefit hunter access pro-grams have been taking shape at theU.S.Department of Agriculture (USDA).Known as the Open Fields program, itwill provide $50 million over the nextfour years to states seeking to build orimprove these voluntary walk-in incen-tive programs.

Sportsmen Welcome New AccessIncentive for Conservation ReserveProgram (CRP) On Oct. 3, the USDAannounced a brand-new incentive forexpanding sportsmen access to privateland and tied it to the health of ournation’s largest conservation program,CRP. TheUSDA’s plan provides for upto 7 million acres of land enrolledinCRP be made eligible for increasedincentives if landownersallow public hunting and fishing accesson them.

The CRP program itself has seenits total enrollment numbersdecline in recent years as high com-modity prices and demand forother land uses has dissuaded

Sportsmans Mail PouchJohn Underwood

We urge our readers to communi-cate to us cheers and even jeers(given in good taste, or course). Keepyour communications short and to thepoint. All must be signed. If you sendus questions, we will seek answersand print them here. There may betimes mail volume may prevent usfrom publishing every letter wereceive, but we will do our best to printas many as possilbe.

Send your ‘snail mail’ to:

Sportsman’s Mail PouchArizona Wildlife FederationPO Box 51510Mesa, AZ 85208

Send your email to:[email protected]

It is our goal to provide a well-writ-ten informative magazine and yourfeedback will help us do that. This isyour magazine, let us hear from you.

landowners from enrolling theirland in conservation. The averageper-acre CRP payment iscurrently $50 and has not provencompetitive against the highreturns farmers can yield from plant-ing corn or other crops. Itis imperative that CRP’s paymentstructure and rental rates bemodernized to compete with marketforces.

This additional incentive is a goodstep toward increasing interest in thevitality of CRP. Both landowners andsportsmen have a greaterstake now than ever before.

Sincerely,

Theodore Roosevelt ConservationPartnership


I’m sitting in my pick-up in a parking lot behind theExecutive Tower of the Arizona State Capitol complex. Ioften get to spend some time this way as driving to Phoenixfrom Camp Verde is always a guessing game; will traffic beheavy or light, will there be a fender bender that stops traf-fic, will some other unplanned for occurrence take place, willthe pick-up be my “faithful steed” one more time and get meto the meeting on time? With some time to kill, it seems likea good opportunity to do some thinking and start on myArizona Wildlife News article.

From where I sit, my view is of two busy downtownPhoenix streets and I am reminded that while we have invit-ed all these people I can observe coming and going to shareour landscape here in beautiful Arizona, we have notplanned very well for adequate infrastructure or with a clearvision of how we want our fair state to feel and look in thenot too distant future. It is all changing faster than anyagency can visualize, plan for, or respond to. While plan-ners, legislators, citizen representatives, governmentalstaffers, etc., sit in meetings discussing what can be done,get bogged down in the cost and legalities of it all and whoshould be responsible for what, “they” just keep moving in,settling in every “nook and cranny” development that existsor putting money down for some that don’t exist yet, but willvery soon. I mean “they” in a non-hostile way. “They” arepeople of every origin and persuasion, some just startingout, some restarting, some seeking a new start, while oth-ers are just up for new adventures in a new place.

My reason for being in this parking lot is to attend ameeting of stakeholders who are discussing and expressingviews/needs related to the evolving plan outlined in theWestern Climate Initiative (WCI) and our Governor’s effortsto finalize and jump start the process. I am absolutely pos-itive you all have an opinion on this, and even on the AWFBoard, as with all of you, those opinions range from one endof the spectrum to the other. In Arizona, the topic of climatechange remains controversial. We can all spend our timearguing about the pros and cons forever, just like the folks Ispeak of in the foregoing paragraph, while the climatechange continues around us, regardless and because ofwhatever the causes.

Arizona is a special place and its climate is changing.This is causing major problems for our wildlife and wild-lands. Left unaddressed, the climate issue will severelyimpact our natural surroundings and the hiking, camping,fishing, hunting, and boating opportunities that Arizona isfamous for, and why a lot of you and the folks I am observ-

ing from my parked truck moved here. I have lived here along time, and the beauty of the wilds of Arizona is a largepart of what keeps me here too.

Most climate scientists are in the camp that believeshuman caused emissions are at least partially responsiblefor the changing climate. I state this claim based on theposition of Arizona’s own Dr. Jonathan Overpeck of ArizonaState University, the National Academy of Sciences, andhundreds of scientists on the International Panel of ClimateChange.

Whether or not you believe that carbon emissions arecausing Arizona’s climate to change, it is undeniable thatArizona is warming. And, it has only just begun. Just abouteveryone I know who spends any time at all in the outdoorshas noticed some change, often in small ways that begin to“nibble” at the edge of our consciousness. Insects or plantsthat have either appeared or disappeared within fairly recentyears in our locales, or wildlife behavior that we notice beingdifferent than what we have come to think of as “normal”.None of us can help but notice the severity and increasedsize of wildfires in Arizona and the western United States.The list goes on and on.

We must take steps to help our wildlife and wild placesadapt to these changes. Key migration corridors and impor-tant habitats for fish and wildlife must be conserved to main-tain viable populations and diversity. Invasive plants suchas yellow star thistle, cheatgrass, and other noxious weedsneed to be controlled. Man-made water sources may beneeded in areas where natural water sources have dried up.These all are issues sportsmen-women conservationistsand environmental groups are discussing right now. Thereare as lot of good people in Arizona who can contribute tothis discussion – hunters, anglers, farmers, ranchers, publicland managers, state wildlife officials, land trust officials,environmentalists, and many more. We must come togeth-er for a discussion about the best ways to keep our wild-lands healthy and to conserve and support habitats that areresilient to warming temperatures.

While current federal efforts to conserve fish and wildlifethrough annual appropriations for State Wildlife Grants arehaving dramatic results, they will not be enough for what isneeded for helping wildlife survive and adapt to climatechange. The Arizona Wildlife Federation has been an activemember of the “Teaming With Wildlife” program, partneringwith other groups and the Arizona Game & Fish Department

(Continued on page 21)

From The PresidentRyna Rock

Here in the west we are fortunatein that interest in a sound conservationprogram developed before theresources were completely exhausted.This has not been the case in somestates and has resulted in large expen-ditures for restoration and habitatimprovement. There are still manyproblems facing us, however, if we aregoing to maintain hunting and fishingpossibilities for the future.

One of the most important factorswhich must be considered in building asound wildlife program is that thehuman population of the country iscontinually increasing; and as thehuman population increases theirdemands on the soil, forests, andwater for economic purposes increase.

It is evident to all of us that themore people we crowd onto theland, the less room there will be forwildlife. A given piece of land willsupport only so much life.

Another factor of considerableimportance to those interested in thisresource is the constantly increasingnumber of license buyers. The numberof people participating in this activityhas doubled in the last ten years. Thismeans that even if the supplyremained constant, the amount of fishand game available for each licensebuyer would only be half of what it wasin 1938.

The third important factor is thatwildlife managers are dealing with aliving resource. Birds, mammals andfish all have mobility and freedom ofaction. They do not necessarily followhuman ideas of what is good for them.They can only be increased abovepresent numbers by better protectionof breeding stocks and improvement ofhabitat for the entire season. To the

extent that man destroys living quar-ters, wildlife will decrease, no matterhow much money is spent or howmuch talk is indulged in by interestedgroups. Resolutions will not producewildlife on the pavement of city streetsor a super highway stretching fromcoast to coast. Many groups havebeen of the opinion that increased arti-ficial propagation and more intensecontrol of predators was the answer.Their methods under particular condi-tions may be of some value but theyfail completely in meeting the problemscaused by increasing land use.

The first requisite to securinggood management is to get andkeep good men to run the program.

The life of the average gameadministrator is less than that of gover-nors or other elective officials. Gamedepartment funds have been used insome states to build partisan or per-sonal political machines and that hasresulted in incompetent men beingappointed in some cases and the dis-charge of trained, experienced person-nel.

There is much talk about takingconservation out of politics, which is alittle confusing. Conservation willnever be out of politics as long asAmerica has a democratic form of gov-ernment. Differences over the relativevalues of ideas are bound to occur andthis is politics of one kind that willalways be present. There is, however,no excuse to continue to use wildlifefunds and wildlife administration forbuilding partisan or personal politicalmachines.

Adequate authority is also anecessary requisite of soundadministration.

It is not possible for a legislature to

make the regulation on an annual or atwo-year basis and meet the constant-ly shifting factors that affect, adverselyor otherwise, wildlife populations. Anadequate long time program should beplanned and carried out as fast asincome will permit. Once established,the program should not be changed tomeet suddenly developed demands oflocal sportsmen’s groups. The pro-gram should be sold to those groups—with the implication that it will not bechanged except as new informationmakes it advantageous to do so.

One of the biggest handicaps incarrying on sound projects is the feel-ing of many sportsmen’s organizationsthat something should be done eachyear for their locality. That somethingis too often a waste of funds unless thegroup’s leadership is unusually intelli-gent.

Another important essential iscontinuity of employment. At pres-ent, states that provide continuity ofemployment and the federal serviceshave a strong tendency to continuallydrain the best-trained and most experi-enced men from those which do not.Such states act as training schools tothe advantage of others which arewiser and more far-sighted.

In addition to these essentials ofgood management there is one moreand that is intelligent public support.Sportsmen’s pressure groups havebeen responsible for much good andmuch bad administration. Sportsmen’sgroups by organizing pressures tosecure unwise privileges and by caus-ing the unsound expenditure of fundshave been responsible for an appallingwaste of funds.

(Continued on page 18 )


REPRINTED FROM AGPA’S ARIZONA WILDLIFE SPORTSMAN September 1950

Historical Tales

Reproduced by Ryna Rock

Then

Why -- Game Management?


Streams and Game TrailsBy John Underwood

Now

Salt River Lakes Get Slot Limits for2 YearsAnglers enjoying the popular SaltRiver chain of lakes may want to keepa ruler handy starting in January 2009when Arizona's new fishing regulationsgo into effect. The Arizona Game andFish Commission voted on October 11to create slot limits at Saguaro,Canyon and Apache lakes just like theone already in place on RooseveltLake in an effort to give these popularfisheries another nudge down thecomeback trail after being blitzed bygolden algae blooms in recent years.

The Game and Fish Commissionadopts the fishing regulations for atwo-year period. For 2009 through2010, the whole Salt River chain oflakes (Roosevelt, Apache, Canyon,and Saguaro) will have a 13 to 16 inchprotective slot limit, with anglers beingallowed to keep one slot-sized bass.These slot limits will automatically sun-set after two years (the slot limit andnewly added one fish possession pro-vision at Roosevelt Lake does not sun-set).

Wildlife WatchingWildlife watching is the fastest growingrecreational activity in the world. In theU.S., wildlife watching generates morethan $45 billion a year. Roughly oneout of three Americans 16 years of ageand older, or 71 million, participated inwildlife watching in 2006.Expenditures on wildlife watching areequivalent to the amount of revenuefrom all spectator sports (football,baseball, and other sports), all amuse-ment parks and arcades, casinos(except casino hotels), bowling cen-

ters, and skiing facilities.

Theodore RooseveltWith the election of a new U.S.President, America 's hunters needlittle reminder there will never beanother like Theodore Roosevelt.During his career, T.R.: Oct. 27, 2008.(This date marks the sesquicentennialof Theodore Roosevelt's birth!)

Founded the Boone & Crockett Club. Doubled the size of the national parksystem. Provided federal protection for almost230 million acres—a land area equiva-lent to all the East coast states fromMaine to Florida . Wrote books such as Hunting Trips ofa Ranchman. Was renowned as a naturalist andworld authority on large NorthAmerican mammals. He led prominentscientific expeditions in South Americaand Africa—both included ample hunt-ing. Raised all of his children with a respectfor hunting and conservation. Honor Theodore Roosevelt and theheritage of hunting and conservationthat's still treasured today by learningmore about the accomplishments andphilosophies of one of America 'sgreatest presidents!

More QuailQuail hunters are finding plenty ofyoung birds in their harvest, accordingto Arizona Game and Fish biologists.Nearly 80 percent of the birds checkedby hunters over the October 4-5 open-ing weekend were juveniles.

Gambel's quail harvest results, collect-

ed at two of the Arizona Game andFish Department's check stations,reflect improved bird populations thishunting season compared to last year.Data collected at the Freeman Roadcheck station, near Florence , and theWillow Springs Road check station,near Oracle, show the total number ofbirds reported was up 75 percent fromlast year's results (492 total birds ver-sus 276). Biologists calculate thathunters harvested 1.9 birds per houron average compared to the 1.2 birdsan hour last year.

All-In-One GLOCK Tool Brownells announces its Gun-SpecificDriver Set for Glock®. While few toolsare needed to maintain the Glock pis-tol, there are tools that make the jobeasier. You get a nut driver for the frontsight nut, a punch for the frame pins,one to help with magazine disassem-bly, a flat blade to push the mag catchspring aside and two Allen bits for var-ious adjustable rear sights. All the"bits" fit into the full-size, hollow han-dle, with a short shank, to keep youclose to the work for maximum control.

Last but not LeastAs the year comes to a close, let us allremember to include the youngsters inour outdoor plans. With Christmas justaround the corner, now is a good timeto stock up on camping, fishing, hunt-ing and hiking gear with the intentionsof getting those most precious to you,the young folks, ready for outdooradventures. You will experience thethrill of a lifetime. Until next time, BeSafe and Enjoy Arizona ’s GreatOutdoors.


WW e all looked intently at our GPS units. Thearrow showed that we were right on top ofthe cache (treasure)! Our faces were filled

with excitement as we stopped looking at our units andstarted looking in all the cracks and crevices we couldfind. We looked on the ground, above us around therailing, and everywhere close to us within a couple ofarms length. We knew we were close to the treasure.Now we just had to find the hiding spot. We lookedaround to make sure other people weren’t watching us.We wouldn’t want to give away the hiding place. Wenoticed a little boy watching us as he wondered whatwe were doing. So we tried to be discrete. The excite-ment ran deep. We refused to stop looking. We wereabsolutely determined to find this cache!

As we all continued looking in different spots, Katarinayelled out, “ I found it!”

We all ran over to her, to see what it was we had beensearching for all this time. The owner of the cache had hid-den it in a very clever spot. We all jumped up for joy! Thiswas our very first cache ever found together as a group! Wewere pumped now. The excitement ran through our veins.We signed the miniature log sheet with our geocachinggroup name and the date. We also wanted a group pictureto remember the special moment. We then carefully put themicrocache of about 2 inches in size, back into its cleverspot.

This was so much fun! We all jumped into the car so

that we could hurry to the next coordinate on our GPS unitsin order to find another hi-tech treasure. “Follow the com-pass. It says to go left, no, go right. It must be in that mallparking lot.” We hopped out of the car quickly after parking,adrenaline flowing. We split into groups, this time intogroups of two. Armella and I, went one way. Katarina andGloria went another way. Natasha and Chelsea went anoth-er way. Only one of us was right, but who? We all thoughtwe were following the compass and coordinates.Eventually we all ended up in the same place.

Just before that, Armella and I ran into a security guard.While trying to explain why we were behind this store andwhat we were doing there, we had a chance to share ourexcitement about geocaching. First, we had to explain whatit was and how it worked, and then she understood a lot bet-ter. She was very impressed and in awe that there wassuch a thing out there like this. Kindly excusing ourselves,we hurried on our way to follow our arrow closer to thecoordinates. Again, our GPS units showed that we wereright on top of the cache. So once again we looked in everyplace that someone could imagine.

Then, as we were all intently searching, we heardanother yell from Katarina, “I found it!”

We all went over to her again. We were so excited tosee what this cache entailed. This one was bigger. Insteadof just a logbook, this one had some little treasures. Welooked through all the things and found something we real-ly liked. The rule of geocaching is that if you take something

Passing it On! By Holly Dickenson


out of a cache, you put something in to trade. So we put inan item to replace the one we traded. We signed the log-book, took another picture, and carefully put the cache backin its secret hiding place. After that, we stood there andtalked about what we had found. It was a profound item;simple, yet profound. Its message spoke volumes. Armellaand I used this as a teaching moment. What we had trad-ed from the cache was a flat penny. The penny had beeninscribed with these words: “What would you do, if youknew you could not fail?” So we posed the question to eachof the girls in the troop. Going around the circle, each of usanswered the question from our hearts. It was a moment ofintrospection.

When we finished sharing our thoughts, we looked atour GPS units for the next set of coordinates. Our adven-ture continued. Later we logged our cache finds on thegeocaching site (www.geocaching.com).

Our day of learning wasn’t over yet. We went back toour camp-out location. As I worked on getting the coals allfired up and hot, ready to put under the dutch ovens, thegirls worked on the recipes and putting the food into thedutch ovens. We spent the next several hours cooking fivedelicious dutch oven pizzas and a half-and-halfcherry/peach cobbler. We were all amazed at how scrump-tious the pizzas turned out. Who would have ever thoughtyou could make pizza in a dutch oven! We were shocked,but elated!

Not only was it a day of adventure with high-tech treas-ure hunting/geocaching, but also a day of yummy dutchoven cooking. It was amazing that we had so much fun andcould be learning at the same time.

The above story is just one example of the manyadventures on which I take my Girl Scout troop.

Twice a year, I instruct a course (Outdoor Essentials) ata women’s outdoor weekend (BOW). While there, I also

take courses to continually grow in knowledge and growthof the “outdoors”. I have made it an essential part of my lifeto be constantly learning. I do this because I love the out-doors with a passion that most people cannot understand.I love to share that passion with others.

Sharing this knowledge comes in many different forms.The sharing doesn’t just happen at BOW weekends, buthappens several times a week. As a Girl Scout Leader ofmany different aged girls and as a Venturing Crew Leader,I love to share my knowledge and passions about life andthe outdoors. I love to guide girls towards seeing all theamazing beauties, wonderful opportunities, skills and joysof quality leadership. I like to help them to have their eyeswide open. As a mother of 4, I have also instilled this appre-ciation of the outdoors in the hearts of my own children.

I love to pass on many other outdoor skills and joys asan archery instructor/trainer, Leave No Traceinstructor/trainer, Girl Scout Council Outdoor Trainer and inthe past as a Cub Scout Leader, Cub Scout Summer CampProgram Director, Boy Scout National Camp School Trainerand recipient of the special Silver Beaver Award. Althoughit is fun to work with adults and share my knowledge andpassion of these things, my favorite opportunities are inworking with kids. It is important to share the things we loveand appreciate with those of the future generation. Theywill more likely take on a love and joy of the outdoors andshow more appreciation for it, if we share this knowledgewith a passion in our hearts.

My suggestion: PASS IT ON. Pass on the passion.Pass on the knowledge. Pass on the appreciation andrespect. Pass on the joy and the love you have for nature,for being in the great outdoors. Who is going to care for it inthe future? How else can we plant this seed of love andrespect in others, unless we PASS IT ON?

WHADDA' YA' KNOW?WHADDA’ YA’ KNOW?

1. How many life zones exist on the San FranciscoPeaks in Northern Arizona?2. What type of fir tree exists on the San FranciscoPeaks that exists in only three places in the world? 3. Who was the first explorer to pass through Oak CreekCanyon, above Sedona?4. Why is there so many acres of “checkerboard” land inNorthern Arizona?5. In the Southwest, what percentage of threatened andendangered species depend entirely on riparian habitat?6. Besides providing habitat directly, what other value dointermittent or ephemeral streams have?

(Answers on page )


AArizona is blessed with a huge diversity of land-scapes or as the biologists say, life zones. Onething for sure, you do not have to be a biologist

to appreciate it. From sand dunes to Alpine meadows;Arizona has it all! The venue for the BOW Deluxe issmack dab in the middle of one of our most interestingand unique places, the Sonoran Desert.

Did you know that the Sonoran Desert has more plantand animal types than any other desert in the world? Thereare more that 2000 plant species, 60 mammals, 350 birdsand we haven’t even mentioned the herps (snakes andlizards.) It is truly a wondrous place and the more we learnabout it, the more fascinating it becomes.

The 2009 BOW Deluxe will be held at Saguaro LakeRanch. The lodging is B & B style with real sheets and mat-tresses and two women to a room. The ranch is located onthe banks of the Salt River just below Stewart MountainDam. The Bulldog Cliffs are the backdrop of this amazinglyscenic place.

Like the traditional BOW workshops, we will begin atFriday noon and end on Sunday noon. The dates areFebruary 6-8. This is a great time for outdoor desert activ-ities and a great time to thaw out ifyou live in the cold climates. Thisis a smaller workshop, with a maxi-mum of 40 participants.

I am really excited about thewildlife sessions that we are offer-ing. Members of the PhoenixVarmint Callers will take participantsout into the desert and set up astand. Trust me... it is really FUN to‘camo up’, go out in the field andmake loud weird noises. This willbe a photo opportunity. Last yearwe called up a bobcat!

There will also be a session onhunting desert critters. We will prac-tice glassing techniques and dis-cuss the special ways of deserthunting. You might be surprised tolearn how much game lives in ourdesert.

The Arizona FalconersAssociation will also be there,

teaching a class on the ‘sport of kings’... We have ladyfalconers lined up to teach this class. This is going to be anACTUAL HUNT! So, it is not for the squeamish. There willalso be an evening presentation from these ladies and theirfeathered hunting buddies.

If hunting isn’t your bag (pun intended). There is lots ofother stuff to do. The Sonoran Audubon Society will lead abirding session on Sunday morning. We will have a sessionon desert survival and another on geocaching. The vistashere scream for an outdoor photography class, which isoffered on Friday afternoon. The Dutch oven cooking classwill prepare the Saturday evening meal. There will also bearchery and a handgun session for you shooters.

I am delighted to have Jean Groen and Don Wells backin 2009. They penned a book titled Foods of theSuperstitions and have a wonderful session about edibleand medicinal desert plants.

With Saguaro Lake and the Salt River so near, we hadto have some water-in-the-desert classes. There will beboating and beginning fishing and fly fishing classes.

As always there will be evening activities and aSaturday night fund raiser. I hope to see you there!

BOW Happenings

BOWBOW DELUXEDELUXE

The Sonoran DesertThe Sonoran Desert


The preceding Arizona Wildlife News magazinedealt with the first Arizona AssociationConservation District (AACD) to be formed – the

Verde Natural Resource Conservation District (NRCD).As reported, it was established in December of 1941and remains one of the most active, dedicated andgoal-oriented NRCD organizations in Arizona. 1941seems like a very long time ago and from that perspec-tive, the Verde NRCD would probably be considered thegrandfather of the Arizona conservation movement;however, if that is so, then the Navajo NRCD would beconsidered one of its siblings!

Organized in 1942 and headquartered in Holbrook, theNavajo NRCD encompasses a huge portion of Arizonaincluding 2,179,979 acres of private and public lands inNavajo County. Agricultural use of these lands is dividedinto several categories including irrigated cropland (7,500AC), irrigated pasture/hay land (3,500 AC), nonfederalrangeland (1,334,263 AC) and nonfederal woodland(78,000 AC). Currently, the district numbers approximately112 cooperators covering a broad spectrum of individuals,including homeowners with residential lots, farmers, ranch-ers, irrigation districts, municipal water districts, schools andlivestock producers.

The Navajo NRCD maintains viable partnerships with awide variety of organizations which includes the USDA-Forest Service, Arizona State Land Department, ArizonaGame & Fish Department, Bureau of Land Management,Bureau of Reclamation, Little Colorado River Plateau

Resource Conservation and Development Council, LittleColorado River Multi-Objective Management Group, SilverCreek Watershed, Navajo County Board of Supervisors,Arizona Association of Conservation Districts and theNational Association of Conservation Districts. Wow! Thisis an organizational list that would daunt even the currentpresident of the AWF, who may not even be aware of a fewof these organizations!

The accomplishments of the “Navajo” are also com-mendable, a partial tally of these achievements includes thefollowing: sponsoring of the Navajo NRCD EducationCenter; pasture and cropland improvement programs; con-servation of groundwater resources through efficient appli-cation of irrigation water; planting of “cover” crops (winterwheat) to reduce the invasion of noxious and invasiveweeds; conservation planting assistance to reduce soil ero-sion; convening local workshops to further the implementa-tion of the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP)and the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP); follow-ing the devastating Rodeo-Chediski fire, assisting in the dis-bursement of $1.3 M in funding, through the EmergencyWatershed Protection program (EWP), to those affected bythe disaster. Most recently the “Navajo” has held work-shops concerning wildlife water catchments, brush manage-ment and various grazing programs.

Currently the “Navajo” is negotiating with ApacheCounty & the Hopi Tribe to collaborate in maintaining andstaffing a viable NRCD education center. It is felt that thiscooperative effort between the participants will more readilyserve the various partnerships, citizenry and urban areaswithout unnecessary duplication.

A historical side note was conveyed to this author by aNavajo County NRCD employee, concerning the passing ofHelen Lois Crofford in February of 2007. Ms Crofford wasa member of the “Navajo” for over 50 years and was namedas the first woman president of the old Arizona Associationof Conservation Districts (AACD) – since designated theArizona Natural Resource Conservation Districts StateAssociation. Phew! A perfect example of one of theadages regarding bureaucracy – “All Constants AreVariable”!

At this time urbanization does not appear to be of greatconcern in the Navajo NRCD, as it is in the “Verde” NRCD;however other concerns, such as the lingering drought,groundwater recession with declining stream flows, erosioncontrol and soil quality, over-grazing issues, wildlife andaquatic habitat improvement and the stagnant and decliningeconomy will all keep the Navajo NRCD very engaged forthe foreseeable future.

The Navajo County Natural Resource Conservation District by Ty Rock

Conservation Districts

(Questions on page 9 )WHADDA' YA' KNOW?

Answers

1. Seven2. White Cork Bark Fir3. Antonio de Espejo in 1583 4. To encourage railway construction, Congress offeredthe railway companies title to alternate sections of landon both sides of the railroad right-of-way, north andsouth.5. 70 %6. Providing an interface between land and water andupstream and downstream habitats for many organisms


SS o, you’ve moved to the desert to give yourselfsome elbow room and to get away from the crushof civilization. Or you hike in the desert to com-

mune with nature, or you go hunting with your dog.Congratulations, now you have a new set of prob-lems—the locals.

The locals to which I’m referring are the native animalsthat inhabit the desert. Many of these critters are poisonousor venomous. What’s the difference? Poison is taken invia the mouth or absorbed through the skin. Venom is inject-ed through a stinger or fangs.

For example, some toads are poisonous. They releasea poisonous secretion from their skin when mouthed orgrabbed by a predator, or your dog. Rattlesnakes are ven-omous; they inject their venom via hollow, syringe-likefangs.

Of course, not all desert snakes are venomous. Many,like milk snakes, and gopher snakes are harmless. Buthow do you tell the difference? It depends on the directionthe snake is going.

If you see the head of a non-venomous snake it willhave a slender spade-like head, while a rattlesnake’s headis triangular, like a handmade arrowhead.

The tail end of the rattlesnake is also distinctive. Mostrattlesnakes will have rattles (except perhaps baby rat-tlesnakes that may have only a single button.) Adult rat-tlesnakes sometimes lose rattles because of predatorencounters or the rattles have simply broken off. So don’talways count on seeing rattles. Also, don’t depend on thesnake giving a warning rattle before striking. Rattlesnakeswill strike if they feel threatened. The most common rat-tlesnake in this area, the Western Diamondback, has aseries of black and white stripes on the tail, just before therattle.

It’s this black and white pattern that gives theDiamondback its “coontail” nickname.

In the United States, more pets than humans suffer

venomous snakebites. Every year, venomous snakes biteapproximately 12,000 dogs, with the highest fatality ratesoccurring in Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, SouthCarolina and Texas . In dogs, 70-80 percent of bites happenon the face and head, and 20-30 percent occur on the legs,with only rare cases occurring on the body. Among the ven-omous U.S. snakes that bite dogs, rattlesnakes top the listat 80 percent.

Dogs are bitten on the face and head because they arecurious, but mostly because they are trying to get closeenough to smell this strange creature they’ve discovered.

A rattlesnake bite to a human or a dog is a medicalemergency. Take the human victim to an emergency roomand the dog to a vet.

Dogs can be effectively trained to avoid rattlesnakes.The process goes by several names: snake proofing, snakebreaking, snake training, or snake avoidance training.

There are two schools of thought when training dogs toavoid rattlesnakes. Both versions agree that live rat-tlesnakes are a must when training dogs to avoid rat-tlesnakes. Both methods use an electronic collar whichdelivers a harmless shock to the dog when they approachthe live reptile. The difference between the two methods iswhether the dog has to actually see the snake on theground.

When the snake is on the ground, the viper must berendered harmless by removing the reptile’s fangs.Rattlesnake fangs grow back (between one to three weeksthey replace lost fangs) so fang removal is a ongoingprocess for the trainer that puts the snake on the ground.Some trainers actually allow the defanged or muzzledsnake to strike the dog then administer the correction viathe collar.

The other training method confines the rattlesnakes in acontainer, a cage for example, then takes the dog downwindof the cage, lets them “find” the snakes, then administersthe correction.

Out Where the Critters Don’t Have Shoulders

By Jim Walkington


Of course, there are variations on these two majorthemes. But just remember, first and foremost, the trainerhas to use live rattlesnakes. Then, if the snakes are on theground how does the trainer provide for everyone’s safety?Both methods of training work if they are done correctly.

Here are the major arguments from both camps.Snake on the ground: The dog is trained to use his

sight, hearing and smell to detect the snake. After training,the dog knows what a snake looks, sounds, and smells like.The dog is worked down wind of the snake so any breezeblows the snake smell in the dogs face. This camp arguesthat this is the most realistic training method.

Caged Snakes: This group is adamant that the dogdoesn’t have to see the snake to learn to avoid them. Smellis the dog’s highest developed sense. This training methoddovetails nicely with the snake’s habit of being under cover;behind a rock, under a bush and not usually lying out in theopen. The dog learns immediately what rattlesnakes smelllike and to avoid them. And secondly, the dog learns not toexpect the snake to be lying out in the open. Of course, dur-ing this training, the dog is worked downwind of the snakes.If the snakes rattle from the cage while the dog is investigat-ing them, great, that’s gravy on the biscuit. The caged snakecontingent argues, “what are you going to do if you’re out atnight and the dog is dependent on his vision to find

snakes?”. Search and rescue groups in Arizona work theirdogs at night to avoid the heat because the high tempera-ture dries out the mucous membranes in the dogs nasalcavity reducing their sense of smell. Also, they work at nightbecause it’s really, really hot!

Both methods of snake proofing work if done correctly.As a dog owner, do your homework. When you find a train-er who does snake proofing call them and ask questions. Ifthe person seems to resent the questions or seems eva-sive, find someone else. While the process is not one hun-dred percent effective—some dogs are bitten even aftertraining—it does work probably in the 99 to 99.5% category.

A trained dog has the odds in his favor of not being bit-ten. A dog ignorant of rattlesnakes is just skating down thethin edge of luck.

Jim Walkington is the owner/operator of Viper Voidance,a business in New River, Arizona, that trains dogs to avoidrattlesnakes. Walkington keeps his snakes in cages totrain the dogs.

“Ambushed on the Jaguar Trail”a book by:Jack L. and Anna M. ChildsRio Nuevo Press, Tucson

Jack and Anna Childs went hunting for the elusiveSouthwestern jaguar, but what they found was bigger than therare spotted cat, and even more surprising. Founders of theBorderlands Jaguar Detection Project, the Childs set up “cam-era traps,” or remote-sensor cameras activated by motion andbody heat, along the U.S.-Mexico border. They did capture thefirst live, wild jaguar ever photographed this way in the U.S.Their non-invasive, candid cameras also captured fascinatinganimal behavior across the entire ecosystem. The jaguar, itseems, is a minor figure in a habitat that supports over 20 otherlarge mammals. Black bears, mountain lions, bobcats, javeli-nas, coyotes, and human beings were also caught in behaviorand misbehavior that are characteristic to their species.The book contains over 130 photographs and 151 pages.

To order go to: Treasure Chest Books website (www.treasurechestbooks.com) and receive a 20 % discount($15.96) or order by phone @1-800-969-9558 and pay full price of $19.95.On the web, click on “place order here for 20 % discount”. Type the word “jaguar” in the search box in the upperleft hand corner. Ambushed on the Jaguar Trail will come up. Enter the number of copies, click buy and check out.Enter your email address and create a 6-digit password. Click next and fill out billing and credit card information.

Editor note: Jack and Anna Childs, were guest speakers at the 2006 AWF annual meeting where he gave a presentation “On The Trail of

The Jaguar.” He is author of the book “Tracking The Fields of The Borderlands.” Mr. Childs is recognized as an expert on the Jaguar.


by Larry Audsley

This is the second of a two-part serieson declining access to public lands inArizona. Part One described the growingpractice of private landowners locking gateson traditional access routes to public landand, in some cases, charging the publicfees to cross their property en route to pub-lic land. Many of the roads now closedwere open to the public for decades andwere maintained with county funds. Somelandowners use their control of access toconvert public lands to their own private useby granting access only to family, friends orprofessional hunting guides with whom theyhave contracted. In southern Arizona,major portions of public lands, includingmost or all of some entire mountain ranges,are currently inaccessible to the generalpublic. Two thirds of Coronado NationalForest’s motorized entry points can belegally reached only with the permission ofprivate landowners. Access to BLM landsis in similar shape.

Public lands belong to all of us. Whenprivate parties have the ability to restrictaccess to public lands, they hold the key toprivatizing public lands and even privatizingwildlife.

Loss of access to portions of publiclands results in concentrating public visita-tion in the remaining areas where there isstill access. This results in more intensiveuse of the accessible areas, which in turnleads to overcrowding and requires moreintensive regulation. Many may feel thequality of the outdoor experience is dimin-ished by crowded conditions and may stopvisiting and supporting public lands alto-gether.

Some may believe our public landswould be better off without the public. Butthat belief assumes the public will continueto support maintaining large tracts of publiclands as an abstract idea. Future supportfor retention of public lands may require thepublic’s continued ability to visit and enjoythese lands in person. Separating peoplefrom public lands could lead to growingacceptance of proposals to put public landsto other uses.

The growing crisis over public landsaccess in the West reflects issue neglect byboth the public and the various governmen-tal bodies, and power struggles betweenprivate and public interests. This articlelooks at the key players and what can bedone to improve access.

THE PLAYERSFederal Lands AgenciesFederal agencies such the US Forest

Service, US Fish and Wildlife, National ParkService and Bureau of Land Managementhold our public lands in trust for all of us andfor future generations. As trustees, theyhave a duty to ensure that use of our publiclands is not taken away from us for the ben-efit of a few. These agencies recognize thisduty and are generally supportive of publicaccess to the lands they manage.

Although state and local governments,not Federal lands agencies, have responsi-bility for roads outside the boundaries ofFederal lands, Federal lands agencieshave many good reasons to support publicaccess to their boundaries.

The Forest Service and BLM are man-dated by Congress to manage for multipleuse. Principal uses include timber, miner-als, recreation, grazing and watershed.Allowing a single use, such as grazing, tosuppress other uses such as recreation,would be contrary to their mission.

Federal agencies developing landmanagement plans should be concernedabout lack of permanent legal access totheir boundaries. How can an agency claimto have a valid plan for land uses or travelmanagement when access to major por-tions, and to any approved road system,depends on entry points that could disap-pear at a landowner’s whim?

Any time Federal lands become com-pletely landlocked by private lands, roadson Federal property essentially become pri-vate roads. How can the Federal govern-ment justify maintaining roads that benefitonly a select few?

Lack of access to Federal lands cancreate de facto roadless areas. And whilethe land agencies may accept that roadlessareas are a legitimate part of the Federallands system, there is an establishedprocess for defining and approving theirlocation. Roadlessness by obsolescence isnot part of that process.

Furthermore, access to wildernessareas is lost whenever cherry-stemmedroads (roads purposefully left outsidewilderness boundaries) are made obsoleteby private road closures outside the Federalland boundary. This introduces anotherburden for responsible planning for wilder-ness areas.

Since the Federal government has thepower of eminent domain, the ForestService or BLM could assert ownershipover a private stretch of road, payinglandowners prices deemed fair and reason-able through an orderly legal process. Butfor various reasons, Federal land agenciesare reluctant to use this tool. Executivebranch agencies are not typically activist innature and fare best when they stay wellwithin the mandates given them byCongress and the courts. Absent any clearlegal mandate to provide access to theirboundaries, Federal land agencies areunlikely ever to undertake the expensiveand politically painful process of condemn-ing and seizing private property for the pub-lic good. And even if they were willing, theydon’t presently have the funding to pur-chase even a fraction of the rights-of-wayneeded.

Despite the growing seriousness oflimited access to their boundaries, neitherthe BLM nor the US Forest Service haspressed hard for a solution at the nationallevel, and it’s unlikely they ever will withoutprodding from the outside. Federal agen-cies are the public’s allies in the fight forpublic access, but don’t expect them to leadthe fight. They are responsible for offeringa public lands program, but they aren’tresponsible for getting us there.

State Land DepartmentAccess to state trust lands is important

in two ways. First, the public may wish togo on state trust lands for recreation.Second, the public often needs to go acrossstate trust lands in order to reach Federallands. Both issues can be problematic.

Most Arizonans think of state trustlands as public lands, but the State LandDepartment’s interpretation of its missionholds otherwise. SLD’s website page forrecreation states unequivocally that “StateTrust Land is not public land!”

The State Land Department managesstate trust land with a single-mindednessnot unlike private business. SLD doesn’tmind cooperating with other agencies, butits first obligation is to the financial interestsof the trust and its beneficiaries, chiefly K-12 education. SLD is not inherentlyopposed to recreation as long as it doesn’tdamage natural resources or diminish theland’s capacity to generate revenue. Publicaccess requires the purchase of a recre-ation permit at $50 annually for individuals

Whose Public Land Is It?This is the second of a two-part series on public lands access in Arizona.


and $75 for families. Hunters and anglerswith valid state licenses may actively pursuefish and game without purchasing a sepa-rate permit. But even licensed hunters andanglers need a separate recreation permitto camp or hike on state trust land any timethey are not actively hunting or fishing.

State trust land generates most of itsincome from grazing fees and from beingsold for development. In its grazing leases,SLD authorizes ranchers “to use meanswhich are reasonable and which do notresult in a breach of the peace” to protectthe land against waste, damage and tres-pass. Although ranchers may confront andquestion people as to whether they have theproper licenses or permits and even askunauthorized or misbehaving individuals toleave, grazing lessees are prohibited frominterfering with the authorized activities ofother licensed or permitted users, whichincludes hunters and other recreational vis-itors. But denial of access is the ultimateinterference, and lessees are allowed tolock gates on their own private property,even on roads that provide the only accessto the state trust land they’re leasing.

A few years back there was an effort topass a law that would require grazinglessees on state trust land to grant publicaccess across the lessee’s private propertyas a condition of the lease. That effort failedto get through the legislature.

Closure of a road that is on state trustlands is sometimes sought to protectresources. G&F Regulation R12-4-110 pre-scribes the process for approving closures.Private individuals who lock gates on statetrust land, not their private property, withoutprior approval will be challenged by Game &Fish and SLD, and can even be prosecutedfor persistent unauthorized closures. Butthe process is slow moving, and landownershave been known to illegally lock gates atthe start of deer season and keep themlocked until the season ends, while theprocess plays out in an exchange of corre-spondence and threats. It is illegal for pri-vate individuals or Game & Fish to cutsomeone’s private padlock, even for anunauthorized closure.

Arizona Game & Fish often finds it nec-essary to ask SLD for permission to con-struct alternate roads across state trustlands in order to get around private proper-ty blocking access to the state and Federallands beyond. SLD has granted manyrequests for alternate roads, but not all.Characteristically, SLD considers theserequests strictly in terms of its revenueimpacts on the trust. SLD also tends toinsist on road designs that exceed what isneeded for recreational access in order toincrease trust land values. This createsadded expense for the Heritage and Game& Fish funds.

With more than nine million acres at itsdisposal, some may wonder why can’t our

State Land Department be a little more gen-erous about sharing trust land with the pub-lic while it waits for the bulldozer. Arizonahas one of the most restrictive trust require-ments in the nation, which makes generosi-ty for non-trust purposes difficult and legallyrisky. There have been lawsuits over thisissue, and lately the State Land Departmenthas been taking a strict-constructionistapproach to its mission as defined inArizona’s constitution.

Arizona’s State Land Department mayacquiesce to specific requests for coopera-tion with other agencies on public access,but it does not actively advocate for accesseither to state trust lands or to contiguousFederal public lands.

Arizona Game & Fish DepartmentOf all the government agencies, Game

& Fish is by far the most active advocate ofaccess to public lands.

G & F monitors the status of publiclands access at the various entry points andtries to resolve closures on a case-by-casebasis. Citizens, including non-hunters, whofind their access to public lands blocked canusually get a status as well as advice onalternative routes by calling Game and Fish.

G & F uses Heritage funds and its ownG & F funds to purchase right-of-way acrossprivate and state trust land. But unlike theFederal land agencies, G & F has no legalauthority to exercise eminent domain.G & F can only build alternate roads wherelandowners are willing to grant or sell right-of-way.

Game & Fish offers landowners andgrazing leaseholders incentives for allowingaccess across private land. Incentives canbe money, technical assistance, environ-mental approvals, labor and materials forprojects benefiting both livestock andwildlife, and cooperation with landowners incontrolling nuisance wildlife. By allowingthe public to cross their private land, ranch-ers can get help building or maintainingwater sources, brush control, grassland re-seeding, fencing and other rangeland andhabitat work. Hundreds of thousands ofdollars and considerable man-hours arespent each year for projects that benefitranchers as well as wildlife. But to takeadvantage of these programs, landownersmust allow access.

G & F also tries to minimize landownercomplaints about vandalism and resourcedamage. The agency furnishes signageand kiosks with sign-in/sign-out sheets atentry points. Hunter education classesstress sportsman respect for property andhabitat. In the interest of maintaining goodrelations, wildlife managers frequently findvolunteer organizations to reimburse ranch-ers for damages to property or livestock,even in cases where it is deemed unlikelythe damage was caused by hunters.G & F’s landowner/lessee relations commit-tee, which includes a G & F commissioner

and representatives for sportsmen, landagencies and ranchers, meets severaltimes a year. At one of the meetings, acommissioner even suggested discussingtrespass fees for private landowners, butthis didn’t seem to go anywhere.

Overall, G & F has pursued nearlyevery means possible to maximize publicaccess to public lands. Yet each year, fewertemporary easements are being renewedand more gates are being locked.

RanchersThe public’s view of a grazing permit-

tee’s relationship to public lands may oftenbe somewhat at odds with the permittee’sview. Although a grazing permit is techni-cally and legally a privilege, revocable bythe issuing agency at any time, many ranch-ers have come to view it as a right, and toperceive certain rights of ownership pertain-ing to leased land. Many live on privateparcels adjoining leased public land, andoften their families have ranched thosesame lands for generations. They havecome to see the leased public lands as partof their ranch, which in a certain sense iscorrect.

While grazing permits might only be aprivilege and theoretically temporary at that,Federal lands agencies have been so will-ing to perpetuate leases that banks will loanmoney based on anticipated future earningsfrom the lease. And when a rancher dies,the IRS assigns a value to his Federal graz-ing lease and taxes the rancher’s estateaccordingly.

Although most ranching infrastructureon Federal land belongs to the land agency,ranchers sometimes own portable equip-ment such as generators or solar pumpsthat can be damaged or stolen. And even ifthe government owns the fence, it’s therancher’s cows that get out on the highwaywhen someone cuts it.

During hunting season, ranchers willsee and hear people coming and going atall hours. The ranch dogs will bark at everydeer hunter that passes through on his wayto camp long after most have gone to bed.As the hunting season progresses, ranch-ers will see more and more evidence thatthe land has been shared with the public.Roads that were driven on while wet will berutted, and a few campsites will be leftmessy. Occasionally someone will shoot ahole through a metal stock tank, or even acow.

But this is all part of public lands ranch-ing. The public lands surrounding a ranch-er’s deeded property is what the ranch’soriginal owners, perhaps the rancher’s ownancestors, chose not to buy when theyhomesteaded. The rancher pays a grazingfee for the right to graze livestock, but hedoes not own it. He does not pay propertytax on it.

Anti-grazing activists like to point outthat grazing fees on public lands are signifi-


cantly lower than on comparable privatelands. This comparison is unfair becausepublic lands grazing leases should becheaper for many reasons. One of the rea-sons is that public lands ranchers have toshare their leased land with the public.

Most of the problems ranchers com-plain about are not new. There was alwayssome level of misbehavior on public ranch-lands, and there have always been a fewlocked gates. So why are so many gatessuddenly being closed now?

Ranchers have cited Arizona’s increas-ing population, which has tripled in the lastthirty years. But the number of hunters hasnot tripled. Deer tag numbers are just a littlemore than a third of what they were twenty-five years ago. Most authorities agree thatparticipation in outdoor recreation is declin-ing in favor of other activities. Although themany people still visit the outdoors for recre-ation, their numbers have not grown as fastas ranchers’ lack of tolerance for them.

ATVs are often mentioned. These did-n’t exist prior to the 1990s. But if it’s ATVsthat are making life hell for ranchers, onewould have expected the ArizonaCattlegrowers Association to support recentlegislation providing for education, licensingand enforcement associated with ATV use.They did not. And if ATVs were really the bigproblem, ranchers could still non-ATV usersinstead of denying access to everyone.

The complaint that probably receivesthe most sympathy from hunters isincreased border traffic. Hunters are keenlyaware of the litter and general lack of secu-rity wherever thousands of desperate peopletrudge through week after week. But if theproblem is border traffic, why are so manygates being locked in places like GrahamCounty, which is neither near the border noron any principal migration route for undocu-mented aliens? And why is there a concur-rent public outcry over locked gates in stateslike Montana, Wyoming and Idaho?

Another issue is control over land thatsome ranchers have worked all their lives ona daily basis. And then there’s money.

Those in the business say ranchingprofits are thin. Casual observance ofranchers’ homes and lifestyles seems tolend credibility to this claim. Most ranchersseem to just be getting by like average folks.There are ranchers who became wealthyfrom previous pursuits, but most indicationssuggest that public lands ranching is proba-bly better suited for squandering fortunesthan generating them.

The U.S. Farm Bureau urges ranchersto supplement their income by taking up“ranching for wildlife.” In states where pri-vate ranches hold vast amounts of high-quality wildlife habitat, private landownershave been able to negotiate “landownertags” from state wildlife agencies. An ownerof a million acres of elk habitat can offer lim-ited access and hunting opportunities to the

general public in exchange for elk tags thatcan be sold at high prices on a national mar-ket.

But in Arizona, as in most states, wildlifeby law belongs to the people of the state.Private individuals with grazing permits donot own the wildlife any more than they ownthe timber, minerals or other assets theyhave not paid for. Even if Game & Fishcommissioners were so inclined, they arenot free to hand out big game tags withoutreceiving in return something that benefitsthe people and wildlife of Arizona.

Despite years of effort, Arizona ranch-ers have been unsuccessful in getting“ranching for wildlife” going here. A keyobstacle is inadequate private acreage withhigh-value game species. Without the lever-age of vast private land hunting opportuni-ties, the state has little incentive or justifica-tion to bestow gifts of big game tags on pri-vate landowners.

But even though Arizona’s ranchersdon’t own many huge tracts of wildlife-richprivate land, lately they’ve been showing offtheir ability to control hunting on large por-tions of public land by controlling access.Perhaps some believe this might providethem the leverage needed for landownertags.

State Legislature. Ranching and property interests have

historically done very well in interest groupcompetition at the legislature. Sportsmenand other public lands clientele are not aswell organized or influential. Barring anexplosion of public outrage over access, it isunlikely Arizona’s legislature will soon bewanting to challenge property rights orspend tax revenues for that purpose.However, the legislature could be helpfulattacking some of the narrower aspects ofthe problem such as maintenance of historicaccess to important sites, and perhapspenalties for landowners illegally lockinggates on state trust land.

County Boards of SupervisorsHaving authority over rural roads, coun-

ty governing bodies have a wide range oftools for securing permanent public access,including eminent domain. Moreover, it istheir responsibility to ensure that citizenshave reasonable access to important desti-nations. But county governments havemany disincentives for the exercise of thatauthority.

One disincentive is cost. Acquiring aroadbed via eminent domain is expensive.Most counties simply do not have the moneyto go around buying up rights-of-way, espe-cially through adversarial proceedings.Then there’s road maintenance expense.Many of the traditional public lands accessroutes were historically maintained at coun-ty taxpayer expense, including the portionscrossing private land. This was consideredlegal and accepted as long as the landown-er was allowing the public to use the road.

But once a landowner denies the public useof a section of road, the landowner becomesresponsible for the cost of maintaining thatsection, thus relieving counties of somemaintenance costs as well as liability.

There are political disincentives as well.Depending on the case, keeping a historical-ly public road open may or may not be per-ceived as serving the local constituency.Many locals may be able to obtain accessfrom private landowners. Access for non-local members of the public doesn’t havemuch support in rural areas.

Many county supervisors may them-selves own land that blocks access to publiclands, or have friends or relatives who do.Certainly all county supervisors have locallypowerful constituents who relish the oppor-tunity to control access to public lands.Elected officials in rural areas might verywell lose votes by supporting “sharedaccess.”

On legal matters, county supervisorsgenerally follow the advice of the countyattorney, who is also an elected official andshares the supervisors’ concerns with con-stituent sentiment. The taking of privateproperty is politically sensitive and is typical-ly approached very cautiously by electedofficials.

Most property condemnations byArizona counties involving roads are fordevelopment purposes. County road con-demnations aimed at maintaining publicrecreation opportunities on public lands arevirtually unknown.

But despite all these disincentives,county governments can also be the heroeswho preserve access when no one else can.For one things, county officials are amongthe few having authority to invoke FederalReserve Statute 2477 for roads that qualify,if and when they choose to do so.

RS 2477 sends shivers down thespines of many environmentalists because ithas been used as a weapon against Federalland agencies intent on limiting motorizedtravel. But like all weapons, RS 2477 is nobetter or worse than the intentions of thepersons using it. Some applications canrestore or maintain critical access routes.Only state or local transportation authoritieshave the power to invoke it.

Under RS 2477, any road or pathacross public domain before private landwas patented under the Homestead Act isconsidered a public road, and remains apublic road even after homesteading. Thatwould include roads leading to frontier forts,mining claims or old timber camps, many ofwhich were traveled to prior to home-steading. If a road is shown on an originalsurvey plat, and if the survey plat pre-datesthe homesteading of the land that roadcrossed, the land may very well qualify forRS 2477. All that remains is finding a coun-ty board of supervisors willing to declare itas such. Some Arizona counties have


already made RS 2477 declarations.The PublicThe public lands we have today grew

chiefly from the American conservationmovement of Theodore Roosevelt’s era andshortly afterward. Since that time there hasbeen considerable dialogue and legislationaddressing how we should manage our pub-lic lands and wildlife, but very little discus-sion about maintaining the public’s access.Aside from occasional land swap controver-sies or think tank proposals for privatizingpublic lands, the public seems to take forgranted its permanent ownership of thenational commons. In the meantime, privateinterests are quietly making inroads againstthat ownership by reducing a fundamentalownership right: the right of access.

Unlike gun rights or the environment,there are no national organizations devotedexclusively to maintaining public landsaccess. Instead there are only a few groupsfocused on specific places or jurisdictions.(Two of special note are the Montana PublicLand/Water Access Assoc. www.plwa.organd the Public Lands Foundationwww.publicland.org/ . The latter groupfocuses on BLM lands only and its mission isbroader than just access. Both websitesprovide valuable information and insights.)

Individual sportsmen, sportsmen’s con-servation groups and others engaged in out-door pursuits frequently encounter accessproblems, but resolving access issues isn’ttheir core concern. For them, an accessproblem is usually treated as an immediateobstacle to be circumvented as quickly aspossible in order to resume pursuit of theoriginal objective.

Shared access among all users needsto become a focus of our national conserva-tion dialogue. So far that isn’t happening.The public seems to be in the early stages ofawakening to the problem and is probablystill expecting that someone else, perhapssomeone in government, will handle it. Butas we’ve seen, our various governmentalbodies and agencies tend to lack either thewill or the ability to do so effectively.

The forefathers of America’s conserva-tion movement nobly attempted to bequeatha natural treasure to future generations ofAmericans. Unfortunately, they couldn’tstick around to make sure we hung on to ourinheritance. That part is up to us.

SOLUTIONSPublic lands access needs to be

addressed both on the ground and as publicpolicy.

At the local level, every conservation oroutdoor recreation group should have oneperson assigned to keep track of the entrypoints to state and Federal lands within theirarea of interest. Both new and existingaccess blockages should be investigated.

There are several tools available toaccess advocates. Unfortunately, mostrequire research that can be time-consum-

ing. A call to the regional Game & Fishoffice, or to the responsible land manage-ment agency such as the Forest Service,BLM or State Land Department, can usuallyget you started by telling you who is blockingaccess and why. But getting somethingdone about it will be largely up to you andwhichever public authority you can persuadeto take up your cause.

As stated earlier, county officials havethe authority to invoke RS 2477. You willprobably have to do your own road researchincluding locating the original survey platand homestead records of any properties inquestion. County recorders’ offices shouldprovide you access to sources of this infor-mation.

Access advocates need to be vigilant tochanges in land ownership and rezonings.Whenever a ranch is sold, access policymay change. This is especially true of landbeing sub-divided for residential develop-ment. Citizens should appeal to rezoningauthorities early in the process to ensurethat continued public access to adjacentpublic lands is required in the developer’splan. Since sub-dividers typically do notcare to provide public access, a groupappearance to a county supervisors meetingmay be necessary.

Counties must go through a formal legalprocess, including public notice, in order toabandon county roads they no longer wishto maintain or assume responsibility for.This provides another opportunity for citi-zens to be heard on access needs.

Vigilance and a willingness to speak upis a vital component of democracy.Sometimes our appointed and elected offi-cials commit harmful acts, or neglect to per-form beneficial acts, simply because thepublic slept through an event and didn’tmake known its needs.

On a broader scale, access advocatesneed to expand public awareness of accessas a growing and important problem. Inpublic meetings with the Forest Service andBLM, the public needs to insist that all landuse and travel management plans specifi-cally address the points of entry that haveassured access, and that all plans includecontingencies for future access losses.

At the Federal level, both the ForestService and BLM should elevate the discus-sion to Congress and push back againstdemands to deliver land use or travel man-agement plans based on speculativeassumptions about future access. Noresponsible private land owner would accepta lack of legal access to his or her property.The public should not be forced to either.

In elevating the issue to Congress,Federal lands agencies should first quantifythe problem using an inventory of all accesspoints to their boundaries and classifying thelegal access status of each. Neither theForest Service nor BLM has done this.

The authority with perhaps the greatest

potential to improve access is Congress.The Federal government has both the legalauthority and the fiscal capacity to do theheavy lifting that may be required for themost difficult cases. A Federal-local partner-ship wherein the Federal government wouldprovided the funding needed to purchaserights-of-way in locations deemed neces-sary by the Federal lands agencies couldeliminate most of the problems pertaining toFederal lands. The Federal governmentcould claim the right of way, compensatelandowners based on an equitable formula,and then transfer right-of-way ownershipand maintenance responsibility to the coun-ties.

But before Congress will take anyaction, someone has to convince themthere’s a problem. Except for dueling billsfrom a couple of New Mexico Congressmanon applying RS 2477, Congress has beenignoring the issue. The Forest Service, BLMand lobbyists for the various sportsmen andconservation groups need to create moreawareness inside the Beltway.

At the state level, any future initiativesfor state trust land reform should addressaccess to and across state trust land. Thereis no reason why the people of Arizonashould not have reasonable access to mostof our state trust land. The State LandDepartment has been stingy about sharingtrust land with the public chiefly because ofits narrow constitutional mandate. TheState Land Department should also beempowered to work cooperatively and inpartnership with our Federal lands agenciestoward maintaining access to Federal publiclands. At present the State LandDepartment recognizes no legal obligationto support public access to our Federal pub-lic lands.

The state legislature could also lend ahand by making it a crime for anyone to locka gate on state trust land without priorauthorization under R12-4-110. This shouldput an end to the cat-and-mouse gamessome landowners have played where locksare put on temporarily and then laterremoved just in time to avoid repercussionsto the landowner.

Finally, the conservation communityneeds to elevate access to a higher priority.If the present trend continues, conservationactivists will gradually cease to know what isreally going on behind those gates, and therest of the public will cease to care.

For the past several months, LarryAudsley has participated in a committeemade up of sportsmen, ranchers, countysupervisors and public lands officials devot-ed to studying public lands access issues.He is also a permanent member of ArizonaPublic Lands Access Committee, a south-ern-Arizona based group consisting of hik-ers, hunters, prospectors, 4-wheelers,equestrians and other outdoor recreation-ists.

National Hunting andFishing Day

The September 27th NationalHunting and Fishing Day event washeld at Sportsman’s Warehouse on

27th Ave, Phoenix. Volunteers EmilyWunder, Chris Fonoti, and LindaDightmon represented the AWF bygiving information about AWF and theBOW (Becoming an Outdoor Woman)program. Our thanks to BruceGibson, manager at the Sportsman’sWarehouse for his help and support inlocation and setting up.

New Ways to Join

The AWF considering a way for ourmembers to save a little money onmembership, have added the followingto our membership levels:

3 year individual $ 75 3 year Family $110 Junior Membership $ 15 (17 & under)Distinguished Life Membership $325(65+ or Disabled Veteran)


AWF Round Up

(From Page 6)It is a curious fact that a business-

man or lawyer who would not think oftelling their doctor how to treat a sick-ness will insist that he knows all theanswers to wildlife problems simplybecause he hunts and fishes. Thereare so many constantly changing fac-tors involved that a person who doesnot devote constant attention to theproblems has almost no chance to cor-rectly solve the problems. None ofyou would hire a man to build a houseand then insist on telling him whattools to use. You would expect him tohave intelligence enough to use the

proper tools. You would insist he usesound materials and do good work.Yet many sportsmen will insist upondictating programs and insist uponprescribing both the program and thetools or methods to be used to accom-plish the program.

There are only a limited number ofmethods that can be employed to influ-ence favorably wildlife populations.The human harvest can be regulatedby making and enforcing regulations.Predator control will help when preda-tors are the immediate repressive fac-tor holding down wildlife populations.Good existing habitat can be main-

tained and protected by our efforts.Marshlands can be protected fromunwise drainage. Habitat can beimproved by fitting wildlife programsinto other land uses.

A strong sportsmen’s organizationwith intelligent leadership can be thegreatest asset to securing goodwildlife administration. We who areinterested in maintaining our vitalwildlife resources must be constantlyalert to prevent those who are not toofriendly to the cause from destroyingthis part of our natural heritage.

Members in the Field

Ken Alexander (right) and his hunting buddy Mike with their desert Mule deer.Jimmy Unmacht shows off a Yuma pheasant while mom, Tracy Unmacht,poses with her first elk.


Jim Unmacht has resigned as V.P of. Operationsdue to personal obligations. The AWF at the lastboard meeting in October selected Tom Mackin to

fill Jim’s vacated position. The board expressed theirappreciation for Jim’s dedication and support for AWFand the wildlife community at large.

In selecting Tom to fill the V.P. of Operation position,AWF came up with another winner. The Federation is for-tunate to have many qualified people on the board and Tomis right there at the top of the list. Congratulations are inorder and our thanks for accepting this important positionalong with all your other duties performed.

Tom Mackin is originally from upstate New York. Henow lives in Flagstaff where he has lived for 23 years withhis wife Margaret. He is retired from the Coconino Sheriff’sOffice as technical specialist for their computer and phonesystems. He was a member of the Coconino County Searchand Rescue for over 10 years.

Tom is a volunteer for the Nature Conservancy inFlagstaff, providing interpretive walks at the NatureConservancy property on the west side of the SanFrancisco Peaks. He has been an active member and vol-unteer for the Arizona Elk Society and RMEF, and is a longtime member and officer of the historic Flagstaff sports-men’s group, the Coconino Sportsmen. Over the pasttwenty years he has held every office on the board of theCoconino Sportsmen, and is currently theSecretary/Treasurer.

For many years he coordinated the CoconinoSportsmen Hunter Education program and is an activehunter education chief-instructor. This year they had thelargest group of students ever at just under 130 students.

In the mid to late 1980’s Tom served on the board of theAWF for a number of years as the Coconino CountyDirector.

He currently holds the Region 2 Director position, is thechair of the Grants Committee, and is a member of theHabitat, Financial and Conservation Committees. Mostrecently, Tom headed up the strategic planning effort for theAWF and has compiled the results into a completed docu-ment that will be used to determine the future direction ofthe AWF. He was also instrumental in the accomplishmentof Congressional District One’s first ever Public CandidateForum on Natural Resource Issues held in Camp Verdeearlier this year.

Tom also serves the Arizona Game & Fish Departmentas an active member of the Flagstaff/Williams HabitatPartnership Committee. He now represents the AWF onthat body. As a member he attends all theFlagstaff/Williams Habitat Partnership Committee meetings(HPC) and State HPC meetings. As part of his duties, hehas written and been awarded several HPC grants, primari-ly for the funding of the maintenance for the Pat Springspipeline and redevelopments of several wildlife watersaround the Flagstaff area.

The Pat Springs pipeline is on the Coconino NationalForest, North of the San Francisco Peaks. The pipeline pro-vides water to countless numbers of wildlife including deer,elk, antelope, turkeys, mountain lions, bears, coyotes andmany different species of birds. He and his family are cur-rently the main custodians of this pipeline and they alonespend approximately 350 hours annually working on thispipeline. Tom has faithfully worked with the Arizona Gameand Fish Department, the Coconino National Forest and theNavajo Tribe on the Pat Springs Pipeline. Worked with, isactually not entirely true. He, his family and members of theCoconino Sportsman Group have done ALL the work. TheGame and Fish Dept., Forest Service and the Navajo Tribehave only provided technical support and materials asneeded.

Tom was also responsible for initiating and currentlymaintaining the volunteer agreement between theCoconino Sportsmen and the Coconino National Forest thatrelates to the work done over the last 16 years on wildlifewaters in the Flagstaff area. For the last two years he hasbeen the grant writer and administrator for the AWF on theAnderson Mesa Wetlands Restoration Project, successfullyacquiring funding from organizations such as the ArizonaGame & Fish Dept. and the National Forest Foundation.He works on an ongoing basis with the wildlife biologists ofboth the Forest Service and the Game & Fish Dept., andwith the AWF’s project manager and the fencing contractoron all matters relating to this multi-year project. In Augustof 2007, Tom was inducted into Arizona ’s Outdoor Hall ofFame in recognition of his invaluable commitment and serv-ice to the wildlife and habitat of Arizona .

Most recently, Tom was appointed to serve on theHeritage Fund Public Advisory Committee, which is an advi-sory committee to the Arizona Game & Fish Commission.He is also representing the AWF on the Arizona Game &Fish Commission’s newly formed Conservation Committee.

Tom Mackin, New Vice President of Operations


Flashes of angling gold return to Silver Creek

SHOW LOW — Flashes of golden Apache trout returning toSilver Creek near Show Low in the White Mountains are arecent harbinger of the great fall-winter trout fishing oppor-tunities anglers can experience in Arizona this year.

“The Arizona Game and Fish Department’s catch-and-release Apache trout fishery along Silver Creek near ShowLow is certainly a one-of-a-kind winter fishing opportunityyou can’t find anywhere else. The opening of this fisheryeach Oct. 1 has become a holiday-like event for dedicatedApache trout anglers,” said Fisheries Chief Kirk Young.

However, Young added that most anglers are oftenamazed at the plethora of unique winter trout fishing oppor-tunities Arizona offers from an improbable desert river fish-ery near Phoenix and gas-tank-friendly urban waters to arenowned tail-water trout fishery that draws anglers fromaround the world. There is even a lesser known fun stretchof river within casting distance from major gambling casi-nos.

“We even stock winter trout in two popular warm waterfisheries – Saguaro and Canyon lakes,” Young pointed out.“Do you want a fairly solitary winter hiking adventure whereyou can fish shaded canyon pools for feisty rainbow trout?Just try Beaver Creek or West Clear Creek in the VerdeValley .”

But it’s tough to top the artificial lure and fly, catch-and-release-only golden trout experience at Silver Creek (barb-less hooks only please).

This year, the hard-working Silver Creek Hatchery crewoutdid themselves – prior to opening day they stocked acouple of dozen Apache trout tipping the scales at around 3pounds or so. It was line-stripping fun for anglers on open-ing morning even before the annual stocking took placelater that day.

“It felt like Christmas morning when I was a kid,” saidone beaming fly angler who had the pleasure of fighting andthen landing at least two of the trophy-sized golden beau-ties.

The early-bird anglers even got another treat at firstlight – a majestic bull elk was waiting for them as an unoffi-cial greeter at the end of their hike through the dewy grassto the upper pool on the Game and Fish Department’sSilver Creek property.

But it wasn’t all pure action, fun and golden adventure.

A hard-working crew from Cabela’s in Phoenix plunged intothe hatchery ponds and helped to net, load, and then dis-tribute the Apache trout and rainbows along this meander-ing creek barely one puddle-jump away from the Show LowAirport.

“There’s no fishery quite like this,” said Tim McGough,a Phoenix architect who comes to help out and fish onopening day each year. “This spring-fed creek is fishable allwinter long. It’s an amazing place to fish.”

For those who aren’t aware, the native Apache trout isArizona’s state fish. Although it is listed as “threatened”under the Endangered Species Act, anglers can fish for it incertain areas, such as Silver Creek, the Little ColoradoRiver in the Greer Valley, plus the East and West Forks ofBlack River.

In fact, the White Mountains of Arizona is the only placeon this blue planet where you can readily angle for pure-strain Apache trout.

Apache trout are also on the brink of making history –they may become the first native fish in the United States tocome off the endangered species list, thanks to a modelcooperative recovery effort involving the White MountainApache Tribe, the Arizona Game and Fish Department,U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and a long list of dedicatedangling groups.

History notes not withstanding, the anglers present onopening morning at Silver Creek did have one request –don’t tell anyone. Oops, the trout’s out of the stocking netas it were. So go catch some golden memories at SilverCreek, Greer or the East and West Forks. Don’t forgetabout the classic Apache trout fisheries on the WhiteMountain Apache Reservation.

But as the season progresses, snow storms visit andhigher elevation lakes ice-up, the spring-fed waters of SilverCreek will still be a viable Apache trout fishery worth expe-riencing.

This is also the leading edge of the Game and FishDepartment’s ambitious winter trout stocking program. Fora list of what water is stocked when, visit the Game andFish Department’s Web site.

http://www.azgfd.gov/h_f/stocking_schedule.shtml

Agency News


Barbeque Beef and Biscuit Bake

3 lbs. coarsely ground beef (chili meat) ½ tsp. garlic powder1 c. barbecue sauce 1 c. beef broth1 c. ketchup 2 c. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded1 (7.5 oz.) package buttermilk biscuits (10 biscuits)

Heat a 12 inch Dutch oven over 9 hot coals. Brown theground beef. Pour off drippings and add barbecue sauce,ketchup, onion powder, garlic powder, and beef broth.Cook 10 minutes, until steaming. Sprinkle cheese on topand arrange biscuits on top of the cheese. Cover with lidand place 15 hot coals on top. Cook, covered, for 20 min-utes, or until biscuits are golden brown and cookedthrough. Serves 8.

Campsite Lima Beans

½ onion, chopped 1 (1 lb.) cans lima beans, drained1 Tbsp. butter or margarine 1 small jar diced red pimento1 c. sour cream

Sauté onion in butter. When transparent, add lima beansand heat. When beans are hot, add pimento and sourcream and cook until heated through. Don’t boil, as thesour cream will curdle.

Tasty Campfire Apples in Tin Foil

3-4 apples 1 stick butter1 c. chopped walnuts ½ c. maple syrup

Peel and cut apples into slices taking out the core. Combinethe melted butter, maple syrup, and nuts in a bowl. Place asmall handful of apples onto a piece of aluminum foil. Top theapples with a large spoonful of the nut mixture. Fold the foil,leaving an opening for ventilation. Place on the campfire andcook 30-40 minutes, or until the apples are soft but notmushy.

Camp Cook

by Ryna Rock

(From page 5)for a number of years to ensure this revenue stream contin-ues.

New sources of funding are needed to put in place con-servation and restoration activities essential to battle knownand predicted impacts to fish and wildlife from climatechange that will protect our valued resources in the future.It is logical that such needs be addressed through astatewide conservation adaptation strategy as part of theWCI. One avenue for these funds to come through wouldbe the auction of “allowances to pollute” that some carbonemitting industries will need to purchase.

Our Governor doesn’t have a crystal ball to view thefuture, but having Arizona participate in the Western ClimateInitiative is an important step in the development of a con-sistent, regional approach to this multi-faceted issue. TheWCI is being crafted by seven western states and fourCanadian provinces, is based on a combination ofapproaches to pollution reduction, and incorporates a trad-ing component that will allow for market-based incentives.This in turn will drive new technologies and job creation. Atits heart, the WCI is a cap-and-trade system to reduce car-

bon emissions by 15% by 2020. The expectation we canhave in all this – imperfection and compromise, but at leasta starting point from which to move forward.

Today’s meeting and others like it are aimed at “hearing”and considering the needs and views of all stakeholders.The Arizona Wildlife Federation is included in this group. Ijust checked my watch, and I better get upstairs or I’ll missthe meeting. The one sure thing is that there will be manymore of this type of meeting. As we proceed, I hope our dis-cussion on the topic will be problem-solving instead of polar-izing.

For my parting thought I will step out of my “President ofthe AWF” role. From my personal perspective, it’s a hugegamble to do nothing while we wait for science to beabsolutely certain one way or another as to who or what toblame for climate change. It is undeniable that Arizona’sclimate is changing. We are already “behind the eight ball”on this while we do what humans do, talk, study, plan, devel-op, take care of legalities, and then, perhaps, implement.I’m unwilling to gamble with the “high stakes” of our outdoorheritage, to me the most vital part of Arizona, and the veryfoundation of a way of life for most everyone I know.


Membership

NEW MEMBERS

Levi Adamson Phoenix AZJohn Baer Colorado Springs COChris Bagnoli Pinetop AZKeith Butler Mesa AZDavid Cadwell Gilbert AZArnold Cason Claypool AZCasey Clark Scottsdale AZGary Clevenger Acton CAMike Collins Phoenix AZChris Costa Phoenix AZEmmanvez Diaz Chandler AZRon Hermosillo Costa Mesa CARichard Herrera Mesa AZJohn Ho Queen Creek AZClayton Hunt Mesa AZPat Kingston Mesa AZRobert LaVoie Phoenix AZCharlie Molina Chandler AZGerry Perry Oro Valley AZKyle Schuder Mesa AZSteve Thompson Gilbert AZJeff Welker Mesa AZJosh Welker Mesa AZ

Welcome New Members

AWF Members wanting afull copy of Board Minutes,contact Kim at

480-644-0077

A summary is available atwww.azwildlife.org

The AWF is a statewide organiza-tion that was organized as the ArizonaGame Protective Association in 1923to safe guard our privileges of huntingand fishing by insisting on sane admin-istration of the states naturalresources, thus avoiding repetition ofthe almost total extinction of gameexperienced in many eastern states.There, organized sportsmen havebrought back wildlife through organ-ized action; here, Arizona's organizedsportsmen have been responsible forthe maintenance, and in some cases,the increase, of the state's wildlife.Thus the A.G.P.A. and AWF's resultshave not been so spectacular, but havebeen effective.

The AWF can rightfully be a littleproud of its accomplishments. Butleaders in conservation are agreed thatthe battle is not yet won, that it willprobably never be won until every per-son recognizes that only through theproper use of our natural resourcescan we maintain prosperity.

AWF is so concerned with thebroad aspects of conservation,because it recognizes that only withthe highest type of land and water usecan game and fish supplies be main-tained. When land begins to go down-hill, game and fish are the first to follow.

The Arizona Wildlife Federation is: 1. Representing AZ's Sportsmen

and Sportswomen before the Gameand Fish Commission, U.S. ForestService, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,National Sportsmen's Organizations,Etc.

2. Maintaining a permanent stateoffice in the Phoenix metro area, withsix Regional Directors throughout thestate, keeping abreast of factors affect-ing hunting, fishing, conservationissues and available for action whencrises arise.

3. Disseminating informationregarding hunting and fishing and con-servation through press, radio, and it'sown quarterly publication, ArizonaWildlife News, which goes to eachFederation and Affiliate member, andselected sporting establishments.

4. Conducting frequent ExecutiveCommittee/Board meetings, andAnnual Meeting/Convention, takingaction on current developments affect-ing Hunters, Fishermen andConservation.

5. Attempting to insure that everyyoung Arizonan gets proper educationin conservation problems and prac-tices, through the Arizona WildlifeEducation Foundation and the ArizonaWildlife Federation.

6. Informing state and national leg-islative bodies of problems and needsof Arizona sportsmen and women.

These and other AWF activities,require funds, of course. The onlysource of funds are, private individuals,corporate sponsors, affiliate organiza-tions, fundraisers and membership. Ifyou enjoy the outdoors, even if huntingand fishing are only secondary in yourenjoyment, you'll want to help maintainour natural resources, for ourselvesand our children. YOU CAN MAKETHE DIFFERENCE BY SUPPORTINGTHE ARIZONA WILDLIFE FEDERA-TION. By filling the following applica-tion for membership and sending it,with the dues, yearly, life, or benefac-tor, you will become a member of aworthwhile organization. If you arealready one of our supporting mem-bers, get a friend to join up. If eachmember signed up just one new mem-ber, AWF would double our member-ship. So lets get out and get those newmembers and make a difference!

Every Sportsman/Sportswoman in Arizona Should Belong To TheARIZONA WILDLIFE FEDERATION


AWF Members

Alan Abel TucsonWilliam Acheson FlagstaffPatsy Apple PhoenixJeff Augustine ScottsdaleJames Baldree PhoenixJohn Bauermeister ScottsdaleDavid Beaty MesaJohn R. Beck PeoriaDonald Billick PhoenixBruce H. Bishop TempeClarence Bowe Jr. ScottsdaleM.J. Bramley Jr. MesaJay Brandon Apache JtnJonathan Brooks AnthemWade Brooksby PhoenixRoger J Carroll Sierra VistaGary S. Christensen FlagstaffLouise Coan TucsonClifton E. Cox TucsonDon Cox PeoriaAl Crossman TempeDonald D Dalgleish ScottsdaleHoward Darland MesaAnthony Diana PhoenixJohn E Dupnik PhoenixLinda Erman PhoenixRick Erman PhoenixToni Erman-Kirch PhoenixRobb Evans FlagstaffDonald Farmer ScottsdaleGeorge Flener Mesa

Chris Fonoti Chino ValleyJames E. Frye MesaSteve Gallizioli Fountain HillsJohn Gannaway PhoenixGilbert F. Gehant MesaFred Gerhauser PeoriaDonald Gerould Sun CityJ. David Gibeault TucsonRene G Gilbert AnthemHank Gonzales TucsonKim Graber PhoenixTimm J. Haas WillcoxDonna J Hallman Queen CreekWestern Hardwoods PhoenixCole Harvey Casa GrandeMiles C. Hauter S SedonaKristan Hildebrandt TempeJeffery L. Hinkley PhoenixMark Hullinger ChandlerRichard Humphrey TucsonBunny Huntress TempeMike Johns PhoenixHenry Johnson Lake HavasuThomas Kalos Paradise VllyPeter S. Klocki DeweyLee A. Kohlhase MesaRoy Kornmeyer KingmanWilliam Lacy MesaHarvey J. Lawrence ScottsdaleNancy L. Lewis PhoenixLong Valley Service Happy Jack

Don Luke PhoenixJerry Marquis PageChristina Mathew-Bowers PhoenixPatricia A. McNeil PaysonDuke Mertz ChandlerDavid & Victoria Morgan AnthemAllen Naille FlagstaffJack Naperala ScottsdaleMike Neilson Queen CrkFred Nobbe PhoenixDaniel & Annalee Norton ScottsdaleDonald J. Parks Jr. PeoriaAce H. Peterson PrescottP r i c e P h i l l i p s SomertonJim Pierce ScottsdaleJerome Pratt Sierra VistaPaul Pristo ScottsdaleRobert & Marilyn Recker Sun CityJudith Riddle PhoenixBryant & Marsha Ridgway Casa GrndeRyna Rock Camp VerdeKent M. Rogers MesaRobert C. Schatke ChandlerWilliam H. Schmidt DDS TucsonTerry Schupp TempeLary & Betty Lou Scott ScottsdaleWalter Scrimgeour PrescottDavid Seamans ScottsdaleDuane Shroufe GlendaleJack H. Simon PhoenixJim A. Slingluff Tucson

Dale Slocum PhoenixRandy Sosin SedonaWendell G. Swank CottonwoodGeorge L. Sypherd Sun City WestLewis N. Tenney Jr. HeberLarry Thowe PageRobert D. Tucker BuckeyeCharles W. Tyree TucsonJohn B. Underwood ScottsdaleMark T. Vi t t ScottsdaleStephen T. White ScottsdaleBrian H. Williams ScottsdalePat Willis PaysonRobert A. Witzeman PhoenixLarry M. Wolfe Sr. PhoenixL.V. Yates PhoenixChuck Youngker BuckeyeGeorge Boutonnet Salinas, CATerry Johnson Costa Mesa, CARoy G. Jones San Jose, CAGlenn Napierskie San Diego, CARobert Stragnell Hanover, NHDiana Beatty Laughlin, NVJim Breck Alexandria, SDJaren Vanderlinden Amarillo, TXDale Hislop Calgary Alberta, CNTom Ward Orange, CAJohn W Nelson Montrose, CO

Louise Coen TucsonDoug Baker TucsonMilton G Evans Flagstaff

Don Gerould Sun CityIvy Hanson CarefreeFrank H Moore Phoenix

Frank Murphy MesaEmmett Reyman MesaDonald G Roberts Flagstaff

Gene Tolle PhoenixJohn C. Underwood TempePatti Ho Chino Valley

Please take a moment to review the list ofLife Members and past Benefactors to makesure we have not missed anyone.

If you want to add someone to the list orupgrade your own membership status, pleaseuse the membership form provided below.

Arizona Wildlife Federation BenefactorsHonoring the memory of sportsmen and sportswomen through a $500 Benefactor Membership

Arizona Wildlife Federation Life Members

$ 15 Junior (17 & Under)

30 Individual75 Individual - 3 years

45 Family 110 Family - 3 years

100 Patron

500 Life Member325 Distinquished Life Member

(65+ or Disabled Veteran)

500 Benefactor

75 Small Business500 Corporate

Mail To:Arizona Wildlife FederationPO Box 51510Mesa, AZ 85208

All Membership fees are tax deductible

Arizona Wildlife FederationP O Box 51510 Mesa, Arizona 85208(480) 644-0077Fax: (480) [email protected]

NON-PROFIT ORGU.S. POSTAGE

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Documents

In This Issue · Here is a picture of Cory Kreuzer’s first deer which was harvested in the Kaibab in the beginning of November. His brother, Ryan, found a new interest in Geocaching