The Arizona Game and Fish Department will host four upcoming public forums to meet with constituents to gather input on the fall 2012 hunt recommendations for deer, turkey, javelina, bighorn sheep, buffalo, bear, mountain lion, predator-furbearers, small game, and trapping.

The meetings will be held at these Game and Fish regional offices:

• Monday, March 5, from 3-5 p.m. at the Flagstaff regional office, 3500 S. Lake Mary Road
• Monday, March 5, from 6-8 p.m. at the Mesa regional office, 7200 E. University Drive 
• Tuesday, March 6, from 7-9 p.m. at the Pinetop regional office, 2878 E. White Mountain Blvd.
• Thursday, March 8, from 6-8 p.m. at the Yuma regional office, 9140 E. 28th St.

Constituents who are interested in particular game management units within those regions will have the opportunity to discuss management direction.

“The meetings allow us to meet with sportsmen and other members of the public and discuss the direction for the recommendations based on survey data, harvest rates and the hunt guidelines, said Big Game Management Supervisor Amber Munig. “We won’t be proposing permit numbers at this point, but we will generally discuss where permit numbers might be headed. It’s a great way for people to stay informed and provide input into development of the recommendations.”

Previous forums were held on Feb. 22 in Tucson and Feb. 23 in Kingman.

After the public forums have been completed, the final proposed draft hunt recommendations will be made available for public review at several regional open houses and posted on the department’s website at www.azgfd.gov/huntguidelines (it is anticipated they will be posted by April 6).

Each year, the department makes recommendations to the Arizona Game and Fish Commission regarding the management of game species for the annual hunting and trapping regulations, which establish the seasons, dates, bag limits, open areas, and hunt permit-tag allocations based on the framework of the hunt guidelines set by the commission every two years.

The final fall hunt recommendations will be presented to the Arizona Game and Fish Commission for consideration during its April 14 meeting in Phoenix.

To learn more about the hunt recommendations and hunt guidelines processes, visit www.azgfd.gov/huntguidelines.