Wildlife News – Nov. 20, 2009

• Draw results for spring hunts are now available
• Elk and antelope hunt recommendations will not post until Monday, Nov. 23
• Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center to hold free open house this weekend
• 2009 survey results released for desert bighorn sheep on the Kofa NWR
• Endangered fish get new homes
• Next Game and Fish Commission meeting is Dec. 4-5
• Dove season opens Friday, Nov. 20
• Kick off the holiday season with a trout-festival tradition
• Provide your input on Arizona’s State Wildlife Action Plan
• Commission suspends Willcox man’s hunting license for life
• OHV Decal renewal is your responsibility
• Gorgeous photography on display in our wildlife slide show
• Volunteers sought for cleanup of OHV area at National Public Lands Day event
• Take advantage of small game opportunities

Draw results for spring hunts are now available
Remaining tags available first-come, first-serve by mail or in person

The more than 35,000 hunters who applied for a tag to hunt spring turkey, javelina, buffalo or bear in 2010 can find out if they were drawn by visiting the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Web site at www.azgfd.gov/draw or by calling (602) 942-3000 (option 2).

Game and Fish officials said that hunt permit-tags will be mailed out to successful applicants no later than Dec. 4. Unsuccessful or rejected applicants will have their refund mailed out by Nov. 27.

There are plenty of remaining tags available on a first-come, first-serve basis for those individuals who forgot to submit an application or were unsuccessful in the 2010 spring drawing. Remaining tags include more than 10,000 javelina tags (328 juniors-only), nearly 200 turkey tags, and just over 70 tags for archery-only bear hunts. For a detailed listing of leftover permits, visit www.azgfd.gov/draw or call (623) 236-7702.

There are now two ways to obtain a leftover tag. Paper applications will be accepted by mail only starting on Monday, Nov. 30 at 8 a.m. (MST). Also, beginning on Monday, Dec. 7 at 8 a.m. (MST), hunters can obtain a leftover tag in person (over-the-counter) from any of the seven Arizona Game and Fish Department offices. A list of office locations is available at www.azgfd.gov/offices.

For those who qualify, there are military hunts available. For additional information on Camp Navajo, call (928) 773-3306, and for Fort Huachuca, call (520) 533-2549.

Juniors-only hunts

Youngsters interested in hunting have many choices and special seasons that are only open to kids. These hunts offer an outdoor family experience and a memory of a lifetime.

There are more than 300 juniors-only spring javelina tags remaining from the draw for $22.50 (by mail or from department offices only). Juniors-only spring turkey hunts (shotgun shooting shot) are available over-the-counter from any license dealer or department office for just $10. A unique December hunt for sandhill cranes still has several tags (good for three birds) available for $22.50 (by application sent via U.S. mail only).

Both javelina and turkey are big game animals and the minimum age to hunt them is 10 years old. Kids age 10 to 13 must complete an Arizona certified hunter education course to hunt big game, which includes turkey and javelina.

The anticipated drawing deadline to apply for a 2010 pronghorn antelope and elk tag is the second Tuesday in February 2010. Winter drawing information and regulations should be available on the department’s Web site, www.azgfd.gov, by mid to late December 2009.

Hunting and fishing continues to be the cornerstone and a primary source of funding for wildlife management and conservation in North America. In Arizona alone, more than 418,000 hunters and anglers spend $3.8 million a day, or $1.3 billion per year, participating in these activities to the benefit of local economies. Regardless of whether one chooses to actively participate in hunting or angling, people interested in wildlife and its future should understand the role sportsmen play in conservation.

Elk and antelope hunt recommendations will not post until Monday, Nov. 23

Due to Thursday’s (Nov. 19) special meeting of the Arizona Game and Fish Commission, the 2010 hunt recommendations for elk, antelope, and population management hunts will not be posted online until Monday, Nov. 23.

The Game and Fish Department will review the recommendations for accuracy based on the discussions of the meeting and make any revisions if required. The revised recommendations will be posted at www.azgfd.gov/huntguidelines.

Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center to hold free open house this weekend
Rare opportunity to tour state wildlife treatment and rehabilitation facility

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is offering the public a rare glimpse into the Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center at a free open house from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21 and Sunday, Nov. 22.

“Visitors will have the opportunity to see eagles, hawks, reptiles and other animals, view educational displays, and meet wildlife experts,” said Sandy Cate, coordinator of the center. “This event will be fun and educational for the entire family.”

The Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center is a wildlife triage, treatment and rehabilitation facility operated by Arizona Game and Fish in cooperation with the nonprofit Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center Auxiliary. Its original focus, when founded in 1983, was on treating and rehabilitating sick and injured wildlife.

Although the center continues to provide immediate triage and rehabilitation services—more than 1,000 sick or injured animals are brought to the facility annually—emphasis has shifted more toward wildlife education. Staff and volunteers conduct educational outreach programs at events and schools across the state, reaching more than 100,000 Arizonans a year.

“With most of the animals brought to us, we provide immediate treatment before they can be transferred to another care facility, or we try to rehabilitate them for release back into the wild,” said Cate “In some cases, however, the animals are either too injured or dependent on humans to be released. Those animals, depending on their temperament, become education animals. They travel with us around the state and are used in classrooms, school educational displays, and in booths at wildlife festivals and other public events.”

The Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center is located north of Pinnacle Peak Road just west of I-17 in Phoenix. It is on the same property as the Adobe Mountain Juvenile Detention Center. Officers and volunteers will be giving directions for parking once at the facility.

Admission and parking for the open house are free and food will be available for purchase.

For more information about the Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center, go online to www.azgfd.gov/wildlifecenter.

2009 survey results released for desert bighorn sheep on the Kofa NWR
Populations remain low; management agencies’ concern is still high

The recently completed survey of the desert bighorn sheep population on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Arizona resulted in a population estimate of 410 sheep.

The survey estimate is down from the 2008 survey estimate of 436 sheep, but it is still slightly above the lowest recorded estimated level of the 2006 survey of 390.

Due to standardized survey methodology and scientific margin of accuracy, biologists’ analysis of the past four surveys indicates no significant decline or improvement to the herd’s population. Wildlife management agencies remain concerned about the low population levels on the refuge compared to the estimated 812 animals of the 2000 survey.

Seasonal rains were good; consequently habitat conditions are also favorable throughout the refuge. All of the sheep appeared healthy during the aerial surveys. Biologists observed lamb-to-ewe ratios of 26 lambs per 100 ewes, which is above the long-term average of approximately 20 lambs per 100 ewes for the refuge. However, a slightly higher lamb-to-ewe ratio has not yet translated into an increase in the population - it has only stabilized it.

Once a very robust population, the size of the herd on the refuge has dropped significantly since 2000. Wildlife experts attribute the decline to a variety of potential factors including drought, predation, water availability, disease and human disturbance. Due to the significance of this sheep population, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) and Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD) are conducting an ongoing, joint study to collect data on these and other suspected causes of the population’s decline.

"We recognize the importance of Kofa's bighorn sheep and will continue to be proactive in managing this unique resource,” said Mitch Ellis, manager of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge Complex. “We're also confident that effective and appropriate wildlife management within the wilderness context of Kofa will be achieved."

In November 2007, 30 ewes were captured and fitted with tracking devices in order to monitor nutrition, movements, and mortality to assist in making active management decisions to assist in restoring the herd’s population. The project study is scheduled to run through the fall of 2010.

“Kofa’s bighorn sheep population is critically important to numerous small vulnerable bighorn sheep populations throughout the Southwest,” said John Hervert, Wildlife Program Manager for Arizona Game and Fish. “If we are unsuccessful in restoring the bighorn sheep population in the Kofas, many of these populations will go extinct. The Kofa population is essential to the translocation efforts of the bighorn.”

An extensive Web site dedicated to the Kofa NWR bighorn sheep is available at www.azgfd.gov/kofa. The AGFD launched the site in November 2007. Everything from the latest updates, background information, frequently asked questions, past press releases, active management activities and more can be found at this one-stop resource center.

For the past 50 years, the Kofa has been an important source of desert bighorn sheep for the restoration and maintenance of bighorn populations across Arizona and throughout the southwestern United States, including New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas.

Because of the findings of the 2006 survey, no new translocations from the Kofa herd are scheduled. The last translocation of sheep from the Kofa was in 2005. The USFWS and AGFD continue their combined research and active management strategy in the pursuit of a desert bighorn sheep herd that can once again sustain a translocation program.

The USFWS and AGFD have jointly conducted Kofa bighorn sheep surveys since 1981. Prior to 1992, surveys were conducted annually. However, in 1992 funding constraints reduced the survey schedule to once every three years. Because of the 2006 survey results, annual surveys were temporarily reinstated. The AGFD organized funding using sportsman-generated department dollars and USFWS monies beginning in 2007.

The size, location, and unfragmented nature of 1,038 square miles that make up the Kofa NWR have long been recognized as a unique combination that has made its 435 square miles of sheep habitat especially productive. With the passage of the 1990 Arizona Desert Wilderness Act, 856 square miles of the refuge have been designated as wilderness. 

Endangered fish get new homes
Biologists team with juvenile corrections program to help native fish species

This week was “moving week” for two native fish species that were transported to new homes at the Robbins Butte Wildlife Area, an Arizona Game and Fish Commission-owned property near Buckeye, about 40 miles southwest of Phoenix.

About 600 Gila topminnow and 130 desert pupfish were introduced into two ponds at the property on Nov. 17 as part of a Safe Harbor Agreement for topminnow and pupfish. This agreement allows non-federal landowners to participate in conservation and recovery efforts of these endangered species by providing habitat for establishing new populations.

Assisting Game and Fish biologists in preparing the ponds were a half-dozen youth from the Eagle Point School juvenile correction facility near Buckeye. The young men, participating in the facility’s “Skills for Work” program, spent parts of the previous two weeks cleaning the pond areas, trimming trees and removing overgrown vegetation.

“This was an exciting day on a number of fronts,” said Jeff Sorensen, native fish and invertebrate program manager for the Arizona Game and Fish Department. “It’s the first time that topminnows and pupfish have become residents at a state wildlife area. Establishing new refuge populations here at Robbins Butte will move us another step closer to recovering these endangered fishes.

“It was also gratifying to provide these kids a chance to contribute to this effort and learn about wildlife.”

The Skills for Work program gives high-achieving youth at Eagle Point School the opportunity to learn new skills, gain work experience, and build confidence and self-esteem, says Lawrence Simpson, a youth program supervisor at Eagle Point School. Simpson has worked with Robbins Butte Wildlife Area Manager Phil Smith to arrange a variety of opportunities.

“Robbins Butte offers such great experience for these young people,” says Simpson. “They have helped on projects ranging from cleanups, landscaping and baling hay to setting up the stations for the annual juniors dove hunt. The kids have learned work skills, and they’ve also developed an interest in wildlife and the outdoors.”

The topminnow and pupfish re-establishment was carried out through a cooperative effort between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Game and Fish, and each of the donor sites that provided the fish.

The topminnow (Sharp Spring lineage) for the Robbins Butte effort came from the Dexter National Fish Hatchery and Technology Center in New Mexico. The pupfish came from a variety of sources, including the Phoenix Zoo, Desert Botanical Garden, Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Deer Valley High School, and Dexter National Fish Hatchery, where captive populations of these native fish are maintained.

Once common throughout most of the Gila River basin, Gila topminnow and desert pupfish are now found in only a fraction of their historic range. Habitat alteration and loss, and the introduction of competitive and predatory non-native fishes, have contributed to declines in natural populations of these two species. Both topminnow and pupfish are federally listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.

These species provide the added advantage of a natural vector control, effectively preying on mosquito larvae and helping to control mosquito-borne illnesses. Both natives pose fewer threats to other native species sharing the same habitat than do the non-native species introduced during the last century to provide insect control. 

To learn more about the Gila topminnow or desert pupfish, visit www.azgfd.gov.

Next Game and Fish Commission meeting is Dec. 4-5
Commission to consider elk and pronghorn hunt orders on Dec. 5

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission’s next regularly scheduled meeting is Friday and Saturday, Dec. 4-5 at the Game and Fish Department headquarters at 5000 W. Carefree Highway in Phoenix (1.5 miles west of I-17).

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

The Friday, Dec. 4 portion of the meeting begins with an executive session at 8 a.m., followed by the public meeting. Some of the agenda items include:

• Updates on legislative issues, information/education/watchable wildlife activities, and state and federal lands issues.
• A briefing on the status of the department’s e-commerce activities regarding online watercraft registration renewals, license sales and big game applications.
• A presentation describing how the bonus point round of the draw operates and some possible solutions to address the issue of when an applicant is denied a first choice permit and leftover tags for the same hunt exist.
• Update on the status of the draft master Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. Forest Service (Southwest Regional Office) and the State of Arizona (Arizona Game and Fish Commission).
• Hearings on license revocations for violations of Game and Fish codes and civil assessments for the illegal taking and/or possession of wildlife (time certain at 2 p.m.).

The Saturday, Dec. 5 portion of the meeting begins at 9 a.m. Agenda items include:

• Presentation  on the proposed Commission Orders 3 (pronghorn antelope), 4 (elk), and 26 (population management) establishing seasons and season dates, bag and possession limits, permit numbers or authorized limits, and open areas for the respective 2010 fall hunting season.
• Updates on the department’s statewide shooting range development and shooting program activities.
• A briefing on the proposed Northern Arizona Shooting Range, including the status of the Willard Springs Land Exchange and the archeological survey results of alternate sites.
• A presentation on the proposed hunt-permit tag application schedule for fall 2010 antelope and elk hunts.
• A presentation on alternative approaches for two on-the-road Commission events in 2010.

Those wishing to submit “blue slips” to present oral comment during the meeting must do so either at the Phoenix meeting or at the regional Game and Fish offices. For office addresses, visit www.azgfd.gov/offices.

The commission may vote to take action or provide the department with direction on the agenda items. For a complete agenda, visit www.azgfd.gov/commission and click on the commission agenda link.

Dove season opens Friday, Nov. 20
Most popular game bird offers bountiful autumn harvest

Hunters can be thankful even before the big Thanksgiving feast, because Friday, Nov. 20 marks the return of dove season.

Late season dove hunting offers all day hunting (the early season is primarily half-day hunting). Along with the full days, the season is liberal and open for just over six weeks, allowing plenty of hunting opportunity.

The season runs from Nov. 20, 2009 – Jan. 3, 2010. The bag limit is 10 birds per day.

The late season is a great time to enjoy cooler temperatures, and little to no hunting pressure, when compared to the early season.

Another great thing about the late season is the chance to hunt quail and rabbits in the same uplands that dove inhabit, offering a mixed bag bonanza.

Each of these game animals make great table fare, but combined it is an autumn harvest smorgasbord.

Happy hunting, and be safe.

To download the 2009-10 Arizona Dove and Band-tailed Pigeon Regulations, and to learn more about how small game hunting can be big fun, visit www.azgfd.gov/hunting.

Kick off the holiday season with a trout-festival tradition

Buy the turkey, get the pie-making arsenal ready, and then get into a trout-fishing state of mind for the annual Welcome Back the Trout festival at Tempe Town Lake on Tuesday, Nov. 24, just two days before Thanksgiving.

“This trout fishing festival has become an Arizona tradition to kick off the holiday season,” said Kirk Young, the fisheries chief for the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

Once again this year, the Game and Fish Department will team up with the good folks at Tempe Town Lake to conduct a fishing clinic starting at 3 p.m. The department will have up to 100 rods and reels and bait available for clinic participants on a first-come, first-served basis.

“This is a healthy opportunity to get a fishing workout before the high-calorie season begins,” Young said. “You can even take home the ultimate high protein, low fat meal – fresh-caught trout.”

Those who are signed up for the department’s fishing clinic do not need to have an Arizona fishing license during the hours of the clinic.

“Consider this our holiday gift to you and your family at the start of the gift-giving season,” Young said. “After all, when was the last time you took a picture of your kids playing a video game?”

During last year’s fishing festival, a group of recently returned veterans from the Middle East took the opportunity to fish with their families. “It was truly heart-warming to watch a soldier just home from Iraq seeing his young son catching his first fish ever,” Young said. “It’s a great opportunity to catch some lasting memories.”

The Tempe Town Lake trout stocking is part of a much larger winter trout stocking effort, with many of the waters close to major metropolitan areas. For more information on trout stockings, visit http://www.azgfd.gov/h_f/stocking_schedule.shtml .

Provide your input on Arizona’s State Wildlife Action Plan
Proposed revisions to be presented at series of public meetings

The Arizona Game and Department will hold a series of public meetings and accept public comment as part of an effort to update and revise Arizona’s State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP). 

This document, previously known as the Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy, was accepted by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s National Acceptance Advisory Team in April 2006.  The approved plan requires the department to conduct a public review of the plan after the fourth year.

Arizona’s SWAP is unlike existing recovery plans and other regulatory documents in that it builds on and complements existing plans and wildlife conservation projects that are already underway. The plan outlines strategies and conservation actions aimed at promoting partnerships and coordinating efforts among all who hold a stake in conserving Arizona’s wildlife. As such, the plan addresses the full array of wildlife and habitats but focuses on identifying and managing the “wildlife and biotic communities of greatest conservation need”.

The review will focus on three main areas of the plan:

• The “Species of Greatest Conservation Need,” including the criteria used to determine their status and their spatial distributions.
• The spatial distribution of stressors to wildlife, including a vulnerability assessment for climate change.
• Delineation of landscapes of conservation concern.

The public meetings are scheduled to run from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the following dates:

• Tuesday, Dec. 15, Kingman, Arizona Game and Fish Department Kingman regional office, 5325 N. Stockton Hill Road.
  
• Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010, Tucson, Arizona Game and Fish Department Tucson regional office, 555 N. Greasewood Road.
  
• Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010, Yuma, Arizona Game and Fish Department Yuma regional office, 9140 E. 28th St.
  
• Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010, Mesa, Arizona Game and Fish Department Mesa regional office, 7200 E. University Drive.
  
• Dates, times and locations for meetings in Flagstaff, Pinetop, and Phoenix will be announced soon.

The public meetings will include a formal presentation followed by the opportunity to participate in working groups that will discuss the plan’s main areas listed above.

In addition, the department will post the existing document and proposed changes at www.azgfd.gov/w_c/cwcs.shtml. The Web page will have a mechanism for people to submit comments to the department.

For over a decade, a coalition of more than 3,000 conservation organizations known as “Teaming With Wildlife” has labored to keep species from becoming endangered by increasing state and federal funding for wildlife conservation. This effort culminated in 2001 when federal legislation established a new State Wildlife Grant (SWG) program. SWG funds are used to support the needs of wildlife, their habitats, and related recreational and educational activities. 

In order to continue receiving SWG funds, each of the 56 U.S. states and territories were required, by Congress, to submit a SWAP for approval to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Guidelines for developing the state plans and the eight required elements in each plan were established by state fish and wildlife agencies working with the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the Teaming With Wildlife Committee.

Arizona’s SWAP is the culmination of a two-year effort during which the department solicited input from numerous experts, resource professionals, federal and state agencies, sportsmen groups, conservation organizations, Native American tribes, recreational groups, local governments and private citizens, and integrated those ideas and concerns into a single, comprehensive vision for managing Arizona’s fish, wildlife, and wildlife habitats.

The department is encouraging all of those previous participants, as well as any other member of the public, to contribute to this review effort.

Commission suspends Willcox man’s hunting license for life

Two Willcox men, one of whom recently lost his Arizona hunting license for life, have been fined a total of more than $12,000 after a six-month Arizona Game and Fish Department investigation of illegal taking of wildlife in the Willcox area.

In addition to the lifetime suspension of his hunting and fishing privileges in the state, Jared A. Youngs, 22, of Willcox was civilly assessed $6,000 by the Arizona Game and Fish Commission in October.

The commission civilly assessed Youngs’ accomplice, Josh L. Ferrigna, 24, also of Willcox, $1,500 and revoked his hunting and fishing privileges for 15 years in May 2009.

Youngs and Ferrigna were convicted of criminal charges in the case and fined nearly $5,000 late last year.

The pair received a total of 22 citations from the state Game and Fish Department for the unlawful take of a total of five mule deer, four bucks and one doe. The formal charges included:

• Knowingly taking wildlife during a closed season
• Possessing unlawfully taken wildlife
• Taking wildlife without a license
• Taking wildlife at night with artificial light
• Taking wildlife with the aid of a vehicle
• Waste of game meat
• Trespass on private property while taking wildlife

The charges followed Arizona Game and Fish Department officers executing a search warrant and seizing evidence at two Willcox residences in 2008.

“All of these animals were killed in farm fields around the Willcox area at night. During interviews, these individuals were asked why they had engaged in this type of activity, and their responses were they just got caught up in the excitement and the adrenaline rush,” said John Bacorn, wildlife manager for Game and Fish.

“This is not the behavior of sportsmen, but it is behavior that gives sportsmen a bad reputation,” noted Gabriel Paz, Game and Fish Department law enforcement program manager. “In addition, these activities occurred on private property without the consent of the landowners, which is why many landowners are locking their gates to hunters.”

Individuals observing suspicious activity or violations of wildlife laws are urged to call the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Operation Game Thief at 1-800-352-0700.

OHV Decal renewal is your responsibility

The “user play/user pay” program known as the OHV Decal program went into effect Jan. 1, 2009. The program requires the annual purchase of an OHV Decal for any off-highway vehicle that is designed by the manufacturer primarily for off-highway use and weighs 1,800 pounds or less.

Remember, the OHV Decal you purchased is valid for one year from the date of purchase. No renewal notice will be sent to you about the expiration of your decal, so it is your responsibility to make sure your vehicle is up-to-date. For example, if you purchased your OHV Decal in January of 2009, you’ll need to renew in January 2010 and will actually have until Jan. 31, 2010 to purchase the renewal OHV Decal.

The OHV Decal program was started to help better manage the explosive growth of OHVs in Arizona. Revenue collected through this program is already being used toward education programs, public information products and OHV law enforcement efforts, including hiring seven new OHV law enforcement officers. These new officers will specialize in OHV enforcement promoting safe and responsible use. Future revenue will be used to bolster grants which fund trail restoration and clean-up projects, with the goal of sustainable OHV management and motorized access.

Law enforcement officers across the state, including those in the national forests and on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands, are enforcing the requirement for the OHV Decal. Don’t let a citation be your reminder to get or renew your decal. New OHV Decal enforcement efforts are being created, and targeted multi-officer efforts will be happening around the state with little or no notice.

OHV Decals are available at any MVD office, MVD third-party service provider, or online at www.servicearizona.com.

For more information about the OHV Decal program, go online to www.azgfd.gov/ohv.

Gorgeous photography on display in our wildlife slide show

If you’ve seen the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s 2010 Arizona Wildlife Calendar, you know Arizona has many talented wildlife photographers. This year, the photos submitted for our annual contest were so good that the judges couldn’t choose just 13 winners — they had to select 54 honorable mention images as well. We’ve created a slide show of these images to share with you, to show off the state’s amazing wildlife and dedicated wildlife photographers. Take a look!

Fans of wildlife photography will want to get a 2010 Arizona Wildlife Calendar, on sale for just $3 at all offices of the Arizona Game and Fish Department. Display your love for Arizona’s wildlife all year long — buy your 2010 calendar today!

Volunteers sought for cleanup of OHV area at National Public Lands Day event

Help make a positive impact on an off-highway vehicle (OHV) riding area at clean-up event on Saturday, Nov. 21. This event is a follow-up activity recognizing National Public Lands Day, which was held in September.

Volunteers will gather to make a difference at the Boulders OHV Staging Area along State Route 74 (mile marker 11.5) from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. To get to the Boulders from the Phoenix area: head north on I-17 to the Highway 74/Carefree Highway exit (exit 223), then head west on Hwy 74 to mile marker 11.5. Go north 1 mile to the staging area. Road access into the area is good for most vehicles.

The public is encouraged to volunteer (under the terms of an agency agreement) to assist with clean-up, outreach and sign installation activities. Volunteers are asked to bring gloves, snacks and water.

Cycle Gear, a motorsports gear store, along with the BLM and Tread Lightly, will have prizes for top volunteer efforts. The Arizona Trail Riders will be conducting courtesy vehicle sound testing and will help repack mufflers. The Arizona OHV Coalition and OHV Ambassadors will provide you with maps, informational materials, and give brief classes on safe, responsible and ethical OHV use.

Partners in this National Public Lands Day event include the Bureau of Land Management Phoenix District, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Arizona State Parks, Cycle Gear (www.cyclegear.com), Arizona Trail Riders, the Arizona Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition, and the OHV Ambassadors.

For more information about this event, please contact the Bureau of Land Management Phoenix District at (623) 580-5500.

Take advantage of small game opportunities

With small game season in full swing, now is a great time to get out in the field and do some hunting and scouting for your upcoming hunt. Most of the habitat that javelina occupy is also good habitat for quail (Gambel’s, scaled and Mearns’), cottontail rabbits, jackrabbits, dove, squirrel and even ducks. Not to mention, all of these species make great table fare when cared for properly.

Young hunters can hone many of the same skills needed to hunt javelina when pursuing rabbits and squirrels with a .22 rifle, including using their binoculars to discover game, identifying habitat, stalking, marksmanship, and proper field care for dressing harvested game.

Small game season offers big fun, with plenty of pursuits and long seasons. Season dates are:

• Year-round – cottontail rabbits and jackrabbits
• Oct. 2, 2009 – Feb. 7, 2010 – Gambel’s and scaled quail
• Oct. 2 – Dec. 31, 2009 – squirrel season
• Oct. 9/23, 2009 – Jan 17/31, 2010 – waterfowl season (mountain/desert zones)
• Nov. 20 2009 – Jan. 3, 2010 – dove season
• Nov. 27, 2009 – Feb. 7, 2010 – Mearns’ quail