Next Meeting of Arizona Game and Fish Commission is August 3-4
OutdoorHub 08.02.12
The next Arizona Game and Fish Commission meeting will be held this Friday and Saturday, Aug. 3 and 4, at the Game and Fish Department headquarters at 5000 W. Carefree Highway in Phoenix (1.5 miles west of I-17). The meeting begins at 8 a.m. both days.
Items on the Friday, Aug. 3 portion of the agenda include:
- Discussion of commission policy regarding the development of the commission meeting agenda.
- Briefings on state and federal legislative issues and shooting sports, information/education, wildlife recreation, nongame, lands/habitat, law enforcement, and Scholastic Clay Target Program activities.
- Briefing on a memorandum of understanding with the Bureau of Land Management to allow the department to be a cooperating agency in the development of the Sonoran Valley Parkway Project Environmental Impact Statement.
- Consideration of a memorandum of understanding with Coconino County to cooperatively manage land and wildlife resources at Rogers Lake Natural Area.
- Briefing on an agreement with Tri-State Shooting Park, Inc., for the operation of a commission-owned shooting facility in Mohave County.
- Update on the department’s strategic planning process.
- 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.).
- Request for approval of budget fund requests for fiscal years 2014 and 2015.
Items on the Saturday, Aug. 4 portion of the agenda include:
- Consideration of proposed Commission Orders 21 (waterfowl) and 22 (snipe), establishing seasons and season dates, bag and possession limits, and open areas for the 2012-13 hunting season.
- Consideration of proposed Commission Orders 5, 6, 8 and 9 (spring turkey, spring javelina, spring buffalo, and spring bear) establishing seasons and season dates, bag and possession limits, permit numbers, and open areas for spring 2013.
- Consideration of the proposed hunt permit-tag application schedule for spring 2013 hunts.
- Briefing on the recently completed 2012 fall draw.
- Update on department activities and events related to news releases and outreach that have occurred since the last regular commission meeting in June.
- Update and overview of The Peregrine Fund partnership with the department and other cooperators regarding the voluntary non-lead program in Arizona.
- Presentation on rulemaking recommendations for Article 3 rules, regarding the taking and handling of wildlife. This item is for information only and no action on this item will be taken by the commission.
The public can view the meeting either by: (1) attending in person in Phoenix; (2) via live streaming video at Game and Fish regional offices; or, (3) online at www.azgfd.gov/commissioncam. Members of the public may submit Speaker Cards (Blue Cards) if they wish to speak to the commission at the Phoenix meeting or from any regional Game and Fish office. Public comment is not available for those viewing the webcast online.
To see a copy of the revised meeting agenda, visit www.azgfd.gov/commission and click on the “commission agenda” link.
The Arizona Game and Fish Commission is the policy-setting board overseeing the Arizona Game and Fish Department. It is composed of five members (serving staggered five-year terms) appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. No more than one commissioner may be from any one county. No more than three may be from the same political party. Since its inception in 1929, this organizational structure has served as a buffer for the best interests of science-driven wildlife conservation during eight decades of back-and-forth political change.
For more information on the commission, visit www.azgfd.gov/commission.
