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I also used to hike back to that cove. Once spied a small crawdad and put it on my hook, threw it out and caught a big bass. Discovered the best bait ever. Kent

My brother in I think 76 ran the restaurant at Saguaro lake, he did that for a couple years until his wife and the owners wife got into it. But man did we do some fishing and skiing back then. Kent

I believe it was around Lindsey, we would go in and buy nightcrawlers to fish Camelot golf course ponds, where the rumor was Mesa bass busters had snuck in bass. We caught some nice ones way back then. In '78 my brother bought a bass boat and somewhere around there we were talked into joining mesa bass busters, we fished one tournament at Alamo and thought what a bunch of duffasses. Kent

Circle K and Utotem carried 22 and shotgun shells, a bit more expensive but in a pinch... and they didn't care how old you were. Kent

Yellow Front was where dad bought almost everything for us. I remember him buying his deer tag there before there was a draw. Smitty's opened up on Greenfield, I bought my 870 wingmaster there with my summer ranching money, a case of blue peters shells and later all the reloading stuff for the hulls there also. We always reloaded paper hulls with the old alcan wads and those plastic hulls and wads were slick. Kent

I'd like to think of us as weathered... Kent

We would take a gunny sack and put the carp in, tying a rope on and keeping them in the water inside, then drop them off to a few folks that were always appreciative of free fish. I only ate carp once, as a kid we were at San Carlos, back when it was a state lake and not rez. There was an old black lady in a camp close by where we were shore fishing, she asked, what are you boys fishing for? ... anything that bites ma'am... if you catch any carp would you save them for me?... yes ma'am. We took her some carp and later she brought us out sandwiches, she cooked the carp and then shredded the meat out of the bones and made carp fish sandwich like you would tuna, it was darn good. Kent

I was 16 when the flood of '72 hit. Below the diversion dam the flood left some huge pools for a couple miles. They lasted through my high school years and we would bass, trout, cats and carp at first and then just cats and carp. We would go in off the Beeline through the rez about across from the Alamo, rabbit and quail hunt also. We were out there almost every afternoon. When the last pool was getting shallow we went out and there were some families from the rez pitchforking the last of the carp, water was a few feet deep. We joined in and finally figured out if we got in a line and laid on top of the water moving forward by our hands pulling the bottom, when a carp swam under you just lay down on it and grab the mouth. There were about 20 guys and the women dug sand pits for the fish. We hauled out at least 100 and everyone was laughing and having a celebration of bounty. Some of those carp were at least 20 pounds and the women were squealing with delight as we filled the pits and they were cleaning them. Now kids play video games and are depressed. Kent

To bad I missed it, my family on both sides have been in az since the 1800s. Prescott on one side and Safford the other, some cool family history in old newspaper articles. Born in Tempe, family had 40 acres on Scottsdale road north of the river. Moved to Mesa out in the sticks when I was 7, University was a dirt road past Val Vista. Get off the bus and grab the shotgun, shoot doves in the groves or maze fields, gig frogs in the canals. Those were the days. Kent

I have multiple pairs of red wings, these I wear at work... construction. I have multiple pairs of Lowa boots, my most used are these urban desert, really good for everyday and packing loads when needed. I believe the model now is the elite desert. People's feet are so different it's hard to suggest on the internet, but Chinese made danners and others are ok for light hunting but fail fast under heavy loads. Kent

No Taxes, no tags... I'm sure there are 1000 special interest groups that can justify in their minds a minuscule 1/10th cent sales tax increase... figure the math on that. Campers, hikers, bikers ect are land users and pay Fed/state fees/taxes for that use. Kent

I would be extremely hesitant in taking/forcing public funds from the tax base. Right now G&F is funded by users and we have the strongest voice in their decisions... bringing in the taxpayer will bring a new demographic with a loud mouths and strange minds. Kent

True and I'll be watching the progress of this bill. The 70% of people who are neither anti or actively for hunting, are the potential hunters of tomorrow, and should be targeted for positive exposure to wildlife management by hunting campaigns. Our issues are multifaceted, and hunter decline therefore retention is a bigger part of our conservation/critter org support/G&F support/ballot box support/anti hunter fight... We have to build the base back up or no amount of money from whatever source will buy folks positions. Critter orgs complain few will help them, they can't get volunteers, they can't grow and it's others fault, they need money if they can't get people, money from the people that won't help them. They aren't attractive to people the same way a complaining, blaming, demanding, self absorbed person is. No one owes them anything and there's no deserve in this life. Work hard, be attractive to others and ride out the inevitable hard times with fortitude. The antis will definitely sue the tag money fund, they will want equal access to public funds to educate the public on their version of conserving and protecting wildlife. Kent

Read that last week, a buddy from Virginia shares links on national conservation issues. Thought some context in the article was topical to this local issue, but nobody seems to want to explore current avenues available. Folks want to invent something new, different, to put their name on. Anyway, the article is about hunter retention and the PR funds. The new language will definitely clear up some gray area, but even now some of the funds should be able to be used in a campaign of public awareness to educate 'potential' new hunters. P-R also requires USFWS to allocate at least $8 million a year for enhanced hunter education programs and public shooting ranges. Yet the segment of P-R allocations dedicated to sustaining the shooting sports is a topic of growing debate, particularly as the number hunters decline. Kent

So far without the G&F weighing in publicly or at the meetings, it's all in limbo. Last time they didn't support increased tag auctioning because it was a legislative bill that took tags from them and gave them to an outside group along with the funds generated to that group to use. This time it's to sell tags and return the money to G&F, they may be for this. But we need to hear that from them. We need specifics not generalities on why this education fund is necessary and how it could legally be implemented. Only part of the fund that could be modeled after the HPC is the selling of tags and returning all monies to the G&F. The actual application of these funds cannot follow the HPC model as required by legislature for use per species, the local committee process, the process of application per project by anyone. HPC stands for Habitat Partnership Committee, it's the application of funds in partnership development and communication between private, state, and federal entities. This will have to be a new type of fund, selling of tags would still be under the 'per species' legislation requirement. We need to hear specifically how G&F will utilize these funds, with real examples on how they can educate the nonhunting public and do it legally within law. A tag sell fund would be the least effective source and almost unusable as intended, under current legislation. Kent

Wasn't this new group, was G&F. Kent

Videos were made 3 years ago by ad agency. Which proves G&F has resources to outreach and educate, again. The conserve and protect angle may or may not be coincidence. Kent

Videos were made 3 years ago by ad agency. Which proves G&F has resources to outreach and educate, again. The conserve and protect angle may or may not be coincidence. Kent

Needs a password... Things are weird here now. Kent

Unless there is a G&F rep there to state their position and hear from the constituents, no need to legitimize the meeting or movement. Kent

All G&F has to do is create an image of a lion with a fawn/sheep kid by the neck and the mother standing a distance away in obvious distress... an image of a bear with an elk fawn... and an image of a coyote with fluffy in it's mouth, caught in headlights with both their eyes reflecting the light and the fear from fluffy. With the message of the importance of controlling predator numbers vs an overabundance of prey devastation. A managed balance of super predator and healthy prey herds. Put up bill boards on the freeway. Kent

The tactic of the proponents of the tag sale are using the same one from 2012... disregard the real works of the G&F and the average sportsman, try to create a wedge between them, when in reality we are the majority partners. As a stakeholder in the G&F and supporter with my money I refuse to fall for this BS same as last time. Kent

I skimmed through the annual reports of 2011/2012... 2012/2013... 2015/2016 and there is a bunch of info highlighting the azgf accomplishments and fiscal report at the end. It seems a 'folks' have the view that g&f is broke and unable to promote positive public relations... untrue. They spend plenty of money and have a well established media/instructional dept. The average sportsman fund 90-95% of wildlife conservation. Somehow G&F and sportsmen are being depicted as bystanders 'conserve and protect' wildlife issues. G&F doesn't need tags raffled they need to put their award winning media group on the issue. Nothing can move fast in a .gov agency, even this tag program would take a year or two to have money in the bank and possibly not pass legislative law. Now is the time for communication with G&F on where they can create new educational messages and get the ball rolloing though slowly on that front. This tag sale is a red herring off the hsus issue that G&F can't address with any funding. Kent

Calendar Year Licenses and Stamps Sold 2015 Resident General Fish.......................................................................... 148,086 Nonresident General Fish ....................................................................... 17,924 Resident General Hunt........................................................................... 53,985 Nonresident General Hunt*.............................................................................. - Resident Combo Hunt/Fish.................................................................. 102,754 Nonresident Combo Hunt/Fish .............................................................. 25,688 Youth High Achievement Scout .................................................................. 133 Youth DLR ............................................................................................. 46,440 Resident Youth Combo Hunt/Fish.......................................................... 20,450 Nonresident Youth Combo Hunt/Fish....................................................... 3,050 Resident Migratory Bird Stamp.............................................................. 13,407 Nonresident Migratory Bird Stamp .......................................................... 3,789 Resident Short-term Combo.................................................................. 17,406 Nonresident Short-term Combo............................................................. 28,641 Migratory Bird DLR................................................................................ 36,768 Community Fishing DLR.......................................................................... 4,649 Resident Community Fishing.................................................................... 1,104 Nonresident Community Fishing................................................................. 507 Totals ...................................................................................................524,781 Calendar Year License, Tag and Stamp Sales 2015 Fishing ............................................................................................$6,473,262 Hunting .............................................................................................2,009,377 Hunt/Fish Combo ..............................................................................9,968,842 Youth ...................................................................................................350,705 Community Fishing...............................................................................150,268 Migratory Bird Stamps .........................................................................269,820 Short-terms.......................................................................................... 902,187 Permit Tags ...................................................................................... 7,789,255 Nonresident Permit Tags .................................................................. 2,037,403 Application Fee Revenue .................................................................. 4,363,926 Total License, Tag, Stamp & Application Fee Revenue ............. 34,315,045 Dealer Commissions.......................................................................... (547,544) Total less Dealer Commissions......................................................$33,767,501

Every year there is a surplus on the books of millions. Now I understand that money is probably spent and it's fiscal accounting, I don't to question discretionary spending because that's what it takes to run large organizations. But I don't see the need to sell tags to raise 'educational' chickenfeed compared to what is already in the bank. Fiscal Year Revenues by Fund 2015–16 Game and Fish Fund .....................................................................$34,754,774 Watercraft Licensing Fund................................................................. 4,544,161 Game, Nongame Fund..........................................................................154,968 Federal Assistance (Includes Matching Funds)................................ 48,214,917 Heritage Fund.................................................................................. 10,163,039 Off-Highway Vehicle Fund .................................................................1,792,525 Capital Improvement/Conservation Dev Funds..................................2,496,220 Wildlife Conservation Fund................................................................6,533,665 Indirect Cost Fund .............................................................................4,064,945 Other Funds (See Detail Below)......................................................... 3,950,741 Total Revenue All Sources ...........................................................$116,669,955 Other Funds Detail 2015–16 Federal Grants...............................................................................$705 Wildlife Conservation Recovery Fund................................................... 0 GF Land & Water Conservation/Recreation Dev...............................259 Wildlife Theft Prevention Fund...................................................171,518 Wildlife Endowment Fund ......................................................... 195,166 Credit Card Clearing Fund.......................................................(235,784) Trust/Donation Fund..............................................................3,588,629 Firearms Safety and Ranges Fund..............................................31,600 W/L Habitat and Restoration Fund ....................................................... 3 Game & Fish Nevada Col Stamp .................................................24,559 Game & Fish California/Col Stamp................................................... 116 Game & Fish Big Game Permit.........................................................466 Game & Fish Kaibab Coop ...............................................................930 Publications Revolving Fund ..................................................... 172,574 Total Other Funds ................................................................$3,950,741 Fiscal Year Expenditures by Fund 2015–16 Game and Fish Fund .....................................................................$32,012,784 Watercraft Licensing Fund.................................................................3,083,556 Game, Nongame Fund.......................................................................... 113,210 Federal Assistance (Includes Matching Funds)................................44,945,024 Heritage Fund.....................................................................................7,992,121 Off-Highway Vehicle Fund .................................................................1,969,994 Capital Improvement/Conservation Dev Funds..................................2,696,715 Wildlife Conservation Fund................................................................ 6,361,186 Indirect Cost Fund .............................................................................4,952,902 Other Funds (See Detail Below).........................................................4,373,297 Total Expenditures All Sources ....................................................$108,500,789