Outdoor Writer

But if it's cold he might want to wear a long-sleeve shirt or jacket.

From the 2012 HUNT ARIZONA booklet: Gunnison’s Prairie Dog Prairie dogs are robust, diurnal ground squirrels that live in underground colonies called “dogtowns.” Their tails are relatively short, less than 25 percent of the body length. The animals get their name from their doglike barks, which warn the colony of intruders. Male Gunnison’s prairie dogs are just over a foot long, with 2-inch, grayish to white-tipped tails. Adult males weigh about 1.75 pounds and females less than 1.5 pounds. Male and female are similar in appearance, both a pale buff in color. The species is now largely restricted to Great Basin grasslands above the Mogollon Rim, although colonies formerly extended south and east of Prescott to the Dewey and Dugas areas, as well as to the San Carlos Indian Reservation. Natural History and Status Gunnison’s prairie dog colonies tend to be small, and usually contain fewer than 50 animals. Their burrow entrances are not typically built up into craters, unlike those of black-tailed prairie dogs. Gunnison’s prairie dogs enter torpor below ground during winter months, and breed in February-March. The three to four pups typically appear in June. Grasses, forbs, and sedges are the usual dietary items. Black-tailed Prairie Dog Slightly larger than the Gunnison’s prairie dog, this 15-inch-long rodent is yellowish tan in color with a usually dusky-tipped 3-inch tail. Male black-tailed prairie dogs average about 2 pounds; the females about 1.9 pounds. Unlike those of Gunnison’s, the entrances to the burrows of black-tailed prairie dogs often have cratered mounds that can reach up to 3 feet in height. The underground burrow network may be extensive, and black-tailed prairie dog colonies were often large, especially those in the San Pedro and Sulphur Springs valleys. Natural History and Status Black-tailed prairie dogs are active all year, and will come out on sunny days even in midwinter. The species breeds in late February; the young are born in March and appear in May. Dietary items include grass stems, grass roots, and shrubs. Black-tailed prairie dogs formerly occurred in the semidesert grasslands of southeastern Arizona south of the Gila River, westward to the vicinity of Fort Huachuca. They have been extirpated in Arizona since 1959, although a small colony on the Day Ranch 15 miles southeast of Duncan on the Arizona-New Mexico border persisted until 1974. An attempt to reintroduce this animal to the Appleton Research Ranch (near Sonoita) in the summer of 1974 failed. The species has recently been protected in Arizona, in the hope that individuals from three colonies in Sonora within five miles of the United States-Mexico border might recolonize our state.

Here's a photo of one at Lake Pleasant. It was actually taken a few years before what the copyright shows.

If you received a duplicate fall hunt tag, don’t use it Aug. 14, 2012 The Arizona Game and Fish Department advises that some hunters who were drawn for deer in Game Management Units 12 or 13 for this fall, or who purchased a leftover tag for deer, turkey or javelina by application over-the-counter at a department office, may have been mistakenly mailed a duplicate tag due to a clerical error. If you received a duplicate tag, the department advises you to destroy the duplicate. The legal bag limit for these species is one animal per calendar year. If you exceed that harvest (except as prescribed by R12-4-120), you could face consequences that include possible fines or loss of hunting privileges. The department is attempting to notify by letter or telephone those individuals who may have been mailed a duplicate tag.

Nice ram and super looking mount.

The process is pretty simple: Once Hulsted admitted he violated the law, G&F investigated and rightly cited him. G&F is now OUT OF THE LOOP! Hulsted then had two options: admit guilt by paying the set fine or plead not guilty, thus bring his case before a judge where he can state HIS facts of what occurred. Of course, the judge can consider any mitigating circumstances that Hulsted might have brought to light, thus his reason to plead NOT GUILTY. At that point, it will be up to a judge to decide his guilt or innocence. If the judge finds him guilty, he also has the task of assessing any penalty/fine. The next step, which is highly unlikely to happen, is consideration of further penalty by the game commission, BUT...this can ONLY happen if there is an adjudication of GUILTY in the courtroom. If the judge finds Hulsted innocent, it's done! That said, I doubt the commission will take it any further, even if Hulsted is found guilty. Speedygoss, Here's the season on the dogs. Click for larger view and note the section that is a bit yellowish:

This is the reply to my comment ""Good to see the RICO lawsuit against HSUS is moving forward" on HSUS' Facebook page: The Humane Society of the United States wrote: "The circus’ retaliatory countersuit, which dates back to 2007, is a civil action, and there are no “charges” and no law enforcement involvement at all. It’s simply one disgruntled corporation suing to silence its critics -- which is hardly a new or unexpected tactic. Feld Entertainment filed a grudge suit, and some very sloppy or ideologically slanted reporters have misstated the facts. We at The HSUS are proud of our work to end the abuse of animals wherever it occurs – whether on a puppy mill, a slaughter plant, a dogfighting operation, or anywhere else. Guidestar’s Philanthropedia experts have ranked The HSUS as the highest impact animal protection organization and we receive high ratings for charitable accountability from Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau."

Here's little bit brighter version. Click image for larger view.

Let me know if you decide on Alaska. I have a super outfitter up there on the Mulchatna River. Basically, it's a DIY hunt, though. He supplies everything, including raft transportation along the river, and you hunt on your own. They then will pack out the 'bou for you. Or you can choose a fully-guided hunt. Here's the one I killed.

From my reading of what is currently happening, the commission is not even involved as yet. Hulsted was cited and now has the option to pay the fine or plead not guilty to the charge, which is the only way he can present his side to a judge. Once either of the these choices occurs, the commission then has the option to take further action. In this case, I doubt they would even consider -- and rightfully so -- any further punitive action because of the circumstances. All that said, citing him was the right thing to do, IMO. And if he hadn't been cited I can just see it here and elsewhere about G&F being a corrupt bunch of good ol' boys who protect their own.

Go here and post a comment. I already left: "Good to see the RICO lawsuit against HSUS is moving forward." http://www.facebook.com/humanesociety

Big Tub, Here ya go from the AZ G&F website: First Pass (20% Bonus Point) Twenty percent of authorized hunt permit-tags in each hunt number for deer, antelope, elk, turkey, javelina, and spring bear may be issued in this pass. Twenty percent of the total authorized hunt permit-tags (all hunt numbers combined) for both bighorn sheep and buffalo may be issued. Although 20 percent are available, the 10% nonresident caps are still in effect. Each valid application is assigned the lowest random number from those generated for that application. The application file for each species is sorted by group bonus points in descending sequence and then by random number within the bonus point groupings. In the Bonus Pass, the first and second hunt choices for all applications with maximum bonus points are looked at first. If permits are still available from the 20% allocation, then the next lower bonus point category is looked at; and so on, until all of the 20% allocation is issued or until all applications with 1 or more bonus points are read. Applications with zero bonus points will not be included in the 20% Bonus Pass of the Draw. As each application is read, the first and then second hunt choices are checked to see if there are any permits available as part of the 20% bonus point allocation. If there are enough permits available for each applicant on the application without exceeding the 20% allocation or the nonresident cap, the permits are issued to that application. If not, the next application is read and the first and second hunt choices are checked until the entire application file is read. Any un­issued permits from the "bonus point pass" will be returned to the available permits for each hunt. The Drawing will then continue to the next two passes.

Big Tub, I just reread what you wrote. When I replied the first time, I misread it as the 1-2 pass and not the BP phase. I still think it's only 1-2 choices, but you might be correct; I'll check this week.

Nope. No different than any other draw; first pass is 1-2 choices only. With so few permits for sheep, there's likely no second draw that considers the last three choices. For that reason, I never have filled out those choices. matthewp45, I had the same problem with the hunter ed point. Not only did I go through the class in the 1970s, but I was an INSTRUCTOR, both here and later in Colorado when I lived there for three years.

Here's the actual RULE that regulates the sheep permits: a. The Department shall reserve a maximum of 20% of the hunt permit-tags for each hunt number for antelope, bear, deer, elk, javelina, and turkey to issue to individuals and groups that have bonus points. The Department shall reserve a maximum of 20% of the hunt permit tags for all hunt numbers combined statewide for bighorn sheep and buffalo to issue to individuals and groups that have bonus points. D. The Department shall not make available more than one hunt permit-tag or 10% of the total hunt permit-tags, whichever is greater, for bighorn sheep or buffalo in any draw to nonresidents. The Department shall not make available more than 50% nor more than two bighorn sheep or buffalo hunt permit-tags of the total in any hunt number to nonresidents. Once the 20% pass is done, ALL applicants are basically on equal footing and issued NEW random numbers for as many BPs as they have.The LOWEST number is then used to determine who gets the remaining 80% of the tags in the 1-2 pass. So ANYONE, regardless of how many BPs they have, can win the "lotto" with a low number. The only thing the BPs do at this stage is provide more chances to get that low number. For a NR, however, if the 10% cap was hit during the bonus point run, they're out of luck in the 1-2 pass. I personally know one guy who moved here from Alaska and applied as soon as he was a legal resident. He drew a permit with NO BPs and killed a represenative ram near Gila Bend. And I just drew SECOND choice with 21 points. Didn't even have the Hunter Ed point!

Well, now it's really official; my tag arrived in today's mail! As I had mentioned somewhere, 15CN, with its easier terrain, was my first choice. I imagine the hunt in 45C will a lot tougher for me. The biggest hurdle could be getting within range for a shot before the sheep moves to another mountain. Hopefully he'll stay in the same place for a day or two until I can get there. When the season starts, I'll be 71 yrs. old. Although my body is in good slim & trim shape able to handle rigorous hiking, my lungs are mush due to 50 years of smoking. Thus climbing a steep mountain will badly tax the lungs. With that in mind, I'm thinking of hiring a couple of really BIG dudes to take turns carrying me up the mountain. Any takers? izquik72, I doubt Corky and friends will be helping since I drew 45C and not 15CN, where Cindi had her tag a couple years ago. Chris, I had 21 points. trophyhnter, No official guide; can't afford one. Will be mostly DIY with my son and anyone who volunteers to help. azcouesfanatic, Are you related to Skip Rimza?

Was just able to access the AZ draw results online. Looks like I drew my second choice... Bighorn Sheep Draw Successful 06034 Dec 01 - Dec 31, 2012 UNIT 45C (KOFA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE) Permit #000003

Good job, guys. NZ is a magical place. It ranks as one of my favorite hunts, even OVER South Africa.

Nice Bull!!! If he's one and the same from Texas, Corey Knowlton and I got to visit a bit on my flight to South Africa in 2003.

These are excerpts from two different articles I wrote years ago. They provide a bit of perspective on the history. Prior to the influx of civilization to Arizona in the late 1800s, both the desert and the Rocky Mountain bighorns actually inhabited Arizona's mountain ranges. James Ohio Pattie wandered the wilds of Arizona and New Mexico in 1824. His diary, THE PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF JAMES OHIO PATTIE OF KENTUCKY, contained the following: "We called it the San Francisco River. After traveling up its banks about four miles, we encamped and set out all traps and killed a couple of fat turkeys. In the morning we examined our traps, and found in them 37 beavers! This success restored our spirits instantaneously. Exhilarating prospects now opened before us, and we pushed on with animation. The banks of this river for the most part incapable of cultivation being in most part formed of high and rugged mountains. Upon these we saw multitudes of mountain sheep. These animals are not found on level ground, being they slow of foot, but on these cliffs and rocks they are so nimble and expert in jumping from point to point, that no dog or wolf can overtake them. One of them that we killed had the largest horns that I ever saw on animals of any description. One of them would hold a gallon of water. Their meat tastes like our mutton. Their hair is short like deer's, though fine. The French call them "gros cornes," from the size of their horns which curl around their ears, like our domestic sheep. These animals are about the size of deer." Because the terrain around the San Francisco River is atypical for desert sheep, the experts concluded Pattie's "mountain sheep" were Rocky Mountain bighorns. Sadly, they didn't exist in Arizona too long after the settlement of the West began. Both the Rocky Mountain bighorn and the Merriam's elk disappeared from the state during the late 1800s. The desert bighorns, victims of indiscriminate hunting and diseases borne by domestic livestock, almost suffered the same fate. In 1897, the first Arizona game law -- Title 16, Relative to the Preservation of Game Birds and Animals -- outlawed the hunting of sheep from February to October. It still wasn't enough to stem the decline and possible extinction. The state game warden reported to the governor in 1914: "Our mountain sheep have already been exterminated or driven out of a vast area of our once-good game country, and at the present rate at which the work of destruction is going on, largely through the convenient and efficient medium of the automobile, our 20,000 or so licensed hunters, will finish the work of extermination before the general public awakens to a realization of the situation, and demands a sudden and abrupt halt, in order to give our few remnants of a game a chance to replenish." Although the warden's dire prediction led to closing the sheep hunting season, even more measures to prevent the desert bighorn's demise came to fruition in 1939 with the establishment of the Kofa Game Range and Cabeza Prieta Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Arizona. They served as the last strongholds for the desert sheep and subsequently provided the nucleus for experimental sheep relocations that culminated in 1957 with the first transplant to Aravaipa Canyon. More importantly, though, the short-term protection of the bighorns at the two refuges led to the reopening of a hunting season in 1953. ******************** At one time the desert bighorn inhabited most of Arizona's mountain ranges. Human encroachment, the enigma of the elk, played a major role in their decline, too. Meat hunters, not particular as to what type of game graced the table, haphazardly slaughtered hundreds of sheep. In addition, hordes of domestic livestock competed with the bighorns for the sometimes scarce, available food and water. Disease, introduced and transmitted by the livestock, decimated entire herds. Finally, interested citizens, who feared the demise of the bighorn, sought to protect it. To prevent the sheep's extinction, government agencies established the Kofa Game Range and Cabeza Prieta Wildlife Refuge in 1939. Located in southeastern Arizona, they constituted the last remaining strongholds for the bighorn. In time, the two areas provided a nucleus herd, subsequently permitting game researchers to undertake transplants into other historical bighorn areas. The AGFD selected Aravaipa Canyon, near Klondyke, as the site for the initial restocking. They constructed a 112-acre enclosure in 1957 and released 8 sheep within the following two years. The herd failed to reproduce and dwindled to two rams by 1964. Determined personnel transferred eight more bighorns from the Kofa Game Range. The second effort produced the desired results when the herd grew to 22. Hopeful the sheep would adapt, game specialists released them from the control area. Sheep in Aravaipa steadily increased to the present estimated population of 100. In 1980, permits to hunt desert bighorn in the canyon became a reality. The unit has produced exceptional rams, including a record book head taken in 1982 by John Harris. In December, Jim Ferguson of Yuma, who won a raffled permit that the state had donated to the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society, pursued a ram at Aravaipa. Elated with the apparent success of the first bighorn transplant, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, with the aid of advanced trapping techniques, has continued to reestablish the sheep. Since 1980 it has relocated animals into the Superstition, Virgin, Galiuro and Eagletail Mountains; the Paria Canyon Primitive Area, the Grand Wash Cliffs and Goat Mountain. Some of these ranges have had recent, supplemental stockings. In November, 1984 the Kofa Game Range supplied 30 sheep for release at Coffee Flat in the Superstitions. Redfield Canyon, in the Galiuros, received 10 bighorns taken from the Plamosa Mountains. Long-term plans include more than 20 sites already designated as ideal habitat for future releases. Because transplants are extremely expensive, funding sometimes creates an obstacle; it takes $850 to move one sheep. Multiplying this amount times the 54 sheep captured near Lake Mead last year comes to $45,900 --- give or take a few cents! The Arizona Game and Fish Department, a self-supporting entity, found it extremely difficult to budget all of the needed funds for transplant efforts. Even though beneficial, some were postponed, while more urgent matters emptied the department's coffers. A group of hunters and conservationists, aware of the need for better sheep management programs, banded together and organized the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society in 1967. Since then, the society has raised thousands of dollars, and members, none of whom receive money for their efforts, have spent hours improving and building waterholes; assisting at sheep captures and releases and donating time for administrative work. Last year the ADBSS persuaded the Game Commission to donate two permits for fund-raising efforts. Because no provision for this unprecedented request was ever enacted, the legislature passed an amended law in July 1983. The first permit, auctioned on February 24, 1984 in California at a benefit conducted by the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep, raised $64,000 --- the amount bid by Don Pocapalia of Ranchos Palos Verdes, California. The second one, mentioned earlier, brought another $82,450. The total monies from both permits, along with other fund-raising activities, amounted to $149,000. Since all of this money will help safeguard the bighorn's welfare, the department can use other funds on additional projects. Now, by using this year's society funds only, game managers can relocate 175 1/2 sheep!

Congrats! That's three members here so far with sheep permits. Mine is in 45C. One place is Aravaipa Canyon, but you'll need to get a special permit for access from the BLM office in Safford.

The process is the same as the regular applicationas far as the cost, which is the same for a leftover deer permit and includes the app fee. You use the regular app form and you can either mail it to the street address or the P.O. Box. BOTH get delivered to the game department on the same day they are received at the PO. They are then brought in large containers to the G&F headquarters. And yes, you can put as many choices as you like on the app, and they will ALL be looked at at the same time. There is NO DRAW involved. The folks sit down around a table with a bin of apps in front of them and start opening envelopes in no specific order. So if someone is on top of the first bin, it's likely they will get a first choice leftover. The process continues until all the permits are spoken for or until they have no other apps to open. Permits that are then left go on OTC sale.

I have a friend who has an uncle that knows a gal who has a cousin whose brother is the nephew of a guy that works in the offices at AZ game and fish. He sweeps the floor every night and empties the trash cans. Allegedly, a couple years ago he told his nephew, who then relayed it to his brother, who then informed his cousin, who told the gal who emailed my friend who then told me that he had found a letter in one of the trash cans. The letter was from one of the folks in the draw department who had supposedly sent it out to a select group of his friends. In the letter he suggested that they apply using the mail-in system and that they use red ink to fill out the application. That way, he would immediately recognize them so he could be sure to set them aside and assign a low number. So there you have it.

Congrats to everyone who drew their permits!

Congrats on a great tag.