The Arizona Game and Fish Commission that oversees the department is requesting specific public comment on the following topics:

• Establishing juniors-only archery javelina hunts.
• Alternatives to the current 30-day bighorn sheep hunt within units
12A/13A/12B West.
• Alternatives to the current archery hunt structure within Unit 27.
• Alternatives to mountain lion management in Units 36B and 36C.

The commission also wants public input on the following subjects that are not found in the hunt guidelines but that are important for managing Arizona's wildlife resources:

• Increasing the cost of the Kaibab deer stamp fee to $15 (Article 1 Rules currently under review).
• Considering those species for which bonus points accrue (Article 1 Rules currently under review).
• Creating a Pioneer license special hunt season category (i.e. senior hunts) (Article 3 Rules currently being rewritten).

The "Guidelines and Recommendations" document is available on the Arizona Game and Fish Department's Web site at azgfd.com. Copies are also being distributed through direct mailings to interested individuals.

The department is accepting comments in any of the following ways:

1) Written comments may be mailed to Tice Supplee, Game Branch Chief, Arizona Game and Fish Department, 2221 W. Greenway Road, Phoenix, Arizona, 85023;
2) They may be faxed to the attention of Tice Supplee at (602) 789-3929; or
3) They can be e-mailed to azgamebranch@gf.state.az.us. Comments will be accepted until March 1, 2003.

Public comments are given to all six regions to consider when preparing the final hunt recommendations for the commission's April 12 meeting in Phoenix.

The following are examples of the various recommendations and guidelines:

Elk

• Allocating 5 percent of the total elk permits for juniors-only hunts.
•Rotating early elk opportunities this year in the following way: early general bull in Hunt Units 4A, 7, 23S, and 27; muzzleloader bull in Units 1, 3A/3C, 5A, and 22S; and archery bull in Unit 21.
• Removing the second late bull elk hunt in Unit 10.
• Establishing a CHAMP Season in Unit 3B for antlerless elk.

Deer

• Allocating 2 percent of the general deer permits for juniors-only.
• Changing the January archery deer hunt from "any deer" to "any antlered deer" in Hunt Units 28, 30B, 32, 33, 34A, 34B, 35A, 36A, 36B, 36C, 39, 40A, 41, 42, 43A, 43B, 44A, and 44B.
• Considering a possible antlerless deer hunt in Unit 12AW.
• Removing the December and January archery antlered deer season in
Unit 27.

Pronghorn Antelope

Changing the general, juniors-only and muzzleloader pronghorn hunts from four-day to six-day hunts, except in Units 15A and 15B, 19B, and 30A.

Turkey

•Offering juniors-only hunting opportunities at levels comparable to previous years with season dates coinciding with the general fall and spring seasons.
•Closing the fall season in Unit 7.