2016 Boquillas Rules
Arizona
Contributors to this thread:
So.....What's everyone think of the new Boquillas charges? $500 for a "premium" hunt early elk hunts and antelope hunts. Limited entry quotas too. The assist permits went up to $80 as well as all the other hunts.
I'll start. It's B.S.. That being said it will create some good hunting for the wealthier folks that want to shell out an additional $500 to hunt there.
I think we're lucky to hunt it. Watching the crap public hunters pull, if I owned it joe6pack wouldn't be on it for $500.
Wow, way to lump all us "public hunters" together, your right, money does equal morals and ethics,
I was on the fence between 10 and 3A3C , not anymore.
I have not been back to 10 since the Rez took possession of it.
The issue to me is not the private land, but the public land that the "public" cannot access without paying for AGAIN. If it were all private land, then the owner should be able to charge whatever he/she wants for people to hunt their land. Not the case on the Big Bo.
Wow I didn't know they were going to charge like that this year. You know it obviously shows that their intentions were to charge and keep it for people with money. It was never because of damage or cattle control. Because it is less permits and during premium hunts so it not due to damages to their cattle and obviously Game and fish is helping them by agreeing. Say good bye to that unit it is only for the folks with money and the Guides now.. If it was due to us effecting their cattle it would be charged more towards general hunts not premium hunts with less tags and less folks. I gotta wonder what the big money folks are going to buy & control next. Unit 10 just became the Country club unit.
You guys can have your Big Bo! With this kind of crap I will likely never set foot there. Not cool to keep hunters off public land like this.
That is exactly what they want us to do. I am going to keep putting in for it because I Love to hunt Elk and if i am willing to pay to go out of state then why not hunt the best we got here. Plus it keeps the money guys from getting better odds every time i put in still. But I am going to talk to every game and fish person and at meetings and ask them what are their real intentions about this unit.. Because it not about land ownership or cattle.
AZBugler, the road must not have a public easement or it would be open. The chatter I see regarding public funds to maintain it tells me there is a reciprocal agreement between the state/county and the LO whereby the LO provides access to the Govt agency(s) in return for maintaining the road.
Hunt# HD hunter permits Price
2047 archery antelope 25 500.00
2014 rifle antelope 30 500.00
3134 early archery bull 50 500.00
3004 early rifle bull 25 500.00
Notes: HD "Hunter permits are limited to or capped at the amount shown above for each hunt.
Per their website.
Most reservations charge for there hunts not access. If they want to charge for access we should close all the roads but one to there property and charge them for access too.
This is not a Reservation. It is land owned by the Navajo Nation mixed with State Land in a checkerboard. I think the Game and Fish needs to re-draw the Unit 10 boundary leaving the "Big Bo" out completely, meaning they don't get ANY elk tags. See how much they like their $500 fees then!
Maybe separate it into a sub unit of ten and have a separate allocation for it. I know $500 is high to most of us but it is better than the New Mexico Land owners system where the common man loses it as an option. my question to all is what if it was your personal land?? not looking for a fight just playing devils advocate here. Good luck in the Draw.
I think the way they had it, was reasonable given the joint ownership of the area. It was a fee that most weren't happy about, but you could kind of understand. For that fee, you got the opportunity to hunt a large chunk of land and it wasn't over the top. Still not a fan of some of the extremely restrictive rules, but the fee was reasonable. This new structure to me is way off the charts and unreasonable.
I agree with heat, talk to game and fish and get them to split the unit and close their property to hunting that includes them too. AZGFD helps them by managing wild life from over running feed and water usage and decease from occurring. The ranch has lost all creditabilty when they raised fees for premium hunts. They control access to the property, Game and fish controls permits. They dont want to be cooperative with the public then azgfd should keep the public from doing them a public service. If it was about damages, if it was about cattle it would have been and equal reasonable cost for all permits. They have shown their intentions. They are price gauging and controlling premium hunts by applicant fees and game and fish shouldn't allow them to get away with it.
Remember what happened in 19b for antelope a few years back. Amazing what zero tags times high fees, compared to numerous tags times low fees can accomplish. The Nav's dont do s*#! for managing wildlife, there have been numerous outdoorsmans groups and wildlife management groups doing all of their dirty work. Shut their asses down, let the animals overgraze with their cattle, and the wildlife will move on to accessible land.
I guess their casino isnt panning out as planned?
Completely agree with WapitiBob...
Well, as it turned out, the Department was able to negoiate with the Navajo Nation and the fees ended up being $80 for the High Demand tags.
Don Martin Arizona Wildlife Outfitters