Category Archives: Recreation

Summer ramada reservations available for County parks

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FLAGSTAFF – County Parks and Recreation will begin accepting summer ramada reservations on Feb. 21, 2017. There are 11 ramadas at four County parks available for rental.

Ramadas are used to host parties, reunions and get-togethers. They are available for rent seven days a week, for half or full days.

Customers may reserve a ramada online by going to Coconino.az.gov/Parks/Ramadas. People may also reserve them by going to the Parks and Recreation Administration office located at Fort Tuthill County Park, 2446 Fort Tuthill Loop, Flagstaff, Arizona Regular business hours are Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Prices range from $46-$114 for ramada rentals. A staff member will follow up with a confirmation within one business day. For reservations less than 24 hours in advance or questions, please call the Administration office at (928) 679-8000.

2017 Winter Range set for February 20-26

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PHOENIX — For those who harken back to the days of jingling spurs, the smell of authentic chuck-wagon cooking, and cowboys vying to see who’s the quickest on the trigger, then circle February 20-26 on your calendar.

That’s when Winter Range rides into town, transforming the Ben Avery Shooting Facility into a festive scene from the Old West where more than 1,000 competitors from around the world will take part in the 26th annual Single Action Shooting Society’s national championship of Cowboy Action Shooting.

Cowboy Action Shooting is one of the nation’s fastest-growing shooting sports and requires competitors to take their best shots with single-action revolvers, lever-action rifles and period shotguns. Competitors also must adopt a shooting alias suitable to a character or profession of the late 19th century, a Western movie star or an appropriate character from fiction — names like “Mudflat Mike,” “Goldie Jade” and “May B. Shecann” — and then dress in costume accordingly.

Winter Range will feature period militaria, exhibitions of Western skills and crafts, a fast-draw competition, and vendors purveying period clothing, hats and wigs, antiques, reproductions and more. There also will be roaming balladeers, trick horses and even a visit from Wyatt Earp, the great grand-nephew of his namesake, at noon Feb. 25.

A two-day mounted shooting event is expected to draw 100-plus competitors mounted on horses participating in their own arena Feb. 25-26.

A variety of food services will be available, including chuck-wagon cooking, barbecue and ice cream. Admission to Winter Range is free (parking is $5). BASF is located on Carefree Highway, west of Interstate 17. For more information, visit www.winterrange.com.

March Archaeology Month schedule at Kaibab National Forest

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WILLIAMS – Here is our calendar of archaeology month programs beginning in March, with Thursday evening programs starting at 6:30 PM at the Williams Visitor Center. Please have folks call in advance at 928-635-5600 to give us an idea on how many will attend each event.Every Saturday in March, we will also lead interpretive hikes to Keyhole Sink Petroglyphs, meeting at the Oak Hill Snow Play area at 2 PM. The hike is 0.6 miles each way, and last about 2 hours. Participants should dress warmly and prepare to get wet and muddy, especially if the waterfall is running!

Thursday March 2: South Kaibab Heritage Accomplishment Report
South Kaibab Zone archaeologist Neil Weintraub will highlight how volunteers, contractors, and other partners helped Kaibab archaeologists document, protect, and preserve archaeological sites during Fiscal Year 2016.

Thursday March 9th: History of Williams Mountain Men
Alan Messimer, Volunteer for the Williams Historic Photo Project, will present a history of the Williams Mountain Men.

Thursday March 16th: History of Williams Baptist Church
Alan Messimer, Volunteer for the Williams Historic Photo Project, will present a history of the Williams Baptist Church.

Thursday March 23rd: 1928 Bunion Run across Northern Arizona
South Kaibab Zone Archaeologist will discuss the history of the First Transcontinental foot race as it went across Northern Arizona in 1928. Weintraub will discuss newspaper accounts and historic photos in the weeks and days surrounding the event in the Williams area.

Thursday March 30th: African Americans of Williams or other project (Hangan)
Forest Archaeologist Margaret Hangan will present her research on African Americans of the Williams area.

Filling and spilling: Flagstaff area lakes highest in years

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Kaibab Lake Spillway

FLAGSTAFF – A recent influx of snow and subsequent run-off is giving many Flagstaff area lakes a refill. During the past two years, water levels at Kaibab Lake near Williams had been far too low to stock fish. Thanks to recent heavy rains, the lake is full and spilling. Santa Fe Dam just south of Williams has been overflowing for weeks. Cataract Lake and Buckskinner reservoir in Williams are also full.

All lakes in the Flagstaff region are ice free. The Arizona Game and Fish Department will not be stocking all lakes, and the ones that will be stocked will not get fish until after March 1.

Cataract Lake spillway flows steadily

Some other updates from this region:

  • Dogtown Lake, near Kaibab on the south Williams, should be full. Anglers who can get into Dogtown might catch some of the holdover rainbows and browns since spring fishing can be pretty good. The lake has probably picked up 10 to 11 feet of depth since December and so the fishing might be a little slow, but the trout should be feeding.
  • Ashurst Lake is full. The road to Ashurst Lake remains closed and is very muddy and there are some heavy snow drifts.
  • Upper Lake Mary is about 1 foot from spilling (up 6 inches since Tuesday) and Lower Lake Mary is about 1/3 to 1/2 full. If more moisture comes this weekend, Upper Lake Mary will probably spill into Lower Lake Mary — and so it might fill this year.
  • Frances Short Pond will be stocked with the normal weekly stockings starting in March. Anglers should be able to catch fish at Frances Short right now since they were catching them before it iced over (and since it was full at that time, the fish-to-water ratio is the same.) For all of the other lakes, until we can stock the fishing will probably be somewhat poor.

Six public forums scheduled for fall hunt recommendations

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PHOENIX — The Arizona Game and Fish Department has scheduled six public forums to meet with constituents about developing the 2017 fall hunt recommendations for deer, bighorn sheep, turkey, javelina, bison, bear, mountain lion, and small game animals.

The department annually makes recommendations to the Arizona Game and Fish Commission regarding the management of game species for the annual hunting and trapping regulations, which establish the seasons, dates, bag limits, open areas, and hunt permit-tag allocations based on the framework of the hunt guidelines set by the commission every two years.

The meetings will be conducted from 6 to 8 p.m. at these Game and Fish regional offices:

Wednesday, Feb. 22: Kingman, 5325 N. Stockton Hill Road
Tuesday, Feb. 28: Flagstaff, 3500 S. Lake Mary Road
Thursday, March 2: Pinetop, 2878 E. White Mountain Blvd.
Thursday, March 2: Mesa, 7200 E. University Drive
Thursday, March 2: Yuma, 9140 E. 28th St.
Monday, March 6: Tucson, 555 N. Greasewood Road​​​​​​​

Constituents who are interested in specific game management units within those regions will have the opportunity to discuss management direction.

“The meetings allow sportsmen and other members of the public to stay informed and provide input on the hunt recommendations,” said Amber Munig, big game management supervisor. “We will be discussing the direction for the recommendations based on survey data, harvest rates and the hunt guidelines. We won’t be proposing permit numbers at this point, but we will generally discuss where permit numbers might be headed.”

After the public forums have been completed, the final proposed draft hunt recommendations will be made available for public review at several regional open houses and posted on the department’s website at www.azgfd.gov/huntguidelines in late March.

The final fall hunt recommendations will be presented to the commission for consideration at its April 8 meeting in Phoenix.

To learn more about the hunt recommendations and hunt guidelines processes, visit www.azgfd.gov/huntguidelines.

Public invited to comment on proposed boating and water sport rules, fees

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PHOENIX — The Arizona Game and Fish Department is seeking public comments on multiple proposed boating and water sports rule changes.

On Jan. 13, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission approved a draft notice of proposed rulemaking, amending Article 5, which outlines boating and water sports regulations and fees. The deadline to submit comments on the proposed rule changes is Sunday, March 5.

The following are among the proposed changes:

  • Requiring a signature be notarized/witnessed when the seller is not listed as the owner on the current registration or the signature of the buyer or seller is in question.
  • Allowing owners to obtain a duplicate watercraft registration/decal at www.azgfd.gov/boating.
  • Increasing the valid timeframe for a temporary certificate from 30 to 45 days and allowing a watercraft agent to issue a temporary certificate with the sale of a used watercraft.
  • Requiring liveries to affix a placard on the watercraft indicating the business name and phone number, and requiring a person who rents, leases or offers a watercraft for hire to register as a livery.
  • Requiring a wake surfer to wear a personal floatation device and that an operator ensure an observer is watching if a person is being towed behind the watercraft and/or surfing a wake created by the watercraft.
  • Prohibiting teak surfing, which is pulling a person from a vessel’s swim platform.
  • Requiring towing companies to notify the owner/lienholder that they have taken possession of a vessel within 15 days of obtaining the information from the department.
  • Authorizing a third-party vendor to process new watercraft registrations, transfers, renewals and duplicate registrations.

The public can also provide comment on the following proposed fee increases:

  • Watercraft transfer fee to $13
  • Duplicate decal and certificate number fee to $8
  • Dealer certificate of number fee to $20
  • Establish an abandoned/unreleased watercraft application fee of $100
  • Transfer of ownership of a towed watercraft application fee to $100

The proposed changes were recommended as part of a legally required five-year review of the department’s administrative rules. For more information or to view the complete list of proposed Article 5 changes, visit www.azgfd.com/agency.”

Those with questions or wishing to submit a comment can mail them to 5000 W. Carefree Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85086; e-mail rulemaking@azgfd.gov or call (623) 236-7390.

Learn how Arizona’s big game draw process works

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PHOENIX — A lot of hunters will be scrambling the next few days, sifting through Arizona’s complex draw process and filling out hunt permit-tag applications for the 2017 pronghorn and elk hunts before Tuesday’s deadline.

Got seven minutes? Want some good advice? Before doing anything, watch a short video that can help to clarify everything you need to know from hunt permit-tags and bonus points to hunt numbers and draw passes. The video recently was produced by the Information Branch of the Arizona Game and Fish Department.Arizona’s big game draw is designed to give all hopeful hunters a chance to hunt the state’s big game species. In the video, Amber Munig, the department’s big game management supervisor, explains a draw process that can be tricky at times.

Parade route for Gold Rush Days in Wickenburg requires closure of US 60 on Saturday

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WICKENBURG – Due to this weekend’s 69th annual Gold Rush Days celebration, US 60 in downtown Wickenburg (mileposts 107-110) will be closed in both directions on Saturday (February 11) from 9:30 a.m. to noon, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Drivers should expect delays or adjust travel plans accordingly. Traffic will be rerouted through a clearly marked detour.

Eastbound traffic on US 60 will be detoured to Vulture Mine Road to US 93 and US 93 southbound to reconnect to US 60.

Westbound traffic on US 60 will be rerouted to the US 93 bypass northbound, US 93 to Vulture Mine Road and Vulture Mine Road back to US 60.

ADOT works to inform the public about planned highway restrictions and closures, but it’s possible that unscheduled impacts might occur because of weather or other factors. For the most current information about highway conditions statewide, visit ADOT’s Traveler Information Site at www.az511.gov, follow ADOT on Twitter (@ArizonaDOT) or call 511, except while driving.

Survey looks to measure off-highway vehicle financial impact

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PHOENIX — The popularity of off-highway vehicles (OHV) has exploded throughout the state and, Arizona State Parks and Trails and the Arizona Game and Fish Department are turning to OHV enthusiasts to help shape the future of the activity statewide.

With 365 riding days per year, scenic trails and great weather, Arizona continues to draw OHV enthusiasts from across the country to access our motorized trails. To better plan for the future of the activity statewide, Arizona State Parks and Trails partnered with Arizona State University to produce an economic impact study to measure the broad effect the activity has in our state.

“Having a better understanding of spending behaviors, travel trends and trail needs will aid State Parks and our partners to provide enhancements to the statewide trail system, programs, and information to OHV users,” said Skip Varney, State Parks State OHV Coordinator.

Over the next 12 months, the public is invited to complete a survey, either electronically at www.azstateparks.com/OHV or at various riding areas throughout the state. The questionnaire takes about 10 minutes to complete, however only completed surveys can be used in the reporting process.

“There are nearly limitless riding opportunities and Arizona offers some of the best views available,” said Nathan Gonzalez, AZGFD public information officer. “In addition to guiding future trail development, the results of this survey are vital to helping AZGFD anticipate current and future safety and education program needs. Our goal is to ensure our education methods are adequate to meet the needs of our growing OHV community.”

The economic impact study was last completed in 2002 and found that OHV recreation in Arizona had a $4.25 billion impact. In addition, the activity supported nearly 37,000 jobs, contributed to $1.1 billion in household incomes and added $187 million to annual state tax revenues.

To participate, please click here to complete the survey.

For more information on OHV riding in Arizona and to take an online safety course, visit www.azgfd.gov/OHV.

BLM to host two additional public meetings on target shooting management on Sonoran Desert National Monument

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The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has scheduled two additional information meetings at which it seeks input on recreational target shooting management alternatives for the Sonoran Desert National Monument. The meeting dates and locations are:

  • Feb. 11: noon to 3 p.m., Copper Sky Recreation Center, 44342 W Martin Luther King Blvd., Maricopa.
  • Feb. 21: 4-7 p.m., Burton Barr Central Library, 1221 N Central Ave., Phoenix.

The purpose of the meetings is to present the draft management alternatives, answer public questions, and receive public input to be considered as the planning process progresses. During the first 30 minutes of each meeting, the BLM will provide opening remarks describing the ground rules and will proceed to present the alternatives. The remaining time will be conducted in an open house format, during which staff will answer additional questions and receive input to be considered. Three meetings were previously held Jan. 19-21 in Phoenix and Casa Grande.

The 90-day comment period will close on March 15, 2017. All comments must be received prior to this date in order to be included in the final analysis.

Following the public comment period, the BLM will consider all of the input and begin work to finalize the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA).

Stakeholders and other members of the public are encouraged to submit their comments for the record through the BLM online land use planning tool, ePlanning. Written comments may be mailed to the BLM’s project manager, Wayne Monger, at 21605 N. 7th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85027, faxed to (623) 580-5623, or e-mailed to BLM_AZ_SDNMtargetshooting@BLM.gov.

SDNM RMP Planning Website: http://bit.ly/SDNMtargetshooting.