Boondockers and wildlife watchers take precautions during hunting season

The Fall season is a good time for wildlife watchers. Most of the summer crowds are gone, campgrounds uncrowded, and birds and wildlife are active. This is also a time when wildlife watchers, boondockers, mountain bikers, and hikers need to be on alert and take some extra precautions because the deer hunting season is open from October through December.

It can be an unsettling time for many boondockers and recreational users in the national forests and on BLM land when they hear gun shots or encounter armed individuals while out enjoying nature.

Many boondockers just avoid the national forests during this season because of the prevalence of hunters, which is not always necessary, as some areas are closed to hunting at certain times and hunting seasons are very defined.

RVers using public lands in Fall can go online to the Arizona Game and Fish website to learn the actual dates of hunting seasons and camp elsewhere.

If you still want to camp in an active hunting area, do not act like a deer--wearing antlers on your head or a deerskin jacket, for example. You also might want to do what hunters do, and wear a bright orange hunter's vest and cap letting hunters know that you are not something to be shot at.

There are several locations around Arizona that are classified as Wildlife Watching Areas, which are either off limits to hunters or you can visit at times when hunting is barred. You can get specific information about these areas on the Game & Fish watchable wildlife page.

And remember that we share the forests. Hunters have as much right to be there as RVers and hikers, and if we RVers recognize that, we can all get along better.