Here is your chance to be heard

State wildlife workers would like you to help them determine how best to preserve wildlife in Arizona.

The Arizona Game and Fish department is holding meetings around the state over the next two months, including one held Wednesday in Tucson, to get comments on the State Wildlife Action Plan, or SWAP.

"We've taken the criteria that we developed several years ago, we've revisited those, tried to rewrite some of the criteria to make them clearer and more logical," says Thomas R. Jones of Arizona Game and Fish. "We've added criteria, we've taken away criteria, and we're asking our partners and the public to address that issue."

You can read the SWAP plan for yourself and offer your take on Arizona's wildlife.

Arizona Game & Fish steps up OHV decal compliance

Citing statistics showing that less than one-quarter of off-highway vehicles in Arizona have the required OHV Decal, Arizona Game and Fish Department Director Larry Voyles announced that the agency’s officers would be stepping up compliance enforcement efforts in the field.

“Our officers will be issuing citations to off-highway vehicle users who don’t have the required decal on their OHV,” said Voyles. “The program has been in effect and public education efforts have been ongoing for over a year now. The compliance rate is very disappointing, given the benefits the program would provide to recreationists.”

Voyles likened the “user play, user pay” program to wildlife conservation, where hunters and anglers pay for wildlife conservation through the purchase of hunting and fishing licenses. “Rates for hunting license compliance exceed 95 percent,” said Voyles, “Hunters and anglers have demonstrated their commitment to wildlife conservation for decades.”

As for OHV Decal compliance, Voyles stressed, “Arizona Game and Fish officers have unequivocally demonstrated their ability to achieve compliance through aggressive law enforcement. All OHV users should expect more special OHV law enforcement operations throughout the state beginning in January and going on through this spring until compliance numbers show a dramatic increase.”

The OHV Decal program took effect Jan. 1, 2009 and requires the annual purchase of the $25 decal for any off-highway vehicle designed by the manufacturer primarily for use over unimproved terrain and weighing 1,800 pounds or less. This includes most ATVs, side-by-sides (utility vehicles), dirt bikes and some sand rails.

For more information about the OHV Decal program or OHV use in Arizona, go online to www.azgfd.gov/ohv.

Javelina attacks walker

On New Year's day, a man walking on a path alongside Dove Mountain Blvd. in Tucson was attacked by a normally shy javelina or collared peccary.

The attack came at about 11:30 a.m., when the 66-year old man heard a noise behind him. He turned to see a female javelina charge him and bite him around the knee and thigh, knocking him to the ground.

The javelina continued to attack the man as he was on the ground, latching onto his wrist and forearm and wouldn't let go, according to Mark Hart, the public information officer for Arizona Game and Fish Department.

A passing bicyclist clobbered the javelina over the head first with a stick, and then with a log to get the animal to release the walker. A Marana Police Department officer arrived on scene about the time the javelina ran onto Dove Mountain Boulevard, and started toward a group of people. The officer sounded his siren, startling the javelina, which ran off into the desert. He pursued the javelina and killed it.

Because of the aggressive behavior and unprovoked attack of the javelina, the bite victim was treated for the bites at Oro Valley Hospital, where he began treatment for rabies.

The attack comes on the heels of a recent rabid bobcat attack on a man in Oracle on Dec. 23. In the last year, there were 261 confirmed rabid animals in Arizona, roughly a third of them in Pima County.

"We may be more aware of cases because of drought conditions which are bringing animals into urban areas in search of water and food," Hart said.

Arizona Game and Fish Department suggested taking the following action due to the increase in rabid animals showing up in urban areas or campgrounds.

• Do not feed or leave food out for wild animals such as javelinas.
  
• Pet owners should not leave their pet's food out overnight.
  
• Make sure all pets are up-to-date with their shots.
  
• Carry a walking stick and a whistle.
  
• Never turn your back on an animal.
• Do not approach animals that appear to be tame or are not acting as wild animals should.