Arizona Game and Fish - Pays Influencers - Newberg cancels contract after backlash

[FlatlanderAZ]

He joined the discussion here, because he was publicly called out and eluded to that this petition is what made him change his mind, but it actually didn’t.

That's fine. No one is faulting him for doing that.

 

[browning2480]

That's fine. No one is faulting him for doing that.

You are missing my point, he shouldn’t have had to. You could have posted and talked through the petition and rallied troops to stand against the Game and Fish. Which is where your true issue should be.

 

[mavinwa2]

Founder OYOA, is just being proactive and prior to the petition. I commend him for that foresight and concern of the resource.

as for percentage increase comparisons, BS.
The focus and concern for residents are numbers of hunters in the field. Looking at those numbers 1500+ more AZ residents purchased OTC archery deer tags and 500+ non-residents purchased those tags in the same time span. Thus, 3x more AZ residents entered the woods-deserts with OTC archery deer tags. More pressure is coming from residents than non-res.

and this year Jan-2022, I'll be one to switch to AZ resident...after hunting OTC archery AZ as non-resident for each of the past 18 years.

 

[FlatlanderAZ]

You are missing my point, he shouldn’t have had to. You could have posted and talked through the petition and rallied troops to stand against the Game and Fish. Which is where your true issue should be.

I am not missing the point . . . I did post the petition and shared it in my circles. Its important to distinguish that I am not trying to stand against AZGFD, just trying to change a behavior which is contributing to a problem. I directed the petition to the dept, not Randy. But I shared it with him in an effort to be transparent.

I didn't start this thread, as I wasn't a member here until yesterday, so I don't know what you are trying to suggest I do.

Someone posted about the petition, Randy commented on the petition and ME, so I chimed in.

Like I said before, if you don't get it, I can't help you.

 

[Laramie]

I am not missing the point . . . I did post the petition and shared it in my circles. Its important to distinguish that I am not trying to stand against AZGFD, just trying to change a behavior which is contributing to a problem. I directed the petition to the dept, not Randy. But I shared it with him in an effort to be transparent.

I didn't start this thread, as I wasn't a member here until yesterday, so I don't know what you are trying to suggest I do.

Someone posted about the petition, Randy commented on the petition and ME, so I chimed in.

Like I said before, if you don't get it, I can't help you.

I commend your efforts. I believe Randy has good intentions. Most involved in the industry also have good intentions. The reality is you are trying to stop a waterfall with a screen. There is absolutely no going back.

 

[ODB]

View attachment 347960

Looks like the residents are the ones who started buying all the otc tags.

Idaho’s population grew 17% since 2010 alone. Those people aren’t moving here for the theater and nightlife.

 

[HuntHarder]

I commend your efforts. I believe Randy has good intentions. Most involved in the industry also have good intentions. The reality is you are trying to stop a waterfall with a screen. There is absolutely no going back.

So, should we just sit back and do nothing? Every little bit means something. OTC will be a thing of the past in the near future. Let's do everything possible to extend it as long as we can. Implementing % caps on non-res OTC, mandatory harvest reporting, % harvest thresholds on units can extend OTC's existance

 

[Laramie]

So, should we just sit back and do nothing? Every little bit means something. OTC will be a thing of the past in the near future. Let's do everything possible to extend it as long as we can. Implementing % caps on non-res OTC, mandatory harvest reporting, % harvest thresholds on units can extend OTC's existance

I didn't state that. As a resident of Az, this is good progress for you but it is really temporary in the grand scheme of things. Some are pining for a return the old days and would like to see demand drop. The reality is demand will continue to increase. Western state human populations are increasing and more residents are hunting. Even in Wyoming, resident pressure is significantly increasing. Individuals are not the cause. Dramatic increases in technology and electronic communication are. My point is, enjoy what we have and realize we are nearing the "end" of the good old days as we know it. In the mean time, fight the battles you can, as you mention, to prolong as long as you can.

 

[Idaho_Potato]

Founder OYOA, is just being proactive and prior to the petition. I commend him for that foresight and concern of the resource.

as for percentage increase comparisons, BS.
The focus and concern for residents are numbers of hunters in the field. Looking at those numbers 1500+ more AZ residents purchased OTC archery deer tags and 500+ non-residents purchased those tags in the same time span. Thus, 3x more AZ residents entered the woods-deserts with OTC archery deer tags. More pressure is coming from residents than non-res.

and this year Jan-2022, I'll be one to switch to AZ resident...after hunting OTC archery AZ as non-resident for each of the past 18 years.

The focus on non-resident and resident numbers is splitting hairs. I get that the original topic was about non-resident hunters in AZ, but residents have equal access to YouTube. An advertisement is an advertisement. Maybe an equal or greater number of residents were fed the ads/videos and went out to hammer whatever species in whatever season. Same effect, pressure was increased when it could be argued it shouldn't have.

 

[Deadfall]

I would hate to build a reputation as a great hunter and conservationist then actually get paid to hunt good public land areas to help spread hunting.


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Books and covers

 

[tdhanses]

It’s kind of laughable, around 90% of AZ otc tags are purchased by residents yet the NR is the problem due to influencers.

I mean out of 29,589 otc tags sold in 2020, 3,093 went to NR’s.

 

[AZ8]

It’s kind of laughable, around 90% of AZ otc tags are purchased by residents yet the NR is the problem due to influencers.

I mean out of 29,589 otc tags sold in 2020, 3,093 went to NR’s.

It's not the number sold. It's the fact the double digit % increase of NR was a contributing factor in reaching the 20% success threshhold, thus shutting down units to draw only. That's what's at play here.

 

[gburk]

While it is true that NRs are intrinsically superior in most respects, including lethality (and this holds true outside of AZ... ), I gotta believe the concentration of animals around water during the drought played a major part to increase bow hunting kill rates over the past couple years.
in other words don’t just blame Randy?

 

[wapitibob]

30,000 residents and 3,000 nr but the 3000 did all the killing...

interesting

 

[TonySkyline]

Randy is the man. Literally one of the only real ones left that doesn't wear a flat brim hat out west and act like his $hit dont stink. He did do the right thing and I am glad he did. I am thankful for the dudes on youtube/tv that got me motivated to try and go out west but at the same time, it has become overkill. In just a few years since I've been applying, these point systems have gotten crazy. Wish I knew about all this stuff 15 years ago.

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[HuntHarder]

While it is true that NRs are intrinsically superior in most respects, including lethality (and this holds true outside of AZ... ), I gotta believe the concentration of animals around water during the drought played a major part to increase bow hunting kill rates over the past couple years.
in other words don’t just blame Randy?

If you would bother reading multiple posts from myself and many other people, no one is just blaming Randy.... This particular thread is about influencers, so he is the subject. He is a very, very small part of the problem. The thing is, he realized he was going to contribute to the problem so he voluntarily cancelled his contract. I am not sure why some guys are ate up over this. He literally was cancelling his contract before the petition was even started. If he would have been public about his decision to do that, I doubt a petition ever gets started. He is a very public guy, not sure why he didn't want to talk about that.

 

[tdhanses]

It's not the number sold. It's the fact the double digit % increase of NR was a contributing factor in reaching the 20% success threshhold, thus shutting down units to draw only. That's what's at play here.

So NR are more successful? If there is a 20% success rate that means 618 NR were successful out of 29,589 hunters or 2% overall or do you think 100% of NR were successful and only 2,825 residents were?

I’d bet the 20% success rate was made up of 99% resident success of that rate, I mean there were 26,496 residents with tags to the 3,093 NR. Even if NR were nolonger allowed to hunt otc I bet chances are high resident hunters would of hit the threshold.

I highly doubt NR know the areas better and do a better job hunting in AZ then residents but guess it’s possible.

 

[HuntHarder]

It's 20% of the total harvest for a particular unit. If that is reached on an OTC tag, they will recommend that unit close to OTC the following season.
In other words, if 200 deer are thought to have been killed in unit XX by all weapons. 40 of them can not be by OTC archery, or they will recommend that unit close next year.

This is where AZGD has a big problem IMO. Without mandatory harvest reporting, they do not know exactly how many deer have been killed. Just guessing. I digress tho, this thread is about the influx of Non-resident OTC hunters and the loss of opportunity for all. Sucks to know that of those 3000+ non-res hunters, they are concentrated in only a handful of units. Those units' Thresholds will certainly be met sooner than later due to many factors and will close to OTC.

 

[wapitibob]

Unlimited OTC hunting is the worst management decision ever made.

 

[tdhanses]

It's 20% of the total harvest for a particular unit. If that is reached on an OTC tag, they will recommend that unit close to OTC the following season.
In other words, if 200 deer are thought to have been killed in unit XX by all weapons. 40 of them can not be by OTC archery, or they will recommend that unit close next year.

This is where AZGD has a big problem IMO. Without mandatory harvest reporting, they do not know exactly how many deer have been killed. Just guessing. I digress tho, this thread is about the influx of Non-resident OTC hunters and the loss of opportunity for all. Sucks to know that of those 3000+ non-res hunters, they are concentrated in only a handful of units. Those units' Thresholds will certainly be met sooner than later due to many factors and will close to OTC.

Sounds like OTC needs to go away in general for resident and nonresident, make it an easy resident draw. I don’t think AZ is seeing the increases of NR hunters like other states and seems to me that’s just a scape goat when resident participation increases from 2019 to 2020 are much higher overall. What is the R vs NR draw allocation, if 10% then currently NR would be at that threshold, you would be able to scatter them out more then toss them in a few units, so maybe the change to draw is for the better in these units that are changing.

I agree with mandatory check-in.