{"id":15677,"date":"2024-09-26T17:17:20","date_gmt":"2024-09-27T00:17:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/?p=15677"},"modified":"2024-09-26T17:19:44","modified_gmt":"2024-09-27T00:19:44","slug":"its-that-time-of-year-small-game-seasons-revving-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2024\/09\/26\/its-that-time-of-year-small-game-seasons-revving-up\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s that time of year for small game hunters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NEWS RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sept. 26, 2024 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PHOENIX \u2014 This is the time of year that Arizona\u2019s small game and waterfowl hunters have been waiting for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the start of the band-tailed pigeon season Friday, Sept. 27, followed by the season opener for tree squirrels Oct. 4, hunters can pursue dusky grouse through Nov. 10 and chukar until Feb. 9, 2025. The season for cottontail rabbit runs through June 30, 2025, and the start of the season for Gambel\u2019s and scaled quail is just around the corner (Oct. 18).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the meantime, hunters should note that the upcoming general waterfowl and snipe seasons will mirror those from last year following AZGFD\u2019s simplification of the 2023-2024 regulations. In response to hunter requests, the department not only combined the previous \u201cMountain\u201d and \u201cDesert\u201d zones into one statewide zone, but shifted the entire state to a later start date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s 101-day season begins Wednesday, Oct. 23, and runs through Jan. 31, 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHunters up north in the previous Mountain zone could hunt a few weeks earlier, but they would see their season end in mid-January \u2014 just when waterfowl were arriving and staying later, and the good hunting would really get going,\u201d said Dr. Larisa Harding, AZGFD\u2019s small game program manager. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAccording to federal regulations, we have to maintain general waterfowl season dates that are consistent with California\u2019s Colorado River season in our southern areas (formerly the Desert zone), and that dictates the dates in the current state regulations. It made more sense to shift the whole state to a later start date statewide, so hunters could pursue birds across the state when they were here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe federal regulations allow us to have up to a 107-day waterfowl season. That includes a four-day season for falconers, and a two-day weekend hunt for youth. That leaves us with a 101-day season for general waterfowl. Per federal regulations, the general season must end on  Jan. 31, so counting back 101 days means that our general season will start Oct. 23 every year. \u201cThus, the dates don\u2019t change, but the days of the week will change year to year. That\u2019s why this year\u2019s season opens on a Wednesday and not on a Friday, like a lot of hunts do. We get a lot of calls asking if there\u2019s a misprint in the regulations. It\u2019s not a misprint.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harding added: \u201c For scaup, the federal regulations allow for an 86-day season because those birds are managed more conservatively, so that\u2019s why their season starts later (Nov. 7) and still ends Jan. 31, 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All waterfowl hunters 18 and older must possess a valid Arizona hunting license and Arizona migratory bird stamp, as well as a federal migratory bird stamp (also known as the \u201cFederal Duck Stamp\u201d). All waterfowl hunters 16 and older must also possess a federal migratory bird stamp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All hunting regulations can be viewed at https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/Hunting\/Regulations\/<\/strong><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Need a license? Visit www.azgfd.gov\/license\/<\/strong><\/a>. Keep in mind that a combination hunt and fish license is only $20 more (for state residents) than the price of an individual hunting or fishing license. As a reminder, a youth combination hunt and fish license (ages 10 to 17) is only $5 and includes the privileges associated with the Arizona migratory bird stamp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first step in planning that next successful hunt might be to check out the trove of detailed information that\u2019s just a few clicks away on the department\u2019s website. Visit https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/hunting\/where-to-hunt\/<\/strong><\/a>. Once there, hunters can select the area they wish to hunt (AZGFD divides the state into six geographical regions), then drill down further by choosing any of several Game Management Units (GMUs) located within that region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more hunting information, visit www.azgfd.com\/species-category\/game\/<\/strong><\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOTE: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has expanded hunting opportunities on national wildlife refuges. These opportunities are authorized and provided on USFWS-managed lands in accordance with federal, state and tribal (where applicable) regulations and seasons. For questions on hunting opportunities, consult current refuge hunt regulations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It doesn’t feel like fall, but several small game seasons are already underway, with more to come. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":7298,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-main-site"],"yoast_head":"\nIt's that time of year for small game hunters - Arizona Game & Fish Department<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2024\/09\/26\/its-that-time-of-year-small-game-seasons-revving-up\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It's that time of year for small game hunters - Arizona Game & Fish Department\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It doesn't feel like fall, but several small game seasons are already underway, with more to come.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2024\/09\/26\/its-that-time-of-year-small-game-seasons-revving-up\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arizona Game & Fish Department\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-27T00:17:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-27T00:19:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/05174122\/Band-tailed-pigeon_360.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"dhajek\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"dhajek\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2024\/09\/26\/its-that-time-of-year-small-game-seasons-revving-up\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2024\/09\/26\/its-that-time-of-year-small-game-seasons-revving-up\/\",\"name\":\"It's that time of year for small game hunters - 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