ARIZONA DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP PERMIT
Arizona Game and Fish Department
Game Branch
5000 West Carefree Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85086 Contact: Amber Munig
623. 236.7355
Booth #178
Arizona remains the premier state for Mexicana desert sheep and quality rams. Arizona has continues to produce an astonishing number of outstanding trophies; come by our booth to view video of rams still on the mountain. On average more than a dozen make the B&C book every year at least one or more scores better than 180". The 2012 season was another typically great year for Mexicana sheep hunters in Arizona with 18 rams scoring more than 168" , with 11 of those greater than 170". That’s almost 43% of the overall harvest potentially making the book. Four of these majestic rams scored well over 180”. Predictions for the 2013 and 2014 seasons are every bit as bright and there is no finer opportunity than Arizona for taking an exceptional Mexicana desert sheep. Last year, Gustavo Arvelo, the 2012 Arizona Auction Tag buyer, harvested a tremendous ram in August 2012 which green scored 186-4/8". Our 2013 auction hunter, Chris Dianda, took a beautiful 9 year old ram in August, green scoring 180-6/8".
Arizona’s desert sheep country is some of the most picturesque in the West, and an excellent back drop for the desert bighorn sheep hunt of your life. Bighorn sheep are managed very conservatively in Arizona. The winning bidder for this tag will have 365 days to pursue a desert bighorn sheep in Arizona’s best Mexicana sheep units. The units open for this hunt include: 16B, 22 South, 24B, 28 (south of US Hwy 70), 31, 32, 37A, 39 (west of Old Highway 80), 40B, 41, 43A, 43B, 44A, 44B, 45A, 45B, 45C (including the Kofa NWR), 46A, and 46B (including the Cabeza Prieta NWR) as described in Commission Order 29.
Proceeds from the sale of this tag are used to fund on-the-ground bighorn sheep projects like water developments, surveys, habitat enhancements, and highway mitigation research. No administrative expenses incurred by either the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society or the Wild Sheep Foundation come from this sale; it all goes on the mountain. To date, nearly $3,600,000 have been raised with strictly for bighorn sheep management through this auction tag. Without the continued funding provided by these tag funds, Arizona’s bighorn sheep restoration program would be years behind its current success. The Arizona Special Big Game License-Tag is valid for any desert bighorn sheep ram as prescribed in rule R12-4-120, for a 365-day season, August 15, 2014–August 14, 2015. Please contact the Arizona Game and Fish Department (azgfd.gov) or the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society (adbss.org) for more information.