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hump Arizona to reinstate cap on out-of-state hunters
PHOENIX (AP) -- Arizona plans to take advantage of a federal law and reinstate a 10 percent cap on the number of non-Arizonans granted the most desirable big-game hunting licenses annually, the state Game and Fish Department said Wednesday.
Arizona had scrapped its previous 10 percent cap in the wake of a federal court ruling that declared it unconstitutional.
However, the door was opened for Arizona and other states to limit nonresidents' hunting opportunities when Congress passed a law that renounced federal interest in regulating hunting and fishing permits under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, the department said.
"It will take some time, and we'll have public hearings before a final change is made," said Richard Rico, an assistant director of the department. "However, we're moving in the direction of putting a cap back in place, if the court lifts its injunction as expected."
The federal law sponsored by Western lawmakers and signed in May by President Bush affirms the rights of states to regulate hunting and fishing and lets them treat residents and nonresidents differently.
The law was a reaction to a 2002 ruling in which the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in an Arizona case filed by New Mexico hunters that states that restrict nonresident hunting tags must do so in the least discriminatory way. Following that ruling, a U.S. District Court judge who had originally upheld Arizona's cap then ordered the state to scrap it and institute a less discriminatory alternative.
Arizona officials had argued that the cap on licenses for nonresidents was justified because state residents play a bigger role than nonresidents in preserving and managing game herds.
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Arizona Department of Game and Fish: http://www.gf.state.az.us/
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.
PHOENIX (AP) -- Arizona plans to take advantage of a federal law and reinstate a 10 percent cap on the number of non-Arizonans granted the most desirable big-game hunting licenses annually, the state Game and Fish Department said Wednesday.
Arizona had scrapped its previous 10 percent cap in the wake of a federal court ruling that declared it unconstitutional.
However, the door was opened for Arizona and other states to limit nonresidents' hunting opportunities when Congress passed a law that renounced federal interest in regulating hunting and fishing permits under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, the department said.
"It will take some time, and we'll have public hearings before a final change is made," said Richard Rico, an assistant director of the department. "However, we're moving in the direction of putting a cap back in place, if the court lifts its injunction as expected."
The federal law sponsored by Western lawmakers and signed in May by President Bush affirms the rights of states to regulate hunting and fishing and lets them treat residents and nonresidents differently.
The law was a reaction to a 2002 ruling in which the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in an Arizona case filed by New Mexico hunters that states that restrict nonresident hunting tags must do so in the least discriminatory way. Following that ruling, a U.S. District Court judge who had originally upheld Arizona's cap then ordered the state to scrap it and institute a less discriminatory alternative.
Arizona officials had argued that the cap on licenses for nonresidents was justified because state residents play a bigger role than nonresidents in preserving and managing game herds.
---
Arizona Department of Game and Fish: http://www.gf.state.az.us/
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.
