Private Lands Wildlife Management Program

Tribal Programs

The White Mountain Apache took over game management on the 1.6 million-acre Fort Apache reservation in Arizona in 1977 and it now offers both small game and big game hunting. After taking over game management, the tribe restricted hunting for trophy elk, reduced livestock grazing and limited logging. Its efforts to improve habitat for elk worked. In 1995, 66 hunters paid $12,000 each for a six-day trophy hunt. A maximum of 70 permits for elk are issued. The tribe reports on its Web site that "In the next few years the Trophy elk hunting program will undergo several refinements which will enhance the overall quality of the hunt and will likely entail a reduction in the number of trophy permits. In the meantime, a waiting list of some 100 hunters names has been maintained to systematically book occasional openings ... Because of the extent of the waiting period which currently exists, the waiting list has once again been closed. " The tribe also issues four permits each year through a sealed bid auction, with the permits going to the highest bidders.

Trophy hunts also include bighorn sheep, antelope, black bear and lions. Small game hunts include quail hunts, duck and goose hunts, and rabbit hunting. Small game permits are sold either by the day or by the year.

The tribe manages fishing on 800 miles of streams and 2,300 acres of reservoirs. Anglers can fish for bass and catfish in low elevation waters, fish for Apache, brook, brown and rainbow trout in one of 12 lakes or 40 streams, rent a lake exclusively for a group, or fish in waters managed for trophy fish. Fisheries management programs on the reservation include stocking Apache Trout, a rare species found only in the White Mountains of Arizona, in Christmas Tree Lake. A fishing camp is open from May 9 to May 27 at Christmas Tree Lake and limited access fishing is allowed there at other times, with a maximum of 20 daily permits issued.

Other outdoor recreational activities on the reservation include rafting and canyon hiking.

White Mountain Apache Tribe Wildlife & Outdoor Recreation Division

Other State Programs

Sources include:
• White Mountain Apache Tribe Web site.
• Hunting for Habitat: A Practical Guide to State-Landowner Partnerships, by Donald R. Leal and J. Bishop Grewell, Political Economy Research Center, Bozeman, Mont., 1999.