By Tom Cadden, public information officer, Arizona Game and Fish Department

Nestled in the shadow of Escudilla Mountain a few miles south of the eastern Arizona town of Eagar, the Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area is a special high-country destination that can be enjoyed by hunters, anglers, wildlife watchers and others who love the outdoors.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department acquired the 1,362-acre property in 1993 when it purchased the White Mountain Hereford Ranch. The area was renamed the Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area two years later.

The area boasts a combination of grassland, pinyon-juniper woodland, and riparian habitat, making it home to a diversity of wildlife species. Elk are found here throughout the year, with fall and winter the best times to see them. Waterfowl are readily seen during fall and spring migration periods. The area is used by a variety of raptors, including ospreys, hawks and golden eagles, and nesting birds such as rufous and broad-tailed hummingbirds, Lewis’ and acorn woodpeckers, and mountain bluebirds. Other wildlife to look for are gray fox, striped skunks, badgers, coyotes, mule deer, Merriam’s turkey, pronghorn antelope, and a variety of ground squirrels, chipmunks and bats.

“Since acquiring the property, the department has steadily enhanced its habitat values and attractions for visitors,” says Bruce Sitko, information and education program manager for the Game and Fish Pinetop region.

A small visitor center, a series of hiking trails complete with interpretive signage and wildlife viewing sites, and a day-use picnic area offer the public the opportunity to learn more about Arizona’s unique wildlife and their habitat needs.

The public is welcome to hike, bicycle or horseback ride on the property. The four hiking trails range from easy to moderate in difficulty and take visitors to wetlands, meadows, old homesteads and scenic vistas. The longest is a 2.5-mile loop. Several wildlife viewing points are located on the trails, including one on the High Point Trail Overlook, which has a 20x spotting scope for locating wildlife in the surrounding forest and meadows.

The visitor center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week, from mid-May until the beginning of October. Even when the visitor center is closed (as it is now), visitors can explore the grounds.

Hunting is allowed on the property in season.

To get to the Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area, take U.S. Highway 180/191 south from Eagar towards Alpine. At the signs on top of a mesa two miles from Eagar, turn off on an improved dirt road and drive five miles to the property. Park your car at one of two designated areas.

For more information, visit http://www.azgfd.gov/outdoor_recreation/wildlife_area_sipe.shtml

Opportunities for public hunting will be enhanced this fall with the addition of about 2,700 acres of land along lower Richland Creek in Searcy County to Gene Rush Wildlife Management Area.

All regulations, season dates and bag limits that apply to Gene Rush WMA will apply to the new acquisition, although most improvements for public access and habitat management will not be in place this year. For instance, access may be limited by Buffalo River and Richland Creek water levels.

Camping and parking areas have not been installed. This means no camping will be allowed on the newly acquired property this hunting season. Hunters also are encouraged to park in locations that do not block existing roads. Habitat improvements will begin next spring after a management plan has been designed. The plan will be open to public comment as it is developed. In the meantime, please respect personal property that may not yet be removed from the new acreage. No pasture gates should be opened or fences cut. Instances like these will be considered destruction of private property and a civil offense.

Horses may be used for recreation along the existing equestrian trail that connects to adjoining National Park Service land. Other uses of horses will be restricted according to AGFC regulations.

Maps of the new area are being produced and should be ready this fall. For more information or to obtain a copy of the newly acquired area map, call the AGFC Russellville Regional Office, (877) 967-7577 or the area manager at Gene Rush WMA, (870) 741-5446, ext. 277.

Kentucky hunters now have 15,000 new acres to pursue deer, elk, turkey and small game this fall in Clay, Bell and Leslie counties at Graham Wildlife Management Area (WMA). Roughly three-quarters of this area is part of the Begley WMA/Daniel Boone National Forest Limited Entry Area for elk hunting while the remainder is open to at-large elk hunting.

“This is part of our ongoing commitment to provide more hunting access to the public,” said Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Commissioner Jon Gassett. “We are extremely grateful that Tommy Graham, the landowner, made this happen. People like Mr. Graham share our love of the outdoors and recognize the importance of preserving our hunting heritage by allowing more public access to large tracts of property.”

The portions of the area open to at-large elk hunting mainly lie west of KY 66 and north of KY 1850.

“There are a lot of elk on that property,” said Tony Wheatley, lands acquisition coordinator for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “You have a great place to elk hunt.”

The area is a mixture of mature hardwoods and reclaimed coal mining land.

“The majority of it is in timberland,” said Graham, a resident of Linden, Tennessee. “I owned a lot of land in Tennessee and I was in a similar program in Tennessee. That was one of the main reasons I did this. I believe being in this type of program adds value to the land.”

The strip benches and other remains of mining on portions of Graham WMA should make the property an easier place to hunt compared to the topography of the surrounding area. “The mountains in that part of the state are tall and steep,” Wheatley said. “But, with all of the old strip benches, there should be plenty of places for hunters to set-up to deer or elk hunt. It should be relatively easy for hunters to go in and out and retrieve downed game.”

The area is open to statewide regulations for deer, turkey, small game hunting. There are few viable fishing opportunities on the area. Be sure to follow all signage as some areas are off-limits to the public.

The area lies between KY 66 and U.S. 421 south of Hal Rogers Parkway in the area where Clay, Bell and Leslie counties meet.

A map of the property is available online at fw.ky.gov.