PHOENIX – The Arizona Game and Fish Commission approved the 2012 hunt seasons for elk and pronghorn antelope during its Dec. 3 meeting in Phoenix, paving the way for hunters to start applying once they have the pertinent information available online in mid December.

The Game and Fish Commission set 23,383 hunt permit-tags for elk (down 1,035 from last year). The commission also set 788 hunt permit-tags for pronghorn antelope (down 21).

Don’t forget that the hunt-permit application deadline for elk and antelope is 7 p.m. MST Feb. 14 at all seven department offices – postmarks don’t count.

The department anticipates having elk and antelope regulations posted online by mid December. Once that is done, hunters can begin submitting applications.

The printed elk and antelope regulations for 2012 will be mailed to license dealers at the end of December and should be available the first week of January.

Keep in mind that the online application process is back and is expected to be available in December, but it may not be available right when the regulations are posted. The department will send out a notification about when the online application process will be available to submit applications for elk and antelope.

Hunters applying manually via the paper applications will want to jot down this date: Jan. 20, which ends the correction period. During the correction period, if you make a mistake on your submitted application, the department will make three attempts within a 24-hour period to notify you by telephone (if a phone number is provided), and give you a chance to correct the mistake.