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million acres, this area is as vast as it is wild.The habitat is diverse, from oak chaparral at lower elevations to mixed conifer forests up higher.Most important, it contains what is arguably the highest quality elk herd in North America.Results over the last twenty years suggest the quality of elk hunting on the reservation.As of 1996, the nontypical high scoring bull ranks second worldwide.Since 1980, nontribal hunters have enjoyed a 90 to 95 percent success rate on guided trophy elk hunts.1 Elk hunting on the reservation has not always been this good.At that time, the Arizona Game and Fish Department managed elk hunting on the reservation, and like most state game agencies, this one emphasized maximizing the number of hunter days rather than the quality of hunting.The numbers reflected the state’s approach.Each season, the state would issue 700 nontribal hunting licenses at $150 each.Entrepreneurship by the White Mountain Apache Tribe changed the quality of elk hunting dramatically.Under tribal management, the emphasis has been on greatly reducing hunting pressure on immature bulls so they will have a chance to grow to trophy size.2As with many entrepreneurial efforts, the tribe had to overcome a significant legal hurdle before it could fully realize its goal of managing for trophy elk.So in 1977, Phillip Stago, director of Fort Apache recreation programs, informed the state that the tribe was assuming complete control of hunting