Trapped furbearer
Hunting Beaver in Arizona (2026-27)
Seasons, limits and tags for beaver across Arizona, read from the AZGFD booklets and checked November 7, 2026.
Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mountain-Prairie Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
Quick read on Arizona beaver
For beaver the 2026-27 Commission Orders give 1 window, led off by trapping on November 1, 2026. None of them is tied to a short unit list: they cover Arizona as a whole, minus the closed places named in each row.
From trapping leaflet (Arizona Game and Fish Department), checked November 7, 2026.
How many beaver you may take in Arizona
The table copies the limit lines for beaver from the booklets so the counting rule (daily, yearly or lifetime) is plain.
| Which limit | As printed |
|---|---|
| Trapping: bag limit | Unlimited. |
| Trapping: possession limit | Unlimited. |
From bag limit text (Arizona Game and Fish Department), checked November 7, 2026.
Arizona beaver dates, row by row
One row per Commission Order line. Click a unit for its land ownership, other species and neighbouring units.
| Hunt | Legal game | Tag | Date range | Units | Permits | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trapping | Beaver and muskrat | Trapping | Nov 1–Feb 28, 2027 | Statewide
| – |
From trapping leaflet (Arizona Game and Fish Department), checked November 7, 2026.
Which beaver hunts need a draw
| Type | Rows | Permits | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trapping | 1 | – | Trapping license |
Beaver sit outside the draw entirely; buy the right license and the season rows are yours to hunt.
From draw rules, 2026-27 regulations, nonpermit-tag rules and trapping leaflet (Arizona Game and Fish Department), checked November 7, 2026.
Arizona counties with beaver rows
Counties are listed for orientation only; the legal boundary for beaver is always the unit printed with the row.
| County | Season rows | Drawn | Nonpermit | Units | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apache | 1 | 0 | 0 | I Pinetop | |
| Cochise | 1 | 0 | 0 | V Tucson | |
| Coconino | 1 | 0 | 0 | II Flagstaff | |
| Gila | 1 | 0 | 0 | VI Mesa | |
| Graham | 1 | 0 | 0 | V Tucson | |
| Greenlee | 1 | 0 | 0 | I Pinetop | |
| La Paz | 1 | 0 | 0 | IV Yuma | |
| Maricopa | 1 | 0 | 0 | IV Yuma | |
| Mohave | 1 | 0 | 0 | III Kingman | |
| Navajo | 1 | 0 | 0 | I Pinetop | |
| Pima | 1 | 0 | 0 | V Tucson | |
| Pinal | 1 | 0 | 0 | V Tucson | |
| Santa Cruz | 1 | 0 | 0 | V Tucson | |
| Yavapai | 1 | 0 | 0 | III Kingman | |
| Yuma | 1 | 0 | 0 | IV Yuma |
From unit maps, AZGFD unit layer and trapping leaflet (Arizona Game and Fish Department), checked November 7, 2026.
Beaver: what you may shoot with
Arizona sets weapons by season type under R12-4-304, so an archery-only beaver row and a general row allow different tools.
| Season type | Legal | Not legal |
|---|---|---|
| Trapping |
|
|
Method text on the beaver rows
| Method as printed | Rows |
|---|---|
| 1 |
From legal methods, 2026-27 regulations and Laws and Rules Book (Arizona Game and Fish Department), checked November 7, 2026.
Licenses and fees for beaver
What beaver cost to hunt in Arizona: license, tags and stamps, with who can buy each.
| Item | Residency | Cost | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| General hunting license | Resident | $37 | 365 days from purchase |
| Combination hunt and fish | Resident | $57 | 365 days from purchase |
| Combination hunt and fish | Nonresident | $160 | 365 days from purchase |
| Youth combination (10-17) | Either | $5 | 365 days from purchase |
| Short-term combination | Resident | $15 per day | Days chosen at purchase |
| Short-term combination | Nonresident | $20 per day | Days chosen at purchase |
| Trapping License | Resident | $30 | Calendar year |
| Trapping License | Nonresident | $275 | Calendar year |
| Youth trapping (10-17) | Either | $10 | Calendar year |
From 2026 fee table (Arizona Game and Fish Department), checked November 7, 2026.
Before you hunt beaver: the rules
A short list for beaver; Arizona has no hunter orange rule and no Sunday limit, but it does have the rules below.
| Subject | What it says |
|---|---|
| Contests | Organizing or taking part in contests with prizes for killing predatory or fur-bearing animals is unlawful. |
| Traps | No live animals, edible parts of small or big game or game fish, or any part of a game or nongame bird as bait in confinement traps; no foothold trap within 30 feet of sight-exposed bait (R12-4-307). |
| Waste | Unlawful to let edible portions of game go to waste; revocation applies for wasting breast meat of game birds and turkey, and the quarters and loins of big game. |
| Other weapons | Possessing weapons not authorized for the season is allowed if they are not used to take wildlife; taking wildlife with them is a class 1 misdemeanor. |
From tagging and reporting, Laws and Rules Book and common violations (Arizona Game and Fish Department), checked November 7, 2026.
Public places for Arizona beaver
Start with these public lands in the beaver units; refuges, military land and tribal land have their own rules and are not listed here.
Robbins Butte Wildlife Area: Unit 26M, Unit 39 and Unit 41 carry beaver rows.
Unit 43B of the beaver rows reach Mittry Lake Wildlife Area.
BLM Lake Havasu Field Office takes in Unit 15D, Unit 16A and Unit 16B, where beaver have rows.
White Mountain Grasslands Wildlife Area lies in Unit 1 of the beaver rows.
Sonoran Desert National Monument lies in Unit 39 and Unit 40A of the beaver rows.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area overlaps Unit 13A, Unit 13B and Unit 15A on the beaver list.
Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area lies in Unit 28 of the beaver rows.
BLM Arizona Strip Field Office: Unit 12A, Unit 12B and Unit 13A carry beaver rows.
From AZGFD and agency land layers (Arizona Game and Fish Department), checked November 7, 2026.
Beaver questions
Which areas are closed for beaver?
Statewide, with exclusions: “Statewide (including Walnut Canyon Enclosure in Unit 22; excluding National Wildlife Refuges, Mohave County Park Lands, and Units 11M, 25M, 26M, 34B, and 38M)”. No zones apply.
What weapons are legal for beaver?
The legal list reads: Traps under R12-4-307 (padded, offset or enclosed foothold traps on private land; confinement traps anywhere), checked daily.
What are legal shooting hours for beaver?
For beaver the window is daylight only, from sunrise to sunset as shown on the AZGFD chart.
Any orange rule for beaver?
No. Arizona sets no hunter orange rule for beaver or any other species, in the regulations, the Commission rules or Title 17.
What about beaver on tribal land in Arizona?
No, not on a state tag. Each tribe writes its own rules for beaver on its reservation, and a state license is not required there (R12-4-117).
Is Sunday open for beaver?
All seven days are legal for beaver within the season dates.
How does Arizona regulate trapping beaver?
Leghold, instant-kill body-gripping traps, snares and poison on any public land (A.R.S. 17-301(D)); traps with teeth; oversize jaws. Traps under R12-4-307 (padded, offset or enclosed foothold traps on private land; confinement traps anywhere), checked daily.
How early can beaver be taken this season?
Trapping on November 1, 2026 come first. Check the season table for the unit list and last day of each.
Is there a daily or yearly limit on beaver?
AZGFD prints this limit: Unlimited.
What license covers beaver in Arizona?
AZGFD asks for a trapping license. Nonresidents buy the $160 combination license, the only general hunting license sold to them.
Other photos on this page: U.S. Department of Agriculture (Public domain); Bureau of Land Management Arizona (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Bureau of Land Management (CC BY 2.0).