PHOENIX - Are you unable to use your big game tag this fall because of an unexpected change in plans?

You can still put that valuable big game tag to good use. The Arizona Game and Fish Department's rules allow a couple of options for transferring a tag to give a youngster a thrilling hunting opportunity.

A parent, grandparent, or legal guardian can transfer his/her tag to his/her minor child or grandchild. Or, a tag holder can donate their tag to a qualified nonprofit organization that provides hunting opportunities to children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Here's how either option works:

Transfer to child:
A parent, grandparent or legal guardian holding a big game tag may allow the use of that tag by their minor child or minor grandchild pursuant to the following requirements:

• The minor child is 10 to 17 years old on the date of transfer;

• The minor child has a vaild hunting or combination license on the date of transfer;

• A minor child less than 14 years old has satisfactorily completed a Department-approved hunter education course by the beginning date of the hunt;

• The parent or guardian must accompany the child in the field or, if a grandparent allows a minor grandchild to use the grandparent's permit or tag, the grandparent, parent or the child's guardian must accompany the child in the field. In either case, the adult must be within 50 yards of the child when the animal is taken.

Transfer to nonprofit organization for ill child:
A number of qualified nonprofit organizations are dedicated to providing hunting opportunities to children with illnesses with a wish to go hunting. The Tag Transfer program has given many children a chance to go on a hunt-of-a-lifetime in Arizona during a time of need.

"To a child that has a terminal or chronic illness, an Arizona big game hunt truly can be the "hunt of a lifetime" said Hunt of a Lifetime Ambassador for Arizona and New Mexico, Nate Medcalf. "What better way to make a difference in a child's life?"

To donate your unused big game tag, the following organizations can be contacted to arrange for a donation:

• Catch-A-Dream at http://catchadream.org.

• Hunt of a Lifetime at www.hoalarizona.org.

•  Outdoor Experience 4 All at www.outdoorexperienceforall.org

•   United Special Sportsmen Alliance at www.childswish.com.

To learn more about the big game hunt permit-tag transfer law consult A.R.S. 17-332 at www.azleg.gov/ArizonaRevisedStatutes.asp?Title=17.

To learn more about hunting in Arizona, visit the Arizona Game and Fish Department's Web site at www.azgfd.gov/hunting.