Arizona Lottery

Frog totals in the wild jump by 1,700

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[Source: Sierra Vista Herald] – The Arizona wilderness became a bit more populated this week, thanks to a team of biologists from the Arizona Game and Fish Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and the Phoenix Zoo’s Conservation Center. 

More than 1,700 threatened Chiricahua leopard frogs were released into the Tonto National Forest. The frogs, including adults and tadpoles, were released at multiple sites in the forest near Payson. The frogs were raised from eggs collected near Young. Additionally, 100 frogs that were bred and raised at the zoo were released last week near Camp Verde in the Coconino National Forest.  

“Thanks in part to Game and Fish’s Heritage Fund, we are making great strides in re-establishing Chiricahua leopard frogs to their native habitat in Arizona, and this release marks a significant accomplishment and milestone for the recovery effort,” said Michael Sredl of the Arizona Game and Fish Department. “Our goal is to work through partnerships to preclude the need to list species on the federal endangered species list, or in cases where they are already listed, to recover them to a point where they can be removed from the list.”

 Until the 1970s, Chiricahua leopard frogs lived in ponds and creeks across central and southeastern Arizona, but populations have declined significantly since then due to drought, disease, habitat loss and threats from non-native species. They were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2002.  A recovery team was created to help bring the species back from the brink of extinction. The team developed a recovery plan with the goal of recovering the species to the point where it can be removed from the endangered species list. The plan includes releases of captive-bred frogs, habitat restoration, and monitoring.

Viewpoint: Where Does The Money Go Now?

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[Source: Janice Miano, Director of Administration, Arizona Heritage Alliance] — In 1990, the voters of Arizona, through a voter-initiative, created the Heritage Fund to protect and conserve our state’s wildlife, natural, and historic resources.  The vision of children playing on new swings in new parks; the reintroduction of endangered species into our state; historic buildings restored to their former glory and new uses; the acquisition of open space and critical environmental habitat; all of these programs and more have become a reality because of the creation of the Heritage Fund.

Since the beginning over $338.5 million have been directed towards the saving and expanding of Arizona’s environmental, cultural, and historical resources.  In addition, millions of dollars in matching grant money and the re-investment in our natural and cultural resources have brought economic and environmental benefits into almost every community in our state.

Money for the Heritage Fund comes from the Arizona Lottery — up to $20 million in annual lottery revenue is divided evenly between the Arizona Game and Fish Department and Arizona State Parks.

This legislative session was going well with the Lottery reauthorized via Senate Bill 1004 and signed into law by Governor Brewer on February 9.  This bill stated that the Arizona Lottery would be reauthorized with all its beneficiaries intact.

You have all seen those warm and fuzzy commercials on TV and in the newspaper telling us of all the wonderful projects the Arizona Lottery supports?  It’s called How The Money Helps on the Arizona Lottery’s website.  However, how does the money help now?  Well, it doesn’t help anymore.  The Arizona State Parks Heritage Fund is DEAD, FINI, KAPUT – killed by Governor Brewer’s stroke of her pen on March 18 with Budget Reconciliation Bill HB2012.

Where dose the money go now? HB2012 makes temporary and permanent law changes relating to state revenues in order to implement the FY 2010-11 state budget.  And for FY 2009-10, redirects state lottery distributions to the Arizona State Parks Heritage Fund after February 1, 2010 through the end of the fiscal year to the state’s General Fund.  The bill also REPEALS the Arizona State Parks Heritage Fund and REVERTS any monies remaining in the Arizona State Parks Heritage Fund on June 30, 2011 to the state’s General Fund.

Do you still want to buy Lottery tickets? Remember the Heritage Fund was created by the voters of Arizona and the original statute (ARS 41-502 and ARS 17-297) said, “In no event shall any monies in the fund revert to the state general fund…”

Along with Governor Brewer, please remember these names.

  • Senators voting to eliminate the State Parks Heritage Fund were: Sylvia Allen; David Braswell; Chuck Gray; Jack Harper; Barbara Leff; Al Melvin; Russell Pearce; Ed Bunch; Linda Gray; John Huppenthal; Steve Pierce; Thayer Verschoor; Frank Antenori; Ron Gould; John Nelson; and Senate President Bob Burns.
  • House Members voting to kill the State Parks Heritage Fund were: Ray Barnes; Tom Boone; Judy Burges; Rich Crandall; Doris Goodale; Laurin Hendrix; Bill Konopnicki; Rick Murphy; Michele Reagan; Carl Seel; Andrew Tobin; Jim Weiers, Steven Yarbrough; Nancy Barto; David Gowan; Russ Jones; Debbie Lesko; Lucy Mason; Nancy McLain; Warde Nichols; Frank Pratt; Amanda Reeve; Jerry Weiers; Cecil Ash; Andy Biggs; Steve Court; Adam Driggs; John Kavanagh; John McComish; Steve Montenegro; Doug Quelland; David Stevens; Vic Williams; and Speaker of the House, Kirk Adams.

In 2007, the Morrison Institute said, “The Heritage Fund stands out in part because of the diversity of programs it supports.”  The Arizona Heritage Fund has supplied valuable programs and resources for the residents of Arizona and those who visit the state.  The economic, environmental, education, tourism, and quality of life benefits that result from the Heritage Fund are too important to the citizens of Arizona to be lost!

The Arizona Game & Fish Heritage Fund is still intact — but for how long?

Wickenburg-Boetto House receives award

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Before and after shot of the Wickenburg-Boetto House.

[Source: The Wickenburg Sun, 3-23-2010] — The Wickenburg-Boetto House was recently selected to receive the Heritage Fund Historic Preservation Project of the year award.  The selection was based on many aspects, such as outstanding project performance and end use.  The Arizona State Parks board and the Arizona Lottery made the Project of the Year program possible.

The Historic Preservation Advisory Committee has chosen Wednesday, March 31 as the day to recognize the project and to award a bronze plaque to be placed at the Wickenburg-Boetto House.  Other projects being recognized include Old Adobe Mission in Scottsdale, New State Motor Building in Jerome, Children’s Museum at Monroe School in Phoenix, and Peeples Valley Schoolhouse.

The awards presentation is scheduled to take place in Phoenix and is set to begin at 1 p.m.  For more information, contact Cindy Thrasher at 684-5129.

Viewpoint: Attack on Voter Protection Act threatens our valuable initiative process

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[Source: William C. Thornton, Special to the Arizona Daily Star, 3-8-2010] — Voters Beware!  Once again our right to legislate by initiative is under attack in the Arizona Legislature.  Inspired by the progressive movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, framers of the Arizona Constitution provided citizens with the initiative and recall as remedies for an unresponsive Legislature and direct means of removing corrupt or incompetent public officials from office.

It’s no secret that many legislators don’t like initiatives.  Many voter-approved measures provide evidence of a gap between an electorate with a progressive streak and the conservative legislative leadership.  Examples include the Arizona Heritage Fund, which passed by a 2-1 ratio in 1990.  With Heritage Funds, the citizens of Arizona have invested more than $400 million of lottery revenue in Arizona State Parks and Game and Fish, and earned many additional millions of dollars in matching grants.  If you hunt, fish, hike, camp, boat or picnic, you have benefited from the Heritage Fund at no cost to taxpayers.

By initiative we have also banned the barbaric blood sport of cockfighting, the hideously cruel use of leg-hold animal traps and mandated more humane conditions for factory-farmed hogs.  These measures all passed with overwhelming public support when the Legislature couldn’t or wouldn’t act.

Through the mid 1990s legislators engaged in a series of fund transfers and other actions designed to undermine the initiative process.  Matters came to a head when, in a particularly outrageous display of contempt for voters, legislators took it upon themselves to “fix” an initiative that legalized the limited use of medical marijuana.  The backlash produced the “Voter Protection Act” of 1998 that rendered voter-approved initiatives immune from legislative tampering.  [Note: To read the full opinion, click here.]