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Arizona Game and Fish Commission Honors Conservationists at Awards Banquet

January 20, 2018 by azheritage2

Source: Arizona Game and Fish Department Press Release – January 19, 2018

Nineteen individuals and organizations were honored at the annual Arizona Game and Fish Commission Awards Banquet on Saturday, Jan. 13, at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort in Phoenix. The awards recognize Arizonans who have contributed significantly to the conservation of the state’s wildlife, its outdoor heritage, and the mission of the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

Among those honored were Gov. Doug Ducey for State Advocate of the Year (the award was accepted on behalf of the governor by Natural Resources Policy Advisor Hunter Moore); Sen. Jeff Flake for Federal Advocate of the Year; 3TV Meteorologist Kim Quintero (one of two winners of Media of the Year); and Elizabeth (Beth) Woodin, who

Members of the Alliance accepting the Award on behalf of Beth Woodin

served on the Arizona Game and Fish Commission in the 1990’s and was president of the Arizona Heritage Alliance. Ms. Woodin sadly passed away last week and was awarded posthumously.

The complete list of award winners is:

Award of Excellence: Lake Havasu Marine Association
Award of Excellence: Elizabeth Woodin
Youth Environmentalist of the Year: Chase Godbehere
Media of the Year: Kim Quintero
Media of the Year: National Veterans Magazine
Conservation Organization of the Year: Phoenix Varmint Callers, Inc.
Conservationist of the Year: Clyde Weakley
Natural Resource Professional of the Year: Erica Stewart
Volunteer of the Year: Ron Adams
Educator of the Year: Michael Eilertsen
Mentor of the Year: Justin Stewart
Advocate of the Year – State: Gov. Doug Ducey;
Advocate of the Year – Federal: Sen. Jeff Flake
Business Partner of the Year: OneAZ Credit Union
Buck Appleby Hunter Education Instructor of the Year: John and Linda Vedo
Wildlife Habitat Steward of the Year: Double O Ranch
North American Model Commissioners Award: Luke Thompson
Chairman’s Award: Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club

Environmental Study Ranks Arizona Second Lowest Among Western States

October 20, 2017 by azheritage2

Source: Joshua Bowling, The Republic/azcentral.com, October 18, 2017

It found Arizona’s access to public lands and responsible energy development need improvement.

(Photo: Mark Henle/The Republic)

Arizona ranked second-lowest among eight Western states in a scorecard measuring the use and management of public lands, an advocacy group said Tuesday. The scorecard, produced and released by the non-profit Center for Western Priorities, examined how Western states regulated public lands, recreation, wildlife conservation and energy development.

Jennifer Rokala, the center’s executive director, said reports like this one are increasingly important in the national political climate. “Currently much attention is focused on the national level at what the Trump administration will do to roll back protections of public lands,” she said during a media conference call Tuesday. “Truly, there’s a different story to be told at the state level.”

Rokala said “no one state does everything correctly,” but she hopes the scorecard will provide a sort of roadmap so state officials can see what policies legislators in nearby states are implementing and learn from them.

Holly Fretwell, a research fellow at the Property and Environmental Research Center in Montana, said these sorts of specific reports can help illustrate what specific states need, rather than “one-size-fits-all” national studies. Fretwell said public land issues are often difficult issues for states that have to juggle state land use with federal land use. “We tend to have this conflict,” she said. “The competing demands on resources and how to use resources because they’re on the federal level.”

Average marks for recreation

Lyman Lake State Park features three hiking trails. (Photo: Arizona State Parks)

Although Arizona outperformed Idaho in the scorecard, it ranked behind Colorado, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico and Nevada. Arizona scored “average,” its highest mark, in the outdoor recreation category, since it doesn’t have an office of outdoor recreation or statewide standards for environmental education, according to the report. In “access to public lands,” Arizona received the lowest possible score, “needs improvement,” because of a 2010 piece of legislation that eliminated funding for the State Parks Heritage Fund, which drew from state lottery funds, according to the report.

The access to public lands category also earned the state low marks because of designations by the Arizona Navigable Stream Adjudication Commission. The commission determines what waterways in the state are navigable and, currently, only permits navigation — the ability to float through private property — on the Colorado River. Navigability factored into scores because it can carry slightly different definitions across state lines, according to the report. Both Montana and Idaho were commended for “exemplary” access to waterways. Allowing boats to float through private land usually means there are walkable routes along the banks of the waterways, the report says.

Jesse Prentice-Dunn, who co-authored the report, said it’s important because it keeps aggressive landowners from doing things such as stringing barbed wire across waterways to keep people off their property. He said he knows of such instances occurring in other states, but not in Arizona.

George Mehnert, the commission’s director, said the Colorado River has that navigable distinction because it is federally managed and out of the commission’s control. Other waterways regulated by the state do not have the same distinction, he said. Mehnert, in an interview Tuesday, said the commission is preparing reports and won’t make the other five rivers navigable this year. Attorneys representing the communities near those bodies of water can appeal the commission’s decision to the Arizona Superior Court. The other five waterways are the San Pedro, Santa Cruz, Gila, Salt and Verde rivers.

Energy rules score low

At Dead Horse Ranch State Park near Cottonwood, recreation includes fishing, horseback riding, hiking, biking and camping. (Photo: Mark Henle/The Republic)

The scorecard also dinged Arizona with a “needs improvement” score in the responsible energy development category. Prentice-Dunn said the low score was due in part to Arizona’s energy development policies. The state requires reporting of oil and gas spills within 24 hours, but doesn’t make those reports readily available to the public, he said.Arizona also doesn’t have any fracking chemical disclosure rules and allows voluntary reports through FracFocus, an industry-operated website that provides public access to chemical usage. “This is something that Colorado, New Mexico and Utah all have databases online, so that’s certainly an area where Arizona could improve,” he said. “In the West, in particular, energy communities and development kind of feel like they’re on a collision course … it really helps for the public to have the impacts of what energy development are.”

Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in the Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow the azcentral and Arizona Republic environmental reporting team at OurGrandAZ on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Historic Powerball Jackpot Makes Positive Arizona Economic Impact

February 25, 2023September 17, 2017 by azheritage2

Source: AZ Business Magazine, September 14, 2017

Lottery players had an exciting month in August as the Powerball^® jackpot climbed to the second largest in the game’s history. Although the top prize winner lives in Massachusetts, the historic $758 million jackpot still made a positive impact across the Grand Canyon State.

“The whole world was watching this jackpot as it rolled closer and closer to $1 billion and the Lottery had the surge in sales to prove it,” Executive Director of the Arizona Lottery Gregg Edgar said. “These record-breaking jackpots do much more for Arizona residents than provide fun and excitement; they have a large economic impact on the state. Our retailers see an uptick in their earned commissions from increased sales, and the Lottery is also able to transfer more funds to its beneficiaries that serve numerous causes like foster children, local businesses, wildlife conservation, our homeless and much more.”

From this jackpot alone, the Arizona Lottery was able to transfer over $12.8 million to its beneficiaries. On average, the Arizona Lottery generates approximately $13 million annually to fund CASA and The Heritage Fund at the Arizona Game and Fish Department. With this Powerball run, the Lottery was able nearly fill those two beneficiary buckets.

While the top prize winning ticket was purchased in Massachusetts, Arizona Lottery players didn’t walk away empty-handed. Throughout the Powerball run, there were over 750,000 winners totaling over $7.9 million in prizes.

Not only did Arizona players and beneficiaries benefit from the Powerball run, the Lottery’s retail partners also saw a dramatic impact. This Powerball run garnered over $2.3 million in sales commissions in every corner of the state.

For more information on Arizona Lottery’s impact across the state, visit www.arizonalottery.com.

Arizona Game and Fish Accepting Applications for 2018 Heritage Fund Grants

August 18, 2017August 17, 2017 by azheritage2

Source: Arizona Game and Fish Department Press Release – August 11, 2017

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is accepting applications for more than $400,000 in Heritage Fund grants. The deadline to submit an application is Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017 to be eligible for grant funding, which will be available through a competitive application process in the following categories: environmental education, outdoor education, schoolyard habitat, urban wildlife/habitat, public access; and Identification, Inventory, Acquisition, Protection and Management (IIAPM).

In addition to government agencies, the department welcomes non-profit organizations to apply for a Heritage Grant as eligible applicants. This eligibility applies to any non-profit group which meets the internal revenue service definition of a 501(c) organization.

The Heritage Fund was created after voters approved an initiative in 1990 and is funded through Arizona Lottery ticket sales. Heritage funding goes toward conservation efforts such as protecting endangered species, educating students and the general public about wildlife and the outdoors, and creating new opportunities for outdoor recreation.

The grant program was established by AZGFD in 1992 as part of the overall Heritage Fund program. The grants were initially developed as a way to promote outreach to enhance important partnerships and generate fresh approaches in support of the department’s mission. Since the grant program’s inception, the department has awarded more than $16 million and supported more than 800 projects throughout the state.

Applicants for this year’s grants should refer to the documents on our Heritage Grant web page for guidance on applying. The documents include the Heritage Grant application manual, the grant application form and the various “Heritage Grant Funding Window” documents, which describe eligibility information and provide specific eligibility criteria listed within each grant sub-category.

Potential grant recipients must have a project that is either located in Arizona or involves research in which the wildlife or its habitat is located in the state and meets the requirements in the funding windows.

Proposals and applications for these grants can be submitted either by e-mail to [email protected] or mailed to Arizona Game and Fish Department, Attn: Wildlife Grant Administrator, 5000 W. Carefree Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85086. No faxed applications will be accepted.

Applicants can submit grant applications up until the application deadline of 5 p.m. (MST)Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017.