[Source: Arizona Game & Fish Department’s Wildlife Blog, Wildlife Views] – – Two ranch improvement projects conducted in early November as part of the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Adopt-A-Ranch Program illustrate how various groups can come together in a win-win for private landowners, the recreating public and wildlife conservation. The Adopt-A-Ranch Program is a cooperative effort between Game and Fish, landowners and volunteers across the state to complete projects that improve ranch land while enhancing wildlife habitat or recreational access for the public. The program has helped relations between landowners and people who wish to recreate on those private lands.
On Nov. 8, 18 volunteers from the Arizona Trail Riders Club (ATR), eight people from the Williams Family Ranch, and personnel from Game and Fish worked together to install a culvert on the Constellation Road at Slim Jim Wash north of Wickenburg, Ariz.. The road, mainly used by ranchers, is an access point to many hunting and recreational areas.
During the heavy rains of 1993, the wash severely cut the road; since then, traffic has detoured down into the wash. With the culvert installed, the roadbed can be built back up to its original level, eliminating the hole that vehicles were forced to drop down into and then climb back out of. The culvert will protect the road from future storms and enhance vehicular access for the ranchers and the public. [Note: to read the full article click here.]
