Arizona Lottery

Accomplishments of the Arizona Heritage Alliance 2010-2011

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  • In the spring of 2009 and again in 2010, we arranged a trip to the Vermilion Cliffs in Marble Canyon to spend time with a biologist from the Peregrine Fund to get an up close and personal glimpse of the free flying California Condors, an Arizona Heritage Fund project.

 

  • In spring 2010, we were invited by the Director of the Arizona Lottery to assist with the reauthorization of the Lottery at the Legislature. We also worked with the League of Arizona Cities and Towns in this endeavor.

 

  • Also in 2010, in collaboration with the film’s producers, we organized screenings of the documentary, Postcards From The Parks, in Flagstaff, Tempe and Tucson. The film’s goal is to spread the word about the challenges of our State Parks, and to encourage other Arizonans who care about history, our natural treasures, and the outdoors to get involved. After the film’s viewing at these three a facilitated discussion and question and answer period will be was led by Vincent Murray, a historian with Arizona Historical Research, in cooperation with the filmmakers and other parks advocates.  An invitation to all local elected officials was made to these events. They were free and open to the public.

 

  • We also arranged to have the film shown at the 2010 Arizona Preservation Foundation Conference in Flagstaff; the 2010 Arizona Highways Travel Show in Phoenix and the 2010 Arizona Parks and Recreation Association Conference in Paradise Valley.

 

  • In 2011, we were instrumental in getting the strike-everything amendment, HB2425 – Heritage Fund; Reinstatement, introduced in the House of Representatives. This Bill would put the State Parks Heritage Fund back into statute. The Bill passed unanimously out of the Agriculture & Water Committee.

 

  • We continue to expand partnerships with historic preservation groups, Arizona League of Cities and Towns and other appropriate organizations.

Arizona’s Heritage Fund celebrates 20 years of helping Arizona wildlife

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[Source: Gretchen Mominee, Examiner.com]

Photo: Gretchen Mominee

Twenty years ago, Arizona residents voted almost two to one to create the Heritage Fund, showing a “huge groundswell of grassroots support” from a “broad base of different groups” according to Lynda Lambert, Public Information Officer for  Arizona Game and Fish Department. What’s not to like? The Heritage Fund benefits native wildlife and habitats, it benefits rural communities, and it benefits anyone who loves the outdoors — all at no cost to the taxpayers.

The Heritage Fund is supported entirely by sales of Arizona Lottery tickets, and the Fund allows the Arizona Game and Fish Department to effectively operate a number of their programs and projects. In addition, the Fund is matched with federal dollars, which creates a statewide impact, helping not only the wildlife itself, but also helping the state economy. It is particularly an asset to rural communities, where the Fund has helped purchase land, restore habitat and create public access areas which draw hunters, anglers, hikers and birdwatchers. In fact, the Heritage Fund has been responsible for opening two million acres for public access in Arizona.

The Heritage Fund also supports environmental education, reaching out to almost 40,000 fourth graders annually. The Fund has given 640 grants that have gone toward projects such as creating schoolyard wildlife habitats and funding school outings so that students are able to directly experience the impacts of invasive species such as crayfish.

The Heritage Fund has also helped with bald eagle management. Lambert noted that the state has gone from 11 pairs of bald eagles in teh 1970s to 52 nesting pairs today. Part of the reason for their numbers increasing is undoubtedly due to DDT being banned, but the Heritage Fund has also played a role in their comeback, establishing a program in which teams of seasonal field employees monitor the nesting sites, estimating when the eggs hatch and intervening in cases in which babies have fallen.  The teams also help educate the public, ensuring that seasonal closures are respected and explaining to hikers and boaters the reason for the closures.

The Heritage Fund has also been integral in assisting with reintroduction projects such as bringing the black-footed ferret, California condors and black-tailed prairie dogs back to their native habitat. The Fund also supports habitat restoration efforts which help all the native species in those areas, not just one reintroduced species, since a healthy habitat for a black-footed ferret is also going to tend to be a healthy environment for other native plants and animals. And, Lambert noted, “Arizona has the highest

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Tucson group’s black-tie ball strives to make up for raided Arizona Heritage Fund grant

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[Source: Loni Nannini, Arizona Daily Star] — In Tucson, they are the hostesses with the mostest: The Silver & Turquoise Board of Hostesses throws a party with purpose.   Over the past 16 years, the Mission San Xavier del Bac has been the sole beneficiary of more than $325,000 in proceeds from the Board of Hostesses’ annual Silver & Turquoise Ball.

Their commitment to restoration of the mission is just one example of the 50 active members’ dedication to the community, according to Ginny Healy, chairwoman of the upcoming ball and 11-year veteran of the non-profit Board of Hostesses.   “The women I have worked with at the Board of Hostesses are some of the most outstanding women in the community.  You see their professional accomplishments and contributions through volunteer service everywhere around Tucson,” said Healy, senior director of development for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and the Colleges of Letters, Arts and Science at the University of Arizona.

The Board of Hostesses was created 59 years ago to promote, support and encourage the preservation of Tucson’s historical traditions and diverse cultural heritage.  The ball originated as a potluck thank-you for volunteers of the now-defunct Tucson Festival Society, which staged events such as Pioneer Days, La Parada de los Niños and the Children’s Writing and Art Festival.  The potluck soon moved to the Arizona Inn at the urging of proprietor Isabella Greenway and has remained there since.  Healy believes the location, the history and the compelling cause culminate in Tucson’s most enjoyable ball.   “It is really just a party to celebrate people who have volunteered in the community and the work they have done.  It is for people to sit back and enjoy themselves and has really become one of Tucson’s great traditions,” said Healy, who is producing a documentary on the ball with director and co-producer LuisCarlos Romero Davis.

Healy said support of the mission remains a motivating factor, particularly because $150,000 in state funding for the ongoing $7 million-plus restoration was cut on Feb. 2.   The grant had been awarded through Arizona State Parks Heritage Fund, which set aside proceeds from the Arizona Lottery to fund historical restoration projects and trail management.  The money was slated for work on the east tower, where continued water damage could eventually threaten the structural integrity and damage interior artwork.  “Originally those (Heritage) funds were voter-approved, and I don’t think voters approved what the state is doing with them now.  We can’t start work on the tower until we have more funds available,” said Vern Lamplot, executive director of the Patronato San Xavier, a non-profit corporation dedicated to preservation of the mission.

In his appeal for support of the mission, Lamplot emphasized its cultural and historic value as one of the original 10 structures on the National Register of Historic Places and its bankability as a major tourist attraction that hosts more than 250,000 worldwide visitors annually.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

Arizona biologists begin monitoring collared jaguar

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Animal determined to be oldest known jaguar in the wild.

[Source: Arizona Game & Fish] — Early data received from the tracking device on the recently captured and collared jaguar in Arizona is already giving biologists a better understanding of the cat’s movement and foraging patterns.  With nearly a week’s worth of data, the Arizona Game and Fish Department noted that the jaguar moved several miles after collaring to a very high and rugged area that the cat has been known to use in southern Arizona.  The animal has stayed in that general vicinity for a few days with apparent patterns of rest and visits to a nearby creek.  During the collaring, the cat appeared to have just fed on prey, which will aid its recovery and allow it to go for a period of time without feeding.

The satellite tracking technology will allow biologists to study diet and feeding patterns to learn more about the ecological requirements of the species in borderland habitats.  Scientists have also confirmed the identification of the collared animal: The cat is Macho B, an older male cat that has been photographed by trail cameras periodically over the past 13 years…

This conservation effort is funded in part by the Heritage Fund and Indian gaming revenue.  Started in 1990, the Heritage Fund was established by Arizona voters to further conservation efforts in the state including protecting endangered species, educating our children about wildlife, helping urban residents to better coexist with wildlife and creating new opportunities for outdoor recreation.  Funding comes from Arizona Lottery ticket sales.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]