Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!
Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!
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Though it’s thought of as a desert state, Arizona has a surprisingly wide variety of climates that support a wide variety of wildlife from rodents to reptiles, birds and large predators be they common and familiar or the rarest and the strange. Here is information about some of the animals in Arizona. Much of Arizona’s wildlife can be found in its state parks and trails. The state parks include Catalina, Cattail Cove, Lyman Lake, Lost Dutchman, Patagonia Lake, Lake Havasu, the San Rafael Sta... Full story
Watch California Condors Take Their First Flights In The Wild This will happen during the 27th annual public condor release - in-person and live-streamed! VERMILION CLIFFS, Ariz. - The Peregrine Fund and Bureau of Land Management at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument are hosting a celebration on National Public Lands Day, Saturday, September 24 by releasing captive-bred California Condors at 1 p.m. MDT (noon MST, northern-Arizona Condor Time) to take their first flights in the wild. The event... Full story
The Arizona-Utah California Condor conservation effort is a partnership of federal, state and private entities, including The Peregrine Fund, Bureau of Land Management in Utah, Bureau of Land Management's Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona Game and Fish Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Grand Canyon and Zion national parks, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and Kaibab and Dixie national forests, among other supporting groups and individuals. This is the 26th year that the... Full story
Thousands of Grand Canyon fossils revealed in largest park-specific paleontological inventory in NPS history. From U.S Department of Interior, National Park Service After a multi-year effort, the National Park Service and the Utah Geological Association have published Grand Canyon National Park Centennial Paleontological Resources Inventory: A Century of Fossil Discovery and Research, available for public download on the Utah Geological Association website. The publication documents more than... Full story
A great gift idea, the popular calendar features 2021 wildlife photo contest winners. The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) has unveiled its 2021 wildlife calendar, which features eye-catching images of Arizona's incredible wildlife. Taken by Arizonans from around the state, the calendar features more than a dozen beautiful and fascinating wild critters. A record number of photographs - more than 1,500 - were submitted to this year's wildlife photo contest. The winning images are... Full story
Hunters asked to continue voluntary lead-reduction efforts this fall. Arizona hunters have proven their long-held commitment to wildlife conservation by voluntarily working to reduce the amount of lead exposure to endangered California condors, and the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) is encouraging all hunters to join the effort this fall. Hunters drawn for hunts in Game Management Units 12 and 13 (north Kaibab National Forest and Arizona Strip) are eligible to participate in the depart... Full story
The public is invited to the release of the endangered California Condors. This will take place on Saturday, Sept. 22 at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. There is nothing quite as iconic in the western United States as a California Condor soaring over the red-rock-canyon landscapes of northern Arizona and southern Utah. Thanks to people working together to recover this species, condors have become a fixture in southwestern skies. On National Public Lands Day On National Public Lands Day this... Full story
As the sweltering heat oppresses most of us in the Valley of the Sun, news items have come across my desk that bear repeating. I will not champion any particular item, but merely report (sometimes tongue in cheek) the news as it has come down. Gift Triggers Edible, Fiscal Thoughts A gift was presented to me at the Shake Rattle & Troll radio show last Sunday. The gift was a canned tin of - horsemeat! Despite the feelings of many in the United States, horse meat is a delicacy in many countries. Ob... Full story
GRAND CANYON, Ariz. -- The Arizona Game and Fish Department is asking the Sierra Club to retract a fundraising letter that makes false statements about Arizona’s endangered condor population. The department (AZGFD) says untrue claims were made about hazards to condor health in a fundraising letter from Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club. In his June 24 fundraising appeal, Brune claims a link between uranium mining and condor health. Despite a moratorium against uranium mines i... Full story
For more than 20 years, the Heritage Fund has made a difference not just to wildlife conservation efforts, but also to the state's economy, public access, environmental education and outdoor recreation. Passed by voters as a ballot initiative in 1990 by a 2-1 ratio, the fund provides up to $10 million each year from Arizona lottery proceeds to the Arizona Game and Fish Department for the conservation and protection of the state's wildlife and natural areas. Protect, Provide, Educate The... Full story
Tucson photographer Rhonda Spencer didn't know she was making a winning image when she took a photo of two lowland leopard frogs. Spencer, who enjoys photographing all wildlife, just thinks these frogs are "amazing." The judges who selected her image for the top prize in this year's wildlife photo contest thought it was amazing, too. Jeff Kida, photo editor of Arizona Highways magazine, said, "At first glance, the composition appears clean and simple: a frog and its refection, with a background... Full story
Tucson photographer Rhonda Spencer didn't know she was making a winning image when she took a photo of two lowland leopard frogs. Spencer, who enjoys photographing all wildlife, just thinks these frogs are "amazing." The judges who selected her image for the top prize in this year's wildlife photo contest thought it was amazing, too. Jeff Kida, photo editor of Arizona Highways magazine, said, "At first glance, the composition appears clean and simple: a frog and its refection, with a background... Full story
If you enjoy wildlife and the outdoors, you won't want to miss the new season of Arizona Wildlife Views Sundays on Phoenix PBS Channel 8. The Emmy-award winning television program will open your eyes to the best of our state's wildlife, wild places and outdoor adventure through spectacular video and compelling stories. It is produced by the Arizona Game and Fish Department and hosted by Jim Paxon. The August premiere visited the "Wings Over Willcox" nature festival, which has become a staple... Full story
California condor conservation achieved a milestone last hunt season with a record number of big game hunters in the species' core range voluntarily using non-lead ammunition or removing lead-infected gut piles from the field to prevent condors from feeding on them. In Arizona, a total of 91 percent of the big game hunters voluntarily used non-lead ammunition or removed gut piles from the field. In Utah, 84 percent of big game hunters in the core range did the same. New Groups Encouraged Now,... Full story
PHOENIX – The Arizona Game and Fish Department, together with the Wildlife for Tomorrow Foundation, will induct four individuals and one organization into the Arizona Outdoor Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place during the 18th annual Arizona Outdoor Hall of Fame Banquet on Saturday, Aug. 22, at the Chaparral Suites Scottsdale, 5001 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85250. The inductees for this year’s event include: Longtime U.S. Senator John McCain has worked arduously for... Full story
KUDOS – AZGFD's voluntary non-lead ammunition program designed to further California condor conservation reached record participation levels in 2014. For hunters in the condor's core range in northern Arizona, 91 percent voluntarily chose to use either non-lead ammunition or remove gut piles from the field. Of the 91 percent, surveys show that 73 percent of successful hunters used non-lead ammunition, an increase of 13 percent over the previous year. In addition, 65 percent of the small n... Full story
Be sure to visit the wildlife assets sale and other AZ Game and Fish booths Be sure to visit the wildlife assets sale and other AZ Game and Fish booths PHOENIX -- The 15th annual Arizona International Sportsmen's Exposition (ISE) will fill the University of Phoenix Stadium and outside areas in Glendale on Feb. 19-22 with an exceptional presence of outdoor product and service exhibitors, attractions, seminars, and the incorporation of the Arizona Boat ShowTM. Expanded show hours are 10 a.m. to 7... Full story
California condors will be released to the wild in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 27. The public is invited to observe the release from a viewing area where spotting scopes will be set up and project personnel will be available to answer questions. This will be the 18th annual public release of condors in Arizona since the condor recovery program began in 1996. Condors are hatched and reared in captivity at The Peregrine Fund's World Center... Full story
The Arizona Game and Fish Department disagrees with a recent appeal filed by environmental litigants to regulate lead ammunition on the Kaibab National Forest as the solution to lead poisoning in endangered California condors. Three groups that want the U.S. Forest Service to place a mandatory ban on hunting with lead ammunition in northern Arizona lost their original lawsuit against the Kaibab National Forest filed in 2012. Game and Fish intervened in the original lawsuit by the Sierra Club,... Full story
The next meeting of the Arizona Game and Fish Commission will be Aug. 1-2 at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel at 1175 W. Route 66 in Flagstaff. The meeting begins at 8 a.m. both days. The public is invited to either attend the meeting in person, view it live via video stream at any Game and Fish regional office (Friday only), or view it over the web at www.azgfd.gov/commissioncam. Members of the public who wish to speak to the Commission may submit Speaker Cards (Blue Cards) in person at the... Full story
The Southwest Condor Workgroup - a cooperative venture between wildlife conservation and public land management agencies - optimistically reports that a California condor may have hatched in the wild in Utah for the first time since the endangered species was released in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona in 1996. Biologists are waiting to visually confirm the chick's existence before the milestone becomes official, but recent behaviors by the adult pair are encouraging. "It... Full story
If you want to use non-lead ammunition for your hunt this year, now is the time to start shopping. The Arizona Game and Fish Department is expecting a repeat of last year’s non-lead ammunition shortage this hunting season. Those intending to hunt big game in California or in condor areas in Arizona (Game Management Units 12A, 12B, 13A and 13B), are strongly encouraged to buy their non-lead ammunition supplies as soon as possible. Last year, many hunters who waited to shop at small community s... Full story
Despite a nationwide shortage in non-lead ammunition, Arizona's hunters continued to demonstrate their support for the Arizona Game and Fish Department's voluntary lead reduction program in 2013 by using non-lead ammunition or removing gut piles from the field to benefit endangered California condors. Surveys show that 88 percent of hunters took one of the two measures to reduce the amount of available spent lead ammunition in the condor's core range. The level of participation was equal to the... Full story
Non-lead ammunition supply issues across the nation are prompting the Arizona Game and Fish Department to remind hunters in the California condor's core range that they can still help reduce the amount of lead available to the birds by removing gut piles from the field. Hunters in Arizona's condor range who remove their gut piles (lead ammunition only) are eligible to be entered into a raffle that offers prizes including a trip on the Grand Canyon Railroad with a two-night stay at the canyon,... Full story
The Arizona Game and Fish Department is a pioneer in reducing the amount of lead available in the environment to wildlife species that are particularly susceptible to lead toxicity like the California condor. The department has a successful voluntary non-lead program to aid condor recovery and works extensively with a wide range of partners to monitor lead's impact on wildlife. The Department feels strongly that a voluntary lead ammunition reduction program creates more acceptance and a more... Full story
