Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!
Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!
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The Arizona Game and Fish Department has completed its 2015 hunt draw for elk and pronghorn antelope. The results are available by visiting https://az.gov/azgfd/draw/home.xhtml and scrolling down to "View results and bonus points," or viewing them on your portal account. You also can call the department at (602) 942-3000 and press "2." By The Numbers 25,932: The total number of permit-tags issued. 150,915: The total number of those who applied for hunts or bonus points. 111,588: The total... Full story
Despite record temperatures, the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s 2015 Outdoor Expo presented by Shikar Safari Club International, held March 28-29 at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix, was visited by 33,100 people. This does not include the Friday Youth Day, geared toward school children, teachers and chaperones, which was attended by 5,900. The Youth Day also was held at the Ben Avery facility. The annual Expo showcases activities such as fishing, hunting, shooting sports, a... Full story
Are you fascinated by reptiles? Do you have a yard big enough for a dog, but no time to take one for daily walks? Is someone in your family allergic to pets with fur or feathers? If so, consider adopting a desert tortoise through the Arizona Game and Fish Department. "We cannot stress enough how detrimental removing tortoises from the wild and backyard breeding are to the species," said Tegan Wolf, Arizona Game and Fish's tortoise adoption program specialist. "This iconic desert species has... Full story
A Valley man charged with possessing two Bengal tigers, which are restricted in Arizona, appeared in Maricopa County Superior Court last week. After a nearly year-long investigation, Fahad Zeshawn Rafi (also known as Shawn Rafi) was charged with possessing prohibited live wildlife and other related violations. One White, One Orange Juvenile The Arizona Game and Fish Department first received a call to its Operation Game Thief (OGT) hotline on Dec. 27, 2013 reporting that a Valley man had posted... Full story
WONDERS OF WILDLIFE -- Did you ever wonder how biologists track the movements of animals that swim, fly, slither or hide and how telemetry is used to track those animals? If you subscribe to Arizona Wildlife Views magazine, you will and also enjoy stories about passing along the hunting tradition in areas that are close to home, turning a bad day's fishing into a good day's fishing - and so much more. Every subscription includes the wildlife calendar issue, packed with winners from our annual... Full story
PHOENIX – One thousand youth hunt/fish licenses will be given away free of charge at the "Bonsall Park 1,000 Youth License Giveaway," on Saturday, April 25 in Glendale. The giveaway coincides with a free fishing clinic -- loaner rods will be available, no license is required, and bait will be provided. Licenses will go to the first 1,000 youth ages 10-17 during the event at Bonsall Park. Register on-site during clinic hours of 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. "We're excited to have an opportunity to give kids a... Full story
PHOENIX -- The Arizona Game and Fish Department is implanting radio tags into a small percentage of hatchery-raised Apache trout that will be stocked into the East Fork of the Black and the Little Colorado River in the White Mountains to examine stocked trout movement and fate. The stockings begin in May and will coincide with the summer trout stocking schedule. If you catch a trout with external tags (as pictured) you may keep OR release the fish. These fish are safe for human consumption. If... Full story
SONORAN DESERT NATIONAL MONUMENT – Almost two dozen volunteers spent Saturday morning bagging, bucketing or dragging more than four tons of trash – enough to fill a 20-yard dumpster – from along the northern boundary of the Sonoran Desert National Monument near Gila Bend. The cleanup project capped a sixth-month effort of the “Respected Access is Open Access in Arizona” campaign, created in 2009 by Tread Lightly!, a national organization that promotes responsible outdoor recreation. Partner orga... Full story
April 30, 2015 "I Support Wildlife™" program gives public the opportunity to contribute to wildlife conservation The Arizona Game and Fish Department today announced the official launch of its new Customer Portal and redesigned website. The portal allows customers to create a secure account where they can manage and view their contact information, as well as their license and draw results information and bonus points, in their personal "My AZ Outdoors" section. "Best of all, it's mobile f... Full story
May 1, 2015 Paper applications for 2015 fall hunts now being accepted; online application service to be available in early to mid-May The Arizona Game and Fish Department has posted the 2015-16 Arizona Hunting Regulations online, which opens the 2015 fall draw cycle. Hunters can now apply with a paper application for 2015 hunt permit-tags issued through the draw process for deer, fall turkey, fall javelina, bighorn sheep, fall buffalo and pheasant (the draw process for elk and pronghorn... Full story
May 5, 2015 Local non-profit sportsmen’s groups are eligible PHOENIX – The Arizona Game and Fish Department is now accepting applications for $75,000 available in grant funding for local sportsmen's organizations to provide public, hands-on, mentored projects focused on the retention of new hunters or anglers. The priority funding focus of this year’s grant program is on moving beginners from the recruitment stage to the retention stage of the Adoption Sequence. Projects and events that involve... Full story
May 6, 2015 By Chris Cantrell Chief of Fisheries, Arizona Game and Fish Department Fish hatchery workers across the nation are preparing for their busiest time of the year. During the next two months, Arizona Game and Fish Department employees and volunteers will stock more than 500,000 catchable “farm fresh” trout, providing the public an opportunity to engage in conservation -- some for the very first time. State-run aquaculture not only enables families to etch lifelong fishing memories, it... Full story
May 8, 2015 The Arizona Center for Nature Conservation | Phoenix Zoo and the Arizona Game and Fish Department are pleased to team up for this new educator professional development opportunity for teachers of all grade levels. Join us this summer as we explore how Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) are used in wildlife management and conservation. This problem-based workshop takes place over five days and consists of two parts to inspire critical thinking and analysis in the... Full story
SHOW LOW – Learn how to paddle and cast May 23 at Fool Hollow Lake in Show Low with a 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. kayak fishing clinic. The clinic is free. Reserve a spot with a refundable registration deposit of $20. Class size is limited, so register by calling the AZGFD Pinetop office at 928-532-3680. Why learn to kayak fish? Kayak anglers are a growing community of outdoors enthusiasts who enjoy the exercise, quiet, and ability to stealthily paddle into fishing areas that boats cannot reach. Catch f... Full story
Get ready to climb into an OHV and go for a ride at the Arizona Game and Fish Department Outdoor Expo presented by Shikar Safari Club International. A 50- by 100-yard OHV track is the newest addition to the hands-on event on Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29 at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix. Qualified participants can ride in a side-by-side OHV and experience some of the latest OHV performance features. Admission and parking are free. Also see OHV and ATV exhibits. Kayak,... Full story
Did you know that your state taxes do not support the conservation of Arizona's wildlife, but your donations do? Taxpayers can help the state's wildlife at tax time by "making a mark" on their state income tax form. The Arizona Wildlife Fund is a voluntary program that allows Arizona taxpayers to make a donation to specifically help imperiled and endangered wildlife, including majestic bald eagles, black-footed ferrets, California condors, Apache trout, Mexican wolves and desert tortoises,... Full story
Doug Burt is the Hunting and Shooting Sports Program Manager at Arizona Game and Fish Department. Hunting And Angling Heritage Work Group, Well you all have done it again - you have all blown me away! The Winter HAHWG meeting had a great turnout and diverse cross-section of participants like I've not seen. Look at this turnout: • 50 attendees • 17 first-timers • 28 organizations represented • 10 game and fish work units or regions represented The biggest takeaways from the meeting for me were... 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
The following news release was issued jointly by the Arizona Game and Fish Department and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Population survey shows a 31 percent increase in the population. The Mexican Wolf Interagency Field Team (IFT) has completed its annual year-end population survey for endangered Mexican wolves and documented a minimum of 109 animals in the wild in Arizona and New Mexico at the end of 2014. This is a 31 percent increase over the previous year and the fourth consecutive year... Full story
Mark your calendars! The cats are coming/are back. Our first stocking of the season: Thursday, March 19. For delivery: Close to 15,000 pounds of hungry catfish into 21 core waters - Get your family, grab a picnic basket, and come on outside because it's the perfect time of year to hit the lakes. Last Trout Stocking Of Winter Season Our last trout stocking for central and southern waters this season is taking place March 2-7. Trout will continue to be stocked into Green Valley Lakes in Payson... Full story
When: May 2015 to Sept. 2015 Where: Tonto Creek Hatchery is located approximately 17 miles east of Payson, Ariz. Description: The hatchery host is a volunteer who lives onsite and interacts with visitors, assists with tours, and helps with light facility upkeep. Example of Duties: Host duties include interacting with visitors, picking up litter, cleaning visitor restrooms, replacing full sign-in sheets, tracking visitor numbers, maintaining and updating department pamphlets in visitor center... Full story
The Arizona Game and Fish Department, in cooperation with Mohave County and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), succeeded on March 4 in executing agreements to restore rainbow trout stocking at Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery, which is located along the Colorado River south of the Hoover Dam. "I am very pleased that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Commission have finalized an agreement to begin restoring rainbow trout stocking operations at Willow... Full story
The Reel Deal Spring fishing is here in all its bedding-bass, crisp-morning glory. Yet the vernal equinox, or the first day of spring when the Earth is neither inclined toward, nor away, from the sun, isn't until Friday, March 20. And the summer trout stocking schedule just came out. Read all about where trout are being stocked in a lake near you. This week's full moon has coincided with consistent, warm weather. The result? Springtime spawning conditions for largemouth bass have graced the... Full story
The Arizona Game and Fish Department has made the 2015 fall hunt recommendations for deer, turkey, javelina, bighorn sheep, buffalo, bear, mountain lion, and predators and furbearers available for review at www.azgfd.gov/huntguidelines. The department also has scheduled a series of six “open houses” for its constituents to review and ask questions about the proposed recommendations. The open houses will be conducted at the following Game and Fish regional offices: • Tuesday, March 31: 3-5 p.m.,... Full story
When the Ben Avery Shooting Facility's main range opens bright and early June 4, recreational shooters will zero in on several improvements: An earthen berm that serves as a backstop for 67 shooting stations that will be higher, more level and -- most important -- safer. New LED light fixtures that will brightly shine above every shooting station. A 3-inch layer of closed-cell polyurethane foam insulation on the underside of the steel canopy that will provide sound dampening. In order to... Full story
