The first major project of the AWF after its founding in 1923 was legislation to get politics out of wildlife management. They accomplished this by drafting a state game code which provided for a Commission/Department form of wildlife administration. It wasn't willingly accepted by the politicians of that day, including the governor, but was finally adopted by referendum in 1928.

Neither the governor nor his henchmen were willing to accept this accomplishment, and in 1930 tried to again take control of Game and Fish. With the help of its affiliate organizations the AWF managed to beat back this effort. Despite other attempts over the years, including the most recent effort some 15 years ago, we continue to have essentially the same type of administration as was established about 70 years ago.

In 1958, through efforts of the AWF, the game code was revised to its current form without altering the Commission/Department structure.

The AWF supported a revision of the state water code to specifically establish wildlife as a beneficial use of water. This made possible the development of many fishing lakes, especially on the Mogollon Rim.

The AWF supported a revision of the state water code to specifically establish wildlife as a beneficial use of water. This made possible the development of many fishing lakes, especially on the Mogollon Rim.

The AWF supported the introduction of pronghorn antelope to the Arizona Strip, the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, and other historic pronghorn habitats. The introduction of the Merriam Turkey into suitable habitat, including the Kaibab Plateau, was also strongly backed by the AWF.

The AWF was also instrumental in the establishment of the federal Kofa Game Refuge for the protection and management of the desert bighorn, leading eventually to the opening of this magnificent big game species to limited hunting.

AWF members were also involved in the development of Arizona's buffalo herds and in the re-introduction of elk in this state.

Since the creation of the Arizona Game and Fish Commission the AWF has worked closely with the sitting governor in screening and endorsing qualified individuals as Commission members.

The AWF and the Arizona Cattle Growers Association established a Stockmen-Sportsmen Committee to address the problem of vandalism on the rangelands of the state.

The AWF worked closely with the Department and Commission, the University of Arizona and the Wildlife Management Institue to establish a Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit at the University.

This has been a busy time for the AWF and while we would like to touch on each and every activity and involvement during the past year our effort below will be to provide a brief summary of the past year’s major involvements.

 

In the Spring of 2010 the AWF was granted funding for contractual work related to a proposal to safeguard tracts of public land west and southwest of the Phoenix metropolitan area from development.  As you are aware the Arizona Wildlife Federation has been involved in meeting with various Sportsmen and Off-Highway Vehicle Groups and bringing their concerns, issues and ideas to the table with respect to a conservation proposal being considered on BLM lands in Western Maricopa County.  As the project has moved forward there have been considerable discussions as to the federal land designations that are to be included in the proposal (National Conservation Area, Wilderness and Special Management Areas).  There has been considerable concern with the designation of Wilderness from many of the sportsmen and OHV community.  As such, AWF has been adamant when communicating with the larger coalition working on this proposal that these concerns need to be addressed.   .

 

The AWF has ongoing and active involvement in the Forest Planning processes on all Arizona Forests.  It has also initiated involvement in discussions to study a variety of proposed wind and solar projects in various areas of the state, including Anderson Mesa and north of Williams. Additional comments were prepared on the BLM solar PEIS in southwestern Arizona, effecting over a million possible acres.

 

The AWF has embarked on a new project near Flagstaff, called the Woody Ridge Wildlife Corridor, teaming with the Game and Fish Department, Coconino County, Northern Arizona University’s Centennial Forest and the Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife Conservation License plate fund. These groups have raised over $27,000 and with a new matching grant from the National Forest Foundation we hope to improve this important wildlife corridor that goes from the southern slopes of the San Francisco Peaks to the edge of the Mogollon Rim, due south along  Woody Ridge. We have started work in this area, initially modifying several miles of range fencing, bringing them up to wildlife friendly standards. Additional tasks will include soft closures of numerous social trails, removal of invasive plants and in conjunction with the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI), there will be extensive forest thinning to restore forest functions and reduce wildfire risks southwest of Flagstaff.

 

AWF continues its membership in the Verde River Basin Partnership and we continue to work on additional protections for the Verde and it’s headwaters as well as the designation as a Wild and Scenic river.

 

 A recent vote of the AWF board approved representation of the AWF as part of the Teaming for Wildlife Fly-In to Washington D.C. in March, which is a lobbying effort in support of non-game funding for the AZ Game & Fish Dept.  AWF has been part of this effort for at least  9 years. 

 

The AWF’s commitment to reformation of the Mining Act of 1872 is ongoing, with officers providing written and verbal comments on local and national levels. It also included the AWF’s strong support for withdrawal from mineral entry the lands within or adjacent to the Grand Canyon, and opposition to the AZ Dept of Environmental Quality permitting either new or existing development on those same lands. Our efforts were rewarded in January 2012 with the announcement by Secretary of the Interior Salazar’s withdrawal of almost 1 million acres from additional exploration and new mining claims adjacent to this national treasure.

 

The Becoming An Outdoor Woman Program continues to be a success for the AWF with 3 workshops annually, which has led to a representative from the AWF being invited to participate in the Game & Fish’s Hunting Heritage Program. The most recent gatherings were held in January and April and the next session is slated for September.

 

The AWF quarterly magazine, Arizona Wildlife News, with Director Larry Audsley as Managing Editor and other Board members in support, was recognized as Conservation Media of the Year at the Game and Fish Commission Awards Banquet this year.  We are a sponsoring organization for the Banquet and over the years we have been recognized for our activities on numerous occasions.  We continued our support of the AZ Game & Fish Dept. by again participating in the Game & Fish Expo, held at the end of March with over 37,000 visitors attending.

 

 Over the last 3-4 years the AWF has expanded its involvement with the Diablo Trust in northern Arizona.  We consider such involvement in the interests of the large investment of funds the AWF spent on Anderson Mesa in the multiple year Anderson Mesa Wetlands Restoration Project.  Currently the AWF is involved in the planning processes for solar and invasive weed projects being considered by the Trust. Recent meeting activities included the DT Annual meeting and in April an update on another new AWF project, the Arizona Watchable Wildlife Experience Peaks Tour. With a NWF Affiliate Mini-Grant, the AWF partnered with city, county, state and federal agencies to develop a comprehensive Watchable wildlife experience, highlighting over 30 different sites in north central Arizona.

 

 The AWF was able to continue with a Board member willing to serve as a Legislative Liaison during this year’s proceedings and we actively voiced our opinion on many proposed pieces of legislation that could impact wildlife or habitat in Arizona. Future activities will include action on items such as State Trust Land reform, Federal land designations, wolf reintroduction planning and other proposals at both the State and Federal level. 

 

 Active participation by Regional Directors of the AWF is ongoing on a variety of projects and issues such as wind & solar energy development, forest thinning projects, a N. AZ shooting range, Walnut Canyon expansion, the I-17 bypass in antelope country, Upper Verde River Wild & Scenic designation, Fossil Creek Management Plan, project work to benefit primarily pronghorn in southeast Arizona grasslands in conjunction with our affiliate, Arizona Antelope Federation. In addition, the AWF continued with a position as stakeholder in the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI), a 30 year planned improvement to ecologically restore over 2 million acres of unhealthy forest lands stretching from the southern border of Grand Canyon National Park to the White mountains.

 

We’re looking forward to another busy year as we continue with our efforts to address wildlife and habitat issues throughout Arizona.