First quarter grant applications were presented and voted on at the February 27, 2024 AZSFWC Board meeting. Funding for the grants is available through sales of our special Conserving Wildlife license plate. More information about the license plate and how you can obtain one can be found HERE.
Five grants were approved and included the following:
$1,417 was awarded to the National Wild Turkey Federation Huachuca Gould’s Chapter for a Family Turkey Hunting Skills Camp. This event is directed at educating youth and family in learning about wild turkeys, behavior, laws, calling, safety and planning a successful hunt through class and field instruction. The course will give attendees the education and knowledge to feel comfortable going afield and hunting turkey or other wildlife. Field instruction will include patterning shotgun, turkey sign identification, listening to turkeys on roost and mock hunting scenarios. Emphasis will be directed at providing needed skills to participate in the 2024 Arizona Youth Turkey Hunts. Additional partners include Arizona State Turkey Chapter, Southern Arizona Quail Forever, AZGFD.
$5,000 was awarded to the Arizona Elk Society (AES) for their Wapiti Weekend Event. The 2-day event provides Arizona families an enjoyable outdoor experience as a platform for educating them on an appreciation of responsible outdoor recreation, wildlife, wildlife habitat and natural resource conservation. AES provides meals, outdoor skill lessons and fun activities for everyone. The outdoor skills include archery, .22 rifle shooting, muzzleloader demonstration, wilderness survival, owl pellet dissection, gold panning, fishing, kayaking and more. Additional partners include Arizona Raptor Center, Fly Fishers Arizona, AZ Game & Fish, 3G Archery, Prospectors, and PVCI.
$900 was awarded to the AZ Council of Trout Unlimited for their 2024 Annual Native & Wild Trout Conference. The Conference was founded in 2010 with the goal to provide a free educational conference for those interested to meet, network, and develop future plans to promote restoration and management of watersheds and native fish species in Arizona. Additional partners include AZ Game & Fish Department, Fly Fishers International, and Eastern Rocky Mountain Councils.
$10,250 was awarded to the Arizona Council Trout Unlimited and its Arizona chapters are collaborating with C.A.S.T. for Kids to conduct the 2024 annual event at Lake Pleasant. This event enables Special Needs kids, ages 6 to 18+ (sometimes older) and adult companions (one per child) to enjoy a day of boating and fishing that many have never experienced. Over 20 other entities are partnering with AZTU for this event.
$3,050 was awarded to the AZ Chapter of National Wild Turkey Federation for the 2024 Marvin Robbins Youth Turkey Camp. There are three youth turkey hunting camps on opening weekend of the youth turkey hunting season. These camps are R3 camps created with the intent of introducing young hunters and their families to Turkey Hunting. Activities all weekend focus on the theme of recruiting and retaining young hunters and their families. This is accomplished with mentored hunt opportunities and multiple seminars. Other partners include, Youth Outdoors Unlimited, AZ Elk Society, Phoenix Varmint Callers, OE4A, U.S. Forest Service and AZ Game and Fish Department.