Third quarter grant applications were presented and voted on at the August 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.
More information about the L. Gary Stinson grant program can be found HERE.
Ten (10) grants were approved and included the following:
$1,000 was awarded to Valley of the Sun Quail Forever for their Fall 2024 Pollinator project. 1,700 AZ native seed packets will be produced and distributed through libraries in Phoenix and Glendale. Additional funding will be provided by Valley of the Sun Quail Forever.
$4,915 was awarded to AZ Trappers Association for their Fall Family Camp. Emphasis of the camp is to provide new trappers and camp participants with the knowledge of safe ethical interaction and capture of wildlife for recreation, scientific
projects, wildlife survey, and environmental control of damaging wildlife or invasive species may be complete. Attendees will learn about field setting of cages and foothold traps with an emphasis to minimize impact on natural flora and fauna while trapping. There will also be round table discussions and demos on catch processing, pelt handling and care, the multiple use of catch by products. Further strategies will place an emphasis on catch and release of any non-target animals and take advantage of any education on biology along with photographic opportunities. Those that are not obtaining trapping knowledge will be exposed to an outdoor camping fellowship experience, games, arts and crafts, nature viewing, and safe ethical outdoor practices. AZ Game & Fish is partnering on this project and additional funding will be provided by AZ Trappers Association.
$15,000 was awarded to the Southern AZ Chapter of Quail Forever for the Coronado National Forest Grasslands Restoration project. Decades of drought, altered fire regimes due to fire suppression, loss of perennial flow, topsoil erosion, and historic, unsustainable land-uses have left the grasslands and woodlands of ES Arizona severely compromised. At the proposed project site on Coronado National Forest (CNF) intense fires, over-grazing, and increasingly intense and sporadic weather patterns have resulted in erosion across the site, leading to a decline in vegetative health and water quality/quantity. This project will include building erosion control structures and planting quail friendly plants. Additional funding will be provided by Southern Arizona Quail Forever and the National Forest Foundation.
$2,000 was awarded to Tucson Audubon for continuation of their Project Death Pipes. Open pipes are relatively commo in rural and working lands. However, they are a hazard on the landscape and cause death to birds and other wildlife. The project includes education, outreach, and active removal or modification of pipes to eliminate the hazard. Desert Fence Busters is partnering on this project and additional funding will be provided by Tucson Audubon.
$4,000 was awarded to AZ Desert Bighorn Sheep Society for their annual Hunter Information Clinic. Anyone can attend the clinic where they will learn about Habitat Projects, Aging, Judging and Scoring a ram in the field, How to Hunt Sheep, Gear and Equipment, Optics, Taxidermy and Photography and Hunter Ethics. Each attendee is also provided with an instructional manual and handouts from presenters and various land management agencies. The Society is providing additional funding.
$5,750 was awarded to AZ Deer Association for their for their mentored youth deer and cow elk camps. The purpose of the camps is to provide support in locating, harvesting, game care, as well as, educational seminars. Experienced and seasoned mentors will be available to go afield with tag holders if needed and an AZ Game & Fish wildlife manager will be on hand to answer questions. Emphasis will be on hunter education, safety, ethics, hunting and glassing skills and will include seminars on map reading, compass use, first aid & survival, food & nutrition, gun & field safety. The Mule Deer Foundation is partnering on the event and additional funding will be provided by the Association.
$40,000 was awarded to AZ Elk Society for the Perrin Ranch Grassland Restoration project. The primary activity funded by this grant will be mechanical thinning treatments (via mastication) to remove juniper trees that have encroached into historical grassland and grassland savannah communities on Perrin Ranch in northern Arizona. The treatment prescription will leave mature, single-stem trees with a raised canopy greater than 14 feet tall and pinyon pine trees greater than 5 inches in diameter at breast height. These ‘leave’
trees will provide mast production and nesting habitat for pinyon jays and raptors as well as thermal and hiding cover for ungulates. Additional funding will be provided by AZ Game & Fish Habitat Partnership Committee and IIAPM, National Forest Foundation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and AZ Elk Society.
$4,000 was awarded to AZ Raptor Center for their Education and Outreach program. Raptors in their care that cannot be released back into the wild are utilized in education programs around the state. A typical program covers topics such as how raptors fit into the ecosystem, what raptors eat, and where they live. Funding will support the development of additional educational materials, expanding venues, and building internet and social media presence and providing a means to provide educational opportunities virtually. Additional funding will be provided by private donations and AZ Raptor Center contributions.
$2,000 was awarded to AZ Chapter NWTF to fund the Robbins Butte Youth, Women and Disabled dove hunt. Up to 100 youth and 40 women/disabled hunters will participate in the event that will include orientation, safety instruction, mentored shooting, cleaning and cooking demonstrations. Additional funding will be provided by the Chapter.
$5,000 was awarded to Valley of the Sun Quail Forever for their Cactus Clays Beginners Shotgun Program. This year-round program is an instructional course with NRA certified instructors and Level 1 coaches to teach the clay target sports, gun safety and shotgun shooting. Goals of the program are the recruitment of new shotgun shooters, their retention in clay target sports and upland bird hunting, and reactivation of those whom may have been shotgun shooters or hunters at an earlier time in their lives. Additional funding is provided by ASRPA Cactus Clays. Additional partners include NRA Instructors.