Arizona Game and Fish Department

2003–2004 Annual Report

Accomplishments
Fossil Creek restoration Full water
flow was restored to Fossil Creek and the department helped the creek return to its natural
environment by attempting to restore a native
fish community. State and federal biologists salvaged 1,200 speckled dace, roundtail chubs,
Sonora suckers and desert suckers from the
upper reach of Fossil Creek and then replaced
them, completing an integral and necessary
step in the stream restoration process. Crews
also built a barrier upstream from where Fossil Creek empties into the Verde River, which
will keep nonnative fish from traveling upstream and negatively impacting native fish.
Frog reintroduction Two threatened
frog species – the Tarahumara and Chiricahua
leopard frogs – were reintroduced to nature.
The Tarahumara frogs were reintroduced into
historic habitat in the Santa Rita Mountains.
This effort was accomplished with the aid of
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Coronado
Forest Service, local Audubon Society, local
ranchers and department personnel assisted by
volunteers. Chiricahua leopard frogs were released at Sierra Blanca Lake in the White
Mountains. The Chiricahua frogs came from the
Three Forks area of the White Mountains. They
were removed when they were eggs, then were
hatched and raised at a Game and Fish Department hatchery in Pinetop.

Chiricahua leopard frogs were raised at a Game and
Fish hatchery in Pinetop before being released.

Arizona Game and Fish Department employees worked long hours to salvage native fish from Fossil Creek.

Conservation strategy The department solicited public input for Arizona’s
Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy
– a 10-year vision for managing Arizona’s fish,
wildlife and natural habitats. The effort enlisted
assistance from various agency cooperators,
sportsman and recreational groups, conservation organizations, special interest groups,
Native American tribes, county and municipal
governments, and the general public. Hunting,
fishing, wildlife watching, and off-highway vehicle and watercraft recreation invest billions
of dollars into Arizona’s economy. This conservation strategy will help ensure dedicated
federal funding for wildlife and habitat management activities in Arizona.
Apache trout Department personnel reintroduced pure Apache trout into Lee Valley
Creek. The reintroduction was part of a largescale effort to recover Apache trout, a
threatened species that is also officially recognized as Arizona’s state fish. Lee Valley Creek
was chemically treated 2003 to remove nonnative brook trout. Since then, no live fish have
been detected above the fish barrier at the lower

end of the creek, clearing the way for the reintroduction. The stocking was a cooperative
effort between the department, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, and the White Mountain
Apache Tribe.

Landowner Incentive Program The
first Arizona Landowner Incentive Program
project hit the ground running this year. This
$280,000 project included removal of pinyon
and juniper trees to restore grassland habitat
for birds and pronghorn on 6,000 acres of the
CO Bar Ranch owned by Babbitt Ranches in
northern Arizona.
Resource management The department continues to work with the Bureau of
Land Management on the development of the
Lake Havasu, Phoenix North, Phoenix South
and Yuma resource management plans and the
Sonoran Desert National Monument Management Plan. Personnel also are working with the
Department of Defense on the development of
an Integrated Natural Resources Management
Plan for the Barry M. Goldwater Range and revising the INRMP for the U.S. Army Yuma

The condor reintroduction in Arizona is a joint
project of several partners, including Arizona
Game and Fish Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Peregrine Fund, Bureau of
Land Management, National Park Service,
Kaibab National Forest, and Utah Division of
Wildlife Resources.

Grants, Awards and
Incentives

Six events were held statewide to celebrate the completion of Heritage projects. Above, visitors can view
wildlife at Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson. Below, Mountain View Elementary School students pitch in to help
complete another Heritage project.

Proving Ground. They continue to work with
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the development of a Comprehensive Conservation Plan
for the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.
These plans will direct the management of approximately 9 million acres of public land.
Resource conservation, wildlife management,
wildlife related recreation, access, and burro
management continue to be Department priorities in the development of these plans.

Condors take flight Two California condor chicks hatched and took their first flight.
One took its first flight at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. The other took flight at
Grand Canyon National Park. Both chicks
hatched in May. Experts care for about 140 of
the birds in captivity and periodically release
them in California, Mexico, and Arizona, as the
population begins to rebound. Forty-eight of
the birds currently live in the wilds of Arizona.

Emmy-Award
winner The
department’s Arizona Wildlife Views television
show won a Rocky Mountain Emmy award for
“Best Program Element” based on a show,
“Traveling with Mr. Whiskers,” that detailed
how the Game and Fish Department hauls in
catfish from Arkansas to stock local urban
lakes. Arizona Wildlife Views is a department
produced local television show that explores
Arizona’s amazing wildlife, its habitats, and
more.
Achievement award The department is
one of 11 recipients of the 2004 Department of
Interior Environmental Achievement Awards.
The award recognizes exceptional achievements that conserve the nation’s natural
resources through communication, consultation and cooperation. The award went to
participants in the Mittry Lake Burned Area
Emergency Rehabilitation project. Sharing the

shooting sports programs – Archery in Schools
and Scholastic Clay Target – gained momentum in 2004. The Archery in Schools program
partnered with the Archery Trade Association
and its two foundations, Arrowsport and the
Bowhunting Preservation Alliance, to increase
archery and bowhunting participation. The
agreement will help the department secure federal funding and private expertise to develop
archery ranges, archery education, and
bowhunting programs. The statewide Scholastic Clay Target Program launched this year,
providing youth new opportunities to learn the
sport.

The department’s Archery in Schools program received a grant from the Archery Trade Association and one
from the Arizona chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation.

award are the Yuma regional office of the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the Yuma
field office of the Bureau of Land Management
and the Bureau of Reclamation.

Archery grants The department’s Archery in Schools program received two grants:
$15,000 from the Archery Trade Association
and $5,000 from the Arizona chapter of the
National Wild Turkey Federation. The first grant
will provide Olympic-style archery equipment
to 150 schools. The second will fully equip two
schools in Tucson and Pinetop.
Heritage Fund grants Arizonans
across the state joined with the Arizona Game
and Fish Department in celebrating a milestone: the 10 millionth dollar being paid out to
the community through Heritage Fund grants.
The department hosted six events statewide to
show Arizonans some of the great work that has
been done through the Heritage Fund, which
takes money from lottery ticket sales and invests it in conservation efforts, including
protecting endangered species and educating
our children about wildlife

Innovation
Animal crossings The department began working on several projects to help design
highways that are more wildlife friendly and

less likely to be the scenes of car and truck accidents involving wildlife. The Arizona
Department of Transportation, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Federal
Highway Administration, Bureau of Land Management, Wildlands Project, and Northern
Arizona University worked on the creation of
elk crossings on State Route 260 while the road
was being upgraded just below the Mogollon
Rim. The other project, involving big horn
sheep, is focused on U.S. Highway 93 near the
Hoover Dam. Radio collars are being used to
track the movements of desert bighorn sheep.
The data will be used to determine where the
sheep travel and, in particular, which highway
crossing areas they use. Information will be
used to help create plans for road upgrades
along U.S. Highway 93.

Tracking jaguars Remote motion-sensing cameras captured two jaguars on film in the
wild borderlands of southern Arizona. Four
new jaguar photos were taken. Jaguars have
never been common in Arizona and New
Mexico, but they have been spotted here more
than 50 times since the mid-1800s. By the
1900s, they nearly disappeared from the United
States. A Jaguar Conservation Team of landowners, ranchers, citizen groups, scientists, and
state and federal agencies developed a conservation plan in 1997.
Shooting sports The department’s

Habitat protection Department personnel developed an agreement with the
Electro-Braid fence company out of Ontario,
Canada, to test the effectiveness of a new electric fencing configuration for excluding elk
from sensitive stream-riparian areas on the
Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area. The information collected from the test program will be
used to provide Department personnel, private
landowners, and other state and federal agencies information on the potential use of electric
fencing for habitat protection.

Efficiency
Wolf project The department began soliciting public comment for a five-year review
of the Mexican gray wolf reintroduction project.
The focus of the five-year review is on objectively identifying specifics about what has
worked well and what has not worked well thus
far in the reintroduction project, and what
should be done in terms of law, policy, and/or
procedure to improve the project to better address the relevant recovery and social issues.
The agencies cooperating in the Mexican wolf
reintroduction are the Arizona Game and Fish
Department, New Mexico Department of Game
and Fish, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA
Forest Service, USDA- APHIS Wildlife Services,
and White Mountain Apache Tribe.
Two-year fish regulations approved The Arizona Game and Fish
Commission, in an effort to save publication
costs and keep regulations consistent for anglers, shifted its regulation setting from an
annual process to a two-year process. Fishing
regulations are valid for the years 2005 and
2006.

Online draw The department received

The department held its first Hunting and Shooting Showcase. The next showcase is slated for March 2006.

applications from more than 269,000 applicants for the 2004 Fall Big Game Draw. Of this
number, more than 205,000 of the applicants
used the department’s Web site to apply. The
percentage of applicants using the Web site increased from 66 percent in 2003 to 76 percent
in 2004.

Water development standards Department personnel distributed the 2004
Wildlife Water Development Standards and
Specifications document, which is a comprehensive manual of components and
construction standards for wildlife water developments. The San Carlos Apache Tribal
Government, Arizona Department of Transportation, Maricopa County Parks and Recreation,
Pima County Parks and Recreation, Natural
Resources Conservation Service, Tonto and
Coconino National Forests and others requested a copy of the document so they can
implement the standards as their own.

Outreach
Events In addition to birding and nature
festivals and fairs held around the state, the department also participated in the inaugural
APS Tres Rios Nature Festival celebrated the
wildlife and rich cultural heritage of the Gila,
Salt and Agua Fria rivers. This lush riparian
corridor, located at the southwest corner of the
Phoenix-metro area, supports more than 150

species of birds, as well as mammals, fish, reptiles and amphibians. The festival featured
educational programs, talks, hikes and tours.

Hunting and Shooting Showcase
The inaugural Hunting and Shooting Showcase
welcomed Valley residents to Ben Avery Shooting Facility for two days of hunting and
shooting demonstrations, tips, activities, and
seminars. Local quick draw sharpshooter Rob
Leatham, four time I nternational Practical
Shooting Confederation world champion and
15 time U.S. Practical Shooting Association
national champion, and Emily Blount of Tucson, 16 year-old silver medalist in the junior
women’s division of this year’s National Championships for International Skeet,
demonstrated their skills. Other educational
workshop topics included off-highway vehicle
safety, wildlife research and capture techniques,
herpetology, fishing, and wildlife rehabilitation.
More than 1,000 people attended the event and
publication and license sales totaled $450 for
the event.

Issues
Urban wildlife conflicts Department
personnel continue to distribute animal restraint and handling equipment to field
personnel, and to outfit new officers with
equipment and advice on procedures/protocol
when dealing with urban wildlife conflicts.

Ongoing human/wildlife conflicts regarding
coyotes continued to plague residents. Working
with HOAs in the Valley, setting up open meeting forums and providing information to the
public are strategies personnel used to educate
the public.

Mountain lions The department hosted
public participation workshops in an effort to
resolve conflicts related to the department’s
handling of mountain lions. Comments were
collected compiled into a report that will be
posted on the Department’s Web site to solicit
additional public comment. Once all comments
are received, the Department’s protocol for responding to reports of mountain lion – human
interactions will be redrafted. The next step in
finalizing the document will be to host a tabletop exercise where members of the public will
be asked to assist the Department by conducting theoretical exercises and evaluating the
appropriateness of the Department’s response.

Susan E. Chilton, Chair

W. Hays Gilstrap

The Game and
Fish Commission
Under the provisions of the Arizona Revised
Statutes 17-231, the Arizona Game and Fish
Commission establishes policy for the management, preservation, and harvest of wildlife. The
Commission makes rules and regulations for
managing, conserving, and protecting wildlife
and fisheries resources, and safe and regulated
watercraft and off-highway vehicle operations
for the benefit of the citizens of Arizona. In

Joe Melton

Michael M. Golightly

support of the Commission’s obligations, the
Director, as chief administrative officer, provides general supervision and control of all
Department functions and activities.
The Commission is composed of five members
appointed by the Governor pursuant to ARS 38-211.
The Commission appoints the Director of the Arizona Game and Fish Department, and the Director
serves as secretary to the Commission. No more
than one commissioner may be from any one
county. No more than three may be from the same
political party. Each commissioner serves a five-

William H. McLean

year term, staggered. Commissioners customarily
serve as chairman during their last year.

Our Mission
To conserve, enhance,and restore Arizona’s diverse
wildlife resources and habitats through aggressive
protection and management programs, and to
provide wildlife resources and safe watercraft and
off-highway vehicle recreation for the enjoyment,
appreciation, and use by present and future generations.

Department personnel continue to work with the public regarding urban wildlife conflicts, such as coyotes and javelina traveling into local neighborhoods.

Financial Statement
Fiscal Year Revenues by Fund

2002–03

2003–04

Game and Fish Fund ................................................ $19,425,100 . $19,981,266
Watercraft Licensing Fund ........................................... 2,094,900 ..... 2,295,553
Game, Nongame Fund ..................................................... 184,300 ........ 171,730
Federal Fund .............................................................. 20,657,500 ... 20,111,680
Heritage Fund ............................................................. 10,154,300 ... 10,494,929
Off-highway Vehicle Fund ............................................... 842,900 ........ 124,145
Capital Improvement/Conservation Developent Funds ..... 733,200 ..... 1,257,519
Wildlife Conservation Fund ....................................................... 0 ..... 2,343,622
Other Funds (See Detail Below) .................................... 1,801,500 ..... 1,724,597
Total Revenue All Sources ........................................... $55,893,700.. $58,505,042
Other Funds Detail
GF Land and Water Conservation/
Recreation Development ........................... $
500 .......... $
463
Wildlife Theft Prevention Fund ....................... 140,500 ............ 177,447
Waterfowl Conservation Fund ........................... 78,500 .............. 68,965
Wildlife Endowment Fund ................................ 70,700 .............. 76,113
Trust/Donation Fund .................................... 1,255,100 ......... 1,149,333
Publications Revolving Fund ........................... 256,200 ............ 252,276
Total Other Funds .......................................... $1,801,500 ....... $1,724,597

Fiscal Year Expenditures by Fund

2002–03

2003–04

Game and Fish Fund ................................................ $20,195,300 . $20,524,395
Watercraft Licensing Fund ........................................... 2,440,000 ..... 1,965,541
Game, Nongame Fund ..................................................... 243,900 ........ 238,004
Federal Fund .............................................................. 19,605,000 ... 20,921,165
Heritage Fund ............................................................. 10,739,120 ..... 9,721,498
Off-highway Vehicle Fund ............................................... 759,700 ........ 576,189
Capital Improvement/Conservation
Development Funds ....................................................... 37,200 .......... 23,163
Wildlife Conservation Fund ....................................................... 0 ........ 835,156
Indirect Cost Fund .......................................................... 853,109 ..... 1,315,655
Other Funds (See Detail Below) .................................... 1,427,100 ..... 1,507,749
Total Expenditures All Sources ................................... $56,300,429.. $57,628,517
Other Funds Detail

IIAPM (Identification, Inventory, Acquisition,
Protection, and Management) .................................. 3,350,682 ..... 3,600,000
Total Allocation ............................................................. $9,307,450 .. $10,000,000

Calendar Year Sales in Numbers by Group

2002

2003

Licenses (see detail below) ................................................ 422,590 ........ 421,283
Trout stamps ..................................................................... 71,423 .......... 79,416
Tags .................................................................................. 148,953 ........ 140,129
Special use licenses/stamps .............................................. 96,414 .......... 69,486
Two Pole Stamp ................................................................. 57,278 .......... 56,778
Waterfowl Stamps ............................................................... 6,733 ............ 6,787
Migratory Bird Stamps ..................................................... 58,109 .......... 58,068
Utah Lake Powell Stamps .................................................... 2,029 ............ 1,639
Miscellaneous permits/licenses ......................................... 2,105 ............ 2,380
Totals ................................................................................... 865,634 ......... 835,669

Calendar Year License Sales by Category
Resident General Fish ..................................................... 153,562 ........ 155,165
Nonresident General Fish ................................................... 2,296 ............ 2,047
Family Fish .......................................................................... 3,638 ............. 4475
Resident General Hunt ...................................................... 61,778 .......... 61,752
Nonresident General Hunt ................................................ 18,407 .......... 18,718
Resident Hunt/Fish ........................................................... 73,684 .......... 71,398
Nonresident Hunt/Fish .......................................................... 767 ............... 786
Nonresident 3 Day Hunt ...................................................... 8,398 ............ 7,419
Urban Fishing .................................................................... 27,533 .......... 26,728
Nonresident Colorado River Fish ....................................... 1,263 ............ 1,214
Nonresident 5 Day Fish ..................................................... 13,068 .......... 11,675
Resident Youth Hunt/Fish ................................................. 20,149 .......... 20,772
Nonresident 4 Month Fish .................................................. 6,533 ............ 6,144
Resident/Nonresident 1 Day Fish ..................................... 28,078 .......... 29,445
Resident Youth Group 2 Day Fish ............................................ 77 ................. 86
Resident General Fish Nov/Dec .......................................... 3,121 ............ 3,154
Nonresident General Fish Nov/Dec ....................................... 238 ............... 305
Lifetime License ..................................................................... 143 ............... 208
Grand Totals ........................................................................ 422,733 ......... 421,491

Game and Fish Land and Water
Conservation/Recreation Dev. ...................... $
0 ............ $
0
Wildlife Theft Prevention Fund ....................... 121,800 ............ 171,526
Waterfowl Conservation Fund ......................... 154,800 ............ 202,651
Wildlife Endowment Fund .................................. 8,300 ................ 8,404
Trust/Donation Fund ....................................... 865,100 ............ 900,040
Publications Revolving Fund ........................... 277,100 ............ 225,128

Calendar Year License and Tag Sales

2002

2003

Licenses ..................................................................... $12,641,910 . $12,549,612
Stamps .......................................................................... 1,547,037 ..... 1,557,070
Tags ............................................................................... 4,498,915 ..... 4,210,783
Total Value ..................................................................... $18,687,862 .. $18,317,465

Total Other Funds .......................................... $1,427,100 ....... $1,507,749

Notes
Fiscal Year Heritage Funds Allocation

2002–03

2003–04

Environmental Education ............................................. $465,372
Public Access ................................................................... 465,372
Habitat Evaluation and Protection .............................. 1,396,118
Urban Wildlife .............................................................. 1,396,118
Habitat Acquisition ...................................................... 2,233,788

...... $500,000
........ 500,000
..... 1,500,000
..... 1,500,000
..... 2,400,000

1. All figures are rounded to the nearest one hundred.
2. Capital Improvement and Conservation Development Funds are combined for
revenues, as the Cap. Improvement Fund earns interest only. The Conservation
Development Fund receives revenue from the surcharge on license sales.

Arizona Game and Fish Department
2221 West Greenway Road
Phoenix, Arizona 85023
(602) 942-3000
azgfd.gov

REGIONAL OFFICES

DUANE L. SHROUFE Director
STEVE K. FERRELL Deputy Director

Region II — RON SIEG, Supervisor
3500 S. Lake Mary Road, Flagstaff 86001
(928) 774-5045

Region I — JON COOLEY, Supervisor
2878 E. White Mountain Blvd., Pinetop 85935
(928) 367-4281

ASSISTANT DIRECTORS
BRUCE TAUBERT Wildlife Management
Region III — BOB POSEY, Supervisor
MIKE SENN Field Operations
5325 N. Stockton Hill Road, Kingman 86401
RICHARD RICO Special Services
(928) 692-7700
MARTY MACURAK Information & Education
Region IV — LARRY VOYLES, Supervisor
9140 E. 28th St., Yuma 85365
(928) 342-0091
Region V — GERRY PERRY, Supervisor
555 N. Greasewood Road, Tucson 85745
(520) 628-5376
Region VI — ROD LUCAS, Supervisor
7200 E. University Drive, Mesa 85207
(480) 981-9400