Help Arizona’s big game species: Donate to the Big Game

Habitat Fund

By Sal Palazzolo, landowner relations program manager, Arizona Game and Fish Department

Sportsmen are given the opportunity on their big game hunt applications to make a donation to the Big Game Habitat Fund. The generous sportsmen who contribute to this fund help support wildlife habitat improvement projects for all of Arizona’s big game species.

You can contribute to Arizona’s conservation success story by donating a portion of your refund (if you are eligible for a refund) to big game habitat projects. These projects are implemented on federal, state trust and deeded property.

Some of the projects accomplished with these funds during 2006-2007 are:

• Utilized $10,000 in Big Game Habitat donation funds to match against a $90,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant, to install a water delivery system in Game Management Unit 32. This project will benefit mule deer, pronghorn antelope, javelina and upland game birds.

• Matched $10,000 in Big Game Habitat donation funds against a $140,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to conduct mesquite clearing on historic grasslands and add two new water sources in Game Management Unit 30A. This project will benefit mule deer, javelina and upland game birds, notably scaled quail.

• Installed a wildlife drinker in Game Management Unit 3C. This project will benefit elk, mule deer and various nongame species.

• Cleaned out and repaired a dirt tank in Game Management Unit 19A. This tank is an important watering area for pronghorn antelope.

• Matched $5,000 of Big Game Habitat donation funds against $55,000 of outside funding sources to install covers on water storage tanks in Game Management Unit 13B. This project will greatly reduce the evaporation of water for drinkers that supply water for mule deer and bighorn sheep.

• Provided $5,000 of Big Game Habitat donation funds to match against a $92,000 Arizona Department of Agriculture grant to clear 1,920 acres of juniper off of former grassland habitats in Game Management Unit 10. This project will benefit elk, mule deer and pronghorn antelope.

• Cleaned out and repaired a dirt tank in Game Management Unit 4B. This tank is an important watering area for elk, mule deer and numerous nongame species.

• Purchased and installed a solar pumping station for a well in Game Management Unit 5A. This project will primarily benefit elk and mule deer.

• Purchased and installed a solar pumping station for a well in Game Management Unit 35A. This project will primarily benefit mule deer and pronghorn antelope.
  

Sportsmen interested in contributing toward projects like this are asked to consider making a donation during this big game hunt application period. For more information about the Big Game Habitat Fund, visit azgfd.gov/landowner.