Effective June 29, you must have your boat inspected for quagga musselsprior to launching at Lake Powell. Self-certification of watercraft will no longer be an option at all major launch ramps, and screening for these invasive mussels by trained personnel will be mandatory for all vessels.
Personnel will be available daily for screening from 4:30 a.m. [...]

During Arizona’s summer months, boaters can count on busy launch ramps and high use at lakes and rivers most any weekend, but this is especially the case during the long holiday weekends. Boating safety officials from the Arizona Game and Fish Department remind boaters to take precautions to ensure a safe, enjoyable experience this Independence [...]

Recovery program aims to prevent inclusion as an endangered species
Biologists were cautious in their predictions for the success of a black-tailed prairie dog colony established late last year in the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area near Sonoita. After all, the 74 animals released in October faced some foreseen and many unforeseen challenges.
However, early [...]

The Arizona Game and Fish Department reminds all OHV enthusiasts to be safe, responsible, and ethical when out on the roads and trails over the July 4th holiday weekend. Wear your helmet, slow down, make good decisions, and don’t drink and drive. DUI laws are the same for an OHV on the back [...]

Arizona Wildlife Views, the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s award-winning television show, has once again been recognized by its peers for excellence in writing and communicating about Arizona’s outdoors and wildlife.
Producers Carol Lynde and Gary Schafer garnered three “Excellence in Craft” awards from the 2009 Outdoor Writers Association of America:

1st place honors were awarded [...]

Outdoor and wildlife enthusiasts who use or have an interest in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests in eastern Arizona are encouraged to review a Working Draft Land Management Plan that is now available.
The Working Draft is an important part of the forest plan revision process, as it is meant to provide a foundation for collaborative discussion [...]

The Arizona Game and Fish Department encourages all shutterbugs to take pictures of Arizona wildlife and submit them for this year’s annual calendar photo contest — but time is running out!
Cash prizes are offered for the 13 winning wildlife images that will grace the 2010 Arizona Wildlife Calendar. The top winner will earn $400, and [...]

Ladies can receive expert instruction in fishing, camping, canoeing, photography and more
Beat the heat with a retreat to the pine trees. The Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) outdoor skills workshop is scheduled for Aug. 14-16 at the Friendly Pines Camp near Prescott. It will begin at noon on Friday and end at noon on [...]

Maybe you already know the 2010 Arizona Wildlife Calendar will feature winners of our annual wildlife photo contest. And maybe you’re aware the contest deadline is coming up soon — it’s July 6 at 5 p.m. MST (and no, postmarks don’t count).But here’s something we bet you didn’t know: The top [...]

Effort to start following 45-day appeal period
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Arizona Game and Fish Department – with assistance from Prescott Flycasters, The Nature Conservancy, and other volunteers – are set to begin a native fish restoration effort at Stillman Lake.The ‘lake’ is actually a large pool [...]

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission will hold its next regularly scheduled meeting on June 26 and 27. The meeting will be held at the Arizona Game and Fish Department headquarters at 5000 W. Carefree Highway in Phoenix (1.5 miles west of I-17). The public is invited to attend the meeting [...]

Three government agency employees, including an officer with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, another Game and Fish employee, and an employee with Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation, were fired upon June 11 by a group of men they encountered while scouting the area for a land access project [...]

It’s been a plan long in the making, but recently, the first Chiricahua leopard frogs were released in northern Arizona waters as part of the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s new program aimed at enlisting the help of non-federal landowners to conserve this threatened species.
More than 30 frogs, including adults and tadpoles, were released into [...]

Got a wildlife photo that makes people say “Wow!”?
Want to share it with the world?
Eager to earn a spot in the 2010 Arizona Wildlife Calendar?
If you answered “Yes, yes, you bet!” now’s the time to enter the 2010 Arizona wildlife photo contest.
We’re looking for great photos showcasing Arizona’s amazing wildlife. If your photo [...]

If the recent NRA convention in Phoenix got your American spirits pumping, or you just recently bought a new firearm to replace that old hand-me-down, then now is the time to join one of the summer recreational shooting leagues at the renowned Ben Avery Shooting Facility.
Beginning in June and running for eight [...]

Arizona’s Free Fishing Days celebrating National Fishing and Boating Week are on two consecutive Saturdays, June 6 and 13. No fishing license is required on those days on all state or urban waters or from shore on the Colorado River.
This is a great opportunity for kids to take their parents fishing, or for [...]

Arizona Game and Fish Department officers have arrested five men in connection with alleged poaching activities that occurred north of Springerville in December.
Four of the men — John K. Parks, Michael E. Mangum, Jeffery D. Phillips and Frederick P. Dobson — were arrested May 15 at the Tucson Electric Power/Salt River [...]

Becomes first building in Phoenix—and fourth in Arizona—to receive “platinum” LEED recognition

PHOENIX – The Arizona Game and Fish Department’s headquarters building in Phoenix has earned “platinum” certification—the highest awarded—through the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program.
There are only three other buildings in [...]

View the PDF Version: 10 Most Unwanted Arizona’s Invasive Animals and Plants

1. Quagga Mussel
Origin – Eastern Europe and Ukraine
Prolific populator; Removes food/nutrients from water column, clogs pipes and water conveyance infrastructure, damages boat motors and marinas; Management/eradication costs can be enormous for power and water supply agencies. Dispersal by boats and equipment, pipes, canals, live [...]

With recent events around Kingman and in other areas of Arizona, Game and Fish Department personnel will discuss “Urban Wildlife” at the next presentation of the Summer Wildlife Series in Kingman, May 28.
All presentations, which will be held from May through August, run from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Powerhouse Visitor’s Center Event Room. Personnel will [...]