Do you want the latest news, updates, videos and photographs from the Arizona Game and Fish Department, and even get the opportunity to chat with others who share your interests?

Then become a “fan” of the Arizona Game and Fish Department on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/azgafd. It’s interesting. It can be loads of fun. And you can connect up with others who share your same outdoor interests.

“Currently, there are 26,480 Arizonans on Facebook who have indicated they like fishing, hunting, shooting sports, boating and similar outdoor activities, so you’ll potentially have a lot of new friends out there who share your outdoor passions,” said Public Information Officer Rory Aikens, who himself is a recent Facebook convert.

The Game and Fish Department is also on another social network, Twitter. “We are using these communication outlets to provide outdoor enthusiasts with multiple ways to get timely information even while they are on the go,” Aikens said.

The department also has a robust Web presence at www.azgfd.gov and uses e-mail-based subscriptions to send news updates, fishing reports, hunter highlights and a number of other e-news products.

You can even go blogging at the Game and Fish Department, post photographs, and share such things as fishing or hunting experiences.

“These evolving social networking sites provide all of us another opportunity to get timely information, share ideas or experiences, and become involved in the outdoor world, even while sitting indoors dreaming about our next outing,” Aikens said.

The department has added a “Share or Bookmark” bar to our articles, blogs, outdoor calendar dates, and user photo sections. This makes it easier than ever to share news and photos with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter, E-mail, and 150+ other bookmarking and sharing services.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department has added a Share or Bookmark bar to our articles, blogs, outdoor calendar dates, and user photos sections. This makes it easier than ever to share news and photos with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter, E-mail, and 150+ other bookmarking and sharing services (just click on the More link).

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @azgfd, become a Facebook Fan, subscribe to our e-News service, our subscribe to our videos on YouTube.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department’s headquarters facility has been recognized as the “LEED-certified Building of the Year” by the Arizona chapter of NAIOP, the commercial real estate development association.

The 117,452-square-foot, three-building campus, which the department has occupied since November 2007, was recognized for meeting LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards for the design, construction and operation of high-performance “green” buildings.

The building employs design features and technology that reduce the need for artificial light and heat, cut exterior water usage through natural landscaping, and scale back interior water usage via low-use plumbing fixtures.

Other environmentally friendly features include the use of regionally harvested materials as well as wood harvested from managed forests. A green cleaning program also helps ensure the building has a reduced impact on the environment.

The department is planning on implementing a rooftop photovoltaic system that will take advantage of solar energy and potentially provide 10 percent (in the first phase) and up to 17 percent (by the second phase) of the facility’s electricity needs.

The headquarters facility project is designed to meet LEED gold certification standards, with a pending submittal for platinum certification when the photovoltaic system is in place.

Partners in the project included Lincoln Property Co. (developer), Will Architects (architect/designer), Sundt Construction Inc. (general contractor), and Green Ideas (LEED consultant).

Give a magazine gift subscription and get a free wildlife calendar

The 2009 Arizona Wildlife Calendar normally costs $3 each, but we have a special deal for people who enjoy Arizona Wildlife Views magazine. Give a gift subscription to the magazine to a friend or family member, and we’ll reward your generosity with a free calendar (while supplies last). Share Arizona Wildlife Views and get a little something back for yourself! Order online at www.azgfd.gov/magazine or by calling (800) 777-0015.

Arizona Wildlife Viewing Guide – Describes 128 unique viewing sites in Arizona and the wildlife found at them, accompanied by beautiful photographs. Available for $14.95 at the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s seven offices statewide and through the department’s Web site at www.azgfd.gov/publications.

Arizona Wildlife Views magazine subscription – Published bimonthly by the Game and Fish Department, the magazine offers a variety of articles on hunting, fishing, boating, wildlife viewing and conservation in Arizona, as well as “Focus Wild” children’s articles. Subscriptions are $8.50 per year. Order at www.azgfd.gov/magazine.

2009 Arizona Wildlife Calendar – Spectacular photos of Arizona’s wildlife, along with notes on key wildlife events and approved hunting and fishing season dates. A perfect stocking stuffer at only $3 each. Purchase at any Game and Fish office or at www.azgfd.gov/artman/publish/article_978.shtml.

2009 hunting or fishing license. Purchase a license for a family member of friend at any department office or license dealer. Prices start at $18.50 for an urban fishing license. A resident combination hunt and fish license is $54. For that special gift, consider a lifetime license. A complete description of license products is at www.azgfd.gov/eservices/licenses.shtml.

Discount pass at Ben Avery Shooting Facility and gift certificates at Ben Avery Clay Target Center – The Ben Avery Shooting Facility offers an 11-visit “shooter’s pass” for $70 (normal fee for an all-day visit to the range is $7, so you get one day for free). The Ben Avery Clay Target Center offers gift certificates in any amount for trap, skeet and sporting clays shooting.

Donation to Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center – The Arizona Game and Fish Department’s rehabilitation center treats more than 1,000 sick and injured animals annually and provides wildlife education to local schools. For more information on making tax-deductible donations to support wildlife rehabilitation, visit www.azwildlifecenter.org or call (623) 587-0139.

Fall Dates and Topics:

• Thursday, November 7 – Turkeys: Yes, we do have them in Arizona. Just in time for Thanksgiving, learn a little about this unusual bird.
• Thursday, December 4 – Chiracahua Leopard Frogs – Help us wrap up the end of the Year of the Frog with a talk about this endangered species.

All speaker events are free and open to the public. However, we are asking for people to pre-register. Complete the registration form at http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pixviqYWWomW9RSALS-Hkbg

Shawn Wagner, Arizona Game and Fish Department wildlife manager in Unit 3B South, near Pinetop, was recently honored as “Wildlife Manager of the Year” by the department and as the “Pogue-Elms Officer of the Year” by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA).

Both are very prestigious awards. The latter is named in memory of two fallen Idaho Fish and Game Officers, Bill Pogue and Conley Elms.

“Wagner is an exceptional credit to the department,” says Bob Birkeland, wildlife manager supervisor. “He was nominated for this award for many reasons, including outstanding contributions to fish and wildlife law enforcement. He has shown great leadership, skill and ingenuity during the performance of his job, and in promoting law enforcement training and education for other officers. He has always demonstrated high ethics, standards and practices.”

Wagner’s commitment to his work is also demonstrated in his law enforcement statistics, where he’s generated over 1,500 citations for wildlife law violations. His cases have sent record numbers of wildlife violators to the Arizona Game and Fish Commission for license revocations and civil assessments for illegal taking of wildlife, such as deer, elk, bear and fish.

Wagner played an instrumental role in Operation Bear Bones, an extensive multi-agency undercover operation targeting illegal guiding and unlawful take of numerous wildlife. The operation resulted in 16 suspects being charged with more than 60 wildlife violations and one suspect facing six felony charges involving killing of stray horses on U.S. Forest Service lands near Show Low.

During his 12-year career, Wagner has been recognized as “Officer of the Year” by both Shikar-Safari and the Arizona Elks Lodge, and he has been named the Cliff Sorrels Arizona Game Ranger Lodge Officer of the Year.

He received the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s award June 11 in Flagstaff and the WAFWA award July 14 in Rapid City, South Dakota, during the annual WAFWA meetings.

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission has awarded $87,550 to six grant applicants for the construction, improvement, enhancement, or expansion of public shooting ranges located throughout the state.

The Shooting Range Grants Program, administered by the Arizona Game and Fish Department, was established in 1996 to encourage the development and improvement of shooting ranges in Arizona. Public shooting ranges offer important venues for safe target shooting (recreational and scholastic), the teaching of firearm safety, hunter education, as well as law enforcement training.

The recipients of 2009 fiscal year Shooting Range Grants are:

• Ralph C. Herrera Shooting Range (Mammoth): $15,000 to construct safety berms.
• Pima Pistol Club (Tucson): $28,000 to purchase and construct a facility for education, training and meetings.
• Northeastern Arizona Sportsman’s Association (St. Johns): $4,500 for construction of a skeet and trap field at the Northeastern Arizona Shooting Range.
• Ft. Huachuca Shooting Range – Huachuca Hot Shots (Sierra Vista): $7,300 to expand and develop a 5-stand and sporting clays range.
• Wickenburg Sportsmen’s Club (Wickenburg): $8,000 for the purchase of 5-stand sporting clays machines.
• Town of Fredonia – Fredonia Public Shooting Facility (Fredonia): $24,750 to begin construction of a range including constructing earthen berms, covered shooting stations, security fences and an information kiosk.

“We are very happy with the number of applications and projects that we received this year – particularly in areas outside of the Phoenix metro area,” says Anthony Chavez, the department’s statewide shooting ranges administrator. “This grant program allows us to ensure that there are safe and functional shooting ranges throughout the state.”

The department received 11 grant applications for fiscal year 2009. Applications were judged by a panel of department employees on various criteria. The six finalists were presented and approved by the commission at its June 28 meeting in Phoenix.

Grants are available through a competitive application process each year. Privately owned and for-profit ranges are not eligible for this program. Applications for fiscal year 2010 will be available on October 1, 2008. The deadline to apply is Jan. 15, 2009. For more information, visit www.azgfd.gov/shootingsports and click on the “Range Development Grants” link on the left side of the page, or contact the department’s Statewide Shooting Ranges Administrator, Anthony Chavez, at (623) 236-7395 or aechavez@azgfd.gov.

Arizona Wildlife Views magazine, the state’s magazine about wildlife and outdoor recreation, has received a quartet of honors from The Communicator Awards, which are sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts.

The magazine earned four Awards of Distinction, one for overall content and three for graphic design:

• November-December 2007 issue in the “government magazine” category;
• November-December 2007 issue in the “overall magazine design” category;
• Cover design for the March-April 2007 issue; and
• Design of the feature story “Safe Passage” in the March-April 2007 issue.

The magazine also recently received additional recognition for the quality of its writing and photography. The Western Publications Association selected staff photographer George Andrejko’s image of a regal horned lizard as a finalist in its magazine photo competition, placing it among the top five images published in a magazine in the Western states in 2007. And magazine associate editor Julie Hammonds is among the winners for “excellence in craft” from the Outdoor Writers Association of America for work published in 2007. Her article “She’s Aiming High,” which examined women’s increasing participation in target shooting, won first place in the shooting sports category in that organization’s annual writing competition.

“I’m so proud of the staff who put 110 percent into their writing and photography assignments. Their tireless dedication to their craft and this state’s wildlife is evident in the work they do,” says Heidi Rayment, Arizona Wildlife Views magazine editor.

A bimonthly magazine published by the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Arizona Wildlife Views features articles about wildlife and outdoor recreation, along with inside tips about outdoor activities and the latest news about wildlife conservation.

“We enjoy producing an award-winning magazine, and we will continue to provide our readers with nothing but the best,” Rayment says.

Andrejko’s photograph, Hammonds’ story, and other samples from this award-winning publication are available online at www.azgfd.gov/magazine. People may purchase subscriptions online or by calling (800) 777-0015. A one-year subscription costs $8.50 for six issues.

Spring is blossoming around the state, and with it comes increased critter activity, especially among Arizona’s black bears. As urban areas expand and wildlife is forced to share their habitat, encounters with humans are becoming more common. The Arizona Game and Fish Department is offering a new brochure aimed at helping residents coexist with black bears.

The brochure contains information on bear traits and behaviors; what attracts bears and what keeps them away; and, how to discourage bears from entering an area. Tips on what to do if a bear is spotted in an urban area are also included.

One of the primary tips found in the brochure is the importance of keeping garbage away from bears. Bears quickly can develop a taste for human foods if they are given the opportunity, and most conflicts between humans and black bears happen when bears have access to human-supplied foods. Fed bears can lose their fear of humans and begin to associate them with food, possibly causing property damage or injuries.

To obtain a copy of the brochure, visit your local Game and Fish office.

The deep snow drifts across backcountry mountain roads have melted and now Arizona’s picturesque trout lakes in the national forests are not only accessible, most have filled and spilled as well, creating premium fishing conditions not seen in more than a decade.

“This is shaping up to be one of our best trout fishing seasons since the El Nino winter of ‘96,” said Kirk Young, the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s fisheries chief.  “Take advantage of this fishing bonanza while it is available. Who knows when we’ll see water like this again.”

Young added that this is definitely the time of year to catch the larger hold-over trout, possibly even a state record.  “With some patches of snow still on the ground, especially in the mixed-conifer and spruce habitats, it’s a great time for a mountain fishing adventure.”

The lakes in the Flagstaff and Williams areas have been open for some time. All of them have been stocked.  In fact, Lower Lake Mary near Flagstaff was a huge elk meadow last fall and now not only has plenty of water, it was stocked weeks ago with 28,000 rainbows. Anglers are already reporting limits of trout and fun.

The Mogollon Rim lakes and streams are now open and accessible. All the lakes and streams on the national forests in the White Mountains are open and accessible.

Along the Mogollon Rim, anglers at Woods Canyon, Willow Springs and Bear Canyon have reported catching lots of larger hold-over rainbows. Anglers at Big Lake in the White Mountains have been routinely catching larger rainbows and some big cutthroat as well.

“All the lakes are looking good, so just pick your favorite mountain lake and go.  Unplug the electronic I/V’s –– the game boxes, play stations and iPods — load up family and friends, and experience the Arizona outdoors at its best. Don’t miss out,” Young advises.