The state of Arizona faces a formidable budget deficit, and options to balance the budget are becoming more limited. On January 15, the Governor’s office released a budget plan that proposes to permanently eliminate the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s voter-approved $10 million Heritage Fund and redirect all Arizona State Lottery revenue to the state’s general fund. That proposal has been sent for consideration by the Legislature.
Adoption of this proposal would have significant impacts not just to wildlife and outdoor recreationists, but ripple effects extending to Arizona’s land use and growth that is going to be vital for the state’s economic recovery and future well being.
Game and Fish is one of the few state agencies that operates as a business based on a “user pay/user benefit” model and poses no burden to the taxpayers. While the Department recognizes that the Governor and Legislature must consider all options, it is our duty and statutory responsibility to ensure that our customers — those who have supported our agency in its mission to conserve Arizona’s wildlife and provide outdoor recreation opportunities — are aware of the impacts that this loss of funding would have on them.
Loss of this funding would affect Arizona in many ways:
• Without the department representing the state’s interests as the voice of reason at the table, federal agencies and special interest groups with a penchant for litigation will have ever-increasing influence on Arizona’s wildlife, land use and water policy decisions – with the potential for increased restrictions to renewable energy, home and business development, and outdoor recreation.
• Without funding to obtain good biological data, it is likely more wildlife species will be federally listed and the cost to manage and mitigate for them would increase.
• Programs that directly affect Arizona’s sportsmen, including law enforcement, public land access, game and sportfish management, habitat enhancement and shooting ranges, would be reduced, and revenues from hunters and anglers would have to be stretched once again (as they were before the Heritage Fund came into being) to help meet the critical needs of all wildlife.
• The department would lose its primary funding mechanism for the recovery and conservation of the state’s most imperiled wildlife, including the bald eagle, California condor, black-footed ferret, Apache trout and Gila trout, jeopardizing the success of many species conservation programs.
• The state would lose some of its ability to leverage Federal monies that directly benefit rural businesses and improve watersheds, wildlife habitat and rangeland.
• Ranchers throughout the state would lose the benefit of clean-up programs, public land access management and range and land improvements.
• Urban wildlife programs that help people deal with nuisance wildlife or to appreciate backyard wildlife would be severely curtailed.
• The department’s ability to enhance wildlife viewing opportunities and other outdoor recreation programs would be cut back significantly.
• Department biologists would no longer be able to offer urban planners and developers relevant biological data to help guide them in making sustainable land use decisions that include wildlife considerations.
• The department’s Heritage grant program – which has awarded 640 grants totaling $12 million since the early ‘90s -- would be eradicated, which in turn would eliminate a funding source for wildlife conservation, outdoor recreation and environmental education projects that benefit local communities statewide.
Did you know?
• If the Heritage Fund were lost, Game and Fish would reduce or eliminate programs that generate $2.3 billion in total expenditures on wildlife-related recreation in Arizona.
• Heritage funding has contributed nearly 18,000 acres for public enjoyment, wildlife conservation and establishment of wildlife areas statewide and maintains access to over 2 million acres of land for outdoor recreation.
• The Department uses Heritage Fund dollars to help manage more than 800 native wildlife species.
• The Heritage Fund has provided environmental education programs in the schools initially through Project Wild and now through Focus Wild AZ, which is a Web-based K-12 curriculum.
• With the help of the Heritage Fund, a highly successful voluntary non-lead ammunition and hunter outreach program was implemented to enhance California condor conservation.
• With the help of the Heritage Fund, Native Apache trout have been down-listed to a threatened species and recovered to a point that allows fishing opportunities and are on the verge of becoming the first native fish in the nation to come off the endangered species list.
Passed in 1990 by an overwhelming 2-1 bi-partisan vote, the Heritage Fund provides essential funding for conserving Arizona’s wildlife and is one of the Department’s primary funding sources. The Heritage Fund makes a difference in communities across Arizona and benefits all citizens.
We are providing this information to inform and educate our constituents on what the loss of the Heritage Fund might mean to them and to Arizona.
