Daily Archives: August 23, 2021

State Employees Charitable Campaign raises money for charities

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PHOENIX — The State Employees Charitable Campaign (SECC) annually provides Arizona state employees with an opportunity to voluntarily contribute monetary donations that support hundreds of nonprofit charities.

The public can show its support for three of those 501(c)(3) nonprofits by purchasing raffle tickets for a chance to win from a wide selection of brand-name outdoors equipment, which includes the grand-prize winner’s choice of a 2021 Polaris Ranger Crew XP 1000 EPS or a 2021 Sea-Doo Fish Pro and trailer.

Proceeds from the raffle will benefit Wildlife for Tomorrow and the Arizona Elk Society, both of which work closely with the Arizona Game and Fish Department. Together, the organizations provide needed support for habitat projects, water for wildlife, education and mentored activities where traditional resources aren’t adequate. Special Olympics Arizona also will benefit to help assist more than 22,000 Arizona athletes who participate in the program.

RideNow Powersports has donated a 2021 Polaris Ranger Crew XP 1000 EPS ($18,837 MSRP) and a 2021 Sea-Doo Fish Pro with trailer ($16,199 MSRP) to be raffled as the grand prize. The Arizona Elk Society is hosting the fundraiser on behalf of the three charities and has donated six additional prizes to increase the number of winners — 55-quart Canyon coolers (second and third prizes), Vortex Diamondback 10×42 binoculars (fourth and fifth prizes), and Canyon Nomad soft-sided coolers (sixth and seventh prizes).

The raffle ends at 11:59 p.m. (Arizona time) November 28, with a live drawing scheduled for December 11 at RideNow Powersports in Phoenix at 17202 N. Cave Creek Road.

Public’s help needed to detect, prevent spread of fungus deadly to bats

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PHOENIX — Results from monitoring work this spring suggest that Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats, may be present in samples collected from multiple species in five counties across California and northwestern Arizona.

The analytical results for these samples are considered “inconclusive” based on established national standards for the disease, which means they do not provide definitive evidence of the fungus being present in those bat populations. However, officials note they do underscore the importance of increased surveillance for WNS and the public’s help in reporting sick or dead bats on the landscape.

Federal and state agencies are asking the public to report any sick or dead bats found on the landscape. Sick or dying bats observed during winter may be a sign of WNS and can lead scientists to important roosting locations.

The general public should not handle bats but can report bat sightings to park rangers or state biologists. In California, the public can help conserve bats by reporting bat colonies (https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Mammals/Bats/Report-Colony) and sick or dead bats (https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Laboratories/Wildlife-Health/Monitoring/WNS). In Arizona, the public can report bat colonies or observations of sick or dead bats to bats@azgfd.gov.

Natural resource managers in California and Arizona are monitoring the rapid spread of WNS across North America and watching local bat species for evidence of Pd. As part of routine surveillance conducted by the National Park Service (NPS) in April and May, biologists collected samples from bats in Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park, Death Valley National Park, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Joshua Tree National Park, Mojave National Preserve, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area and a private property in Chester, California. The sites span a region that includes Inyo, San Bernardino, Shasta and Plumas Counties in California and Mohave County in Arizona.

Samples were analyzed at Northern Arizona University (NAU) and suggest that DNA from the fungus may be present in very low amounts on seven bat species from these sites, including two species not previously known to carry Pd. However, it is also possible that these inconclusive results do not reflect a true presence of Pd on these bats.

Similar findings were first reported at Grand Canyon National Park in 2019 and one site in Plumas County, California in 2018.

White-nose syndrome is a serious concern for wildlife managers across North America, as it has caused significant population declines in several susceptible bat species. Bats become infected during hibernation through physical contact with other bats or a contaminated roost surface, enabling the disease to spread quickly through a colony. The disease is not known to pose a direct health risk to people, pets or wildlife other than bats.

Federal and state officials in Arizona and California have been collaborating and preparing for the possible arrival of the fungus for many years. In support of the national response to WNS, surveillance for Pd and WNS is administered by the U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the NPS, NAU, Bat Conservation International and many other state and federal agencies and partners. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has partnered with the NPS and others to screen bats for the fungus since 2016. These agencies, the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the Bureau of Land Management and other partner organizations will continue to work together to monitor for Pd and WNS in the region.

People can protect bats and help slow the spread of the fungus by honoring closures in caves, old mine adits and other areas used by bats. Additionally, people can help slow the spread of WNS by decontaminating caving and climbing gear and other equipment used in areas where bats live, and avoiding the transport of this equipment to other locations used by bats. Visit https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org for more information.

Bats are essential for healthy ecosystems and contribute at least $3 billion annually to the U.S. agriculture economy through pest control and pollination. White-nose syndrome has killed millions of bats in North America – with mortality rates of up to 100 percent observed at some colonies – since it was first seen in New York in 2006. To date, WNS has been confirmed in bats from 37 states and seven Canadian provinces. Pseudogymnoascus destructans has been found without confirmation of disease in two additional states (Mississippi and New Mexico).

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to continue funding to support Arizona’s sport fish stocking program

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PHOENIX — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) as part of the Environmental Assessment (EA) of its proposal to continue to fund, in part, the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s (AZGFD) sport fish stocking program over the next 10 years.

The FONSI decision means that FWS can continue funding to support AZGFD’s hatchery operations and fish stocking activities that provide recreational opportunities for anglers.

As part of the Proposed Action, conservation measures were incorporated that will offset or reduce the effects of the stocking action to the level that is not significant to the human environment and ultimately contribute to conservation and recovery of native species. The conservation measures were developed as a coordinated effort between the FWS’s Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program (WSFR), FWS Arizona Ecological Services Office, and AZGFD.

The FONSI decision followed an EA process that analyzed two alternatives, the Proposed Action and the No Action alternative. After review of public and agency comments received on the Draft EA, WSFR and the Arizona Ecological Services Office and AZGFD revised the conservation measures to provide additional detail and clarification. The final EA reflects these modifications, provides corrections to the document where warranted, and adds clarification as requested in public and agency comments.

Under the Proposed Action, funding will support stocking of sport fish at 186 individual sites in selected rivers, streams, lakes, reservoirs, ponds and tanks in the state. It will also support continued operations and maintenance of five AZGFD hatcheries that rear sport fish (primarily trout) for stocking. The actions in this alternative are the most comparable to the stocking program that has been in place since 2011.

Hundreds of thousands of Arizona residents and nonresidents take advantage of the state’s recreational fishing opportunities each year. There were 6,009,716 angler use days (AUDs) of fishing in Arizona, with a total annual economic impact of $1.47 billion based on 2013 numbers (Duda 2014; Fedler 2014). The demand for angling opportunities in Arizona is anticipated to further increase given current trends and projected models of population growth, especially in close proximity to urban areas.

Under the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act of 1950, FWS has the authority to provide federal funding to state wildlife agencies for management and restoration of sport fish, as well as public use and benefit from those resources. Funding is provided on a match basis through the WSFR program. Sport Fish Restoration funds through that program come from a federal excise tax on certain fishing equipment and a portion of motorboat fuel tax revenues. In July 2021, Arizona received about $8 million in Sport Fish Restoration Act funds.