Category Archives: Phoenix

2017 Heritage Fund Grants request due October 31

Posted on by

heritage-fundThe Oct. 31 deadline to submit applications for more than $400,000 in Heritage Fund grants is quickly approaching.

Grants will be awarded based on a competitive application process in the following categories: environmental education, outdoor education, schoolyard habitat, urban wildlife/habitat, public access, and Identification, Inventory, Acquisition, Protection and Management (IIAPM). This year 501(c) non-profit organizations can apply for grant funds without the need of a sponsor.

Heritage Fund grant background
The Heritage Fund was created after voters approved an initiative in 1990 and is funded through Arizona Lottery ticket sales. Heritage funding goes toward conservation efforts such as protecting endangered species, educating students and the general public about wildlife and the outdoors, and creating new opportunities for outdoor recreation.

The grant program was established by the Arizona Game and Fish Department in 1992 as part of the overall Heritage Fund program. The grants were initially developed as a way to promote outreach to enhance important partnerships and generate fresh approaches in support of the department’s mission.

Since the grant program’s inception, the department has awarded more than $14 million and supported more than 700 projects throughout the state.

Project requirements and how to apply
Potential grant recipients must have a project that is either located in Arizona or involves research in which the wildlife or its habitat is located in the state.

Applicants should refer to the documents on the Heritage Grant web page for guidance on applying. The documents include the Heritage Grant Application Manual, the Heritage Grant Application Form and the various “Heritage Grant Funding Window” documents, which describe eligibility information and provide specific eligibility criteria listed within each grant sub-category.

Proposals/applications for these grants can be submitted either by e-mail to rbeck@azgfd.gov or mailed to Arizona Game and Fish Department, Attn: Wildlife Grant Administrator, 5000 W. Carefree Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85086. No faxed applications will be accepted.

Applicants can submit grant applications up until the application deadline of 5 p.m. (MST) Monday, Oct. 31, 2016.

Extra trout stockings in White Mountains lakes to provide great fall fishing

Posted on by

white-mountain-fishingPINETOP — The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) has recently stocked thousands of catchable size rainbow trout into many of the White Mountain lakes. This gives anglers an extra incentive to get out to the lakes this fall.

Show Low Lake was stocked with 4,000 rainbow trout. Bear Canyon and Willow Springs Lake received 5,000 fish each. Another 7,000 trout went into Woods Canyon Lake. Fool Hollow Lake and River Reservoir each received 8,000 trout.

The AZGFD hatcheries had a surplus of fish that needed to be stocked into lakes to make room for next year’s trout. These fish were all stocked within the last 2 weeks, and the fishing should be great—especially with the cooler temperatures of fall.

This time of year, try fishing for rainbow trout using green, garlic scented PowerBait or worms. Tiger trout were also stocked for the first time in Arizona this year into Willow Springs and Woods Canyon lakes. Catch tiger trout using lures—they are more aggressive than rainbow trout. Bear Canyon Lake is a hike-in-only lake, but worth the short, steep hike. All others are easily accessible.

Happy 20th anniversary to Arizona’s endangered black-footed ferrets

Posted on by

ferretPHOENIX — Arizona’s endangered black-footed ferret population celebrated the 20th anniversary of its reintroduction to Arizona with the release of more animals into a new privately-owned reintroduction area. Through a new Safe Harbor Agreement, the Double O Ranch outside of Seligman yesterday became the third reintroduction site in Arizona.

‘This release was made possible by a Safe Harbor Agreement, a newer conservation option that aims to enlist the help of non-federal landowners to conserve species. We hope our new partnership with the Double O Ranch will lead to the establishment of Arizona’s third population and contribute to national recovery goals,” said Jennifer Cordova, the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s black-footed ferret program supervisor.

The species was thought to be extinct until a small colony of ferrets was discovered in Wyoming in 1981. Disease outbreaks reduced this population to about 18 individuals, which were captured to begin a captive breeding program to save the species. Before reintroduction, the last black-footed ferret in Arizona was found in 1931 in an area between Williams and Flagstaff.

The descendants of the original 18 ferrets have now been introduced into reintroduction sites across the west, including the Aubrey Valley outside of Seligman, Ariz. In 2008, Aubrey Valley was declared a successful reintroduction site by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the population had become self-sustaining and no longer required augmentation.

Today, biologists estimate there are a minimum of 800 to 1,000 individual ferrets living in the wild.

While they resemble domestic pet ferrets, black-footed ferrets are a different species and are the only ferret native to North America. They can grow to be up to 2 feet long and can weigh up to 2 ½ pounds. One ferret can give birth to three to five kits each year.

The Arizona black-footed ferret reintroduction program is a joint effort of the Arizona Game and Fish Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Phoenix Zoo, U.S.D.A. APHIS Wildlife Services, Hualapai Nation, Navajo Nation, Arizona State Land Department, Babbitt Ranches and the Cholla Cattle Company.

ADOT internships prepare next generation of transportation professionals

Posted on by

adot-intern-yuri-lechuga-robles_cropPHOENIX — Arizona’s network of highways requires transportation professionals specializing in areas as wide-ranging as planning routes, repairing bridges and creating beautiful landscaping along roadways.

To help ready the next generation of professionals to plan, operate and maintain a safe and efficient transportation system, the Arizona Department of Transportation employs nearly 40 interns whose work touches projects in every corner of the state.

Coming from communities across Arizona, the interns work in fields including engineering, urban planning, construction management, environmental science, landscape architecture and more.

Earlier this year, ADOT partnered with Arizona State University to have meteorology interns provide real-time forecasts to those managing highways. Working out of ADOT’s Traffic Operations Center, these interns have helped crews respond rapidly to storms and other weather challenges.

ADOT recruits interns from high schools and colleges every spring, and interns can work for the agency throughout their college careers and up to six months after graduating. Typically working one day a week, they tackle the same kinds of projects they’ll face after graduating.

Interns benefit from the experience of working with a supervisor plus a designated mentor.

“The interns I talk to love the program,” said Candee Samora, ADOT’s intern project coordinator. “They say they love school but there’s nothing that can replace the hands-on training they’re getting at ADOT.”

One of ADOT’s interns is Yuri Lechuga-Robles (shown in the photo), an Arizona State University landscape architecture student who graduated in May as the 2016 Outstanding Undergraduate Student for the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. Lechuga-Robles’ position in roadside development has allowed him to work on freeway projects in northern Arizona, Tucson and the Phoenix area. One of the lasting impacts of his work with ADOT Roadside Development is helping choose plants to go along roads and the graphic designs on bridges.

“Everyone in Roadside Development has been very helpful,” he said. “They’ve really taken care not to hold back and they’ve put me in situations where I can do things and learn. They’ve had confidence in me.”

Lechuga-Robles received the John E. McGee Intern Scholarship in 2015 from ADOT and the Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. He was the first landscape architecture student awarded the scholarship named after McGee, the late ADOT chief financial officer.

“A lot of what I’m doing at school is directly related to the projects I do here,” Lechuga-Robles said. “It’s definitely been enriching to my career in landscape architecture.”

LeRoy Brady, ADOT’s chief landscape architect, said the agency gets just as much out of the experience as its interns do.

“Interns help us meet our project development goals and schedules,” Brady said. “They bring in new ideas and new ways of looking at things.”

For more information on ADOT internships, visit azdot.gov/internships.

Deadline to apply for 2017 spring hunt permit-tags is Tuesday, Oct. 11

Posted on by

PHOENIX — Time is running out to apply for 2017 hunt permit-tags issued through the draw process for spring turkey, javelina, bison and bear.

To apply online, visit https://draw.azgfd.gov/ and scroll down to “Apply for a Draw.”

The deadline by which the Arizona Game and Fish Department must receive all applications – online or paper – is 11:59 p.m. (MST) Tuesday, Oct. 11. Postmarks do not count. Paper applications can be dropped off at the department’s headquarters in Phoenix or any regional office statewide.

As a reminder, all Game and Fish offices will be closed Monday, Oct. 10, in observance of Columbus Day. Offices will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on deadline day, Tuesday, Oct. 11, but applications still will be accepted until 11:59 p.m.

The “2017 Spring Turkey, Javelina, Bison and Bear Hunt Draw Information” booklet is available online at www.azgfd.gov/draw. Printed booklets are available at all Game and Fish offices and license dealers statewide.

As a reminder, applicants must possess a valid Arizona hunting license to apply online for a hunt permit-tag. That license must be valid on the last day of the application period (Oct. 11). Licenses now are valid for one full year from date of purchase. Licenses are available online, as well as all Game and Fish offices and license dealers statewide.

For more information, visit www.azgfd.gov/draw, or call (602) 942-3000.

Meanwhile, PointGuard is available to applicants who apply online for a hunt permit-tag. PointGuard, the newest benefit for AZGFD Portal customers, ensures that if a successful applicant is unable to participate in a hunt for any reason, the accumulated bonus points that were expended to draw that hunt permit-tag will be reinstated.

All applicants must sign up for a free AZGFD Portal account to purchase PointGuard (visit www.azgfd.gov, click on the “Sign in to Account” button in the upper right-hand corner of the home page, then select the “Create an Account” option). PointGuard is $5 per species, per applicant, purchased at the time of completing the online application, or prior to the application period deadline.

To lead ADOT’s continuous improvement, director tries out different jobs

Posted on by

director-gemba1_cropPHOENIX — Leave it to the new person to mess up the first time he tries applying reflective vinyl to make a road sign.

It seems so simple as he approaches the sign-making machine: Just slide a piece of polished aluminum under a roll of vinyl, press a pedal to start applying and … Jam.

“What did I do?” he says as his understanding supervisor swoops in to free the metal, cut through the bunched-up vinyl and clear the machine for another try.

Rookie mistake. The new person tapped the pedal too early, and this particular sign is history.

It turns out that mistakes are common as new hires learn the ropes in the Arizona Department of Transportation’s sign shop. That’s just one of the lessons ADOT Director John Halikowski will take away from his time today making and then installing road signs.

The sign operation may not have been as efficient as usual with the agency’s director temporarily on the team, but the visit will pay dividends for ADOT as a whole. This is a Gemba Walk, a continuous-improvement technique whose name comes from a Japanese term meaning going where work is done.

Gemba Walks allow leaders to not only better understand how work is performed but make employees part of examining roles and processes. Answering Governor Doug Ducey’s call for agencies to continuously improve their value to the state, this is something all ADOT leaders do, starting with the person atop the organizational chart.

After mastering the art of applying reflective vinyl, Halikowski learned how to apply red vinyl to turn his creation into a wrong-way sign. Then it was off to Interstate 10 and Avondale Boulevard with a crew to install larger wrong-way signs at that interchange.

Halikowski’s work in this phase of the Gemba Walk included placing traffic cones for safety and helping remove and hang signs. Describing the day as hot would be an understatement, and the director, clad in reflective garb and a hard hat, left with a greater appreciation of both sides of the sign operation and those who do the work.

“It was very different from what I normally do,” Halikowski said. “Everybody’s job is important and has meaning. I don’t care where you sit at ADOT, you contribute.”

His experience is now a video allowing all of ADOT to share in this Gemba Walk, with Halikowski interviewing employees and sharing what he learned, mistakes and all.

Looking at the camera as he ends his time with the sign crew along I-10, Halikowski offers some quick takeaways, starting with the importance of teamwork.

“You have to work together, you have to respect each other,” Halikowski says. “And you’ve really got to look out for your surroundings and safety.”

As part of its commitment to continuous improvement, ADOT is working to lower wait times at Motor Vehicle Division offices, reduce congestion on Phoenix-area freeways and increase the percentage of construction projects delivered on time, among other agency-wide goals. But every process in every department is part of this effort, and better understanding and analyzing the nature of work performed is essential for improvement to happen.

His day with ADOT’s sign operation was first of what will be many Gemba Walks for Halikowski, who says he hopes to instill the idea that no improvement is too small to make.

“People think of continuous improvement as this big thing, but most of these important improvements are easy to do in the workplace,” Halikowski said.

MVD partnership lets drivers get replacement Social Security cards online

Posted on by

PHOENIX — A driver license verification program used by the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division now makes it possible to request Social Security card replacements online through the Social Security website and simplifies the already-existing process of getting a person’s identifying information verified when making a major purchase or obtaining a loan.

“We are always looking for ways to better serve our customers, get them out of line and on the road safely, and this is one more tool that helps us reach that goal,” Motor Vehicle Division Director Eric Jorgensen said. “This is a real game-changer for making essential services more accessible and adds another element for protecting sensitive ID information.”

MVD has aligned with the nonprofit American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators to offer the Driver License Data Verification service. This electronic system verifies a person’s driver license or ID card attributes such as name, address, birthdate, license expiration date and eye color, then confirms their validity to whichever entity is making the request.

With this program in place, Arizona is among 15 states and the District of Columbia offering online Social Security card replacement service through the Social Security Administration website at ssa.gov/ssnumber. Arizona driver license holders can create an account on this site and follow the procedure to get a replacement card, avoiding a trip to a Social Security Administration office.

The secure data-verification process also streamlines the current process used by banks, retailers and government agencies for verifying a person’s identity. When someone applies for a bank loan or makes a major purchase, this electronic system eliminates paperwork that may takes days to process by moving that secure process online.

This is done in real time, which means information can be verified more rapidly and while the customer is present. Once the procedure is complete, the participating entity will be told if the ID attributes match or if there is a problem. The data is held only for the amount of time needed to process the verification.

It’s another example of MVD helping customers conduct more transactions online. Through ServiceArizona.com, Arizonans can conduct offer more than 20 motor vehicle transactions such as vehicle registration renewal and ordering replacement driver licenses and specialty license plates, with more to come.

Fatal ATV rollover a reminder to practice OHV safety

Posted on by

DSC_4103_-_reduced_flippedPHOENIX — The Arizona Game and Fish Department reminds all off-highway vehicle (OHV) drivers and passengers to ride safely by remembering to always wear a helmet.

The reminder comes after an 81-year-old man died when the ATV he was driving rolled end-over-end while attempting to climb a 70-percent incline hill southeast of Meadview early Friday afternoon, according to the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office. Neither the man nor another rider on a separate ATV were wearing helmets.

“Our condolences go out to the family,” said Kim Jackson, AZGFD OHV Safety Education program manager. “It is absolutely imperative that everyone wears a helmet whenever they head out on an OHV. Many of these tragic accidents are survivable, but only if you wear a helmet.”

There were 28 OHV-related deaths in Arizona last year, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Helmets are required by law for all riders under the age of 18 regardless of the off-highway vehicle type. They are also strongly recommended for all riders, regardless of age. In addition, riders should remember to:

  • Wear a seat belt at all times, if equipped.
  • Wear riding goggles, a long-sleeved shirt, pants, riding gloves and over-the-ankle boots.
  • Never ride alone.
  • Be prepared and equipped with a map, a first aid kit, whistle and have basic tools on hand.
  • Stay on designated trails.
  • Take an OHV safety education course designed to teach off-road motorists how to ride safely and responsibly.

For more information about the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s OHV program and safety course options, visit www.azgfd.gov/ohv.

ADEQ Reimbursement Programs for Leaking Underground Storage Tanks

Posted on by

adeq-1PHOENIX — The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) now offers two new programs to reimburse eligible underground storage tank (UST) owners, operators, and others who incurred environmental cleanup costs for leaking underground storage tanks (LUSTs).

UST Time-Barred Claims Program – Application Deadline is 12/31/2016

If you were “time-barred” from submitting costs for reimbursement after the sunset of the former state assurance fund (SAF) on June 30, 2010, you now can seek repayment of up to 90 percent of approved cleanup costs incurred after June 30, 2010. Submit your “time-barred” claim application now.

Deadline for Time-Barred Claim Applications is 12/31/2016

Learn more about the UST Time-Barred Program: www.azdeq.gov/ust/time-barred.

UST Preapproval Program – Accepting Applications

UST owners, operators or landowners may also be eligible for ADEQ’s UST Preapproval Program, which provides financial assistance for corrective action costs not covered by a financial assurance mechanism. ADEQ will work closely with applicants to develop a cleanup plan and path to closure for their USTs.

Learn more about the UST Preapproval Program: http://azdeq.gov/ust/preapproval.

Comments Summary and Response for the Draft 2016 Clean Water Act Assessment

Posted on by

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) received public comments for the
Draft 2016 Clean Water Act Assessment during the public comment period that began June 13, 2016 and ended July 28, 2016.

View the ADEQ Public Notice for the Comments Summary and Response for the Draft 2016 Clean Water Act Assessment

ADEQ’s response to comments has been issued in the Arizona Administrative Register and may be viewed at http://apps.azsos.gov/public_services/register/2016/40/22_public_information.pdf

ADEQ appreciates your interest and participation in improving Arizona’s surface water quality.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Aiko Condon
Water Quality Division
P: (602) 771-4448
E: condon.aiko@azdeq.gov