Category Archives: State Government

ADHS reminds residents to take precautions to prevent rabies

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Although human exposures to rabies are not common,
always enjoy wildlife from a distance.

PHOENIX — Outdoor recreationists and other members of the public are reminded, as always, to enjoy wildlife from a distance.

The Arizona Department of Health Services on June 19 issued a news release advising that there has been a statewide rise in animal rabies cases and encouraging the community to follow prevention guidelines to stay safe from the disease. According to ADHS, as of May 31, 2018, there have been 77 rabid animals reported this year compared with 54 at the same time last year, with the majority of animals identified in rural counties in the state. Most rabid animals identified to date in 2018 have been skunks and foxes, with 25 rabid skunks and 31 positive foxes reported from January through May. An increase in rabid bats is expected as the weather gets warmer.

“Rabies is a very serious disease that can be fatal, so it is important for people to take precautions such as keeping their pets on a leash and vaccinated against the disease,” said Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services. “People can still walk, hike, or camp in areas where there are reported cases of rabies, but it is critical to make sure you and your pets are not interacting with wild animals. When at home, pets should be supervised or kept in a fenced yard.”

Rabies is a virus spread by the bite of or contact with saliva of an infected animal. Rabies causes severe damage to the central nervous system and usually leads to death once symptoms appear. Human exposures to rabid animals are usually rare (and can be treated through prompt administration of anti-rabies vaccine and rabies immune globulin), but domestic animals, such as cats and dogs, often come into contact with wild animals and are at an increased risk.

“In Arizona, bats, skunks, and foxes are the main animal sources of rabies,” said Anne Justice-Allen, D.V.M., a veterinarian and wildlife health specialist for the Arizona Game and Fish Department. “The first sign of rabies is usually a change in the animal’s behavior. Animals may act more aggressive or more tame than usual, be out during the day, stagger, tremble, or seem weak. Rabid animals may appear agitated and excited or paralyzed and frightened. Sometimes, rabid animals do not show any signs of illness before death from rabies.”

To prevent rabies and other diseases spread by animals (such as plague and tularemia), ADHS and AZGFD advise that people should not touch or feed wild or unfamiliar animals, even if they do not appear sick or aggressive. Any wild animal exhibiting unusual, erratic, or aggressive behavior should be reported to local animal control officials or the Arizona Game and Fish Department at (602) 942-3000. If you or your pet is bitten or has contact with a wild animal, seek immediate medical or veterinary attention and contact your county public health department.

For more information on rabies, go online to www.azhealth.gov/rabies.

As the monsoon pours down, open this Smartphone App to help protect Arizona waterways

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PHOENIX –– Protecting Arizona waterways is as easy as opening an App on your Smartphone. As the monsoon kicks off, download the Arizona Water Watch Mobile App, recently developed by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). Users can easily submit photos and data for any stream, wash, river or lake in the state within a few minutes.

This will be the first monsoon where people can report the status of waterways in Arizona using the Arizona Water Watch App. The information is used by ADEQ scientists to update flow patterns in streams and washes, address water quality issues across the state and identify water bodies for future studies. It is especially important to record when water is observed in normally dry streams and creeks to help ADEQ better understand how water moves through ecosystems.

“Working together, volunteers and state employees can cover more of Arizona, expanding our knowledge of the state’s waterways, especially during the monsoon when desert landscapes are transformed after heavy downpours,” said Meghan Smart, ADEQ Water Quality Scientist. “As information is submitted through the App and our network of Citizen Scientists expands, so does our ability to protect these important natural resources.”

After verification, the submitted information is plotted on an interactive GIS map of the entire state. The Arizona Water Watch Mobile App can be used even when out of range of cell phone service, as is common in the more remote areas of Arizona. Data are sent automatically to ADEQ when the phone returns to a service area.

Resources:

Video Interview with Meghan Smart and b-roll
Mobile App
Mobile App User Guide (PDF)
Arizona Water Watch Program

After you “Pull Aside, Stay Alive,” what comes next?

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PHOENIX – You know not to drive into the towering wall of dust. And if a dust channel whips across a highway and engulfs your vehicle, the mantra “Pull Aside, Stay Alive” can lead you to safety.

But even after you’ve pulled aside, one of the most important actions must still be taken – turn off your lights!

Turn off headlights, emergency flashers, dome lights and take your foot off the brake. Stay buckled up, set the parking brake, go dark and wait for the dust storm to pass.

Here’s why: If you become caught in a dust storm and have pulled off the highway, you’re in a dangerous spot – less dangerous than driving blind on the road, though – and want to hide. You can do that by turning off all vehicle lights. If you leave lights on, drivers behind you might believe you’ve found the way out and follow, crashing into your parked car because low-visibility affects depth perception.

The Arizona Department of Transportation has produced 30-second public service announcements – in English and Spanish – on this topic that will air statewide on television and radio throughout monsoon season as part of ADOT’s partnership with the Arizona Broadcasters Association. The PSAs can be viewed on ADOT’s YouTube channel.

As Monsoon Awareness Week begins and we near the official start of monsoon season, ADOT wants to remind drivers of the No. 1 dust-storm driving tip: Do not drive into a dust storm.

“Road trips are a great way to get out and experience all that Arizona has to offer,” Governor Doug Ducey said. “If there’s a dust storm in your path, it’s time to take a break from driving. Make the safe and smart decision to delay your travel plans and wait for the storm to pass.”

Towering, dense, blowing dust can drop visibility to zero. Just as dangerous are the small dust channels that whip across roadways in an instant, affording drivers little or no opportunity to avoid them. In such events, ADOT has developed the following “Pull Aside, Stay Alive” dust storm safety driving tips, which can help travelers survive a storm.

  • Avoid driving into or through a dust storm.If you encounter a dust storm, immediately check traffic around your vehicle (front, back and to the side) and begin slowing down.
  • Do not wait until poor visibility makes it difficult to safely pull off the roadway – do it as soon as possible. Completely exit the highway if you can.
  • Do not stop in a travel lane or in the emergency lane. Look for a safe place to pull completely off the paved portion of the roadway.
  • Turn off all vehicle lights. You do not want other vehicles approaching from behind to use your lights as a guide, possibly crashing into your parked vehicle.
  • Set your emergency brake and take your foot off the brake.
  • Stay in the vehicle with your seat belt buckled and wait for the storm to pass.
  • Drivers of high-profile vehicles should be especially aware of changing weather conditions and travel at reduced speeds.

More information on dust storm safety can be found at PullAsideStayAlive.org and safety tips for driving in rainstorms can be found at azdot.gov/monsoon.

World record ahead?

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PHOENIX — David Worsham wasn’t at Prescott’s Goldwater Lake on Saturday, June 2 for the family fishing event or even the stocked rainbow trout. He was there to catch big bass. Yet the Avondale, Arizona resident left with a potential state and world record Gila trout.

Worsham caught a 23-inch, 5.12-pound Gila trout that is in the process of certification as an Arizona state record.

“It kind of fought like a catfish at first,” Worsham said. “Once it started getting closer to shore it started peeling drag. I loosened the drag so she could run a little bit. I didn’t want to horse it to shore and chance it breaking off.” Worsham said he kept the fish.

He caught the behemoth Gila on a lipless crankbait. The rest of his rig consisted of a Megabass Levante Diablo Spec-R rod, a Daiwa Tatula 100 baitcasting reel and 15-pound fluorocarbon line. He said he was fishing one of Goldwater’s coves for big bass when he noticed a lunker cruising from deep water to the shallows and back. He switched from a swimbait to the lipless crankbait and hooked the Gila.

The previous inland waters, hook-and-line Arizona state record Gila trout was 3 pounds, 5.6 ounces and 19 1/4 inches caught by Roberts Woods of Flagstaff from Frye Mesa Reservoir in 2011.

This unique fish species is one of two native trout species to Arizona. Gila trout are found only in Arizona and New Mexico. The New Mexico state record Gila trout is 4 pounds, 8 ounces. The International Game Fish Association All-Tackle World Record Gila trout stands at 3 pounds, 7 ounces and was caught by Bo Nelson in 2011 from Arizona’s Frye Mesa Reservoir. Of course, Worsham’s fish is heavier than both. His catch has not yet been certified by the IGFA.

Ironically, Worsham’s record fish came from brood stock in New Mexico’s Mora National Fish Hatchery. AZGFD believes the fish likely came from a 2016 batch of 2- to 3-pound stocked Gila trout.

AZGFD is stocking more Gila trout this month into Goldwater Lake and the West Fork of Oak Creek.

Look out for wildlife when traveling in Arizona’s high country

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PHOENIX – It’s a traffic call heard too often this time of year inside the control room at the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Traffic Operations Center: “Car versus deer.”

From sunset to sunup, it’s not uncommon for a dozen vehicle strikes with deer, as well as antelope, elk, bear and other animals, to occur during a single evening as wildlife cross rural roadways. In fact, since 2012, more collisions with animals – wildlife, livestock and family pets – happen in June than nearly every other month – October sees the most. Annually, more than 80 percent of animal-related crashes are with wildlife and 86 percent of crashes involving animals occur in rural areas.According to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the higher-than-average number of wildlife-related crashes in June is likely related to the beginning of monsoon season, which translates into a “green up” of plants and provides more available water, allowing wildlife to travel greater distances and forage. It also coincides with more motorists traveling to Arizona’s high country, meaning more vehicles on roadways.

In some of the most heavily-traveled migratory corridors, ADOT has implemented creative solutions that promote safe travel, while protecting wildlife and connecting ecosystems. These projects include wildlife underpasses and elk crossings along State Route 260 east of Payson, desert bighorn sheep overpasses near Hoover Dam on US 93 and two wildlife crossing structures on State Route 77 near Tucson.

Partnering with AZGFD, these efforts have increased vehicle-travel safety, while preserving and protecting wildlife. For example, a fencing project linking three existing crossing structures on SR 260 reduced elk-vehicle collisions by 98 percent over a six-year span.

When traveling in rural areas, drivers are encouraged to pay heed to signs indicating areas where wildlife is prone to cross roadways. Obeying the speed limit and paying attention to the shoulders of roadways will also reduce the chance of crashing into an animal. AZGFD advises:

  • Deer are most active in early mornings and evenings.
  • If you see one animal there are probably more, so slow down.
  • Typically, you should not swerve to avoid hitting the animal. Stay in your lane and firmly brake.
  • However, if it is a very large animal and there is no oncoming traffic and the shoulder is safe on either side of the road, it may be safer to swerve rather than risk the impact from a large animal, like a cow, horse or adult bull elk.

Following crashes with wildlife (81.7 percent), livestock is the next most common at 13.6 percent. Family pets in urban areas make up 1.9 percent of crashes involving animals.

ADOT works with Historic Route 66 community as bridge project nears

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PHOENIX – Connection with Interstate 40 is the lifeblood of a Historic Route 66 town like Seligman, where many tourists drop in for a taste of those neon-lit days gone by.

That’s why the Arizona Department of Transportation is partnering with Seligman to let travelers know the town will be accessible while ADOT improves bridges leading from I-40 to the west side of the community, which is about 60 miles west of Flagstaff.

While the second I-40 exit (Exit 123) and route to Seligman’s east side will remain open, a $4.3 million project starting Monday, June 11 will replace decks on three bridges between I-40 exit 121 and the west side of Seligman. These bridges are between 40 and 50 years old, and the current decks need heavy maintenance. After the 10-month project, new bridge decks will provide a smoother ride into Seligman for decades.

“ADOT understands there is never a convenient time to do construction work, but we partner with local businesses and communities to do what we can to support them through a project,” said Alvin Stump, district engineer for ADOT’s Northwest District.

ADOT representatives have met with Seligman business owners to listen to concerns and suggestions and to coordinate on ways to let travelers know Seligman will remain accessible from I-40.

The result: Signs on I-40 will direct travelers to exit 123, connecting to the east side of Seligman. ADOT also has produced a brochure and video explaining the project and noting that visitors will be able to reach Seligman from I-40 throughout the project.

“You just have to go two more miles to the next exit,” said Bob LaJeunesse, ADOT resident engineer for the project. “Also, Historic Route 66 will be open east and west, and you can still get to your favorite restaurants and tourist attractions.”

For more information on this project, visit azdot.gov/projects and click on the Northwest District.

Only days remain to apply online for 2018 fall hunts

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PHOENIX – The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) reminds hunters that only a few days remain to apply online for 2018 hunt permit-tags issued through the draw process for deer, fall turkey, fall javelina, bighorn sheep, fall bison and pheasant.

All online applications must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. (Arizona time) Tuesday, June 12.

To apply online, visit https://draw.azgfd.gov/ and scroll down to “Apply for a Draw.” 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 online application period (June 12). Licenses are available online, at department offices and license dealers statewide.

Customer service representatives will be available at all statewide offices until 5 p.m. for those who need assistance filling out an online application. Online application assistance only will be offered until 6 p.m. Tuesday by calling (623) 236-7424.

Meanwhile, the department encourages all online applicants to sign up for a free AZGFD portal account. A portal account allows customers to create a secure account where they can view and manage their contact information, as well as their licenses, draw results history and bonus points in their personal “My AZGFD Dashboard” section. That’s also where draw results will be posted once the process is completed.

Another benefit to having a portal account is being able to purchase PointGuard when applying online for a hunt permit-tag. PointGuard ensures that if a successful online 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. PointGuard is $5 per species, per applicant, purchased at the time of completing the online application, or prior to the online application period deadline.

For questions about creating a portal account, call the department at (602) 942-3000 and press “7.”

Space still available for bighorn sheep photography outing on Canyon Lake

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AZGF Photo

PHOENIX — Do you enjoy wildlife photography? Then make plans to attend the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s photography outing on Sunday, June 24, 7-11 a.m., at Canyon Lake, about 15 miles northeast of Apache Junction.

Led by the department’s award-winning photographer, George Andrejko, and expert photographer and biologist Randy Babb, two pontoon boats will take 15 photographers out for a morning of photographing bighorn sheep and other wildlife on one of our most scenic waterways, Canyon Lake. George will provide tips, instruction, and advice for novice and experienced photographers on how to photograph these iconic desert animals. The boats will be lightly loaded to maximize comfort and mobility for photographers.

Canyon Lake offers some of the best opportunities to view and photograph bighorn sheep, and the rugged terrain surrounding the lake supports some of the largest examples of this species found anywhere in North America.

WHEN: June 24, 7-11 a.m.
WHERE: Acacia Boat Launch area, Canyon Lake
PRICE: $125 per person
TO REGISTER: https://www.register-ed.com/events/view/124936

Specific questions can be sent to either the event coordinator, Jeff Meyers, jmeyers@azgfd.gov, or the Watchable Wildlife Program Manager, Randy Babb, rbabb@azgfd.gov.

Setting out water and food attracts more than you think

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WILLIAMS – In the area around Williams people have water out for animals. Some put out water for their stock and pets and some for wildlife. This week, one local resident got a surprise.

The resident set water out for deer and elk. Wednesday of last week he came to his home about three miles south on Perkinsville road to discover drag marks across his driveway. A deer carcass was dragged into and laying in the grass alongside the driveway.He set up his trail camera. He caught this image of what killed the deer in the first place.

MOULTRIE DIGITAL GAME CAMERA


The deer was apparently attracted to the water and the lion attacked from behind a large pine. When the resident came home, he apparently scared the lion away. The lion returned to finish his meal in the night. Fortunately this lion still retained a healthy fear of humans.

AZGF warns against setting food and water out for animals. Some people have enough acreage to put out water for wildlife a fairly safe distance from their home. Some with livestock have to leave water out for their animals. With the recent drought conditions, however, that also attracts predators.

If you do or must leave water out, take care when you step outside to take in the cool night air. Scan the area carefully. Remember that your cats and small dogs make meals for these predators. Feed your animals inside and do not leave food out for them in town.

Monsoon Mess: Litter can hinder freeway drainage systems

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PHOENIX – As it prepares for monsoon storms, the Arizona Department of Transportation is asking motorists and their passengers not to toss litter along highways. Why? Because the trash can block drainage grates or wind up in the nearly 60 pump stations that ADOT operates along Phoenix-area freeways.

Pump stations are designed to remove large volumes of water from freeways during storms, with individual pumps able to lift more than 12,000 gallons per minute. They are part of a vast and largely unseen drainage system that can keep freeways open during storms that overwhelm local streets nearby.

Pump stations typically have three to five pumps, driven by powerful engines, to lift storm water from inside the facilities and send it into nearby drainage channels or retention basins.

Motorists can help keep ADOT’s drainage systems operating at full capacity by helping to reduce litter and other debris that can obstruct drainage grates and catch basins that collect runoff, leading to standing water along a freeway.

Another way you can help: Report those you see littering on highways to the ADOT Litter Hotline. All that’s required is providing the vehicle’s license plate number and incident details by calling 1.877.3LITTER or visiting kazb.org. The owner will get a letter noting that someone was reported tossing trash from the vehicle, along with a free litter bag.

ADOT works to clear litter and other debris from pump stations and freeway drainage systems all year long. Piles of litter often have to be collected by hand and hauled out of pump station storage wells. Crews or contractors also use specialized vehicles to vacuum drainage pipes that lead to pump stations.

ADOT technicians also work year round to maintain pump stations and their engines, since storms and runoff are not limited to the summer months.

As monsoon season approaches, ADOT keeps an eye on weather forecasts to prepare for challenges associated with runoff. Localized storms that drop more than 2 inches of rain in an hour can tax any drainage system.

When litter and trash are clogging the system, and water starts to build in travel lanes, ADOT maintenance crews are called away from other duties to deal with blockages. That’s another reason to think before you toss that cup or can out a car window.