Arizona Game and Fish Department is accepting applications for more than $400,000 in Heritage Fund grants

The deadline to submit an application is Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017 to be eligible for grant funding, which will be available through a competitive application process in the following categories:

• environmental education
• outdoor education
• schoolyard habitat
• urban wildlife/habitat, public access
• Identification, Inventory, Acquisition, Protection and Management (IIAPM)

In addition to government agencies, the department welcomes non-profit organizations to apply for a Heritage Grant as eligible applicants. This eligibility applies to any non-profit group which meets the internal revenue service definition of a 501(c) organization.

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. Many who research for this grant end up finding out more information about sustainability certification and end up becoming a contributing factor in this movement.

The grant program was established by AZGFD 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 $16 million and supported more than 800 projects throughout the state.

Applicants for this year’s grants should refer to the documents on our Heritage Grant web page for guidance on applying. The documents include the Heritage Grant application manual, the 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.

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 and meets the requirements in the funding windows.

Proposals and applications for these grants can be submitted either by e-mail to [email protected] 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)Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017.

2017 AZ Game and Fish Department Heritage Grant Recipients

Outdoor Education (OE) received a total of twenty applications and the amount available is $16,000. The following six Arizona Schools and three non-profit organizations are awarded a 2017 Outdoor Education Heritage Grant:
1. O17020, Grand Canyon Trust a non-profit organization for the project titled “4FRI Student Assessments and Monitoring.” The award amount $ 1,619.
2. O17012, Washington School District, Orangewood School for the project titled “Orangewood at Camp Colley Environmental Workshop.” The award amount $ 2,310.
3. O17014, Flagstaff Unified School District, Flagstaff High School for the project titled “Service Learning and Outdoor Leadership.” The award amount $1,212.
4. O17006, Gilbert Unified School District, Quartz Hill Elementary for the project titled “Exploring Ecosystems – Day trip to Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum.” The award amount $2,200.
5. O17002, Paradise Valley School District, Sweetwater Elementary for the project titled “Crayfish Project.” The award amount $2,000.
6. O17013, Oak Creek Watershed Council, a non-profit organization for the project titled “Water Sample Week.” The award amount $1,591.
7. O17009, Gilbert Unified School District, Superstition Springs Elementary for the project titled “Second Grade Butterfly Wonderland Field-Trip.” The award amount $600.
8. O17008, Flagstaff Unified School District, Marshall Magnet Elementary for the project titled “Phoenix Zoo.” The award amount $2,000.
9. O17003, Safari Club International, a non-profit organization for the project titled “Transportation Funding for Conservation Education.” The award amount $2,468.

Environmental Education (EE) received a total of twenty-three applications and the amount available is $16,000. The following five Arizona Schools or organizations are awarded a 2017 EE Heritage Grant:
10. E17009, Flagstaff Unified School District, Flagstaff High School for the project titled “Life Zone and Pronghorn Management Case Studies.” The award amount $ 2,420.
11. E17012, Keepers of the Wild, a non-profit organization for the project titled “Informal Environmental Education Experience.” The award amount $3,730.
12. E17019, Tohono Chul, a non-profit organization for the project titled “Bio-Field Science Program.” The award amount $2,500.
13. E17010, Arizona State University, Tempe Polytechnic Campus for the project titled “Sonoran Desert Citizen Science: Building Nature Stewards.” The award amount $ 4,850.
14. E17004, Four Corners School of Outdoor Education, a non-profit organization for the project titled “Place-Based Education for K.I.D.S.” The award amount $2,500.

Schoolyard Habitat (SCHOOLYARD) received a total of thirteen applications and the amount available is $30,000. The following three Arizona Schools are awarded a 2017 SCHOOLYARD Heritage Grant:
1. S17001, Paradise Valley School District, Sonoran Sky Elementary School for the project titled “Sonoran Sky’s Wonderland Outdoor Classroom, Pond & Habitat.” The award amount $10,000.
2. S17009, Tucson Unified School District, Rincon University High School for the project titled “Rincon University High School Schoolyard Wildlife Habitat.” The award amount $9,800.
3. S17007, Creighton School District, William Machan Elementary School for the project titled “Machan Urban Wildlife Oasis.” The award amount $10,000. Urban Wildlife (URBAN) received a total of twenty-six applications and the amount available is $100,000. The following seven organizations are awarded a 2017 URBAN Heritage Grant:
1. U17002, City of Saint Johns for the project titled “Patterson Ponds Recreation Area Revitalization.” The award amount $ 46,965.
2. U17005, Kachina Village Improvement District for the project titled “Kachina Wetlands: Providing viewing opportunities of watchable wildlife.” The award amount $16,350.
3. U17006, Highlands Center for Natural History, a non-profit organization for the project titled “Interpretive Signage for James Family Discovery Gardens.” The award amount $10,000.
4. U17007, Catalina Foothills School District, Manzanita Elementary for the project titled “Critter Cams for Kids.” The award amount $ 2,250.
5. U17020, City of Tucson, Parks and Recreation Department for the project titled “Tucson Birding Trail Map – Update and Reprint Project.” The award amount $ 3,772.
6. U17024, The Arboretum at Flagstaff, a non-profit organization for the project titled “Meadow and Wetlands Discovery Trail.” The award amount $15,145.
7. U17025, Little Colorado River RC&D a non-profit organization for the project titled “Rainbow Lake Weed Control.” The award amount $5,518.

Public Access (ACCESS) received a total of six applications and the amount available is $50,000. The following two organizations are awarded a 2017 ACCESS Heritage Grant:
1. P17004, The Town of Camp Verde for the project titled “Homestead Park Access Road Phase-I.” The award amount $ 24,500.
2. P17005, Graham County for the project titled “Lebanon Reservoir Access.” The award amount $25,500.

Identification, Inventory, Acquisition, Protection and Management (IIAPM) received a total of eight applications and the amount available is $200,000. The following four organizations are awarded a 2017 IIAPM Heritage Grant:
1. I17008, New Mexico State University for the project titled “Assessment of Burrowing Owl Translocation Efforts in Southern Arizona.” The award amount $39,269.
2. I17003, Arizona Center for Nature Conservation dba The Phoenix Zoo, a non-profit organization for the project titled “Narrow-headed gartersnake outdoor propagation and soft-release research enclosures.” The award amount $37,100.
3. I17001, Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of Arizona State University for the project titled “Characterizing the Sonoran Desert tortoise through genomic analyses of hybrids and speciation.” The award amount $33,776.
4. I17006, Arizona State University Office of Research and Sponsored Projects for the project titled “The History of a Lethal Pathogen in Arizona Ranid Frogs.” The award amount $14,014.