Arizona

Arizona Game and Fish Department
Restoring Wintering Grassland Habitat on the CO Bar Ranch by Removing Invasive Juniper (AZ)
Use a rubber-tired masticator to remove invasive juniper from historic grassland habitat on the CO Bar Ranch in northern Arizona. Project will restore more than 700 acres of wintering habitat for elk, pronghorn and mule deer.
$109,000

Arizona Game and Fish Department
Restoring Wintering Grassland Habitat on the Kaibab Plateau by Removing Invasive Juniper (AZ)
Use mechanical and hand-thinning treatments to remove juniper trees that have invaded historical grassland on Bureau of Land Management lands within Coconino County in northern Arizona. Project will restore 1,480 acres of critical winter mule deer habitat.
$200,000

Arizona State University
Developing and Testing Solar-Powered Net Illumination to Reduce Leatherback Sea Turtle Bycatch (AZ, FL)
Further develop and test a promising gill-net gear technology for the reduction of sea turtle bycatch. Project will improve existing design to enhance both usability and impact for leatherback turtles and conduct both controlled and active fishing tests of the gear.
$102,083

Friends of the Verde River
Verde Watershed Restoration Coalition: Water Quality Monitoring and Restoration Volunteerism (AZ)
Engage volunteers, build stewardship in the community, and train community scientists to monitor water quality and identify sites in need of restoration along Oak Creek and Spring Creek. Project will engage seven partner organizations and 225 volunteers to install erosion control structures on 2 acres and monitor 10 sites for water quality.
$47,645

National Audubon Society
Creating Habitat for Burrowing Owls in Powers Butte (AZ)
Mobilize volunteers to build homes for burrowing owls on an Arizona Game and Fish Department Wildlife Area located west of Phoenix called Powers Butte. Project will install artificial burrows in an area encompassing about 5 acres adjacent to the Gila River, build 100 new burrows and re-home 50-60 burrowing owls, as wells as focus outreach efforts on high schools located in Phoenix’s West Valley, adjacent to the new owl site.
$30,000

U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Arizona Fisheries Resources Office
Replacing a Barrier on Big Bonito Creek to Support Apache Trout Recovery (AZ)
Replace an existing gabion structure, which no longer functions as a barrier to upstream movement of nonnative trout, with a barrier designed for a 50-year performance life. Project will separate Apache trout recovery populations from managed sportfish downstream and increase the availability of high-quality protected Apache trout recovery habitat by nearly 20 miles.
$83,128