Arizona Wildlife Conservation Strategy

Arizona Wildlife Conservation Strategy

Arizona’s State Wildlife Action Plan provides a comprehensive vision for managing Arizona’s fish, wildlife and wildlife habitats for a 10-year period. The plan includes input from resource professionals, federal and state agencies, sportsmen groups, conservation organizations, Native American tribes, recreational groups, local governments and citizens. The SWAP outlines strategies and conservation actions aimed at promoting partnerships and coordinating efforts for everyone that has an interest in conserving Arizona’s wildlife. The AWCS vision focuses on identifying and managing wildlife and habitats that are in the greatest need of conservation.

The State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) is required to be reviewed and revised every 10 years by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service in order to maintain eligibility in the State and Tribal Wildlife Grant program which provides funds for the management of nongame species in Arizona.

The Arizona Wildlife Conservation Strategy (AWCS) now includes the SWAP, and focuses on identifying and managing wildlife and habitats that are in the greatest need of conservation.

Arizona’s current plan was approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2022.  The updated SWAP focuses on identifying and managing wildlife and habitats that are in the greatest need of conservation – status definitions – and includes an updated list of Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN), an enhanced spatial data viewer, and an interactive website allowing exploration of the strategy.

How the plan was developed

A stakeholder survey was posted in early September 2020 to allow our partners and citizens to share their perspectives on the future of Arizona’s wildlife. Over 2,300 responses were captured! Survey results

A series of focus group discussions took place in November 2020. The purpose of the initial focus groups was to provide an overview of the AWCS and to gain a better understanding of stakeholder values and perspectives. Summary of focus group discussions

In January 2021, AZGFD hosted the USFWS Arizona Ecological Services Field Office (ESFO) staff for a focus group discussion with the purpose of developing a joint vision to advance conservation priorities in Arizona.  Continued collaboration was a key theme in this discussion.

Summary of ESFO focus group discussion