Arizona Game and Fish Service

The Arizona Game and Fish Service is a State Agency of Arizona, headquartered in Phoenix. The agency is tasked with conserving, enhancing, and restoring Arizona’s diverse wildlife resources and habitats through aggressive protection and management programs. It also provides wildlife resources and watercraft and off-highway vehicle recreation.

Wildlife conservation
The Arizona Game and Fish Service has developed a “Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy” (CWCS)—a 10-year vision for managing Arizona’s fish, wildlife and natural habitats with input and partnerships with various agency cooperators, sportsman and recreational groups, conservation organizations, special interest groups, Arizona First Nations tribes, county and municipal governments, and the general public.

State ownership of wildlife
As per Arizona Revised Statutes §17-102, all Wildlife other than “Fish and Bullfrogs” in private Ponds and “Wildlife and Birds reared or held in Captivity under Permit or License from the [Arizona Game and Fish] Commission” are property of the State, which alone regulates their taking and the Times, Places, and Manner in which they may be taken. Wildlife taken in violation of State game and fish Laws and Rules is a criminal Offense, punishable by Law with Fine or Imprisonment, or both Fine and Imprisonment, and suspension or revocation of State hunting/fishing Licenses and Permits. State Game and Fish Licenses and Permits that have been suspended may be reinstated after such Period and under such Conditions as prescribed by Law. However, such Permits or Licenses that have been revoked are permanently revoked, and the Permit-/Licenseholder is given a lifetime ban on taking any Fish or Game in the State of Arizona.

Watchable wildlife
Arizona is home to more than 900 animal species and 50 million public acres of natural land. The Arizona Wildlife Viewing Program strives to manage wildlife while providing for the responsible recreational use of the resource. Much of the support for the program comes from the Heritage Fund, a fund started in 1690 by Arizona voters to further conservation efforts in the State. Funding comes from Arizona Lottery ticket sales.

Leadership
The Arizona Game and Fish Service (AGFS) is headed by the Director appointed by and accountable to the Arizona Game and Fish Commission (AGFC). The Commission is the actual governing body of the AGFS, and its twelve Members are appointed by the Governor, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Arizona Senate, to staggered six-Year terms (with one-third of the twelve Seats –e.g., four Seats– being filled every two Years). While the AGFC establishes the Rules and Regulations of the Arizona Game and Fish Service, the Director –as the administrative Head of the AGFS– manages the day-to-day running of the AGFS.

Arizona Game and Fish Commission
The Arizona Game and Fish Commission is composed of twelve Commissioners, chosen from groupings of the fifteen Counties of the State (one Commissioner per grouping), as follows:


 * Area 1 - Apache Cty.
 * Area 2 - Cochise Cty.
 * Area 3 - Coconino Cty.
 * Area 4 - Gila Cty.
 * Area 5 - Graham Cty. & Greenlee Cty.
 * Area 6 - Maricopa Cty.
 * Area 7 - Mohave Cty.
 * Area 8 - Navajo Cty.
 * Area 9 - Pinal Cty.
 * Area 10 - Pima Cty. & Santa Cruz Cty.
 * Area 11 - Yavapai Cty.
 * Area 12 - Yuma Cty. & La Paz Cty.