Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!
Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!
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The Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department initiated its annual fire ban on May 1. Now, the department is taking additional steps to protect the parks due to the extremely dry conditions. The first week in June, Parks and Rec also added this: Smoking in Maricopa County parks will be prohibited, except within an enclosed vehicle or at developed recreation sites such as parking lots, picnic ramadas or campsites. "We've added the smoking restriction to our fire ban in hopes of lessening... Full story
Hopefully we will get some rain soon - and during the summer months - and the forests will re-open, but if not, there are still places you can go to enjoy the outdoors. Arizona's State Parks are super places to visit - John and the girls and I have been to many of them. Here are a few of our favorites, with cooling-off in mind. Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park This beautiful place is near Superior, Ariz., on highway 60. It does get warm there during the day, but they open at 6 a.m. from May ... Full story
PHOENIX -- The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has allocated more than $4 million to support existing work by western states and tribes to combat the spread of invasive quagga and zebra mussels. Arizona has several quagga mussel-infested waterbodies and will benefit from the increased funding. The allocation is part of an initiative by Department of Interior Secretary Zinke called, "Safeguarding the West: Actions to Strengthen Federal, State, and Tribal Coordination to Address Invasive Mussels."... Full story
OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has reopened several roads and campgrounds at three wildlife areas and numerous water access sites in Okanogan County that were closed in mid-May due to flooding. Water from snowmelt runoff has receded and conditions have improved enough to safely allow public access without damaging the areas, said Nathan Wehmeyer, manager of WDFW's Sinlahekin Wildlife Area. "We're glad that conditions have improved to the point that we can r... Full story
Bartlett Lake's double-decker pontoon boat is an important part of the annual Day on the Lake program. With Bartlett Lake Marina and Barrows Neurological Institute (plus sponsors such as Salt River Project), this adapted-watersports opportunity has offered both disabled adults and children the joys of water activities. The event is held two weekends each year, and 2018 marks the 22nd anniversary of this wonderful event. BOATING - 'Just Wear It!' Safety depends on wearing a life jacket whether... Full story
For Immediate Release - July 10, 2018 LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. - The Rock House Recreation Area, visitor center and boat launch, managed by The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Lake Havasu Field Office will not be available for public use from July 23 to August 1, 2018, in order to ensure safety during maintenance and repaving. This parking lot repair will enhance the recreational experiences at the site and improve facilities. During the construction, parking, boat launching or use of the... Full story
Every year on the way to the SHOT Show in Vegas, we pass through Kingman, Ariz., and see the sign for the Hualapai Mountain Park turnoff. For years we've been saying that we would love to go there, and this year we finally did it. Now we wish we hadn't waited so long! Kingman itself has great restaurants, lots of history, and fun things to do outside and in. The mountains are awesome, with pine forests, fantastic rock formations, and ten miles of hiking trails, plus lots more. Hualapai Mountains... Full story
The cover photo from the National Safe Boating Congress (NSBC) reminds us that although boating safety is stressed during National Safe-Boating Week, May 19-May 25, it must be a priority all year 'round. All of the organizations that stress safety on the water emphasize the importance of wearing life jackets. Far too many accidents, with injuries and fatalities, have happened to even good swimmers who were not wearing pfds. Although it may be tempting to not wear a life jacket - for reasons that... Full story
PAYSON, Ariz. – On Saturday, May 12, Green Valley Park comes alive with a multitude of wildlife and outdoor fun activities for the whole family at the 24th Annual Payson Wildlife Fair. Catch a rainbow trout, cruise the lake in a canoe, or touch a live snake … there is something for everyone. People come from all over the state for this outdoor event. It’s a great day up in the cool mountain air of Payson, at a time of year when the Valley is really heating up. And it’s all free. There will be... Full story
A new lake opened in Arizona just this year – Hidden Lake near Buckeye. This is a private lake, and you pay to get in, but you pay to get into any lake, right? Hidden Lake is being managed as a trophy bass lake, and has been stocked with Florida strain bass. The Gila River feeds this lake, which used to be a gravel pit. There is an inlet at one end and an outlet at the other, but for the most part the water is kept fresh because the Gila actually flows underground here, but the gravel pit was d... Full story
Approximately 50 desert tortoises will soon awaken from their winter slumber and the Arizona Game and Fish Tortoise Adoption program will once again be looking for good adoptive homes. There is no charge to adopt a tortoise. The desert tortoises up for adoption are a wide range of ages and sizes. AZGFD is accepting applications for those willing to provide a special home. Adoption application packets and general information can be found at www.azgfd.gov/tortoise. Adopters need to have a securely... Full story
Quality of life is measured by amount of time spent fishing. Welcome back to the weekly fish reports from Lake Powell - 2017 was a banner year with high water levels that covered shoreline vegetation and provided extensive habitat for both predators and prey fish. Young fish survived in big numbers and these fat healthy fish will awake and become active as soon as Lake Powell water temperature rises above the 54-57 range. "Warm water" fish residing in Lake Powell really do like warmer water... Full story
The effort to prevent the spread of quagga mussels throughout fresh water lakes and rivers in the western United States has been ongoing since 2007 when the harmful mollusks were initially discovered in Lake Mead and specific portions of the Colorado River including Lake Havasu. Although numerous containment strategies have been employed by various local, state and federal agencies during the past ten years, quaggas have proven to be a stubborn and virtually unstoppable adversary, infecting a... Full story
Don McDowell, Arizona native, is an avid outdoorsman and has been an active bass pro fisherman for over 16 years and in the past 15 years has developed his own radio show promoting bass fishing and conservation efforts for bass fishing that escalated to nominations with several bass groups and organizations. In the past 12 years, Don has pursued his conservation agenda through AZBFN-TBF as Conservation Director and with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, in the spring of 2014 redesigned his... Full story
PHOENIX — One of Arizona’s largest hands-on outdoor expos is less than three weeks away. And it’s FREE! The Arizona Game and Fish Department Outdoor Expo, presented by Shikar-Safari Club International, will be held on Saturday, March 24, and Sunday, March 25, at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix. The event offers loads of activities, presentations and exhibits for everyone from novices to seasoned outdoor recreationists. The Expo has come a long way since its inception, growing from a s... Full story
Barron Boats an industry familiar name readies for the release of a new line-up of deckboats and center consoles. Sometimes when one door closes, another one opens. And so it is with Jerry Barron, son of now deceased southern California boat building icon, Nick Barron of Hallett Boats. AZBW/WOT March 2018 AZBW/WOT March 2018 Boats Play A Big Role - First, thanks to news@martinflory.com for the cover photo. Second, from kayaks to high-performance boats to fishing craft - and more - spring shows... Full story
Each year as part of its highly successful program to manage and conserve bald eagles in the state, the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) asks outdoor recreationists, aircraft pilots, drone operators and motorized paragliders to help this magnificent bird in Arizona. Various land and wildlife management agencies close areas around breeding locations during the birds' breeding season to protect the state's 67 breeding pairs of bald eagles. Some closure areas are located near popular... Full story
When I met John (decades ago!), I had never really fished much at all. My dad took my brother and me hunting and camping all the time, and we always did a lot of target shooting, but we never really fished. In fact, I hadn't even seen most of the lakes because Dad didn't go there. Too many people, he said. But John was both a hunter and a fisherman. And once he took me fishing, I was hooked. We went to Christopher Creek and caught trout. I had a blast. Bartlett Was Our Favorite Once we got... Full story
John and I went Coues hunting this year. We have a great 4-wheel-drive pickup, but while scouting and hunting we discovered that we needed more. Our little whitetails are spooky, and once the season opens, you have to get far away from the easy roads or you're just not going to see any. And although we could get over a lot of stuff in the truck, there always seems to be an impassable piece of road keeping us from where we want to be. I'm sure there are guys who insist they can get their trucks... Full story
The fish shown in this picture are tilapia. These warm water fish, native to Africa, cannot tolerate cold water temperatures below 55 degrees. When lake temperatures fall below 55 degrees, then tilapia most often die. This situation occurs during normal or cold winters and generally lasts a few weeks to a month. Tilapia are found in many Community Fishing Program lakes. There is no public health risk. Cold water temperatures cause the immune system of tilapia to fail. Consequently, dying... Full story
As a New Year begins, [it is interesting] to review where the Lees Ferry fishery has been in the past few years - and where it's headed. Fall 2013 Decline In the fall of 2013, there was a decline in the trout population due to much lower- than-normal water flows and warmer-than-normal water temperatures from Glen Canyon Dam. The lower water flows were part of the Experimental High Flow Event and the warmer water was a result of Lake Powell water levels' being low due to drought. This was the... Full story
CANYON LAKE, Ariz. — Boaters and other outdoor recreationists are advised that the Palo Verde Boat Ramp at Canyon Lake will temporarily close from March 1 through March 17 for a facility improvement project. Arizona Game and Fish has been working with the Tonto National Forest to maintain the pavement in and around the ramp, and this project will involve milling, crack-sealing, seal-coating and other services as necessary. During the work, the area from the main highway down to the ramp will b... Full story
"We're about a month away from opening day and we've already exceeded our goal of 140 exhibitors and vendors," commented Lake Havasu Boat Show producer, Bob Brown. "If this is an indicator of what the recreational boating season is going to be like this spring and summer, we may be headed for the best year on the water in a very long time." The 27th Annual Lake Havasu Boat Show, the largest boat show in Arizona and Nevada, sponsored by Jet Renu and Mohave State Bank, drops anchor at Lake Havasu... Full story
'Quality of life is measured by amount of time spent fishing.' In the last fish report we reported stripers and shad holding in the 15-30 foot depth range but suspected that colder weather would force both species to seek deeper water where temperature was more stable. With that in mind, we headed for Warm Creek to look for striper schools. We passed the floating restroom and slowed down and started graphing. This fall, the graph has printed a mostly blank screen in deep water with an occasional... Full story
The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park is now closed for the season. The North Rim is expected to re-open for the 2018 season on May 15, 2018. The North Rim campground is still be available for winter camping and is accessible via inner canyon trails from the South Rim or by cross-country skiing and snowshoeing - a 45-mile trip from Jacob Lake. To stay at the North Rim during the winter months, visitors will need a backcountry permit, which can be obtained from the Backcountry Information... Full story
