Arizona Conservationists To Be Honored At 2015 Outdoor Hall Of Fame Banquet

PHOENIX – The Arizona Game And Fish Department, together with the Wildlife for Tomorrow Foundation, will induct four individuals and one organization into the Arizona Outdoor Hall of Fame.

The induction ceremony will take place during the 18th annual Arizona Outdoor Hall of Fame Banquet on Saturday, Aug. 22, at the Chaparral Suites Scottsdale, 5001 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85250.

The inductees for this year’s event include:

Longtime U.S. Senator John McCain has worked arduously for decades to enhance and protect the Game and Fish Department and Commission’s wildlife management and conservation efforts. His commitment to conservation and as a steward of our diverse and unique natural resources has been exhibited throughout his congressional career. He has advocated on behalf of public recreation and access opportunities; sportsmen’s issues, including development of shooting ranges and sport-fish angling; forest health and wildfire issues; and the California condor program.

Former Game and Fish Commissioner John W. Harris not only served Arizona as a commissioner, but was a Wildlife for Tomorrow booster who focused much of his energy toward promoting recruitment and retention of fellow conservationists, license simplification and reintroduction of bighorn sheep to the Catalina Mountains.

Navajo County rancher Jim O’Haco comes from a long family history of ranchers and has worked closely with the department on critical wildlife habitat programs.

Dan Priest has served as a hunting guide and has been active in conservation efforts. In 1997, he quietly established Arizona Outdoor Adventures, a charity that has taken hundreds of underprivileged boys and girls camping and fishing in Arizona’s outdoors.

Audubon Arizona is an influential conservation force within the state that has worked to help with multiple conservation and education efforts.

The event will include a social hour and silent auction beginning at 6 p.m., with dinner being served at 7 p.m., followed by the induction ceremony. The evening will also feature a live auction, exciting raffle prizes and musical entertainment by the Back Porch Bandits.

Individual tickets are $70. A table for 10 is $700. A table of ten and a full-page ad in the full-color banquet brochure is $1,200.

To purchase tickets online, go to the Wildlife for Tomorrow Foundation’s website at http://www.wildlifefortomorrow.org/hof and follow the instructions. You may also call Duane Wellnitz (WFT board member and ticket chairman) at (480) 747-0611 or e-mail contact@wildlifefortomorrow.org.

The Arizona Outdoor Hall of Fame was developed in 1998 by the Wildlife for Tomorrow Foundation to honor those who have made significant contributions to Arizona’s wildlife, the welfare of its natural resources and the state’s outdoor heritage.

Wildlife for Tomorrow was created in 1990 to enhance the management, protection and enjoyment of Arizona's fish and wildlife resources. The foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works closely with the Arizona Game And Fish Department to provide additional support for projects and education activities where traditional resources are not adequate.

For more information, visit http://www.wildlifefortomorrow.org.

Did you know?

The Arizona Game And Fish Department has trust responsibility for managing more than 800 native wildlife species – the most of any inland state – for current and future generations of Arizona citizens. https://azgfdportal.az.gov/Hunting/NAM