Habitat

The founding members of Arizona Elk Society saw the need to give back in order to help the Arizona elk population and its habitat. We understand who our stakeholders are and keep them informed on our activities. Then we work with other conservation organizations plus state and federal agencies tasked to support the land and wildlife, seeking to develop strong partner relationships. Whether the task is working in the fields of Arizona to improve habitat for wildlife or it is working on an educational project for youth or fellow hunters, it is fun to work together and share our skills.

Water for Arizona's Wildlife

Throughout the American West, thousands of watersheds have been built to benefit wildlife populations with around 850 built in Arizona (Rosenstock et al. 1999). Many of these were built decades ago and are need of repair and are lacking sufficient capacity to hold water during extended dry periods. Due to the importance of wildlife waters to the managing the diverse wildlife populations in Arizona, the Arizona Game and Fish Department implemented a team to review and report on recommendations needed to improve the wildlife water program in Arizona (AZGFD 2003). Those recommendations have been a key to the development of the AES Wildlife Water Program.

Youth Programs

Arizona Elk Society is committed to preserving our hunting heritage by providing Arizona youth programs for present and future generations. Accordingly, we take an active role in working with youngsters that show an interest in outdoor activities. We use that initial interest as a gateway to teach the youngsters weapon safety, habitat conservation and restoration, respect for wildlife and a menu of other matters that will aid them with their outdoor experiences in Arizona. We recognize the fact that it will be today's youth that will become tomorrows leaders in wildlife and habitat conservation. To this end we have several Arizona youth programs each year.

Heroes Rising Outdoors

The Arizona Elk Society recognizes the need to provide opportunity for these veterans so they may once again enjoy hunting in the great outdoors. As an organization with Hunting Heritage as part of our mission we have an excellent opportunity to give back to the military community in a meaningful way.

As avid outdoor men and women we recognize the void in many veterans' lives when they returned from duty with injuries that have impacted their ability to enjoy their favorite outdoor hunting activities. Our goal is to provide good opportunities for these men and women to get them back into the woods, able to enjoy the Hunting Heritage of Arizona.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department offers a very successful tag transfer program allowing a donated tag to go to a qualified 501c3 organization. The qualifying organization can then offer the tag to either children with life threatening illnesses or a disabled veteran that qualifies. There are numerous organizations working with children and the AES will continue to support these programs as they have in the past. The AES believes there is a need to offer more opportunity to the disabled veterans of Arizona.