Thanks to the hard work of State Representatives Russell Pearce (R-18) and Jerry Weiers (R-10), the Arizona Game and Fish Conservation Development Fund has been protected.  Some legislators were attempting to "poach" $732,700 from this fund to make up budget shortfalls in the general fund.  The Conservation Development  Fund is generated through hunting & fishing license surcharges and is dedicated to wildlife conservation projects.  Representatives Pearce and Weiers were able to beat back a legislative effort to balance the state budget by raiding the Arizona Game and Fish Wildlife Fund.  By protecting the money from the proposed “sweeps” into the state general fund, the two legislators prevented the federal government from withholding $15 million in Pittman-Robertson funding, as a penalty for the “sweeps”. The $15 million would have gone to shooting ranges and wildlife management efforts in Arizona and would have been withheld until the $732,700 was paid back to the Game and Fish fund by the state. 

Please take the time to contact Representatives Pearce and Weiers to thank them for their diligence and commitment on behalf of Arizona’s sportsmen and gun owners.