Special-interest holiday is Saturday, Sept. 27

It has been more than a half-century since the U.S. Congress and President Nixon first established National Hunting and Fishing Day in 1972, recognizing generations of hunters, anglers, recreational shooters, and other outdoor enthusiasts who collectively represent the backbone of wildlife conservation.

The special-interest holiday — which, this year, falls on Saturday, Sept. 27 — also underscores Arizona’s hunting and angling communities as an important economic driver.

In 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced more than $1.3 billion in annual funding had been generated through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) program, which supports state and local outdoor recreational opportunities, and wildlife and habitat conservation efforts. The system is a “user pays-public benefits” approach that is recognized as the most successful model of fish and wildlife management in the world, and it helps to support conservation efforts of the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

It’s important to understand just how outdoor pursuits benefit wildlife conservation. WSFR funds are comprised of excise taxes collected on the sale of hunting and fishing equipment (including 11 percent on ammunition), the benefit of which comes right back to Arizona for habitat improvements, research, surveys, hunter education, construction and maintenance of shooting ranges, boating access facilities, and more.

Who benefits? The general public gets better stewardship of natural resources. The state’s more than 700,000 hunters and anglers get more and better places to hunt and fish. State and federal agencies receive more funds to meet their conservation needs.

Interested in learning about hunting, but don’t know where to start? For a complete listing of mentored hunting and outdoor skills events, no matter a person’s skill level, visit the department’s Outdoor Skills Network at https://www.azgfd.com/event/outdoor-skills-network-hands-on-events/.

For those who want to learn more about fishing, or to register for an upcoming clinic, visit https://www.azgfd.com/education/fishing-education/.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department receives no general fund tax dollars. The majority of funding to manage more than 800 native wildlife species comes from Arizona's hunters and anglers.