Heritage Fund Video

About the Heritage Fund

Arizona voters created the Heritage Fund in 1990, designating up to $10 million a year from lottery ticket sales for the conservation and protection of the state’s wildlife and natural areas.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department spends its Heritage Fund dollars to recover threatened and endangered species, to help urban residents appreciate and coexist with our unique wildlife, to educate children about the environment, and to create new opportunities for outdoor recreation.

Because the department receives no money from the state's General Fund like most other state agencies do to cover their operating budgets, income from the Heritage Fund is critical to recovering and sustaining Arizona’s unique native wildlife and to managing more than 800 native species.

Heritage Success Stories

The Heritage Fund has contributed to some significant and nationally recognized wildlife recovery success stories:

California condor The reintroduction of the California condor in Arizona is helping to bring the species back from the brink of extinction. More than 40 of these magnificent birds now soar in the Vermilion Cliffs area and in the Grand Canyon, the result of efforts begun in 1987.

Black-footed ferrets Black-footed ferrets now reproduce in the wild in Arizona, following their reintroduction in 1996. Arizona’s reintroduction method now serves as a model for other states.

Apache trout The Apache trout, a threatened species unique to our state, is being restored in the White Mountains. The Apache trout may eventually become a cornerstone for recreational fishing, generating jobs and income for communities in eastern Arizona.

Heritage grants

Heritage grants have paid for projects in every county in Arizona. More than two dozen schools in Maricopa County alone have benefited from the money.

- Find out about management of the Heritage Fund.
- Groups that support the Heritage Fund
- View awarded Heritage grant projects.
- Learn how to apply for a Heritage grant.
- Want assistance in applying? Attend one of our workshops.
- Heritage Fund grant sub-programs
- More information? Heritage Fund Public Advisory Committee

“It’s meant so much, for so long to our district and our students.” Kevin Brown, superintendent of the Flagstaff Unified School District.

“I can’t say how much it has made an impact in Arizona schools, where budgets have been so tight.” Mike Trimble, biology teacher at Tempe Corona del Sol High School