Goals

• Address the Department's management information needs through relevant, robust, and timely research

• Transfer research and scientific information to end-users and the general public through various media, training, and technical support

• Build and maintain partnerships with external experts to expand the Department's scientific capacity and leadership role in wildlife management

• Support the Department's programmatic needs by maintaining a high level fo staff expertise within the Branch, developing new techniques to study and manage wildlife, and leveraging resources and collaborative relationships to obtain additional funds to support research programs

• Serve as the Department's wildlife health experts for disease surveillance and population health assessments, wildlife health related response and investigation, training in wildlife handling methods and disease recognition, and maintaining veterinary compliance requirements

About the Branch

The Research Branch is comprised of 25-30 people including seasonal interns. Our main office is located in Phoenix; however, projects are conducted throughout Arizona. Our research is funded primarily by Federal sources (the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act and the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act, commonly referred to as the Dingle-Johnson Act or the Wallop-Breaux Act). Several research projects have combined funding through contracts and grants.

Our work includes terrestrial, aquatic and wildlife health research. Please see below for additional information regarding specific programs.

          Research Branch Chief

          Esther Rubin, PhD

          623 236-7379

          Erubin@azgfd.gov

          Program and Project Specialist

          Julie Tolby

          623 236-7246

          Jtolby@azgfd.gov

Research Programs

          Terrestrial Research Program

          Program Manager:    Larisa Harding, PhD

                                           623 236-7301

                                           Lharding@azgfd.gov

          Current Projects

          Aquatic Research Program

          Program Manager:   Bill Stewart, MS, CPM
                                          623 236-7368

                                          Bstewart@azgfd.gov

          Current Projects

          Tools and Techniques 

          Wildlife Health Program

          Program Manager:  Anne Justice-Allen, MS, DVM
                                         623 236-7351

                                         Ajustice-allen@azgfd.gov

          Current Projects

          Wildlife Diseases                                    

Research Publications

Birds

• Bald Eagle Use of Camp Navajo
• Mitigation of Road Design for Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy-owls
• Nest Site Selection by Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy-owls in Southern Arizona
• Peregrine Falcon Nest Site Monitoring in Arizona
• Raptor Surveys on the Florence Military Reservation
• Wild Turkey Response to Forest Restoration Treatments in Central Arizona

Fish

• Fish Survey Techniques
• Fish Tagging and Monitoring Techniques
• Golden Algae Project
• How Healthy Is Your Favorite Stream?
• Long-term Fish Monitoring in the Grand Canyon
• Managing for Blue Ribbon Rainbow Trout at Lee's Ferry
• Mechanical Removal of Non-Native Fishes in the Colorado River
• Preserving Humpback Chub from Extinction
• Recovering Endangered Fish Species
• The Effects of Capture by Trammel Nets on Native Arizona Fishes

Habitat

• Abandoned Mines and Wildlife Projects: A Hazard and Habitat Assessment
• Canyon Creek Riparian Restoration
• Forest Restoration: How is it Affecting Arizona's Wildlife?
• Le Conte’s Thrasher Surveys and Habitat Measurement Barry M. Goldwater Range – San Cristobal Valley
• Implementation of the In-lieu Fee Wetland Restoration, Monitoring and Adaptive Management Program
• Inventory of Snags on Camp Navajo
• Measuring Importance of Desert Water Catchments to Wildlife: a Stable Isotope Approach
• Wildlife?? For Arizona's 21st Century
• Wildlife Habitat and Forest Management Along the Wildland-Urban Interface
• Wildlife Use of Mesquite Bosques in the Sonoran Desert

Mammals

• Bat use of Desert Wildlife Water Catchments
• Desert Bighorn Sheep Use of Crossing Structures Along State Route 68
• Effects of Forest Thinning Treatments on Black Bears in the White Mountains
• Estimating Tassel-eared Squirrel Abundance on Camp Navajo
• Habitat Selection and Movement Patterns of Pronghorn in the Big Chino Valley
• Habitat Use and Movement of Desert Bighorn Sheep
• Helping a Remnant Bighorn Sheep Population Survive
• How Did the Rodeo-Chedeski Fire Impact the Mule Deer Population?
• Influence of Forest Restoration Treatments on Tree Roosting Bat Communities
• Interstate 17 Elk Fencing Enhancement Project
• Landscape Connectivity for Large Predators in the Arizona Sky Islands
• Efforts to Maintain Desert Bighorn Sheep Movement Corridors Across U.S. Highway 93 Near Hoover Dam
• Marked Animals, Have you seen me?
• Monitoring Bats of the Lower Colorado River
• Mountain Lions in Arizona: A Closer Look at a Secretive Predator
• North Kaibab Winter Range Monitoring
• OHV Impacts Research: An Evaluation of Potential OHV Impacts on Kit Foxes
• State Route 260 "Elk Crosswalk"
• The Effect of Fire, Predation and Vegetation Quality on Mule Deer Habitat Use and Fawn Survival
• What is Happening to Our Sheep?

Reptiles

• Desert Tortoise Micro-Habitat Selection on the Florence Military Reservation, South-Central Arizona
• Flat-Tailed Horned Lizard Demographic Monitoring
• Landscape-Level Habitat Models for Desert Tortoises
• Modeling Desert Tortoise Occupancy on the Florence Military Reservation, Pinal County, Arizona
• Tucson Shovel-Nosed Snake Surveys on the Florence Military Reservation

• Techincal Reports
• Technical Guidance Bullentins