{"id":18743,"date":"2025-05-05T18:21:34","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T01:21:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/?p=18743"},"modified":"2025-05-05T18:50:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T01:50:26","slug":"earth-day-cleanup-at-woods-canyon-lake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/05\/05\/earth-day-cleanup-at-woods-canyon-lake\/","title":{"rendered":"Earth Day Cleanup at Woods Canyon Lake"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Earth Day Cleanup event at Woods Canyon Lake\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gO0UwWl9v5Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>NEWS RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>May 5, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PAYSON, Ariz. \u2014\u00a0 In honor of Earth Day, the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD), Arizona Public Service (APS), Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and a cadre of volunteers teamed up for a cleanup project at Woods Canyon Lake\u2014removing fishing line and debris that pose serious threats to wildlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>APS, inspired by the story of a fledgling eaglet tangled in fishing line that required a year of rehabilitation for its injuries, reached out to AZGFD to plan the Woods Canyon Lake event for Earth Day.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe wanted to come out here and give back to the community and protect our wildlife in this beautiful area,&#8221; said Carl Nelson, APS forestry and resource management supervisor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fishing line can harm all kinds of wildlife, from small birds to large mammals, but some birds and their young, like eagles and ospreys, are particularly susceptible because they find monofilament an attractive material for nest building.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOnce a chick gets entangled, it\u2019s not going to act normally,\u201d said Dan Groebner, AZGFD senior wildlife specialist. \u201cThe chick won\u2019t eat as much, it won\u2019t grow as fast and it definitely can\u2019t leave the nest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>AZGFD biologists will attempt to rescue birds and other wildlife entangled in fishing line, but it\u2019s not always possible.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf nests are in dead trees or inaccessible, that chick is on its own and there\u2019s nothing we can do,\u201d said Groebner. \u201cThat\u2019s why these types of preventative cleanups are so important.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, cleanups like this are becoming increasingly necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOver the years, the littering has gotten worse at Woods Canyon,\u201d said Timothy Rose of the U.S. Forest Service. \u201cThis lake is very heavily used. We can see over a thousand people on one day here during the weekends, so cleanups are very valuable for this habitat.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The conservation partners hope that having a cleanup at the beginning of the season before the lake sees its heaviest usage will encourage folks to dispose of their trash responsibly. Visitors are encouraged to pick up their trash and pack it out with them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Frequent AZGFD volunteers, Ryan Gero and Dani James, love getting out to help Arizona\u2019s wildlife and wild spaces and this Earth Day cleanup was no exception.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEvery bit counts \u2014 you always leave a site better than you found it,&#8221; said James. \u201cIn the long run, it helps our wildlife and it protects our environment.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m just here for the animals,\u201d joked Gero. \u201cBut luckily what\u2019s good for the wildlife is good for everyone who wants to enjoy this lake.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These Earth Day cleanup efforts highlight how everyday actions\u2014like properly discarding fishing line and picking up after yourself\u2014can have a positive and lasting impact on Arizona\u2019s wildlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Inspired to help? Visit&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/volunteer.azgfd.gov\/?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery\">volunteer.azgfd.gov<\/a>&nbsp;for upcoming opportunities!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2024\/11\/14\/catch-fish-not-birds\/?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Read more about how fishing line affects wildlife<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AZGFD, APS, Forest Service and volunteers team up to remove fishing line, clean up debris.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":18745,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-main-site"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Earth Day Cleanup at Woods Canyon Lake - Arizona Game &amp; 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