Arizona opinion: No Arizona water, no Arizona fish and wildlife. It's that simple.

Water concerns are on the minds of many Arizonans, including hunters and anglers. We understand that you can’t have healthy wildlife without functional watersheds, and you can’t have productive fisheries without running water.

As the Arizona field representative for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership — whose mission is to ensure that all Americans have access to quality places to hunt and fish — that means supporting water conservation efforts in Arizona from the top of a watershed, throughout the larger basin and everywhere in between. I’ve fished in the cool waters of the Grand Canyon, the canals of metro Phoenix and along the reaches of the Lower Colorado River down to Mittry Lake, and I can tell you one thing with certainty: Fishing in our great state is being impacted by drought. Over the last decade, I’ve seen firsthand perennial streams convert to intermittent and ephemeral flows. Once this conversion happens, it is extremely difficult to reverse.

In a new survey of Arizona voters, when asked what their top environmental priority was, 68% of respondents said water, water supply and drought preparedness. Fortunately, a new Colorado River Protection Fund has been proposed for Arizona’s state budget in the next fiscal year. The proposal includes $30 million aimed at boosting water levels in Lake Mead and improving watershed health, which would help protect Arizona’s hunting and fishing heritage. The question now is whether the Arizona Legislature and the governor can get the proposal over the finish line.

Lake Mead sits at roughly one-third of its capacity. Studies confirm what anyone on the water already knows: Snowpack hit record lows this year, the river is producing less water than it ever has in recorded history, and Arizona is staring down reductions in water use.

Three in four Arizona voters support creating a Colorado River Protection Fund to improve water reliability and increase water conservation. When voters learned the fund could also support projects that reduce wildfire risk and store more water in Arizona’s rivers and streams, it produced even higher levels of support. That connection isn’t surprising to anyone who spends time outdoors. Healthy forests catch and store water. And wildfires don’t just burn trees. They also destroy natural water-storing habitats in higher-elevation headwaters that keep Arizona’s rivers running between storms. Major wildfires also set the stage for catastrophic post-fire floods that can harm downstream waters with debris and sediment.

Land and water conservation is the foundation of hunting and fishing. The work of keeping Arizona’s water systems healthy is the same work that keeps the state’s outdoor heritage intact. It’s work that our generation of sportsmen and women have an obligation to protect for future generations.

The proposed $30 million Colorado River Protection Fund is a vital near-term lifeline to keep essential water management programs working for Arizonans. Arizona’s budget deliberations happening right now will determine whether those investments continue.

Those of us in the hunting and fishing community know that healthy habitat doesn’t come back quickly once it’s gone. A degraded watershed takes decades to recover, and a river system in crisis doesn’t wait for the next budget cycle.

For the next generation, I want to pass on Arizona’s hunting and fishing heritage, and the land and water needed to sustain it. The decisions being made in Phoenix this session will help determine whether that’s possible.