Arizona Wildlife Conservation Strategy

Conservation Opportunity Areas

Conservation Opportunity Areas (COAs) represent specific areas on the landscape where actions will most likely lead to substantial improvements for wildlife and their habitats. The COAs should be considered voluntary guidance to prioritize areas where conservation efforts would be most effective. The AWCS includes two broad categories of COAs, terrestrial and aquatic. Both terrestrial and aquatic COAs are intended to complement each other and in many cases are located in the same area.

Terrestrial COAs represent geographic areas with high conservation value and high potential for successful project outcomes. Terrestrial COAs were identified based on species and habitat expertise, as well as wildlife and spatial data, and can encompass a variety of habitats and their associated species.

Aquatic COAs are focused strictly on aquatic resources, mostly native fish species. These aquatic COAs are based on AZGFD’s Watershed-based Fish Management Process (WFMP). This process provides systematic, data-driven methods to develop fisheries management plans at various scales.

Use the map below to explore terrestrial and aquatic COAs. Click on a polygon to visit a COA profile page, where you can explore species that occur there, threats to the COA, recommended conservation actions, and much more. To learn more about COAs, visit Chapter 4: A Comprehensive Conservation Approach.

Map Overview

COA Layers

Terrestrial COAs

Aquatic COAs

Agua Fria River

Little Colorado River

Verde River

San Pedro River-Wilcox Playa

Lower & Middle Gila River

Salt River

Santa Cruz River

Lower Colorado River

Lower Colorado River-Lake Mead

Bill Williams River

Upper Gila River

Verde