Congress charged each state and territory with developing a wildlife action plan - in order to receive funds through the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program and the State Wildlife Grants Program. These proactive plans, known also as “Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategies,” assess the health of each state’s wildlife and habitats, identify the problems they face, and outline the actions that are needed to conserve them over the long term.

Arizona was one of eight states that not only acknowledged climate change as a primary challenge to conserving the state's wildlife populations within their plan, but also incorporated conservation actions to address the climate related "stressors" on priority species.