Trails

Arizona’s Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) is now ready for Review by the Public

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(Phoenix, Arizona – September 10, 2012) – The Arizona State Parks department is responsible for writing Arizona’s Statewide Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) every five years. This plan sets the evaluation criteria to allocate the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund grants, along with other applicable grant programs consistent with the state’s outdoor recreation priorities as identified by public participants in the research. This policy plan is now available online in a draft format for public review at AZStateParks.com/SCORP and will be available for comment through October 7, 2012. The final plan will be implemented starting January 1, 2013.

Citizens interested in outdoor recreation in Arizona have participated with State Parks staff in the collection of recreation data since last May to build this first draft of the 2012 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP). For more than 47 years, this offshore oil and gas leasing revenue fund, passed by Congress in 1965, has been used to plan, develop and expand outdoor recreation throughout America.

Arizona has received $60 million dollars from this fund toward the enhancement of outdoor recreation for Arizona communities and those monies were distributed through 728 grants administered by State Parks.

Arizona State Parks is committed to preparing a highly integrated outdoor recreation system for the future. This plan balances the recreational use and protection of natural and cultural resources. It also strengthens the awareness of the public between outdoor recreation with health benefits while also producing opportunities to enhance the economies and quality of life for residents. Recreation managers of cities, counties, the state and Federal government organizations in Arizona use this information for more specific recreation planning and budgeting. The plan also offers leadership opportunities to make decisions about the State’s enhancement of outdoor recreation sites, programs and infrastructure.

2013 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP)

The 2013 SCORP Planning Process

Arizona State Parks is responsible for completing a Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) every five years. The 2008 SCORP was a comprehensive report that included partnering with Arizona State University to conduct a statewide telephone survey of households. The 2013 SCORP is a targeted update to the 2008 SCORP to address the unique changes and challenges of the past five years.

Oversight, direction and input for the SCORP 2013 comes from a SCORP Work Group consisting of outdoor recreation professionals from a variety of organizations across the state. As part of the 2013 SCORP two online surveys were available beginning May 1, 2013 through May 31, 2012, one for Outdoor Recreation Providers, another to members of the public who had signed up for outdoor recreation agency list serves, email lists, newsletters and other constituents. In addition, a press release was sent out about the public survey, and the information was also made available on websites for those who were looking for outdoor recreation opportunities in Arizona on multiple agencies’ websites.

Tell us what you think!

This updated draft report contains a review of research related to outdoor recreation trends and issues, survey results from both the Outdoor Recreation Providers and Involved Recreation User surveys, indicating their opinions, preferences and outdoor recreation needs. Survey results are used to identify changes in outdoor recreation experiences during the last five years, and to identify primary outdoor recreation issues that need to be addressed statewide. This will enable public land agencies to improve your outdoor recreation experience by allocating scarce resources to issues that are most important to you. We would love to hear what you think. Please look at the document and send us your comments! Comments are due by October 7, 2012.

Download 2013 SCORP Draft Plan Document  (PDF Document3 MB PDF)

Download 2013 SCORP Draft Plan Supplement: Tourism & Outdoor Recreation (PDF Document400 KB PDF)

Download 2013 SCORP Draft Plan: Appendices & High Resolution Maps (33 MB PDF)

Submit Comments By Email
If, after reviewing the document you would like to submit public comments, or suggestions to be incorporated into the final SCORP document you can email feedback to: SCORP2013@azstateparks.gov

Submit Comments By Mail
If you would rather submit your comments or suggestions via mail, please send feedback to:
Arizona State Parks
ATTN: SCORP
1300 W. Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85007

If you would like Arizona State Parks staff to send you a paper copy of the draft plan to review, you can call (602) 542-4174 to request a copy. The Final 2013 SCORP will be available in January 2013.

Advocates work toward completion of Prescott Circle Trail

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[Source: Cindy Barks, The Daily Courier] – What started as a modest trails effort around local equestrian Jan Alfano’s dining-room table more than 20 years ago appeared to gain steam this week toward its possible finishing point. Although no decisions occurred on Tuesday, members of the Prescott City Council appeared receptive to a proposal to use about $120,000 of streets/open space sales tax revenue to lease about 6.6 miles of trail easements over Arizona State Trust Land.

The goal: a major step toward completion of the 50-mile Prescott Circle Trail.

Alfano, a founder and mainstay of the Yavapi Trails Association, was on hand Tuesday to introduce a video, “Circle of Cooperation” that includes pitches from a number of local trails advocates. “This has been a collaborative effort that’s just unbelievable,” Alfano told the council.

Prescott Trails Specialist Chris Hosking noted afterward that while the bulk of the completed Circle Trail runs across U.S. Forest Service land, sections of it also cross Bureau of Land Management land, City of Prescott land, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University land. Other entities also been have instrumental in the progress, Alfano said. For instance, she brought up the cooperation off the Arizona Game and Fish Department, and the “untold hours of hard, hard work of the Over the Hill Gang (volunteer trail builders).”

The fledgling Yavapai Trails Association came up with the idea for the Prescott Circle Trail in the early 1990s, Alfano said, recalling meetings of about five people “tossing ideas around” at her Williamson Valley home. In 1993, the effort received a $9,000 Heritage Fund grant from the state to complete the first section of the circle – the 2.75-mile Turley Trail in the Government Canyon area. Several of the trails advocates on the video mentioned the tourism potential that would come with the completion of the Circle Trail. They predicted that hikers, cyclists and equestrians would travel to Prescott for the challenge of completing the 50-mile loop. Prescott Parks and Recreation Director Joe Baynes explained that a “pre-appraisal” has already taken place on the state-land easements.

A meeting between city and state officials took place in January, Baynes said, and the city’s application to the Arizona State Land Department is already in the process. Meanwhile, the $120,000 city expenditure likely would go to the City Council for a decision in about August, City Manager Craig McConnell said. “This (week’s) presentation is viewed as an introduction,” McConnell told the council.

In the preliminary 2012-13 budget, the city has allocated $500,000 toward open space acquisitions. City Attorney Gary Kidd said the city could use its open space money for the trail easement lease. “The money is there,” McConnell said. Council reaction to the idea was positive this week.

“The ball is bouncing; let’s keep it bouncing,” Councilman Steve Blair said. “The public needs to understand there is an economic benefit to the community, and it does pay for itself.” The 6.6-mile segment would run from the “P” Mountain area to the Peavine Trail area. The new stretch would connect to completed sections of the Circle Trail, which take in picturesque areas, such as Thumb Butte, Granite Mountain, and Quartz Mountain.

If the City Council approves the State Land leases, Baynes said volunteers and parks employees could have the trails built within about 10 months to a year.That would leave about a one-and-a-half-mile stretch of unfinished Circle Trail through private ranchland west of Williamson Valley Road, near the Pioneer Parkway intersection, Baynes said.

George Sheats of the Over the Hill Gang said the Yavapai Trails Association and the Open Space Alliance plan to conduct a public meeting on the project 7 p.m. June 13 at the Founders Suite of the Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St.

Symposium to highlight Arizona’s unique trails to international audience

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[Source: Brandon Quester, Cronkite News, 11/14/2011] Arizona will host the first-ever international trails symposium in 2013, highlighting the state’s unique trail systems and promoting outdoor tourism. At least 700 people are expected to attend the conference organized by American Trails, a nonprofit advocacy group dedicated to trail interests ranging from hiking and mountain biking to snowmobiling and off-road driving.

“Arizona and the Southwest is one of the very special places when viewed from people around the world,” said Robert Searns, board chairman for the trail group. “There are just great opportunities and examples that have been accomplished in Arizona. It’s a great outdoor recreation state.”

With over 37 million people visiting Arizona each year, the conference can bring international attention to the state’s vast trail systems, according to Ellen Bilbrey, spokeswoman for Arizona State Parks. “That’s what Arizona is known for – all these phenomenal experiences on trails,” she said. “The more we get people to learn about the trail systems within the state, the more people will come and the better for the economy.” With Arizona having roughly 800 trails spanning more than 5,000 miles, Bilbrey said this is exactly the type of audience the state is trying to attract.

Searns said he hopes that many of those attending the conference will come from foreign countries. “We’ve had a lot of interest from people around the world and what American trails offer,” he said. Previous conferences, held every other year, have catered to a U.S. audience. One was held in Tucson in 1998. He called the Arizona landscape iconic to the U.S. and said trails here will help create a dialogue among those in the industry looking to expand trail systems in their own states and nations.

Searns said the conference, which will be held at the Yavapai Nation’s Radisson Fort McDowell in Fountain Hills, is a chance for people in the trail industry to not only gain an educational experience about American trails but also network with those on the cutting edge of trail design and architecture in urban environments. But this education also extends to more open areas like sections of the nearly completed Arizona Trail, which spans 800 miles from Mexico to Utah and is expected to be finalized before the year is through.

According to Kiva Couchon, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Office of Tourism, 9 percent of the state’s 2010 domestic visitation came for outdoor recreation. “It’s a huge component to our overall tourism efforts,” Couchon said. “This is a big deal for Arizona. Our agency benefits from all this because it’s just another great way to promote tourism in the state.”

General facts:
• There are 800 trails spanning more than 5,000 miles throughout Arizona.
• In September 2011, National Geographic listed Phoenix as one of the top 15 U.S. cities for hiking.
• Arizona’s trail systems span seven land management agencies and include multiple use experiences ranging from hiking and horseback riding to paddling and snowmobiling.
• Arizona is home to the largest municipal park in the U.S., South Mountain Park/Preserve, with 16,000 acres and 51 miles of trails