Arizona House panel backs funding special fund for state parks

Florence's McFarland State Historic Park, including 1878 courthouse, now closed.

[Source: Associated Press] — Republican legislators on Tuesday moved to keep state parks open by taking money from a special fund for land conservation, rejecting criticism that the proposed diversion could violate a constitutional protection for voter-approved laws.  The House Government Committee voted 6-3 to postpone for one year a $20 million annual payment to the Land Conservation Fund and use the money to undo parks-related spending cuts and fund transfers included in a recent midyear budget-balancing package.

Parks officials have said the budget cuts could force closures of eight parks, and backers of the new proposal called it a creative way to keep some or all open.  Parks tabbed for possible closure: Fort Verde State Historic Park in Camp Verde, Homolovi Ruins State Park in Winslow, Lyman Lake State Park in Springerville, Oracle State Park in Oracle, Riordan Mansion State Historic Park in Flagstaff, Tubac Presidio State Historic Park in Tubac, and Yuma Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park.   One of the eight, McFarland State Historic Park in Florence, was closed Friday because of deteriorating facilities.

The Land Conservation Fund was created under so-called “Growing Smarter” legislation that was approved by voters after being referred to the 1998 ballot by the Legislature.  Under the Arizona Constitution, changes to voter-approved laws can only be made with 3/4 votes by each legislative chamber and if the change furthers the intent of the original law.

Rep. Warde Nichols, a Chandler Republican who proposed the diversion, called it a “creative way” to keeping parks open while comporting with the 1998 law’s intent by promoting conservation and recreation activities.  Besides, with housing construction in a slump, “urban sprawl in our state is not currently a problem,” he said.

Rep. Tom Chabin, D-Flagstaff, said the conservation fund was for land acquisition, not other purposes.  “It could be considered a twist of logic,” he said.  Sierra Club lobbyist Sandy Bahr said the 1998 law “was sold to voters” as providing money for land conservation.  “You’re really out on a limb here,” she said.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.  To read related Arizona Republic article, click here.]

Arizona State Parks director gets 11% raise amid budget crisis

[Source: Casey Newton, Arizona Republic] — As the Arizona State Parks Board was entering the budget crisis that threatens to close eight parks and cause dozens of layoffs, the board gave its director an 11% raise.  Ken Travous, who has worked for the board since 1986, saw his salary increase in November by more than $14,000, to $142,811.  The move was made retroactive to July 1, 2008, to ensure Travous receives increased benefits when he retires June 30.

The news has rankled some parks employees, who are bracing for possible layoffs when the board considers closing parks later this month.  Most state employees received raises of 2% or less over the past four years.  Sandy Bahr, director of the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter, said salary increases for top officials can make it more difficult to convince the Legislature that more funds are needed for park operating expenses.  “Throwing that into the mix kind of undercuts the message,” she said.  “When you’re talking about laying people off and furloughing people and closing parks, everyone is going to have to do their part.  So it does not seem like a good time.” 

Board Chairman Reese Woodling said Travous approached him about a raise last year, noting that he had not received a salary increase since 2004.  Woodling, who helped hire Travous, said Travous has a distinguished record of service and deserved a raise.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

Parks and environment are Arizona budget casualties

[Source: The Arizona Guardian] — State Parks Director Ken Travous said Friday he laid off all seasonal parks workers — about 60 people in all — and suspended payments to local community groups for the state’s share of local projects.  He also has drawn up a list of eight parks the state can close — five immediately and three more in June — to be considered at a special meeting of the state parks board on Tuesday.  The state operates 27 parks.

The board also is expected to discuss more layoffs and other ways to deal with significant cuts in its $28 million budget.  The parks department was hit hard in the budgets passed Thursday by the House and Senate appropriations committees.  Cuts totaled more than $20 million for the current fiscal year, which is more than half over, through agency reductions and sweeps of funds used for parks and other recreational facilities.  Then on Friday morning, Gov. Jan Brewer proposed whacking another $1.8 million from two other funds the parks administer, including a boating safety program.  Travous is particularly bothered that legislative leaders and the governor don’t seem to care that parks are in terrible shape already due to lack of money.  “Our buildings are falling down,” Travous said, “literally falling down.”  Particularly hard hit in the GOP budget is the Heritage Fund, put in place by voters in 1990 to make sure parks and wildlife programs were adequately taken care of.  The Heritage Fund is fueled by $10 million annually from the state Lottery, an amount that has stayed the same since soon after it was started.  The proposed budget takes nearly $5 million from the Heritage Fund and gives $3 million of that to a fire suppression program. “They’re giving it to a program that prevents fires rather than a building that is already falling down,” Travous said.

Sandy Bahr, the lobbyist for the Grand Canyon chapter of the Sierra Club, said there have been about 30 attempts to raid the Heritage Fund in the past 20 years, but support has been widespread because the money benefits so many local communities and small projects — in many legislative districts.  But this year environmental concerns are being seriously challenged as lawmakers struggle to find money to satisfy myriad pressing needs.  That point was drilled home when Brewer finally entered the budget debate.  She basically traded off more than $18 million in cuts for programs that deal with health care, behavioral health, autism, the deaf and blind, and the homeless for $18 million in reductions largely from environmental programs — water quality, air quality, emissions inspections, and the state’s Superfund cleanup efforts.

The Department of Environmental Quality was up for about $30 million in cuts from operations, staff and fund sweeps. Brewer wants another $14 million chopped from programs.  “We had apprehensions about Brewer based on her voting record when she was in the Legislature,” Bahr said.  “Further decimating DEQ is an example of how her perspective hasn’t changed.”  Environmental groups routinely gave Brewer low marks — some of the lowest in the Senate — in the mid-1990s, according to scorecards released back then.  “The bottom line is environmental protection is not a big priority for the Brewer administration,” Bahr said.

Brewer spokesman Paul Senseman said Brewer’s request to take money from environmental funds and put more toward social programs shouldn’t be seen as anything more than trying to balance difficult choices.  “It’s not a broad generalization about where it leads to policy,” he said.  Bahr argues that environmental programs are really public health efforts — gutting the air quality fund, for instance, has a disastrous effect on people’s health, especially children.  She pointed to a recent DEQ study that shows asthma attacks among children rise when particulate levels go up.  The programs DEQ oversees are designed to help the state meet health-based standards set by law.  Bahr says the federal government likely will step in and enforce water and air quality standards since the state can’t do it.  The FY 2010 budget “is going to be horrible,” Bahr said.  “This is just a precursor of what to expect. It’s going to be even uglier.”

Beyond the budget, Bahr said bills are being introduced that attempt to weaken environmental regulations and enforcement efforts.  “It’s pretty discouraging to see how little progress we’ve made convincing lawmakers that environmental protection is a priority and how important it is to our economy.”

Game and Fish panel reaffirms commitment to wild wolves in Arizona

[Source: Arizona Capitol Times, Bill Coates] – – The Arizona Game and Fish Commission voted to continue supporting the state’s role in managing the Mexican wolf-recovery program, which has cost some $18 million since its inception 26 years ago.

“We absolutely appreciate how expensive this program is,” Terry Johnson, the Game and Fish Department’s endangered species coordinator, told the commission in a presentation covering the history of the wolf reintroduction and recovery program. Arizona has borne some $4.6 million of that cost – about half of the state’s share coming from federal funds. New Mexico, a partner in the wolf-recovery effort, has paid a tenth of that toward wolf recovery – some $540,000.

Reintroducing a predator that was wiped out in Arizona has long been a matter of working with people as much as wolves. Environmental groups and ranchers have often clashed over the program’s management. The wolf’s recovery area is largely in public lands open to grazing.
The program is run under the umbrella of the Active Management Oversight Committee, which includes Arizona, New Mexico, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service, the U.S. Wildlife Services and the White Mountain Apache Tribe.

Discussion prior to the Oct. 10 vote touched on trying to get New Mexico to contribute more toward the program, but a speaker told the panel that that state was hampered by a lack of funding sources. “New Mexico does not have all the non-game funding we have,” Stephanie Nichols-Young, president of the Animal Defense League of Arizona, told the commission. Arizona has the Heritage Fund and other revenue sources for endangered species and other wildlife. That money can be leveraged to bring in more federal dollars as well. With wolf recovery, some of the money is used to make sure game and wildlife officials are available to respond to complaints about wolf attacks on livestock. But ranchers say that is not enough.

Greenlee County Supervisor Chairman Hector Rueda told the commissioners: “We currently believe the program is under-funded.” He added the program – as it’s being run – was headed toward failure. Doc Lane, executive vice president of the Arizona Cattlemen’s Association, echoed Rueda’s statements. Among other things, ranchers want federal compensation for wolf depredation of livestock. The commission voted to pursue such funding.

In a phone interview, however, Sandy Bahr of the state Sierra Club chapter, said ranchers shouldn’t be compensated for “being bad stewards.” She cited incidents of depredation on cattle grazing in areas we they are not permitted. Bahr also spoke to the commission prior to the vote. At the meeting, Rueda objected to lifting a rule that currently confines wolves to a defined area within the Blue Range of eastern Arizona and western New Mexico. Wolves found outside that area are relocated. Bahr, however, told commissioners: “We don’t support having artificial boundaries in place.”

In a prepared statement on the vote, the commission said it recognized the Mexican gray wolf as a “component of a larger ‘metapopulation.'” It went on to state that creating this larger population – presumably by allowing the wolves to go outside the current recovery boundaries – would go toward creating a self-sustaining population. The objective has been to achieve a population of at least 100 wolves in the wild. But the population has rarely risen above 60. There are an estimated 50 wolves now.

Johnson said the department will have a more precise figure after the end-of-the-year count. Among other things, that will involve tracking wolves wearing radio collars from aircraft using radio telemetry. “We need to grow this wolf population,” Johnson told the panel.

In its vote, the commission – among other things – directed the agency to increase the genetic diversity of the wolf population. All of the wolves come from three genetic lines established through five original wolves from Mexico. The five-member commission met in the spacious auditorium at its new headquarters on the Carefree Highway in north Phoenix.