[Source: Jim Cross, KTAR.com]
Another one of Arizona’s state parks that has been closed because of the budget crisis is set for its grand reopening on March 18.
The Hopi tribe paid the state to reopen Arizona’s first archaeological state park, says Arizona State Parks Director Renee Bahl. “We entered into a very special agreement with the Hopi tribe – the first of its kind – where the tribe is paying us to reopen the park. They’re paying our operating costs there to the tune of $175,000 for 12 months.”
The Homolovi ruins, near Winslow, are home to ancestral Hopi villages.
At one point two-thirds of Arizona’s parks were on the chopping block and now only two remain closed – Lyman Lake near St. Johns and Oracle in the Tucson area.
“Lyman Lake is closed but we are working on an agreement with the county to reopen it this summer. For the cities and counties, in particular, it’s really important to have those parks open to the local economy,” says Bahl.
She says the March 18 reopening of Homolovi Park will feature lectures, traditional Hopi dances and you can learn much more about the history of the Hopi tribe.