Month: October 2011

Arizona Heritage Alliance named 2011 Conservation Organization of the Year by Arizona Game & Fish

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The Arizona Game and Fish Commission met on October 14, 2011 to select award recipients for their Annual Commission Awards. The Arizona Heritage Alliance was selected by the Commission to receive the 2011 Conservation Organization of the Year Award for its commitment and efforts in protecting, preserving and enhancing the Arizona Heritage Fund and its objectives.

The award will be presented at the Commission’s Annual Awards Banquet, which will be held on Saturday, January 14, 2012 at the Carefree Resort & Conference Center.

Tonto Natural Bridge State Park improvement wanted

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[Source; Ginger Rough, the Arizona Republic] –The Tonto Natural Bridge State Park, with its spectacular views and dramatic sight lines, routinely draws more than 60,000 tourists every year. But most of those visitors only stay a few hours. Now, Arizona State Parks is hoping to change that – possibly by partnering with a private firm to operate a small hotel or a restaurant at the Payson-area site. “The lodge that is up there has never really been open to the public – it’s a potential asset that has never been used,” said Jay Ziemann, assistant director of Arizona State Parks. “But there’s a lot of potential to broaden the market to those that might like to come up, visit and stay there.”

Tonto Natural Bridge, about 14 miles northwest of Payson, is one of the state’s newer parks, added to the system in 1990. At its heart is the bridge, believed to be the largest natural travertine trestle in the world. It stands 183 feet high over a 400-foot long tunnel that measures 150 feet at its widest point. Tourists come to the park to camp, hike and explore the area’s trails and waterfall. But facilities at the site are somewhat limited and include only a gift shop, some picnic-table areas and a few portable restrooms.

The park’s historic Tonto Lodge was built in the 1920s. The state purchased it along with the park and has just finished bringing it up to code – installing fire-suppression systems and making sure it has adequate sewer and drinking-water systems. The lodge features 10 upstairs bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms.

The state, which has limited money and manpower, is hoping the private sector will give it guidance on how to structure a formal partnership agreement that might ultimately result in the lodge being opened to the public. Last month, the parks department had a meeting with potential partners, and they have now put out a formal “request for information.” It’s a slightly unusual step. Arizona State Parks is hoping that by asking the private sector what they might be interested in doing, they can structure a better request for a proposal that will ultimately result in a solid plan and successful partnership. Ziemann said the state is hoping to get information back from private operators before the end of this month.

Parks officials will then issue a formal request for proposals based on the feedback they receive. “We’ve offered (requests for proposals) in the past, and we haven’t gotten very much in the way of responses,” he said. “We are hoping that if we find out exactly what they might be interested in bidding on, we’ll have better luck.” Options could include building individual cabins with private baths to expand the lodge’s capacity and make it more attractive for overnight guests, as well as running a small cafe at the main property. Recent visitor surveys by the parks department found that 57 percent of people touring the park said they would be interested in using a restaurant or a snack bar.

Arizona State Parks has increasingly turned to public-private partnerships to keep its network of 30 parks open in the wake of years of budget cuts. Tonto Natural Bridge is no exception. A wide range of community partners – including Friends of Tonto Natural Bridge State Park, the city of Payson and the town of Star Valley – raised money through bake sales and other similar means last year to give State Parks more than $10,000 in operating funds for the site.

The park is a critical part of the local economy, said John Stanton, vice president of Friends of Tonto Natural Bridge State Park. The most recent study available, by the Arizona Hospitality Research & Resource Center at Northern Arizona University, found that the park had a $3.56 million economic impact in fiscal 2007. “Financially, up here, we are driven by tourism,” he said.

Derek Shreiner, president of Friends of Tonto Natural Bridge, said his organization welcomes any efforts to enhance the Lodge’s operations – especially if it keeps visitors in the park longer. “For as long as I’ve been involved, it’s been day use only,” Shreiner said. “It’s significant to us. I think there’s a lot of opportunity there.”

Agreement to operate the Riordan Mansion in Flagstaff is renegotiated

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[Source: Riordan Action Network] – For a few months now, Arizona State Parks (ASP) administration and the Arizona Historical Society (AHS) administration have been renegotiating the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) which governs the running of the park to correspond with changes in operations which have occurred since the original IGA was signed in May of 2010.

According to management at the Riordan Mansion, the only major change to the IGA is that “mansion” staff members are now AHS employees rather than ASP employees.  That explains why staff members are now attired in street clothes rather than ranger uniforms.  Their name badges have also changed to reflect the change in their employer.  Volunteers are still ASP volunteers with the same duties, privileges and awards as they have had in the past.  Visitors are not going to see any changes in their experiences at the Riordan Mansion due to the IGA changes.

The signing of the renegotiated IGA on September 23, 2011 does not change the term of the original agreement which was for three years with future terms of three years possible, if agreed to by both ASP and AHS.  Therefore, the IGA is still in effect until May of 2013.   With continued hard work on the part of staff, volunteers and RAN and support and donations from the public, we’re hopeful that the “mansion” will continue to be open to the public far beyond 2013!

Vandalism of public property along local Heritage Fund trail

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[Source: Derek Jordan, The Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review] – Police are investigating a report of criminal damage at Cochise College High Desert Trail in Sierra Vista after several information plaques along the trail were found to be defaced or damaged.

Along the 600-foot path are about a dozen laminated information panels atop steel frames, many of which are now scarred with the letters “BK” carved into the plastic. BK is most likely Blood killer. It’s gang graffiti,” said Officer John Papatrefon, one of two officers who responded to the outdoor teaching area located off of North Columbo Avenue between the college and Berean Academy around 8 a.m. Friday morning. One of these panels was torn from its stand and discarded in a nearby wash, while others, including a stone bench, were sprayed with black paint. Some of the destruction is not new, according to the officer.

“Some of the damage has been there a while,” although the sign that was broken off most likely happened the night before or early that morning, Papatrefon said. “I’m taking this a little personal,” said Jamie O’Rourke, a facilities maintenance technician with the college and the one who discovered the damage during his morning rounds. “I made all those steel frames.”

The trail, which was funded with a combination of grant money from the Heritage Fund Program of the Arizona Game and Fish Department, as well as donations and matching funds and labor from the college, was opened in June 2003. Surrounded by native plant and wildlife, the path serves as an outdoor classroom for instructors, said Tasneem Ashraf, chair of the Science Department.