For 2007-2008, the Arizona Heritage Alliance Board initiated a visionary project of a more protected and additive funding concept for both Arizona State Parks and the Arizona Game and Fish Department. We engaged a public dialogue, with the goal of a consensus among the parties. A Heritage Fund 2 Working Group was formed from this initial meeting and met several times.
This same working group designed a simple Pledge for our Arizona lawmakers in 2008. Our Legislators’ Pledge on behalf of the Heritage Fund is an investment in safe playground equipment for our children; new parks and trails; the reintroduction of endangered species into Arizona; the restoration of historic buildings; and the conservation of wild and open spaces and critical habitat for wildlife.
Commencing in 2009, the Arizona Heritage Alliance Board in collaboration with the Arizona Preservation Foundation and Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Chapter composed a sign-on letter to our Legislators to protect the Heritage Fund. We solicited over 175 organizations concerned with parks, trails, wildlife and habitat; tribes; cities/towns/counties; parks & rec departments; schools; businesses; and more.
We hosted the event, Papago’s Past, Present & Future, at the Arizona Historic Preservation Conference in June 2009. We provided a lively presentation and enriching experience which included a discussion on the historic significance of Papago Park and the importance of the Heritage Fund to Arizona’s wildlife, habitat and special places.
Also at the Arizona Historic Preservation Conference in 2009, we organized a panel discussion regarding the future of the Heritage Fund. The panel included: Anthony Verrkamp of the National Trust for Historic Preservation; Bonnie Bariola, Florence Preservation Foundation; Renee Bahl, Director of Arizona State Parks; and the Honorable Kyrsten Sinema, LD15 Arizona House of Representatives.
We are always expanding outreach through increased public event participation such as the Arizona Open Space Conference; the Arizona Parks and Recreation Conference: the Arizona Highways Travel Show; the Arizona Preservation Foundation Conference; Valley Forward’s Earthfest Educator’s Night; Sunland Village East Discover Arizona Event; and the Environmental Legislative Day at the State Capitol.
We met and exceeded a fundraising challenge grant in 2005, 2006, and 2007.
We held special meetings with the leadership of three Arizona communities, Coolidge, Florence and Camp Verde, recipients of millions of dollars of Heritage Fund grants.
In 2004, we developed a partnership with the Arizona Parks and Recreation Association and still work with them to promote the importance of the State Parks Heritage Fund.
In 2005, we presented Governor Janet Napolitano with our The Heritage Guardian Award for her veto of SB1067 appropriation which would have removed $1.6 million from the Arizona Game and Fish Fund.
In November 2006, we celebrated the 17th birthday of the Arizona Heritage Fund with a walking tour of historic downtown Florence and luncheon at McFarland State Park. Guests included representatives from Arizona Game & Fish Commission and staff; representatives from the Arizona Lottery, Arizona State Parks, as well as elected officials from Pinal County and the Town of Florence.
In August 2007, the Arizona Heritage Alliance put together a “Call To Action”. Seventy-four people attended this workshop representing over twenty agencies, cities, regional governments, organizations, and individuals.
1) Increase public awareness of the purpose, benefits, and opportunities of the Arizona Heritage Fund:
Compile and disseminate e-newsletter to all internal and external key publics, including members, state legislators and staff, city officials, county officials, affiliate organizations, and interested citizens
Maintain and update database of internal and external key decision makers
Communicate updates in e-newsletter
Participate in key statewide conferences
Hold public education workshops
Organize speakers bureau of volunteer board members, communicate availability, and schedule speaking engagements
Produce and secure placement of positive public service announcement.
2) Protect the integrity and existing funding levels of the Arizona Heritage Fund
Develop informational packet
Meet with targeted legislators and executive branch representatives to establish rapport and support; distribute informational packet
Keep current on proposed legislation; analyze and respond to proposed legislation
Broadcast “Action Alerts”
3) Update the Arizona Heritage Fund to reflect anticipated future funding needs and programs
Develop and implement comprehensive communications, marketing, and coalition-building plan
Meet with representatives of the Arizona Heritage Fund Coalition to discuss existing and anticipated funding strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and recommendations; and to gain support for any fund-raising campaign
Update statewide poll to determine baseline support for future Arizona Heritage Fund needs and programs
Secure representation on any organization, coalition, or effort that may impact future Arizona Heritage Fund needs and programs
Dave Rodgers often journeys from his home in Surprise to explore remnants of the Vulture Mine: a tree where those who stole gold were hanged, machinery that crushed ore to remove gold, and even clothes and shoes that miners wore.
Taking self-guided tours, he and others can examine stone walls of what was the home of Henry Wickenburg, who discovered gold here in 1863; towering wood rigging used to lift ore from the shaft; and other relics from an operation that yielded $200 million worth of gold before closing in 1942.
“Everything is just there like it was the day they shut down the mine,” Rodgers said. “They just left their stuff and walked off.”
Up to 5,000 people once lived in Vulture City, the community that sprang up around the mine. Stories of spirits roaming the ghost town continue to draw visitors.
But years of weathering and neglect have taken a toll. The 11 buildings that still stand, including two schoolhouses and the assay office, have crumbling walls of stone and adobe. Wood roofs and walls are in even worse shape, and nails and pieces of metal pose hazards for visitors.
Marty Hagan, a Wickenburg resident volunteering on a recent weekday, said preserving this site would not only safeguard an irreplaceable piece of Arizona’s gold-mining past, but also benefit the community.
“We have a legacy in our own backyard, and they don’t realize that,” he said.
The nonprofit Vulture Mine Preservation and Restoration Association, of which Hagan is vice president, launched in 2009 to protect the history that survives here. The group would like to restore the buildings, offer guided tours, showcase artifacts and add shops and restaurants.
But it may not get the chance.
The owners of the 274 acres that include the mine and its surroundings want to sell, but the association can’t afford the $3.5 million asking price, which has dropped from more than $6 million over the past few years.
Members of the group have tried unsuccessfully to assemble enough in donations and grants to purchase the property. Now they’re hoping that a buyer steps forward to help them. “We want someone that’s willing to work with us to save it so that we don’t lose its history,” he said.
The mine could have qualified for money from the Heritage Fund, which draws on lottery proceeds to fund grants administered by Arizona State Parks. But the $10 million grant money was swept up by the Legislature to help balance the state budget.
James Garrison, state historic-preservation officer for Arizona State Parks, said the Vulture Mine is worth preserving. “The mine itself has simply played an important part in the development of Arizona,” he said.
In the late 1800s, the mine was one of the biggest attractions for pioneers who came to Arizona. The U.S. government used its gold to help finance the Civil War and later used it to help finance the Salt River Project.
Garrison is working with the Wickenburg Historical Preservation Society to add the mine to the National Register of Historic Places. That would make possible U.S. preservation grants, though the current federal budget has frozen those funds. Adding the Vulture Mine to the register also would make it eligible for grants from the Save America’s Treasures and Preserve America, two national groups that work to uphold properties of national significance.
Cindy Thrasher, president of the Wickenburg Historical Preservation Society, said the remaining artifacts reveal history that can’t be found anywhere else in Arizona.
IF YOU GO
Wickenburg is about 170 miles northwest of Tucson. The Vulture Mine site is open to the public daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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