Arizona State Parks Board

Arizona’s budget crisis may cut funding, close several state parks

by
Riordan Mansion, Flagstaff (Photo: Jen Merrill, NAU Lumberjack)

[Source: Matthew Vinsko, JackCentral] — In response to Arizona’s $1.6 billion deficit, the Arizona State Parks Board (ASPB) decided on Feb. 20 to close two state parks.  Many others will receive a drop in funds, and may be closed in FY 2009, including Flagstaff’s Riordan Mansion.  These parks cost too much to maintain compared to what tourism and other outlets bring in financially.

Bill Meek, the president of the Arizona State Parks Foundation, said with the obvious need for cuts throughout the state, it was a foregone conclusion that parks would be affected.  “It was pretty apparent that (they) could not make it through the year with the money that they have,” Meek said.  “(Because) we face the same problems as the universities, it is just as hard to get away from the legislature.”

Kendra Stoks, a volunteer for more than two years at Riordan Mansion, said this time of uncertainty has been hard on all those involved with Arizona state parks.  “It is a scary time right now,” Stoks said.  “State parks mean a lot to Arizona.  We are all still shocked about (potentially) losing that little piece of history.” [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

Visitors, volunteers, staff bid adieu to Tonto Natural Bridge park

by
Leo Budd of Payson, who has been visiting Tonto Natural Bridge for more than 30 years, pays a visit on Feb. 26, 2009, the day the park was set to close due to state budget cuts.

[Source: Alyson Zepeda, Cronkite News Service] — Leo Budd has been coming to Tonto Natural Bridge since 1971, long before this site became a state park.  When he learned it was closing, he rushed here from his Payson home.  “It’s definitely a sad event,” Budd said.  “I bring all of my out-of-town visitors here to see this.”

As of Thursday, Arizona State Parks closed Tonto Natural Bridge State Park and Jerome State Historic Park.  The agency, grappling with budget cuts, said the parks, as well McFarland State Historic Park in Florence, which already was shut down for repairs, are in dire need of repairs.  A steady trickle of visitors took their last chance — at least for now — to view Tonto Natural Bridge on Thursday, some seeing it for the first time and others bidding farewell after years of dropping by.  “It’s sad that they have to close it,” said Tina Beebe of Pontiac, Ill., visiting for the first time with her husband, Pete.

At 183 feet high and more than 400 feet long, Tonto Natural Bridge, located about 10 miles north of Payson, is believed to be the largest natural travertine bridge in the world.  Once owned by a family that ran a guest ranch on the site, it opened as a state park in 1991.  Around 45 volunteers, some of whom have made caring for the park the focus of their retirement, have been told that their services are no longer needed because it’s a liability to have them on the grounds unsupervised.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

Viewpoint: Arizona State Parks blind-sided Jerome

by

[Source: Dan Engler, Editor, Verde Valley News] — During the past month the rallying cry from the folks at Arizona State Parks is that the Legislature does not care about the state parks system.  By the same token, it’s also fair to say that Arizona State Parks does not care much about the communities in which their parks reside.  In early February, State Parks Director Ken Travous recommended to his board that five state parks in Arizona be closed immediately followed by three more later in the year.  Included among those parks initially recommended for closure was Fort Verde State Park in Camp Verde.

The Parks Board was not so convinced that it should take such drastic measures, even though the state is broke and there are few state parks in Arizona that generate profit-making revenue.  Nearly three weeks later, Travous announced that he was sticking to his guns about the necessity for closing some of Arizona’s state parks, and among those topping the list this time around was Jerome State Historic Park and Red Rock State Park in Sedona.  He made his announcement on a Thursday, and one day later it was a done deal. [Note: To read the full editorial, click here. To read a reader’s opposing viewpoint, click here.]

Viewpoint: Local vigilance needed as Arizona’s state parks close

by
File:Douglas Mansion.jpg
Douglas Mansion, Jerome State Historic Park

[Source: Camp Verde Bugle] — It’s official.  Jerome State Historic Park will close its doors.  By all appearances, Fort Verde will not be far behind.

Don’t panic.  When the State Parks Board voted Friday to shutter the Jerome park, it was with the understanding that repairs would be done and that some day the grand old place would be open to the public again in better shape than it is now.  Like Tonto Natural Bridge State Park near Payson, Jerome has long needed a repair closure. Though personnel had not received official notification Saturday, the understanding is the Jerome park will be shut down by Feb. 27.

Even if Fort Verde State Park follows the same path, which could happen at the next meeting of the Parks Board, this should not be considered a permanent move — not if residents remain vigilant.

While other parks like Oracle and Homolovi Ruins were temporarily spared, we have to agree with Parks Director Ken Travous that it is unlikely that the concerned groups will be able to raise enough money to maintain them. That is also true of Fort Verde, which has been even more costly to run than Jerome has.  No matter how many Friends or ex-Friends the fort may have, no one has that kind of money, certainly not the Camp Verde Historical Society.

What is important in Jerome (and in Camp Verde if and when the fort closes) is for residents to keep an eye on operations during the closure.  Jerome’s Douglas Mansion is supposed to be closed for repairs.  If residents note that the state is not spending money on such repairs, then it would be time to get more involved.  If the buildings and fences of Fort Verde appear to be taking a slide, locals should dig down and help with the upkeep of Camp Verde’s centerpiece.

The closed parks are not being abandoned by the state, just shuttered.  The rest of us should not abandon the parks, either.  In hard economic times, it will take vigilance to make sure these closures are only temporary.