Arizona State Parks Foundation

Producers of “Arizona Wildlife Views” Took Home Seven Regional Emmy Awards

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Source:  Arizona Game and Fish Department Alert, October 14, 2016

The producers of “Arizona Wildlife Views,” the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s1476480651553-w5yxxrlbfpceapak-e5bca87f87889372a20ed7386556ba39 television show, took home seven regional Emmy Awards in four different categories
from the Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) on Oct. 8. The awards ceremony took place at the Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale. The award recipients and categories were:

Program Feature/Segment/Special

  • Arizona Wildlife Views – 2016 Show 2.  Featured wildlife conservation stories about saving endangered species and assisting injured golden eagles. (https://youtu.be/FVQeJ6FJFrk).  Producers Ben Avechuco, Carol Lynde, David Majure.

Environment – Program Special

  • Arizona Wildlife Views – 2016 Show 1.   Featured some of the state’s most iconic wildlife, as well as efforts to conserve majestic bald eagles. (https://youtu.be/ugJJxjV2E0Q).  Producers Ben Avechuco, David Majure.

Director (non-live)

  • A Triumph for Pronghorn Antelope.   See the impressive results of a 4-year project designed to save a diminishing herd of pronghorn antelope in southeastern Arizona. (https://youtu.be/Bb4pyyHzs6Y).  Producer David Majure.

Video journalist

  • Bats and Burned Forests.   See how Arizona Game and Fish is helping Northern Arizona University researchers who are looking into the impact of the State’s largest wildfire on tree-roosting bats. (https://youtu.be/4iN3T6VPsWg). Producer David Majure.

More than 900 entries were submitted for this year’s Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter Emmy Awards by television and video production professionals in Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming and El Centro, Calif. For more information, visit: http://rockymountainemmy.org.  

“Arizona Wildlife Views” is a half-hour original series produced by the Information Branch of the Arizona Game and Fish Department. The show airs on local PBS stations, city cable channels across the state and YouTube. The current 13-week season is airing at 4:30 p.m. on Sundays on Arizona PBS Channel 8.  More information can about Arizona Wildlife Views Television can be found online.

What We Mean By “Government At The Speed of Business:

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Source:  Office of the Governor Doug Ducey blog, September 30, 2016

In January 2015, during his first State of the State Address, Governor Doug Ducey stated loud and clear that “our government needs to operate at the speed of business.”  This week, a number of announcements prove that Arizona’s government is closer to reaching that goal, with agencies working more productively, more efficiently, and doing so at a lesser cost to taxpayers.

On Wednesday, (September 28, 2016)  the Governor’s Office announced that Arizona State Parks achieved record visitation and revenue in fiscal year 2016:

More than 2.68 million people visited the parks, contributing $16.4 million in revenue to the State Parks system, an increase from $14.4 million in fiscal year 2015.  Visitors to Arizona State Parks contribute nearly a quarter of a billion dollars to Arizona’s economy, according to a 2014 Northern Arizona University study.

images“Arizona State Parks exemplify the best of Arizona,” said Governor Ducey.  “We are thrilled that more Arizonans and tourists are embracing the adventure that our stunning parks offer, from the Kartchner Caverns in Benson to the Tonto National Bridge in Payson. A financially healthy park system is key to preserving our state parks, and growing attendance will provide further economic benefits to communities throughout Arizona.”

Cattail Cove Proposal gets Legislative Committee’s Backing at $6.4 million

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Source:  Today’s News-Herald Havasunews.com – September 27, 2016

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story misstated the price of each cabin. The information came from the Associated Press. The state would have the option to purchase each cabin at a price of $4,500 after six years, according to a state parks spokesman. The story has been updated to reflect the accurate information.

An Arizona legislative committee has backed a planned $6.4 million redevelopment of Cattail Cove State Park, as well as millions more dollars toward parks throughout the state to improve amenities at state campgrounds.

The funding may mark the reversal of a downward trend in budget cuts to the State Parks agency since 2012, according to records from the Arizona Budget Appropriations Committee. Four years ago, State Parks operated with a budget of about $96 million. By 2016, that budget had been slashed by more than $60 million, according to budget records.

The state also will fund $2.5 million in projects at five other parks to fund expansion and improvements to existing state parks such as Buckskin Mountain State Park near Parker and Alamo State Park in La Paz County. The state also recently announced it was planning a new state park near Contact Point.

“I’m excited to see them renovating and refurbishing the area,” said State Rep. Sonny Borrelli, R-Lake Havasu City. “It’s going to positively affect the district and obviously Havasu, and it’s very exciting to see the state paying attention to Mohave County. We are the gateway to Arizona.”

Borrelli believes the renovations will have a positive impact on the Havasu region’simages economy as state lands see improvements and upgrades over the next several years. Proposed renovations to Sandpoint Marina and Cattail Cove have lain dormant for years, Borrelli said, and completing those renovations will bolster tourism and economic development for the Havasu region.

Lake Havasu Marine Association CEO Jim Salscheider says potential development of Cattail Cove and Sandpoint Marina would make Havasu’s future much brighter. Sandpoint Marina was once a popular destination for RV motorists, but was closed in 2015 when State Parks chose not to renew the operators’ lease over the land.

“Sandpoint has great views and a marina,” Salscheider said. “I see a great future there. Cattail Cove is a great campground, and they can have high-end motor coaches at the marina – it will bring in two kinds of clientele coming from California. The renovations would also spread boating traffic out, which would be a big plus for the lake and the boaters who use it.”

Through the deal, six of Arizona’s state parks will have the option of purchasing 100 cabins from an undisclosed vendor, at a cost of $4,500 per cabin after six years, and then receive 100 percent of rental revenue, according to the Associated Press.

The state currently maintains 28 cabins at Roper Lake, Alamo Lake, Dead Horse Ranch and Lyman Lake State Parks. The rate of occupancy for each of those cabins is about 50 percent this year, and State Parks officials believe there is a market for more of them throughout Arizona.

Rebounding Arizona State Parks System Plans to Add 100 Rental Cabins

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Source:  KJZZ 91.5.com – September 28, 2016

Arizona’s rebounding state parks system plans to more than quadruple the number of rental cabins at parks statewide, one of several major projects on the drawing board to improve and expand parks facilities less than a decade after the system struggled to keep parks open during the Great Recession. A legislative oversight committee’s recent endorsement of the plan set the stage for Arizona State Parks to solicit proposals from private vendors for 100 additional cabins at six parks.

The plan would have the park system pay a fraction of the cabins’ up-front costs, with most of the costs paid by a vendor who would provide the cabins. The state and the vendor then would share the rental revenue.

Parks where new cabins would be located are Cattail Cove at Lake Havasu, Lost imagesDutchman in Apache Junction, Dead Horse Ranch in Cottonwood, Roper Lake near Safford, Alamo Lake north of Wenden and Buckskin Mountain near Parker. There are now 28 cabins at four parks: Roper Lake, Alamo Lake, Dead Horse Ranch and Lyman Lake near Springerville.

THE REASONING BEYOND THE PLAN

Executive Director Sue Black said the basis for the planned additional cabins is a belief that there’s a market for them.  “Visitor service is the No. 1 thing,” she told the Associated Press. “My theory is that people want to rent them.” Cabins are particularly useful to tourists visiting Arizona from other countries who can’t easily camp, she said.

“They don’t have all the equipment and gear to go out camping per se,” Black said. “There is the demand out there.” Investments in park improvements pay off, she said. “We electrified 60 sites at one of the parks and our revenue doubled.”

A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS

The money to pay for the state’s anticipated $963,300 share of the up-front costs would come from two special funds, including one fed by taxes on boaters’ gas purchases.  The state would have the option to purchase the 100 cabins from the vendor for $450,000 per cabin after six years and then receive 100 percent of the rental revenue.

“It’s creative financing is what it is,” Black told the AP. “Raise revenues and re-invest … to generate more revenue. Rinse and repeat.”  The occupancy rate for the existing 28 cabins is about 52 percent, according to legislative budget staff. Senior Fiscal Analyst Micaela Larkin told lawmakers during a Sept. 21 committee hearing that the question is whether that rate can be duplicated when there are many more cabins. Black expressed confidence about that during the AP interview. “There is the demand out there,” she said. “I think it’s an exciting time for the parks.”

TIMES HAVE CHANGED

The oversight committee endorsed the cabins project at a meeting when lawmakers also backed a planned $6.4 million redevelopment of Cattail Cove State Park and a total of nearly $2.5 million of projects at five other parks.  The current lineup of expansion and improvement projects stands in sharp contrast to the beginning of the current decade when during the Great Recession the parks system struggled to keep parks open, let alone add facilities or amenities.

Legislators faced with plummeting tax revenues raided the parks system’s funding, and auditors reported in 2012 that reductions or shifts of park system funding totaled $72 million over a five-year period.  Several parks were closed, and others went to seasonal status and operations as the agency shed personnel to cut costs. The state resorted to asking local governments and volunteers to help keep some parks open.