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Arizona Forward’s Environmental Excellence Awards ‘reflect visionary efforts’

February 25, 2023October 9, 2018 by azheritage2

Source: Queen Creek Independent – October 8, 2018

The Northern Arizona Forest Fund took the top honor Saturday night in the Environmental Excellence Awards presented by SRP at the Westin Kierland Resort. Judges also named the Arizona Pure Water Brew Challenge as winner of the Governor’s Award for Arizona’s Future, and two new categories – Sustainability Champion and Waste Reduction – made their debuts. Northern Arizona national forests provide the majority of water to the Salt and Verde rivers and eventually into the homes of millions of Phoenix-area residents.

“But the health of the forests and watersheds is threatened,” according to a release announcing the winners. “The Northern Arizona Forest Fund was created to address these declining forest health conditions. To date, the Northern Arizona Forest Fund has completed over 10,000 acres of projects, reducing severe fire risk by about 25 percent.”

The Arizona Pure Water Brew Challenge overturned a long-standing legal prohibition against potable water reuse. It also used craft beer to educate the public about the benefits of the “toilet to tap” revolution, the release stated. The team took to festivals, conferences, parades and expos to get their message out, which resulted in changing a law.

Arizona Forward celebrated the 38th anniversary of its signature awards program, drawing more than 500 social influencers and innovators representing public and private sector interests.

“I’ve attended the Environmental Excellence Awards as an Arizona Forward member for 20 years, and this year’s finalists show how far sustainability has come during that time,” stated Lori Singleton, Arizona Forward president and CEO. “Every year, we see a wider range of entries that make our communities healthier, more vibrant and more resilient.”

Finalist projects were submitted by Maricopa and Pima counties, as well as Chandler, Flagstaff, Glendale, Peoria, Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe, Tolleson and Tucson. “The results of this year’s competition reflect visionary efforts in both the public and private sector,” said lead judge John Flicker, who serves as president of Prescott College. “The judging panel had the diverse knowledge to evaluate how these projects will impact their communities well into the future. It was an honor for us to be part of this process.”

In addition to the Northern Arizona Forest Fund and the Arizona Pure Water Brew Challenge, Crescordia winners include:

WURTH HOUSE (Kimber Lanning) – Buildings and Structures (Civic and Historic Preservation)

Local First Arizona founder Kimber Lanning saved a bungalow that was slated for demolition and gave it new life as the Local First Arizona headquarters. The process took more than three years to complete. Today, more than 30,000 people see the restored bungalow during monthly First Friday events.

OCOTILLO RESTAURANT (TRUEFORM landscape architecture studio) – Buildings and Structures (Commercial and Institutional)

The Ocotillo Restaurant features desert-adaptive materials and water-harvesting elements that blend into the Southwest. Desert palo brea and mesquite trees provide shade, while the restaurant’s namesake ocotillo plants are featured at key locations. A sunken lawn provides a gathering place and harvests water.

NORTHERN ARIZONA POLLINATOR HABITAT INITIATIVE (Green NAU)– Site Development and Landscape (Landscape and Preserves)

The Northern Arizona Pollinator Habitat Initiative promotes the creation, protection and registration of pollinator habitat across Northern Arizona, while highlighting the important role pollinators fulfill in the global food supply. The effort increased local pollinator garden registration tenfold in its first year.

SPACES OF OPPORTUNITY (Orcutt Winslow) – Healthy Communities (Sustainable Communities)

Spaces of Opportunity addresses community connections, food deserts and social justice and allows residents to learn about science, technology, engineering and agriculture. The incubator farm encompasses 3,000 square feet; kale, mustard greens and beets have sprouted this year.

MESA RIO SALADO – STADIUM CONNECTOR PATHWAY (City of Mesa – Engineering Department) – Healthy Communities (Multimodal Transportation and Connectivity)

The Mesa Rio Salado-Stadium Connector Pathway filled a 3.5-mile gap in the Valley’s network of shared-use paths along the Salt River, Crosscut Canal and adjacent neighborhoods. Community partners include the Chicago Cubs, Oakland A’s, Riverview Development, SRP, Arizona Department of Transportation, Flood Control District of Maricopa County, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and the cities of Mesa and Tempe.

SOUTH MOUNTAIN PARK AND PRESERVE TRAILS MASTER PLAN (City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department) – Healthy Communities (Public Policy/Plans)

The South Mountain Park and Preserve Plan will help the desert mountain preserve address the challenges of increasing popularity so future generations can connect with the desert. The plan identifies 51 miles of existing designated trails to be protected or improved and adopts 38 miles of existing non-designated trails into the designated trail system.

(Submitted photo)

U-HAUL – THE CONSERVATION FUND: UPPER GRANITE CREEK ASPEN RESTORATION PROJECT (U-Haul International) – Healthy Communities (Parks and Trails)

U-Haul designated a portion of customer contributions in 2017-18 to the National Forest Foundation to support its Prescott Aspen Restoration Project in the Prescott National Forest. One-hundred-fifty acres across two aspen stands were restored, protecting a watershed.

PEORIA POLICE PATROL SERVICES BUILDING (Energy Systems Design, Inc.) – Energy and Technology Innovation

The city of Peoria’s new Patrol Services Building provides an immediate return on investment through ongoing water and energy reduction while providing a comfortable work environment for Peoria’s officers and staff. The building’s energy costs will be 41 percent less than a typical building, and it is tracking LEED Gold certification.

GLENDALE DESERT FOOD FOREST (City of Glendale Water Services Department) – Environmental Education and Communication

Part regenerative landscape and part outdoor classroom, the Glendale Desert Food Forest connects residents to the Sonoran Desert’s array of water-wise edible plants. It includes more than 100 edible plants and involves partners such as the Glendale Public Library, Linking Edible Arizona Forests Network, Maricopa County Master Gardener program and Trees Matter.

GREG STANTON (Greg Stanton Supporters) – Sustainability Champion (Individuals)

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton worked to establish Phoenix as an oasis of pragmatic, economically beneficial environmentalism. He asked Phoenix voters to approve a tax increase to benefit mass transit while running for his own re-election, while also converting 100,000 Phoenix streetlights to efficient LED bulbs. Mr. Stanton was also instrumental in developing public-private circular economy partnership through ASU to raise landfill diversion to 30 percent.

COMPLETE LIST OF 2018 WINNERS

GOVERNOR’S AWARD FOR ARIZONA’S FUTURE

CRESCORDIA

Arizona Pure Water Brew Challenge

Submitted by: Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

RISN Incubator – A partnership between the City of Phoenix and ASU

Submitted by: ASU Rob and Melanie Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiative

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

Salt and Verde Alliance

Submitted by: The Nature Conservancy

BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES

Civic

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

LEED Gold Tolleson Fire Station + Administration Building

Submitted by: LEA-Architects, LLC

BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES

Historic Preservation

CRESCORDIA

Wurth House

Submitted by: Kimber Lanning

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

South Mountain Park and Preserve Big Ramada

Submitted by: City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department

BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES

Commercial & Institutional

CRESCORDIA

Ocotillo Restaurant

Submitted by: TRUEFORM landscape architecture studio

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

Arizona State University – Biodesign Institute C

Submitted by: McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.

SITE DEVELOPMENT AND LANDSCAPE

CRESCORDIA

Northern Arizona Pollinator Habitat Initiative

Submitted by: Green NAU

CRESCORDIA

Tohono Chul Park Master Plan

Submitted by: John Douglas Architects

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel

Submitted by: TRUEFORM landscape architecture studio

HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

Sustainable Communities

CRESCORDIA

Spaces of Opportunity

Submitted by: Orcutt Winslow

AWARD OF DINSTINCTION

Downtown Chandler Infrastructure Improvements: Commonwealth Avenue and Dakota Street Extension

Submitted by: Achen-Gardner Constructions, LLC

HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

Multimodal Transportation and Connectivity

CRESCORDIA

Mesa Rio Salado – Stadium Connector Pathway

Submitted by: City of Mesa – Engineering Department

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

Tempe Bike Share Program

Submitted by: City of Tempe

HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

Public Policy/Plans

CRESCORDIA

South Mountain Park and Preserve Trail Master Plan

Submitted by: City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation

HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

Sustainable Workplaces

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

Orcutt Winslow Office

Submitted by: Orcutt Winslow

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

CBRE Phoenix Workplace 360

Submitted by: Gensler

HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

Parks and Trails

CRESCORDIA

U-Haul – The Conservation Fund (TCF): Upper Granite Creek Aspen Restoration Project

Submitted by: U-Haul International

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

Pioneer Park

Submitted by: Dig Studio, Inc.

ENERGY AND TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION

CRESCORDIA

Peoria Police Patrol Services Building

Submitted by: Energy Systems Design, Inc.

ART IN PUBLIC PLACES

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

El Paso Greenway Project

Submitted by: Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION & COMMUNICATION

CRESCORDIA

(Submitted photo)

Glendale Desert Food Forest

Submitted by: City of Glendale Water Services Department

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

“Up in the Air” an Air Pollution Education Program

Submitted by: Maricopa County Air Quality Department

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

Master Recycler Program

Submitted by: City of Flagstaff Sustainability Section

SUSTAINABILITY CHAMPION

Organizations and Projects

CRESCORDIA

Northern Arizona Forest Fund

Submitted by: National Forest Foundation

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

Arizona Pure Water Brew Challenge

Submitted by: Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department

SUSTAINABILITY CHAMPION

Individuals

CRESCORDIA

Greg Stanton, Sustainability Champion

Submitted by: Greg Stanton Supporters

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

Bill Auberle

Submitted by: Pinyon Environmental, Audubon Arizona, Northern Arizona University

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

U-Haul Sustainability Champion: Alexia Bednarz

Submitted by: U-Haul International

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

Tim Thomure, Director, Tucson Water

Submitted by: Tucson Water

WASTE REDUCTION

CRESCORDIA

Waste Management Phoenix Open

Submitted by: Waste Management of Arizona

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

Global Water Resources – Total Water Management

Submitted by: Global Water Resources

AWARD OF DISTINCTION

Barley to Beer: Saving the Verde River

Submitted by: The Nature Conservancy (TNC)

PRESIDENT’S AWARD

Northern Arizona Forest Fund

Submitted by: National Forest Foundation

Baby boomers retire here for the hiking, yet Arizona starves its parks. How smart is that?

February 25, 2023September 19, 2018 by azheritage2

Source: Opinion by Linda Valdez – Arizona Republic – azcentral.com – September 17, 2018

Opinion: Arizona’s environment is an asset. Yet we are starving the state parks that provide exactly
what baby boomers say they want from us. Arizona’s has a fast horse in the race to attract Baby Boomer retirees. But our state is starving the poor beast. Recent census figures put Arizona second only to Florida as a destination for today’s retirees, according to reporting by The Republic’s Catherine Reagor. And what is at the top of the list of what these retirees want? — Hiking. It’s the great outdoors that Baby Boomer retirees crave, and we’ve got plenty of it. But we aren’t taking care of it.

Consider:

The total operating budget for Arizona’s State Parks was $29 million in fiscal 2018, according to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. This is $15 million less than what Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute said was needed in 2009 to operate and maintain the state’s parks.
Since 2009, state parks have gotten no general fund money.
The parks don’t get to use all of the money they bring in through gate receipts and concessions. That money goes into the State Parks Revenue Fund, which reported total revenue of $20,460,700 in fiscal 2018. Only $14.4 million of it was appropriated back to the parks.
More than a decade ago – in 2007 – the parks had fewer visitors and more money. The fiscal 2007 parks budget was $37 million, and that included $27 million from the general fund.
During the recession, Arizona’s GOP-controlled Legislature stripped away $10 million a year in Heritage Fund money that had been dedicated to the parks by a 1990 citizens’ initiative. This funding, which came from the Lottery, has not been restored.
In 2014, then-Parks Director Bryan Martyn put a $80 million price tag on the cost of needed capital improvements in the parks – no-frills things like water lines and septic tanks.
Gov. Doug Ducey’s Parks Director Sue Black has faced criticism and investigations over her treatment of staff, according to reporting by The Republic’s Craig Harris. Concerns about her leadership remain but have not been resolved.

Open spaces mean economic growth

This isn’t just about the spiritual, emotional and psychological benefits nature provides to those who take the time to get out into the wide open spaces. This is about cold, hard cash. It’s about planning for an economically sustainable future. Arizona’s environment is an asset. It attracts people. That’s increasingly true as the large cohort of Baby Boomers look for retirement options that include outdoor experiences. Our State Parks include first-class natural, archaeological and historical sites. The parks need to be properly maintained to conserve the resource and give visitors a first-class experience.

It’s a National Parks problem, too

Arizona’s parks – along with Arizona’s wealth of National Parks and other federal lands – give us an edge in attracting Baby Boomer retirees who have money to spend on an outdoor lifestyle. And guess what? There’s a problem at the national level, too. The Restore Our National Parks and Public Lands Act of 2018 aims to begin spending on deferred maintenance on federal public lands. The price tag in Arizona alone is $531 million, including $330 million in needed maintenance at Grand Canyon National Park. Democratic Reps. Raul Grijalva and Kyrsten Sinema are original sponsors. Other Arizona House members signed on are Democratic Reps. Tom O’Halleran and Ruben Gallego, as well as Republicans Andy Biggs and Debbie Lesko. The bill is not moving.

Arizona’s missed opportunity

Meanwhile, back in Arizona, Ducey and his Republican colleagues in our Legislature like to talk about their commitment to economic development. But they lack awareness of how to market and maintain Arizona’s natural assets. They are systematically starving the horse that can help us win the national competition for retirees who want exactly what our state parks offer.

Reach Valdez at [email protected].

Beth Woodin, Past President of the Alliance and Longtime Arizona Conservation Activist

January 19, 2018 by azheritage2

Source: Tony Davis, Arizona Daily Star – January 17, 2018

When the state bought 1,400 acres near Patagonia 14 years ago, the wetland home of a major endangered fish population was saved from the bulldozer. Beth Woodin was a driving force in creating the Arizona Heritage Fund that supplies money for such purchases.

Woodin died last week at her Sabino Creek home at age 71. She spent at least 40 years fighting to save wildlands like that acreage around Coal Mine Spring, home to the endangered Gila topminnow but until then a likely subdivision site. Woodin, a native New Yorker, lived along Sabino Creek since the 1970s with her husband, William Woodin, an early Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum director.

Beth Woodin, President of the Arizona Heritage Alliance, (c)2010 Tye R. Farrell

Just before her Jan. 10 death from cancer, Woodin left her nine-year position as board president of the Arizona Heritage Alliance advocacy group. On Saturday, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission gave her an award of excellence, at a Phoenix-area ceremony she had hoped to attend.

“She was one of the most dedicated persons around to doing
wonderful things for wildlife,” said Jim DeVos, a state Game and Fish Department assistant director who knew Woodin for 35 years. “She was always looking for that compromise to move conservation forward. She had her fingers in more conservation projects than anyone I know.”

Woodin was a state Game and Fish commissioner from 1990 to 1995, sat on the Arizona Nature Conservancy’s board in the 1980s and ’90s, and was on the Desert Museum’s board of trustees multiple times. In the 1980s, she was instrumental in persuading the Legislature to create a checkoff program allowing residents to set aside some of their state income taxes for programs benefiting nongame wildlife. The checkoff raised nearly $860,000 in the five fiscal years that ended June 30, 2017, state records show.

Woodin and other fund backers fought at least 30 legislative efforts to divert some of that money, succeeding until the 2007-’08 economist bust. After that, the Legislature swept $10 million annually, which had gone for parks, into the general fund. She and her allies unsuccessfully tried to push through legislation to restore the parks fund.

At the end of her life, Woodin was plotting another run at restoring the Heritage Fund for parks, said Janice Miano, the heritage alliance’s board president. “She never gave up. She always had a plan.”

Woodin is survived by her husband; four stepsons; a sister, Jill Burkett, of Northern California; and eight grandchildren. Services will likely be held in the spring.

Environmental Study Ranks Arizona Second Lowest Among Western States

October 20, 2017 by azheritage2

Source: Joshua Bowling, The Republic/azcentral.com, October 18, 2017

It found Arizona’s access to public lands and responsible energy development need improvement.

(Photo: Mark Henle/The Republic)

Arizona ranked second-lowest among eight Western states in a scorecard measuring the use and management of public lands, an advocacy group said Tuesday. The scorecard, produced and released by the non-profit Center for Western Priorities, examined how Western states regulated public lands, recreation, wildlife conservation and energy development.

Jennifer Rokala, the center’s executive director, said reports like this one are increasingly important in the national political climate. “Currently much attention is focused on the national level at what the Trump administration will do to roll back protections of public lands,” she said during a media conference call Tuesday. “Truly, there’s a different story to be told at the state level.”

Rokala said “no one state does everything correctly,” but she hopes the scorecard will provide a sort of roadmap so state officials can see what policies legislators in nearby states are implementing and learn from them.

Holly Fretwell, a research fellow at the Property and Environmental Research Center in Montana, said these sorts of specific reports can help illustrate what specific states need, rather than “one-size-fits-all” national studies. Fretwell said public land issues are often difficult issues for states that have to juggle state land use with federal land use. “We tend to have this conflict,” she said. “The competing demands on resources and how to use resources because they’re on the federal level.”

Average marks for recreation

Lyman Lake State Park features three hiking trails. (Photo: Arizona State Parks)

Although Arizona outperformed Idaho in the scorecard, it ranked behind Colorado, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico and Nevada. Arizona scored “average,” its highest mark, in the outdoor recreation category, since it doesn’t have an office of outdoor recreation or statewide standards for environmental education, according to the report. In “access to public lands,” Arizona received the lowest possible score, “needs improvement,” because of a 2010 piece of legislation that eliminated funding for the State Parks Heritage Fund, which drew from state lottery funds, according to the report.

The access to public lands category also earned the state low marks because of designations by the Arizona Navigable Stream Adjudication Commission. The commission determines what waterways in the state are navigable and, currently, only permits navigation — the ability to float through private property — on the Colorado River. Navigability factored into scores because it can carry slightly different definitions across state lines, according to the report. Both Montana and Idaho were commended for “exemplary” access to waterways. Allowing boats to float through private land usually means there are walkable routes along the banks of the waterways, the report says.

Jesse Prentice-Dunn, who co-authored the report, said it’s important because it keeps aggressive landowners from doing things such as stringing barbed wire across waterways to keep people off their property. He said he knows of such instances occurring in other states, but not in Arizona.

George Mehnert, the commission’s director, said the Colorado River has that navigable distinction because it is federally managed and out of the commission’s control. Other waterways regulated by the state do not have the same distinction, he said. Mehnert, in an interview Tuesday, said the commission is preparing reports and won’t make the other five rivers navigable this year. Attorneys representing the communities near those bodies of water can appeal the commission’s decision to the Arizona Superior Court. The other five waterways are the San Pedro, Santa Cruz, Gila, Salt and Verde rivers.

Energy rules score low

At Dead Horse Ranch State Park near Cottonwood, recreation includes fishing, horseback riding, hiking, biking and camping. (Photo: Mark Henle/The Republic)

The scorecard also dinged Arizona with a “needs improvement” score in the responsible energy development category. Prentice-Dunn said the low score was due in part to Arizona’s energy development policies. The state requires reporting of oil and gas spills within 24 hours, but doesn’t make those reports readily available to the public, he said.Arizona also doesn’t have any fracking chemical disclosure rules and allows voluntary reports through FracFocus, an industry-operated website that provides public access to chemical usage. “This is something that Colorado, New Mexico and Utah all have databases online, so that’s certainly an area where Arizona could improve,” he said. “In the West, in particular, energy communities and development kind of feel like they’re on a collision course … it really helps for the public to have the impacts of what energy development are.”

Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in the Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow the azcentral and Arizona Republic environmental reporting team at OurGrandAZ on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.