Heritage Fund Archives - Page 19 of 95 - Arizona Heritage Alliance

Skip Varnery Named as Arizona State Parks & Trails New Deputy Director

June 6, 2017 by azheritage2

Source: Arizona State Parks Press Release, June 1, 2017

Skip Varney was named as the new Deputy Director at Arizona State Parks & Trails, chosen to oversee Operations and Development. Skip had previously served as the Chief of Natural Resources & Special Projects, after being promoted from his role as the State OHV Coordinator.

Skip brings more than 30-years of experience to the role, working in a variety of Parks & Recreation
positions in Maine, including Assistant Parks & Recreation Director, Director of Parks & Community Education & Director of Engineering and Real Property for the Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry at the Bureau of Parks & Lands.

During his work as the State OHV Coordinator, Skip rebuilt federal & state agency relationships and worked extensively with OHV Ambassadors and volunteers to grow and strengthen the OHV community in Arizona. His work with their grants program provided more than $3 M annually for OHV trail development. He was also instrumental in the development of the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park in Yarnell, getting the project under budget and ahead of schedule, in addition to his duties with OHV.

With Hotshots State Park, Skip worked with the community, Site Board and Sub-Committees to finalize plans for the parks construction and fostered partnerships with state agencies and vendors to help fast track its development. Collaborating with local companies, he coordinated donations and volunteers that provided work and materials for the parks construction. He worked hands-on creating the memorial area at the parks Fatality Site to prepare, protect and install the gabion baskets that encircle the area where the Hotshots made their last stand against the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire. To date, the park has been visited by more than 11,000 people, who have praised State Parks on their exemplary work, creating a place to help heal emotionally and celebrate the lives of the Hotshots.

His expertise is a welcome addition to leadership for development and operations. His vision of blending development, construction services, and operations is opportune as we reinvest in current parks and create new parks.

Skip moved to Arizona with his wife Laura to be closer to their children and new grandson Owen, and to enjoy the warmer Arizona winters. When he’s not at work, Skip loves to spend time with his family and fly his Mooney aircraft.

Please join us in welcoming Skip to his new role and wish him many years of success!

Arizona Conservationists: Save Our National Monuments

February 25, 2023June 5, 2017 by azheritage2

Source: By William Thornton and Tom Hanagan, Special to the Arizona Daily Star, June 4, 2017

The president’s executive order to review national monuments could recommend downsizing or abolishing monuments over 100,000 acres designated since 1996. A brief history of the Antiquities Act and case study from Ironwood Forest in our own backyard might clear up some misconceptions.

Signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906, the Antiquities Act gives the president authority to, by proclamation, create national monuments from public lands to protect significant natural, cultural or scientific features. The law was necessary after decades of looting and desecration at Native American sites such as Chaco Canyon. Roosevelt went on to designate 18 national monuments. Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest in Arizona have been upgraded to National Park status.

National Monuments are owned by the American people. Each of Roosevelt’s successors, Democrat or Republican, has used the Antiquities Act to protect lands in the public domain. Opponents of new national monuments have characterized the process as “arbitrary, capricious” and subject to manipulation by “tree huggers” who draw lines on a map, and before you know it, the public is “locked out” and economic activity comes to a screeching halt.

In reality a monument proposal must make a compelling case that the area contains natural or cultural features worthy of protection. For Ironwood Forest these features include: the only surviving indigenous herd of desert bighorn sheep in the Tucson area, the largest stand of desert ironwood trees, numerous archaeological sites and critical habitat for an endangered cactus.

What does monument designation mean for Ironwood Forest?

Monument land has benefited from thousands of hours of hands-on work by hundreds of volunteers from the Friends of Ironwood Forest, Arizona Native Plant Society, Bighorn Sheep Society, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Sierra Club and many others. Invasive buffelgrass is one of the most serious threats to our Sonoran Desert. A coordinated effort to control it is making progress, but it may not have been possible without monument designation.

Free access is available with restrictions deemed necessary to protect the resource. Hunting is permitted subject to regulation by the Arizona Department of Game and Fish. Privately owned parcels within the monument remain available for use subject to local zoning laws. When funds are available, land may be purchased from willing sellers. Land has been donated, but the BLM cannot seize or force the sale of private land.

Historically, mining and ranching have been major economic activities in the area. Grazing leases on monument land remain in force and are renewable. The Pioneer Materials quarry continues to operate.

Outdoor recreation is big business in Arizona, bringing $10.6 billion in consumer spending, $787 million in state and local tax revenue, and supporting 104,000 Arizona jobs, according to the Outdoor Industry Association. Parks and monuments are a big part of the picture.

National monuments do not belong to the president or Congress. They are our lands and heritage but will remain so only if we speak up. Comments may be submitted through monumentsforall.org or regulations.gov. Deadline is July 10. Also, please contact Senator Flake and Senator McCain and your congressperson and respectfully request that they stand up for our monuments.

Our View: Don’t Kill Arizona’s State Parks Board Now

March 9, 2017 by azheritage2

Source: Excerpt from Arizona Republic, March 8, 2017 Editorial

If you’ve pondered the depths of Kartchner Caverns, dipped a toe in Lake Havasu or stalked wildflowers at Catalina State Park, you know the value of Arizona’s Parks system. In this 60th anniversary year of our parks, there’s more to do than just celebrate the 31 natural, historical, cultural and geological sites that give people a chance to fall in love – or stay in love – with our fabulous state.

A bill in the Legislature, House Bill 2369, would eliminate the State Parks Board – which means eliminating the citizen oversight the board was designed to provide . . . The bill passed the House and is now in the Senate. Under the bill, the duties of the Parks Board, which include managing, developing and operating state parks, would go to the Parks director. Streamlining state government is a Republican priority. But the Parks Board serves another popular Republican goal: keeping power with the people and assuring oversight of government bureaucrats.

Assuring a public voice in Parks decisions

The board was the result of a compromise made at the time the State Parks system was created in 1957. The intent was to assure a public voice in decisions. Members are the State Land Commissioner and six people appointed by the governor. Under current law, the six citizen members are required to have a knowledge of outdoor activities, Arizona history and conservation. To assure that stakeholders get representation, the livestock, recreation and tourism industries each get at least one spot on the board. This board is configured to provide valuable oversight from people who have an interest in Arizona’s outdoors.

The questions about Black’s management style, coupled with the increasing popularity of the Parks, are reasons for the board to continue doing the job it was created to do six decades ago. The Legislature should not eliminate the State Parks Board. Arizonans have a deep love of their State Parks, and the Parks Board gives them the opportunity to be part of the decision-making process and to exercise needed oversight.

Arizona Forward: Open Letter to Their Members

February 25, 2023February 11, 2017 by azheritage2

Source: Email blast from Arizona Forward, February 8, 2017

The Arizona Legislature is considering a bill that includes a repeal the Arizona State Parks Board (HB2369), which we strongly oppose. As part of Arizona Forward’s historic advocacy of parks and open space, as well as our work in creating a primer on the economic benefits of Arizona’s natural assets, we have registered our opposition to this measure and encourage you to do the same!

The State Parks Board provides citizens’ oversight to State Parks and is composed of people with various backgrounds, including recreation, tourism, and livestock, as well as the general public. Its purpose is to “select, acquire, preserve, establish, and maintain areas of natural features, scenic beauty, historical and scientific interest, and zoos and botanical gardens for the education, pleasure, recreation, and health of the people….”

On February 2, 2017, the House Government Committee voted 5-3-0 to repeal the Arizona States Park Board. I testified against the measure and will keep you updated as it moves the legislative process. Elimination of this important board will result in less transparency, fewer opportunities for public engagement on a broad level, and one less entity to advocate for a parks system badly in need of more advocates.

Please take action by sending a message to your state representatives today! If you are not sure who your legislators are, go to Find My Legislator and click on the link where you enter your address. You can then select legislators to find their contact information. Be sure to leave a message with an assistant or on voicemail.

We must be good stewards of these amazing resources, and need your help to ensure that happens!

DIANE BROSSART
President & CEO
Arizona Forward

Since the publication of this letter, HB2369 is scheduled to be heard by the House Rules Committee on Monday, February 13, 2017 at 12:45 p.m. in HHR4. Here is a link to the agenda.