Heritage Fund

Hohokam ruins restoration in Mesa to begin at last

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[Source: Jim Walsh, Mesa Republic, 11-18-2009] — Visitors will get their first opportunity to use a new interpretive trail through the Mesa Grande Ruins in March during the annual open house.  Construction on the trail begins on Dec. 1 and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, the first stage of development of ruins as a tourist attraction and educational facility since the city bought it in 1987.

The open house is scheduled for March 27.  It includes tours and a free pancake breakfast sponsored by the Mesa Grande Community Alliance, a west Mesa neighborhood organization.  “It’s kind of the grand opening of the trail,” said Tom Wilson, director of the Arizona Museum of Natural History.  “It’s very gratifying to finally get some of the funding together to begin Phase One.”

Bids on the trail project came in so low that the museum may also include a small visitors parking lot for 15 vehicles on 10th Street and a small visitors entry area featuring a ticket booth, restrooms and a display area, said Jerry Howard, the museum’s curator of anthropology.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

New lot to give Phoenix’s South Mountain hikers more parking

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[Source: Cathryn Creno, Arizona Republic 11-10-2009] – The number of parking spaces at the Telegraph Pass entrance to South Mountain Park  will more than double – to 83 spaces – by the end of this month. Both hikers and residents who live near Telegraph Pass, just off of Desert Foothills Parkway and 6th Street in the Ahwatukee Foothills, have long complained that the lot’s current 39 spaces don’t come close to handing the flood of daily visitors to the park.

Hikers have complained about having to circle the lot until spaces come open. Residents gripe that their streets sometimes fill up with cars belonging to hikers who get tired of waiting for parking spaces [to read the full article click here].

State Parks task force recommends $15 surcharge at MVD

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Source: Chrystall Kanyuck, Arizona Capitol Times.com 11-5-2009] –

A task force appointed by Gov. Jan Brewer recommends adding $14 or $15 to annual vehicle registrations to help sustain Arizona State Parks. The recommendation from the Task Force on Sustainable State Parks Funding includes the ability for vehicle owners to opt out of the fee. However, all drivers with Arizona license plates would receive free admission to state parks. 

The proposed fee echoes a recommendation in a report last month by Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy. Paul Senseman, a spokesman for the governor’s office, said the recommendation is worthy of public discussion. 

“There have been cuts for many years, and the parks are in critical need of funding,” he said. 

With the state addressing a budget crisis, Arizona State Parks has seen its operating budget cut to $19 million in the fiscal year that began in July from $26 million the previous year. Entrance fees, which helped fund capital improvements, are now used to cover operating costs [to read the full article click here].