[Source: Andrew J. Shainker, Cronkite News Service] — Jack Edwards gives visitors to Red Rock State Park a handshake and hello along with a pamphlet on the park’s history. Louise Appleton leads visitors on moonlight walks. Those who sneak onto park grounds after hours will get a lecture from Don Swanson, who stays overnight in his trailer. This nature preserve, set beneath the spectacular cliffs overlooking Sedona, has several employees, but the three aren’t among them. The retirees are part of a crew of about 80 volunteers that keeps the park running. [Note: to read the full article click here.]
State Parks
Take the Arizona Trail Users Survey
This study is part of an effort to develop plans for the State Trails Program and the Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Program. The survey is being conducted among parks and trails enthusiasts and organization representatives to ask for input into the trail planning process. This list was developed by the Arizona State Parks Board and Arizona State University.
Your participation in this survey is very important. Your answers will help set priorities for trail management in Arizona, and help determine how a portion of the Heritage Fund and the Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Recreation Fund should be spent. The Heritage Fund comes from Lottery revenues and the OHV Fund comes from gasoline tax dollars. Some of these funds go directly to provide recreational trail opportunities and facilities for all Arizona residents and visitors.
The survey will take approximately 15 – 20 minutes to complete. Your answers to this survey are completely confidential. Your name will not be connected to your answers in any way. Your participation in this survey is voluntary; however, you can help us very much by taking a few minutes to share your opinions. To take the survey, click here.
1904 Nogales courthouse symbolic site of entry to Anza Trail
[Source: Manuel C. Coppola, NoglesInternational.com] — Albeit symbolic, the Juan Bautista de Anza Historic Trail now has an official entry point from Mexico in Nogales at the 1904 Courthouse on Morley Avenue. To celebrate the designation of the trailhead, a “fiesta” is planned Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 11-12, said Lillian Hoff, a founder and president of the Friends of the 1904 Courthouse board of directors. The event will be highlighted by the first exhibition of 12 commissioned paintings depicting various scenes from the 1775-76 Anza Expedition, said Hoff. She said that the courthouse will have an Anza Trail room commemorating the expedition and the trailhead into the United States.
Artist David Rickman, who has had an interest in the Spanish Colonial period, was commissioned by Anza Trail staff and has been creating the paintings over the last several years, said Margaret Styles, an interpretive specialist with the National Park Service in San Francisco, Calif. Styles and Hoff will co-host the exhibition. [Note: to read the full article, click here.]
Arizona State Parks Foundation letter to Gov. Napolitano
September 4, 2008
The Honorable Janet Napolitano
Governor
State of Arizona
1700 W. Washington, 9th Floor
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
Dear Governor Napolitano:
I am writing to you as the president of the Arizona State Parks Foundation (ASPF), a not-for-profit organization that works in a variety of ways to help the State Parks Department meet its goals. My purpose in writing is to inform you that ASPF strongly supports the request from the Arizona State Parks Board that you appoint a blue ribbon committee to analyze the current and future needs of the park system and explore stable revenue sources to meet the goals of the park system.
You may be aware that during the recent budget crisis ASPF engaged in a very public campaign, including contacts with statewide news media and Arizona legislators, to try to minimize the damage to State Parks from fund sweeps and budget cuts. While we may have had some limited success, the experience convinced most of our board of directors that the parks system cannot meet the expectations of Arizona citizens while continuing to ride a financial roller coaster. In response, we recommended the action that the Parks Board has taken.
I know you are well aware that the parks system contains several of the state’s scenic treasures, historic sites that would crumble into oblivion without protection and some of the most popular recreation areas in the southwest. The parks generate far more economic benefit to Arizona communities than the cost of maintaining them. We are convinced that an expanded network of parks and open spaces, including county and municipal properties, is also an important social safety valve in a state that is already among the most urbanized in the country and growing more so.
For all of these reasons, ASPF seeks a long-range view of the role of State Parks and a reliable means of funding its mission. Toward that end, we fervently support your appointment of the blue ribbon committee requested by the Parks Board. ASPF stands ready to assist such a committee in its efforts in any way possible.
Sincerely,
Bill Meek, President
Arizona State Parks Foundation