[Source: Beth Duckett, The Arizona Republic] — From the lush backwoods of Cave Creek Regional Park to the rugged Spur Cross Ranch, Cave Creek is known for its sweeping open spaces. But with another 8.8 square miles coming inside the town’s borders through annexation this year, Cave Creek faces a dilemma – how to manage its open spaces. With the plan, town and park officials would steer the use and management of thousands of acres with one document. Future visitors centers and trail systems would be included in an open-space master plan.
“Planning as a system makes a whole lot more sense,” said Maricopa County Parks Director RJ Cardin. “It would be a system of open space, rather than a piece of state land there, a piece there.” The master plan would merge the 2,155-acre Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area, 3,000-acre Cave Creek Regional Park and 4,300 acres of conserved annexation land, plus State Bureau of Land Management and conservation lands. [Note: to read the full article click here.]