Payson

Frog totals in the wild jump by 1,700

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[Source: Sierra Vista Herald] – The Arizona wilderness became a bit more populated this week, thanks to a team of biologists from the Arizona Game and Fish Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and the Phoenix Zoo’s Conservation Center. 

More than 1,700 threatened Chiricahua leopard frogs were released into the Tonto National Forest. The frogs, including adults and tadpoles, were released at multiple sites in the forest near Payson. The frogs were raised from eggs collected near Young. Additionally, 100 frogs that were bred and raised at the zoo were released last week near Camp Verde in the Coconino National Forest.  

“Thanks in part to Game and Fish’s Heritage Fund, we are making great strides in re-establishing Chiricahua leopard frogs to their native habitat in Arizona, and this release marks a significant accomplishment and milestone for the recovery effort,” said Michael Sredl of the Arizona Game and Fish Department. “Our goal is to work through partnerships to preclude the need to list species on the federal endangered species list, or in cases where they are already listed, to recover them to a point where they can be removed from the list.”

 Until the 1970s, Chiricahua leopard frogs lived in ponds and creeks across central and southeastern Arizona, but populations have declined significantly since then due to drought, disease, habitat loss and threats from non-native species. They were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2002.  A recovery team was created to help bring the species back from the brink of extinction. The team developed a recovery plan with the goal of recovering the species to the point where it can be removed from the endangered species list. The plan includes releases of captive-bred frogs, habitat restoration, and monitoring.

Tonto Natural Bridge State Park rescued by Rim Country again

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[Source: Payson Roundup]

Source: Arizona State Parks

Tonto Natural Bridge State Park will not close in September as planned due to the financial support from the Towns of Star Valley and Payson as well as the Friends of Tonto Natural Bridge.

These partners have come together to help fund the operations of the park through September of 2011 and the park will stay open on the five-day-per week schedule, said Arizona State Parks Executive Director Renée Bahl.

“Star Valley is one of Arizona’s newest towns with 36-square-miles of incorporated land in its boundaries,” said Star Valley Mayor Bill Rappaport. “Our town leaders have voted to join the effort to keep the park open. We feel it is crucial because Star Valley’s planning area is 100-square-miles and we are all dependent on tourism. Those thousands of visitors are extremely important for businesses so we have set aside $5,000 in our budget this year to support the State Park.”

Payson Mayor Kenny Evans said,

“For more than a year now we have been subsidizing the park to be sure it stays open. This State Park attracts 90,000 visitors to the area and generates $3.6 million per year in spending for all the surrounding communities.”

“It is clear that our $20,000 investment will return millions to the economy and can’t afford to lose a tourism attraction of this magnitude.”

Friends of Tonto Natural Bridge President Bill Ensign said their group has committed $10,000, which is earned by volunteers through fund-raising activities.

“We are thrilled to be part of the solution to help the businesses in the surrounding towns and encourage everyone to come and enjoy the world’s largest travertine bridge, ” said Ensign. “We also welcome any new financial support that can help us keep the Park open into the future.”

Go to www.AZStateParks.com for more information about these partnerships and to get information about the September Board meeting.

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Parks board still dreams of the future

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[Source: Payson Roundup, Peter Aleshire, 7-20-2010] – Get through the beating. But don’t stop dreaming.

That could serve as the motto of the Arizona State Parks system, reflected recently at a rare retreat and strategy session that brought the board to one of its most endangered treasures: Tonto Natural Bridge. The state parks board finds itself in the position of a scrawny kid getting punched out by a bully after his lunch money. The system is bruised, bloody and curled into the fetal position — but still making plans for college.

The world’s largest natural travertine arch formed an apt setting for the discussion, since the park system’s partnership with Payson to keep the Rim Country’s best known tourist attraction open served as a model to save other parks. As a result of the last-minute rescues by Payson and other counties and towns, the state parks board approved agreements to keep most of the sites in the 28-park system open — despite drastic reductions in its budget. [to read the full article click here].

Viewpoint: Arizona State Parks won’t get blood from a turnip

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[Source: Camp Verde Bugle] — Arizona State Parks is more money-strapped than ever before under the new operating budget, but if the department is going to rely on supplemental funding from the communities it serves, state parks will be dropping like flies.  Payson somehow found the money to help keep Tonto Natural Bridge State Park open on weekends this summer, and there was a similar situation in Yuma.  The reality is, most towns next to state parks are not floating in spare cash.  You know what they say about getting blood from a turnip.

Arizona State Parks has heightened its call for help beyond your basic volunteers.  They want cash.  They would especially like funds from local towns.  It has a selling job to do in order to winkle money out of penny-pinching municipalities.  There has to be viable proof of value to the town.  If, for instance, the Town of Camp Verde found some extra coins in its linty pockets and dedicated it to a Fort Verde fund, would there really be a return on its investment?  Or would it be a stop-gap measure to allow the park to hang on just a little longer?

Fort Verde is an example of a park that could do with a real concrete partnership with the Town of Camp Verde.  Fort Verde has already cut operation hours and staff, and more cuts would come hard.  Governmental partnerships are key to financial survival at this stage.  [Note: To read the full article, click here]