Scottsdale set to buy 2,000 acres of trust land for preserve

Scottsdale is gearing up to acquire 2,000 acres of state trust land for its McDowell Sonoran Preserve, a move that would allow a future trailhead in the city's northern reaches.

The land, appraised at $44.1 million, will be sold at auction in October.

Kroy Ekblaw, the city's strategic projects and preserve director, said a grant from Arizona's Growing Smarter conservation funds could reduce the cost by half.

"We think that is a good value," Ekblaw said.

Barring other bidders, Scottsdale could spend about $22 million, or $11,000 an acre, to expand its preserve by nearly 13 percent, to 18,000 acres.

The 3 square miles of desert east of Pima Road has rock-covered washes and views of Pinnacle Peak, the ridge of Four Peaks and the McDowell Mountains.

A trailhead, tentatively dubbed the Alma School access point, would connect to existing trails north of Dynamite Boulevard, said Scott Hamilton, preserve trails planner.

More land, trailheads planned

If the city's Gateway trailhead is an indication, residents want preserve access.

Scottsdale raised the curtain last year on the Gateway east of Thompson Peak Parkway between Bell Road and Union Hills Drive. Claire Miller, the city's preserve manager, said the trailhead is "wildly popular, especially when the weather was nice."

"Clearly, this year we were busting at the seams," Miller said. "We would have folks parking around the perimeter of the parking lot."

To handle the flood of visitors, the city is adding about 100 parking spaces and other enhancements this summer, she said.

The $500,000 cost will be paid with savings from the Gateway project along with city tax funds earmarked for preserve trails and access improvements, said Robin Rodgers, project manager.

Scottsdale has trailheads planned along the outer edges of future preserve lands, including the access point 1 1/4miles north of Alma School Parkway and Dynamite Boulevard, Hamilton said.

The trailhead would be smaller than the Gateway, with parking spaces and a possible ramada, he said. The city will maintain a portion of existing trails and clear away others.

"Historically, trails have resulted (from) people on mountain bikes, horses (and) lot of ATV access," Hamilton said. "We asked (a group) to look at these maps and tell us which trails they couldn't live without. We also asked them to cross out the ones that aren't important."

Scottsdale has acquired and protected about 16,000 acres of land so far within the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

That includes 400 acres the city purchased last year for $6.5 million.

Scottsdale used a grant from the state's Growing Smarter program to cover half of the cost. The rest was paid for by city tax funds collected for the preserve.

For the next 2,000 acres, Ekblaw said, Scottsdale submitted a Growing Smarter grant application in June. The grant likely will go before the Arizona State Parks Board for approval in September.

"We're trying to move at a time when it's best from a point of view of land prices," said Gerald Miller, chairman of the city's McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission. "There are lots of other reasons, too. Some of the lands we're looking at may be bid on by other people. And we want it for the preserve."

Growing Smarter, adopted by voters in 1998, pours $20 million a year from the state's general fund into the land-conservation fund to conserve land and shape growth in communities.

Long-term acquisitions eyed

Arizona State Parks manages the program, which ends in 2011. Ellen Bilbrey, state parks spokeswoman, said there is $124 million in the fund.

That could change if voters approve a ballot measure in the fall.

Proposition 301, designed to combat the state's budget woes, seeks permission from voters to redirect money from the land-conservation program and use it for general purposes.

Scottsdale's goal is to secure the matching funds before the 2,000 acres goes to auction, Ekblaw said. Future land acquisitions might be more difficult.

If the funds are diverted, "that simply is dollars that will have to come from the city's funds," Ekblaw said. "It doesn't mean we won't move forward."

Miller said he hopes voters reject the proposition. "Beyond that, we have to live with what will happen," he said.

Down the road, Scottsdale is eyeing another 1,940 acres of state trust land west of 136th Street, in the Dynamite Foothills area for the preserve.

In June, the City Council gave a thumbs-up to applying to acquire the land. An auction could be scheduled in fall 2011, Ekblaw said.

If Growing Smarter funds still are available, Scottsdale could apply for a grant in the spring or summer of next year.

Much of the land abuts McDowell Mountain Regional Park to the east, which would link the park with existing and future preserve lands in the city's fringes.

If all goes well, Scottsdale could also attempt to purchase 1,425 acres east of Pima Road between Dixileta Drive and Legend Trail Parkway, Ekblaw said.

Estimated costs have not been determined. Miller said the McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission will meet soon to discuss long-range planning and funding for the preserve.

by Beth Duckett The Arizona Republic August 5, 2010 01:17 PM


Scottsdale set to buy 2,000 acres of trust land for preserve