Sedona Mayor, Rob Adams
The time has finally come to put one of the most controversial issues in Sedona’s history to rest. Our nation’s lawmakers are debating legislation that would establish a National Scenic Area Designation for the greater Sedona area. The reason to support this legislation is simple; to permanently protect the Forest Service lands that surround us from land trades for the purpose of private development. The passion, which has driven many of us to make this Designation a reality, can be expressed in a diversity of ways. I would like to take this opportunity to share my story.
I moved to Arizona from Colorado in the fall of 1983 to become the general manager of my family’s Arabian horse business. The ranch was located in northeast Scottsdale. We were surrounded by open desert and could ride our horses, unobstructed, to the McDowell mountains or countless other destinations.
At the time, Scottsdale was proudly proclaimed as the “West’s most western town,” and horse ranches were an important part of the unique ambience of the city. Scottsdale was also recognized as the “Arabian horse capital of the world” and the city government was attentive to the wants and needs of the horse industry. Horses were to Scottsdale as wine is to Napa. They represented not only an important industry, but also a lifestyle.
Over the next several years, I worked with the Scottsdale city government on developing equestrian trails, the Westworld equestrian center and the concept of equestrian “overlays” that would designate certain parts of the city with special zoning, ensuring that these areas would remain for equestrian use. By all appearances, Scottsdale was committed to retaining the open space, ambience and lifestyle that the horse ranches provided.
At the same time, an ominous wave of red tile roofs was gaining momentum and heading in the direction of our ranch. Developers were beginning to quietly buy up undeveloped land around us as the real estate boom started to heat up. In the late 1980’s, horse ranches were under siege. Rampant development was taking place and Scottsdale was morphing into an entirely different city. BMW’s were taking the place of pickups and McMansions were replacing horse ranches. In less than ten years, most of the major horse ranches were gone.
That experience left an indelible impression on my mind. For a brief period of time we had the opportunity to preserve the open space, ambience and lifestyle which horse ranches, farms and citrus groves once provided for much of the Phoenix Valley. I recently read about how one of the last large farms in Queen Creek has sold for development. That is a right that most property owners expect. When the pressures of development become overwhelming, you sell. The question comes to mind, is there a limit to how much development is too much and what is the community’s commitment to preservation?
One of the qualities, which I appreciate about the citizens of Sedona, is, when they identify an issue, which is really important to them, they take a stand. They understand that open space is critical to our quality of life. They do not want to expand the boundaries of our city for the sake of development. They want to preserve the natural wonder that we live in and be stewards of our environment. Fortunately, we are surrounded by National Forest, not private land. We, as the collective citizens of Sedona, can decide what the fate of the lands that surround us will be.
Amendment 12 was included in the National Forest Plan to help ensure that the forestlands around us are not traded for development. It was a great step in the right direction. But, Amendment 12 is a temporary revision to the Forest Plan. It can be modified or withdrawn at any time. We have all witnessed what can happen under the relentless pressure of development. Promises are broken and the rules are changed.
We are in a unique and opportune time in history. We have a Representative in Congress who has introduced a bill to create a National Scenic Area that will permanently protect our forest lands from land trades for private development. The future of Arizona’s leadership is in flux and depending on the outcome of upcoming elections the NSA designation may or may not move forward.
I moved to Scottsdale to enjoy the ambience, lifestyle and open space of a horse ranch. The equestrian people lost that battle. The citizens of Sedona have the opportunity to win a similar battle.
I urge you to join me and other passionate citizens to support the movement to permanently protect our National Forest Service lands from land trades for development. Time is of the essence. Contact the following representatives in Congress and Senate and let them know that you support the National Scenic Area designation: Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick, Senator Jon Kyle, Senator John McCain, and Congressman Raul M. Grijalva, who also is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.
Article written by Rob Adams: The thoughts and opinions expressed in this article are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the City of Sedona or the Sedona City Council. Comments and opinions of readers are welcome below.
Nice article Rob. It exactly expresses how many of us feel about the NSA here. We all have experienced such incremental destruction of beauty and do not want it to happen here.
Mayor performed an excellent community service with this article.