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Letter to the Editor: Draw a Line in Sedona’s Red Dirt

For our economy’s sake if nothing else, we must save Sedona’s Red Rock National Forest.  Don’t let a short-sighted few, who scan the horizon seeing only red tile roofs and dollar signs, be able to amend our current Forest Plan, be able to commercially exploit the Forest, and be able to ruin Sedona’s essential character for future generations and forever.

What do I mean by “character?” Have you ever perused the “homes for sale” or “vacation home rentals” websites? Every single listing refers to the area, not just the home, as and I quote: “a sanctuary, a retreat, secluded, quiet, inspiring, a forest rich in natural beauty, a unique heritage & culture, world-class forest trails, panoramic, amazing red rock views, tranquil, magnificent…a paradise.”   I could go on for days with more similar adjectives but you get the idea. 

Our perception of this awesome, beautiful and precious Forest 40 years ago – which, not accidentally, was when the non-profit “Keep Sedona Beautiful” was first formed — has not changed one iota except to intensify and deepen.  

Does anyone seriously think that in another 40 or 50 years, we are going to perceive our surrounding Forest  — the one that now surrounds us and sustains us in an economic, physical, and spiritual sense — as suddenly not precious, not beautiful, not worth protecting?   

In fact, it will no doubt be quite the opposite, but by then, will it be too late? What humans find desirable and beautiful and needful in nature hasn’t changed since man was born.  If anything — after Sedona city elected officials have allowed the area to be totally built out and built up — we will no doubt find preserving and protecting Sedona’s Red Rock Forest ever more crucial to us as business people, as residents, as visitors, as humans.  

This is our time, our opportunity to put our foot down and draw a line in the red dirt that says:  it was worth “saving” 40 years ago, it is moreso now, and will be even moreso 40 years from now.   Because what happens in Sedona, doesn’t stay just in Sedona, I, as a Village of Oak Creek resident, urge Sedona City residents to vote for City Council candidates that support a Sedona – Red Rock National Scenic Area Designation. We must make the Red Rock Forest Plan’s Amendment 12 more permanent – more protected from developer land exchanges –  with a National Scenic Area Designation for our surrounding National Forest Land.  It’s good for business, good for property values, and good for the environment!  Let’s get it done. 

Nancy J. Brown, Village of Oak Creek Homeowner and Business Owner

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