March 11, 2001

To: The Conservation Advisory Committee  & Marv Mason, Hearing Officer, State Land Department, 1616 West Adams, Phoenix, AZ 85007

For your thoughtful consideration:

Friends of the Scenic Drive supports Scottsdale’s API application to reclassify State Trust lands as "suitable for preservation." We urge you to reclassify all 16,600 acres so they may be included as part of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. The well thought-out plan for the McDowell Sonoran Preserve creates something special that will benefit not only wildlife, plants and local residents, but the economy of the region and the State of Arizona. It is an integrated plan where all the various pieces are critically important to the overall vision.

Someone correctly said, "A picture speaks a thousand words." The picture to the right does just that. The photograph shows a bus stopped near the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive monument sign on the northern part of Scottsdale Road. Tourists are photographing one of the many large saguaros that are the hallmark of this area. You can be sure that the visitors took the pictures home and showed them to friends and family. And, some of those family members and friends later came themselves to see this very unique area. The place pictured above is located on one of the parcels that the City of Scottsdale hopes to preserve for reasons that we will discuss shortly.

For decades residents of Maricopa County have been working to preserve the beauties of the Sonoran Desert in what is now northeast Scottsdale and Phoenix. In 1962, residents of Cave Creek and Carefree created the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive.

In a report prepared by Maricopa County Planning Department in 1966, Vince Thelander wrote, "The idea for this report (about the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive) was conceived with the thought in mind that it might serve as an inspiration to other communities to take ACTION IN THE PRESERVATION of natural beauties in their respective areas." Of course, Mr. Thelander did not realize that his words would have significance to his own regional "community" more than three decades later.

In a presentation to the City of Phoenix Planning and Zoning Committee in July 1987, Jo Walker, president of the Cave Creek Improvement Association said, "These Scenic Corridors can be an attraction that draws people from around the world to see the unique Sonoran Desert’s natural habitat. They can see palm trees and golf courses in many states, but these saguaros, ocotillos, cholla and associated plants can only be found in our part of Arizona. Once gone, they can never be replaced." Mrs. Walker was referring to the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive (the northern stretches of Scottsdale and Cave Creek Roads).

Again, Friends of the Scenic Drive supports the reclassification of all 16,600 acres, but the purpose of our letter is to emphasize why it is important to preserve all the targeted State Trust lands along the Scenic Drive and west of Pima Road. Here are the reasons why: 

• These open space parcels include dense populations of saguaro and other Sonoran plants.

• These open space parcels provide habitat and trails for Sonoran wildlife including birds, coyotes and javalinas. Development has forced many critters off the land located to the south and west.

• These parcels include a link between the bulk of Preserve land and open space and planned trails in Phoenix.

• These parcels provide a natural link and an access point to the Preserve from Scottsdale Road. The Preserve is intended for all the people of the region and access from convenient points is important. The power line corridor that passes through these parcels has already been disturbed and can be used for hiking and other forms of allowed recreation.

• The Preserve will be the regions greatest achievement. Scottsdale Road is Scottsdale’s signature Road. The two should be linked to enhance promotion of regional tourism.

• Most of the land south of Happy Valley Road has already been lost to commercial development. The State Trust lands on the east side of Scottsdale Road’s the only remaining parcel in the City of Scottsdale that can be preserved.

• These parcels provide a buffer between heavy commercial development that will take place south of Happy Valley Road to the 101 and the primarily residential areas north of Jomax Road.

Finally, these parcels provide a link between the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive – an important part of the region’ heritage – and the future Preserve. Residents have labored to preserve this land for more than 3 decades. Tour busses have stopped at the Monument area for decades and tourists have enjoyed a convenient walk in the open desert. Most of Scottsdale's scenic roadways and vistas have been diminished by development. Surrounding communities and all of Arizona benefits from tax dollars generated by these visitors.

Vince Thelander, Jo Walker and many others have worked for more than four decades to protect what the original Scenic Drive entry sign identified as "The World’s Most Beautiful Desert."  Too much has already been lost to achieve short-term objectives. The time has come to act in Arizona’s long-term interest and fulfill the vision of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve in its entirety.

Sincerely, 

Friends of the Scenic Drive

  Copyright 1996 All rights reserved.
Friends of the Scenic Drive, Division of the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association
Scottsdale, AZ 85255