Friends of the Scenic Drive:
Working to Preserve Foothills Heritage

 By Edie Shannon

 From A Peek at the Peak magazine, September 2005

The vision of the Desert Foothills Hills Scenic Drive began forty plus years ago, when foresighted Cave Creek/Carefree residents began to fear that gas stations and motels would spring up in the vacant expanse of desert separating them from the cities of Scottsdale and Phoenix.  In 1963, these founders, created the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive, along the northern reaches of Scottsdale and Cave Creek Roads, then under the jurisdiction of Maricopa County.  As a result of their efforts, the county established scenic setbacks and created visitor areas at the entrances to the drive.

During 1980s, the northern part of Scottsdale Road was annexed into the City of Scottsdale and by 1994 new residential communities were either being developed or planned for the scenic drive, and with them, increased pressure for commercial expansion. The scenic drive visitor area was showing its age, most of the original plant identification signs had disappeared or were damaged, and few Scottsdale residents were aware of the drive’s existence.

FSD Goals, Activities

Les Conklin and a group of concerned citizens organized to lead the community in an effort to protect the area’s unique heritage, minimize the impact of anticipated development on the scenic drive area, and prevent the scenic drive from becoming an endless shopping mall. The organization created is the Friends of the Scenic Drive (FSD).

The goals of  FSD are community education and leadership, the restoration, creation and maintenance of plant exhibits on the Scenic Drive, preservation and enhancement of roadside vegetation and vistas, publicizing the scenic drive as a special landmark offering a unique community opportunity, reduction of visual pollution from litter, signs, poles, utility boxes, etc.,  a provide support city-wide preserve, scenic corridors and litter control initiatives

Maintaining Visitor Exhibits, Monuments

The scenic drive is anchored on the south by a drive-in exhibit on the east side of Scottsdale Road, just south of Jomax. The exhibit has parking to accommodate cars and busses. The southern monument has naturally occurring native plants identified. Visitors can stroll along the paths, see the plants named, and then return to the monument to read the information on the plants they have seen and indigenous animals. It is common to see individual cars, and tourist buses stopped at the exhibit with locals and tourists enjoying the exhibits.

The drive is anchored on the north by what was once a barren, sometimes litter filled parking area for large trucks and school buses. With the cooperation of the city of Scottsdale, and the donation of several thousands of dollars of native plants, rocks and fill, and of many man hours donated by volunteers and a local landscaping company, this eyesore was turned into a beautifully designed desert vista, with a walking trail through it. Water needed to establish the new plantings in the northern monument is being donated by an adjacent subdivision.

Minimizing Impact of Growth

Several years ago, FSD, in cooperation with many neighborhood and environmental groups, was instrumental in having the ugly utility lines along the scenic drive buried. Residents agreed to share the cost of the activity with the power company, and the City of Scottsdale.

FSD lobbied aggressively and successfully to eliminate the many small real estate signs lining the scenic drive and other Scottsdale Roads. During local elections, FSD implemented a successful voluntary ban of political signs from the scenic drive. Nearly every candidate complied with the ban.

With the cooperation of the city of Scottsdale, FSD helped fund and implement the use of a more subtle color for use on light poles, traffic signals, sign posts on the Scenic Drive, and in cooperation with local utility companies funded and implemented the painting of all utility boxes on the Scenic Drive in less unobtrusive desert friendly color.

New subdivisions have been developed along the Scenic Drive, but due to input by community groups including FSD, they have been created with more controls, greater setbacks, desert landscaped frontages, media strips with desert plantings, and wandering walkways along the Scenic Drive.

Protecting the Environment

Six times a year the Friends of the Scenic Drive, an Adopt a Highway member, sponsor trash pickups. We contact the volunteers: individuals, homeowners associations, church, school and civic groups, by email, post, and placing posters prominently. FSD provides safety vests, pick up sticks, donuts, water and trash bags for the volunteers.  The volunteers include year-round residents, snowbirds, scout groups, church groups, community business groups, and public sector groups like employees of the city of Scottsdale Water Department. The City of Scottsdale cooperates further by picking up the filled trash bags immediately.

Providing Education

FSD has restored, created, identified and maintained over eighty plant exhibits of natural occurring species along the scenic drive. An ongoing exhibit maintenance committee is responsible for monitoring the exhibits, replacing if necessary, and establishing new exhibits as required.

FSD established the Adopt a Plant Program allowing individuals to purchase the right to be “Plant Parents”.  Many of these Parents have indicated a desire to care for their exhibit during the coming year, to see that is free of trash and weeds. This program encourages community involvement in the Scenic Drive. “Parents” brag of their child: “Charlie Cholla”, or “Octavia Ocotillo.”

The FSD Web site, developed in 1996, is a wealth of information on the Sonoran Desert, history of the local area, the Scenic Drive, local plants and critters, area attractions, opportunities to volunteer, links to other preservation groups and the organization itself. Queries come from the local area, the region, the state, the US and many foreign countries. 

FSD with the support of Outback Steakhouse and MacDonald’s Ranch organized an annual benefit, Cookout at the Ranch, to promote the scenic drive, desert preservation and community awareness. On October 8, 2005, Cookout at the Ranch X will mark the 10^th anniversary of this foothills “happening.”

Partnering

FSD partners with local businesses, developers, homeowners associations, churches, the City of Scottsdale, the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association, Scenic Pima Road Assoc., the Black Mountain Conservancy, and other preservation groups.

FSD is a volunteer driven organization with no paid staff.  Hundreds of volunteers contribute thousands of hours to the success of its projects: litter pick up, exhibit maintenance, website, legislative watch, newsletter, cookout, and public relations.

The Friends of the Scenic Drive was honored in 2003 as recipient of the Distinguished Community Leadership Award at the annual Governor’s Pride in Arizona Awards Conference. In 1994, Friends of the Scenic Drive became a division of the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association, a nonprofit 501 c (3). Donations to Friends of the Scenic Drive are tax-deductible.

Volunteers Welcomed!

We welcome new members to the FSD.  If you are interested, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to hear from you.