The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Saguaro National Park and all who treasure it received a surprise gift during the holiday season when the park’s boundary was expanded 1,152 acres to include several dozen small but important parcels of land.
As the Arizona representative for the National Parks Conservation Association, I’ve waited more than a decade to see this expansion, which will bring huge benefits to the park. As the bill made its way through Congress last year, I even found myself testifying before a House of Representatives subcommittee via video from my bedroom office.
These small parcels newly included within the park boundaries are currently privately owned. Adjusting the boundary to include them now allows the National Park Service to use funding allocated by Congress to purchase these lands from willing sellers or donors. Once they are owned by the Park Service, they will enjoy the permanent protection that comes with becoming a national park site.
All the parcels are of park quality and would help the park in various ways. One group of parcels will create a strong link between the county’s popular Sweetwater Preserve and the park’s wildlands so that wildlife like deer and bobcats have the freedom to roam back and forth. Without this connection, the only wildlife that hikers and mountain bikers enjoying Sweetwater Preserve are likely to spot are other hikers and mountain bikers!
Several of the new parcels will protect scenic views from hiking trails and trailheads, like along the lower portions of the popular Sweetwater trail that leads to the top of Wasson Peak. One will extinguish an old easement that could someday threaten to carve a new road through the park. Several others protect habitat for songbirds and other wildlife dependent upon habitat along a rare desert intermittent creek.
Sadly, we were not able to include some places that are deserving. Some landowners were not yet ready to be part of this opportunity. One beautiful hill-surrounded valley on the north side of the park’s Tucson Mountain Unit, Sanctuary Cove, was withdrawn because of last-minute concerns the State Land Department had about hunter access to a parcel of state land inside the park, an issue that could have been resolved if there had been more time. We hope it, and some other worthy lands, can be included in future efforts to complete the park.
This all happened fast because Congressman Raúl Grijalva and his staff moved quickly to get the measure attached to the enormous (5,593 pages) government funding and COVID-19 relief package that was signed into law Dec. 27.
The Saguaro measure was ready to go because park supporters — groups like the Tucson Mountain Association, Friends of Saguaro National Park, and the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection — had spent more than a decade promoting the bill during previous sessions of Congress. Earlier versions of the bill had generated widespread support, including endorsement from Pima County, the city of Tucson, and business groups.
Civic and business leaders agreed with park advocates that Saguaro National Park is both a wonderful amenity for those of us lucky enough to live here and an attraction that brings people to Tucson, bolstering and enhancing our tourist economy. Be sure to visit the park soon with your family and friends (with masks and social distancing). While you enjoy the beautiful saguaros and desert, remember that efforts are ongoing to make sure that future generations will benefit from it as much as we do!
