AZ Daily Sun • JOE FERGUSON SUN STAFF REPORTER

Donald Weaver saw past the rusting hulks of steel, rotting rubber and scattered piles of trash when he first began surveying Picture Canyon in the late 1970s.

An expert on the ancient petroglyphs painted on the canyon walls, Weaver vowed to protect from encroachment not only the rare art but the lush vegetation and the animals that called the unique corridor home.

“It wasn’t so pretty back then,” he remembered. “There were abandoned vehicles down at the bottom of the canyon. There was trash all over the place. There were old tires down there. There was all kinds of stuff.”

Weaver finally was able to see his dreams realized as the city completed the final step Tuesday on a multi-decade journey to keep Picture Canyon out of the hands of private developers.

The city was the sole bidder for the 480-acre parcel offered by the State Land Department at auction, purchasing the property for just under $4.8 million.

In a sea of supporters and city employees, City Manager Kevin Burke donned his Halloween costume from last year — dressing up as Waldo from popular children’s books in order to be seen by the state officials auctioning off the land.

He even brought a bright yellow sign just in case a bidding war erupted for the hundreds of undeveloped acres alongside the canyon.

The land surrounding Picture Canyon has risen in value since the treatment process at the plant was upgraded to A+, or 99 percent treated, several years ago.

The restoration project, which broke ground in 2010, helped to restore the natural course of the stream and enhance the riparian corridor for habitat, recreation and beauty, according to city officials.

Burke’s props on Tuesday were unnecessary, with the auction lasting less than two minutes.

The city will use a $2.4 million grant from the Arizona State Parks Department and money remaining from a voter-approved 2004 open space bond to cover the purchase price.

The city handed over a check worth 10 percent of the total price on Tuesday and will pay the remainder to the State Land Department in the next 30 days.

The Land Department, whose auctions benefit education in Arizona, is obligated to get the best price for the land, regardless of use.

The city was not, however, able to buy the entire canyon. A small parcel just east of the Rio de Flag Wastewater Treatment Plant and south of a massive APS utility line has been classified as suitable for development.

Privately owned parcels with houses already border three sides of the environmentally sensitive tract that the city plans to purchase.

A fourth boundary backs up to the city wastewater treatment plant and Interstate 40.

Former Councilmember Nat White can think of only one other property in the 42 years he has lived in Flagstaff that is as important as Picture Canyon: Buffalo Park.

The retired astronomer said that although Picture Canyon may not draw as many visitors as the popular park on McMillan Mesa, it is a valuable asset to teach generations about Flagstaff’s past while allowing them to experience its natural beauty.

For Weaver, whose hair has turned white over the decades since he first saw Picture Canyon, the new park is not for him, but the next generation of residents.

“Thirty years of work has finally paid off,” he said. “Hopefully by the time I leave this Earth, it will be a major territory for the city’s parks division.”

AZ Daily Sun • October 30, 2012 • by Joe Ferguson

The city of Flagstaff’s plans to buy and preserve hundreds of acres at Picture Canyon came to fruition this morning when the State Land Department accepted the city’s $4.8 million bid at auction.

City Manager Kevin Burke offered the sole bid for the 480 acres. The state agency deemed the culturally significant riparian habitat suitable for conservation purposes, thus lowering the minimum asking price to $10,000 an acre.

The city will use a $2.4 million grant from the Arizona State Parks Department and money remaining from a voter-approved 2004 open space bond to cover the purchase price.
City Councilmember Celia Barotz said the purchase of Picture Canyon for preservation has been a goal of hers for more than two years.

“This acquisition is a true testament to the vision and tenacity of the group of Flagstaff residents who years ago imagined that Picture Canyon could one day be permanently protected. I am thrilled that the City Council has authorized the use of 2004 open space bonds to complete this long-awaited purchase and will make this unique historical, cultural, archaeological, recreational and educational resource available for present and future generations to enjoy,” said Barotz.

Museum of Northern Arizona Future of the Colorado Plateau Lecture Series

A Science Presentation by Dr. A. Park Williams, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Friday, October 19, 2012 • 7:00-8:30pm • Chase-Braninger Auditorium, MNA

Park Williams is the lead author on a research paper, “Temperature as a potent driver of regional forest drought stress and tree mortality,” published September 30, 2012 inNature Climate Change. His co-authors are a who’s who of southwestern climate change scientists.

Based on an extensive analysis of tree ring data, Williams’ study reveals a bleak future for the forests of the Southwest. He concludes that the relatively steady increase in air surface temperatures that we are experiencing and will continue to experience will push our southwestern forests over the threshold of sustainability by about 2050.

“In the Southwest,” says Williams, “two main factors dictate where trees can and cannot live: the amount of water provided to trees via snow and rain, and the amount of water taken away from trees via evapotranspiration. As the Southwest warms, increasingly more water is removed via evapotranspiration, making less water available for use by forests.”

His talk in Flagstaff will address the following questions:

• How have recent reductions in moisture availability affected southwestern forests so far, and how do these effects compare to the effects of historical drought events such as the 1950s drought and the megadroughts of the 1200s and 1500s?
• What types of climate changes are expected to occur in the Southwest in the coming decades?
• How should we expect these changes to influence future forest growth and survival?”

William DeBuys, author of A Great Aridness: Climate Change and the Future of the American Southwest, says of Williams’ work,”It is exciting to witness the release of the scientific equivalent of a best-seller. [His] work incorporates the kind of innovation and power than only come along once in a great while.”

Dr. Tom Sisk, Ecology Professor at NAU, says, “The science is strong and clearly presented. Its thoughtful consideration demands revision of our understanding of drought, as well as our approach to forest conservation…[T]ype conversion at landscape scales may be inevitable.”