ARIZONA’S HERITAGE It should come as no surprise that significant archeological sites exist on state trust lands in Arizona. An estimated 10,000 archaeological sites and historic structures have been documented, including well known examples such as the platform mound and ballcourt at Adamsville and the extensive petroglyph assemblages around the Picacho Mountains. Countless others are little known except to archaeologists, outdoor enthusiasts, and unfortunately looters and vandals. With 9.2 million acres of land to manage, the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) lacks the resources to protect these windows into Arizona’s past. The importance of the archaeological records on state trust lands cannot be overstated. Evidence of human habitation from 12,000 years ago to the modern day, can be found throughout the state. Because much of the land is remote and has remained as open space, many areas provide a complete record of Native American settlements, including pre-European contact. Villages, hamlets, field houses, agricultural terraces, prehistoric trails, and rock art assemblages are often be found in one setting, which suggests a relatively intact archaeological record of a cultural landscape. Sonoran Institute, in collaboration with conservation groups across Arizona and with funding from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, has assembled state trust lands suitable for conservation into a single database. The resulting profiles focus on conservation values. Political values are left for another day. www.sonoraninstitute.org Arizona State Trust Lands Conservation Profile: State Trust Lands and Archeology Shaping the Future of the West
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ArizonA’s HeritAge It should come as no surprise that significant archeological sites exist on state trust lands in Arizona. An estimated 10,000 archaeological sites and historic structures have been documented, including well known examples such as the platform mound and ballcourt at Adamsville and the extensive petroglyph assemblages around the Picacho Mountains. Countless others are little known except to archaeologists, outdoor enthusiasts, and unfortunately looters and vandals. With 9.2 million acres of land to manage, the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) lacks the resources to protect these windows into Arizona’s past.
The importance of the archaeological records on state trust lands cannot be overstated. Evidence of human habitation from 12,000 years ago to the modern day, can be found throughout the state. Because much of the land is remote and has remained as open space, many areas provide a complete record of Native American settlements, including pre-European contact. Villages, hamlets, field houses, agricultural terraces, prehistoric trails, and rock art assemblages are often be found in one setting, which suggests a relatively intact archaeological record of a cultural landscape.
Sonoran Institute, in collaboration with conservation groups
across Arizona and with funding from the Nina
Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, has assembled
state trust lands suitable for conservation into a
single database. The resulting profiles focus
on conservation values. Political values are left
for another day.
www.sonoraninstitute.org
Arizona state trust Lands Conservation Profile:State Trust Lands and Archeology
Shaping the Future of the West
“Our natural and cultural heritage remains one of Arizona’s most valued assets. The best use of select state trust land is conservation in perpetuity. The case is solid, the time to act is now, our children and our children’s children demand it.”– Andy Laurenzi, Archeology Southwest
Page 2 Arizona State Trust Lands Conservation Profile
LocAtionArcheological Sites on State Trust Land The sensitivity of the locations of archeological sites on state trust land prevents disclosure of exact locations. Many sites have ancestral ties to modern day Native American tribes in Arizona; sites that retain cultural importance to Arizona tribes today. The maps on this page show all state trust land proposed for conservation.
southern Arizona state trust Land Parcels for Conservation
Cienega Creek
Sopori
Santa Rita Experimental Range
Picacho Mountains
Catalina Galiuro Corridor
Tortolita Fan
San Bernardino Valley
Tortolita Mountain Park
Dragoon Mountains Wildlife Corridor
Santa Cruz Wildlife Corridor
Kartchner Caverns Corridor
San Pedro Riparian Area
Picacho Peak State Park
Patagonia Lake State Park
Leslie Canyon
Lower San Pedro
Catalina State Park
Oracle State Park
Santa Cruz River
San Pedro River
Gila River
191
70
191
191
191
80
79
86
181
286
82
90
75
266
83
186
92
366
77
87
78
386
287
189
80
80
186
10
19
northern Arizona state trust Land Parcels for Conservation
89
18 0
40
89A
66
17
40
Turkey Hills
Verde Headwaters
Burro Creek
Centennial Forest
Glassford Hill
Badger Peak
Grand Canyon Scenic Corridor
Walnut Canyon
Middle Verde
Observatory Mesa
Upper Chino Valley Grasslands
Homolovi Ruins State Park
Verde River
Havasu C
reek
Li t tle Colorado River
Cataract Creek
Colorad o River
Has
saya
mpa River
180 89
160
90
89
64
89A
87
169
96260
66
264
99
97
179
277
99
260
260
87
40
17
Central Arizona State Trust Land Parcels for Conservation
Picacho Mountains
Superstition Mountains
Springerville Grasslands
Verde Headwaters
Wickenburg
McDowell Sonoran Preserve
Little Colorado River
Glassford HillBadger Peak
Daisy Mountain
Middle Verde
Continental Mountain
Upper Chino Valley Grasslands
Lower San Pedro
Lyman Lake State Park
Gila R iver
Verde River
New
Riv
er
Black R ive
r
Santa Cruz Wash
Little
Color
ado R
iver
Ea s t V
erde R
iver
Puerco River
White River
Salt River
Salt R
iver
70
60
191180
60
191
191
60
77
277
260
89
88
61
87
85
101
79
89A
238
303
169
202
73
51
377
74188
473
84
99
69
187
177
179
287
366
387
587
78
143
89A
89
69
260
287
89
61
260
101
77
89A 77
40
8
17
Phoenix Sonoran Preserve
Spur Cross Ranch Conservation AreaCave Creek Recreational rea
San Pedro Riv
Santa C
Agu
a Fr
ia R
iver
Tonto Creek
Has
saya
mpa
Riv
er
ru
Area
The decision to protect our cultural resources is complicated. Local communities, state and federal agencies, tribal entities, and other stakeholders have to come together to develop a plan and vision for protecting these assets. Organizations such as Archaeology Southwest work to “develop a comprehensive vision for how to identify, describe, evaluate, locate and protect the places of our past.”
Many of these places are located on state trust land. From the Grand Canyon to Las Cienegas and from Yuma to Springerville, these cultural assets must be preserved through evaluation of objective criteria. The State Historic Preservation Act requires that any action on state trust land evaluate impacts to cultural resources and to avoid, minimize or mitigate these impacts. However, this preservation law allows for the destruction of sites provided that proper documentation is in order. Long-term preservation is best accomplished by avoiding development on sensitive lands, yet the fiduciary responsibility of the trust thwarts any decision by the ASLD to not develop a piece of land due to the proximity or location of cultural assets. Long overdue reform of the trust rules must acknowledge the value of these assets to the people of Arizona.
Arizona State Trust Lands Conservation Profile Page 3
In 1912, the federal government gave 10.5 million acres of state trust lands to the new state of Arizona. These lands are not owned by the state, but are held in trust for the benefit of the state’s school system and several other beneficiaries.
Proceeds from the sale or lease of these lands generated about $50 million for the beneficiaries in 2010. The Arizona State Land Department, in its role as trustee for the beneficiaries, is constitutionally obligated to seek maximum financial return for trust lands.
This requirement has complicated efforts to preserve state trust land for recreational use and environmental protection. The state cannot simply turn a parcel of trust land into a park or nature preserve since it is required to receive full market value for the land. All state trust land is subject to sale or lease to the highest bidder. Preservation of trust land requires sustained community input coupled with legislative action.
reAson for conserVAtion Archeological Sites on State Trust Land
ArizonA stAte trUst LAnD
Photos Page 1 top - Bruce Hilpert, bottom center - TNC; Page 4 #2 and #4 Friends of Rio de Flag, #3 Friends of Walnut Canyon; others Sonoran Institute.
Shaping the Future of the West
Page 4 Arizona State Trust Lands Conservation Profile
stAte trUst LAnD conserVAtionCollaborating PartnersArchaeology Southwest is a private nonprofit organization that explores and protects the places of our past across the American Southwest and Mexican Northwest. We have developed an integrated, conservation-based approach known as Preservation Archaeology.
The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust seeks to help people in need, especially women, children and families; to protect animals and nature; and to enrich community life in the metropolitan areas of Indianapolis and Phoenix.
The Sonoran Institute inspires and enables community decisions and public policies that respect the land and people of western North America. Facing rapid change, communities in the West value their natural and cultural resources, which support resilient environmental and economic systems. Founded in 1990, the Sonoran Institute helps communities conserve and restore those resources and manage growth and change through collaboration, civil dialogue, sound information, practical solutions and big-picture thinking. The Sonoran Institute is a nonprofit organization with offices in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona; Bozeman, Montana; Glenwood Springs, Colorado; Sheridan, Wyoming; Twentynine Palms, California; and Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico.
“…identify the highest-priority places to protect, as well as strategies to protect them. The result is something special: a vision for how to successfully protect our cultural heritage on the land for future generations.”- Archeology Southwest
www.sonoraninstitute.org
CONTACT:Dave Richins, DirectorSun Corridor Legacy Program11010 N. Tatum Blvd, Ste D101Phoenix, AZ 85028(602) 393-4310 x [email protected]
10/9/2012
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