Phoenix adds Another Large Parcel to New Desert Preserve
Dec. 28, 2001
The city of Phoenix has successfully purchased another 765 acres of pristine
desert for its newest preserve. The parcel, located near Seventh Avenue and
Dixileta Drive in north Phoenix, is the second large piece of state trust
land the city has purchased for the Sonoran Desert Preserve.
The purchase price was $12.2 million. Funds for this purchase and another
earlier this year of 640 acres came from the Phoenix Parks and Preserve Initiative
and an Arizona Preserve Initiative matching-fund grant.
The land in the new preserve is unique. Much of it is located in the transition
zone to the Arizona Upland subdivision of the Sonoran Desert. This area is
characterized by higher amounts of rainfall, up to 12.5 inches a year, which
increases both the lushness and diversity of plant life. South Mountain, Camelback
Mountain and Squaw Peak, on the other hand, are located in the Lower Colorado
River Valley, the largest and most arid subdivision of the Sonoran Desert.
With only 7.5 inches of rainfall a year, vegetation in these areas is sparser
and less varied.
“The planning for this preserve took years of hard work by many people,”
said Vice Mayor Tom Milton of the purchase. “It’s nice to finally be buying
some land.” Milton chairs the City Council Desert Preserves and Open Spaces
Subcommittee and represented the city at the Dec. 21 land auction. The Phoenix
City Council had approved this purchase prior to the auction..
The Parks, Recreation and Library Department also has purchased 80 acres
of private land for the preserve and has applied to purchase an additional
1,300 acres of state trust land in 2002. Private donors have or are in the
process of donating an additional 144 acres.
The PPPI was approved by 80 percent of Phoenix voters in 1999. It authorized
a modest sales tax for a ten-year period to purchase thousands of acres of
state trust land and to fund construction of and improvements to regional,
neighborhood and community parks. The public lands purchased were reclassified
for conservation through the API, established by the Governor and Legislature
in 1996. Voters passed Growing Smarter in 1998 to fund the matching grant
provision of the API for eleven years.
Media Contact:
David Urbinato
Pager
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