Accomplishments
In the six years since the organization of the Verde Valley Land Preservation Institute, the Board of Directors has worked with planning directors, state agencies, federal agencies, special interest organizations and the public who all have an interest in the future of the Verde Valley and its environment. VVLPI has held forums and public meetings, partnered with others to inform and gather feedback from all stakeholders. These are some of our accomplishments to date:
The Yavapai County Verde Valley Regional Land Use Plan
VVLPI played a major role in the regional planning process in 2006-07 and brought our Open Space Map to be included in the document. Our focus was in the open space section of the plan and VVLPI was assigned a leadership role in carrying out the open space recommendations. The plan is to:
- Achieve protection of carefully identified parcels based on certified criteria
- Manage conservation easements and other qualifying parcels
- Maintain an active map of the prioritized open space parcels in the Verde Valley
More on V V R L Plan.
Existing Conditions of Verde Valley Open Space map
One of the first tasks VVLPI completed was to gather the municipal and county planners, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Arizona Land Department and several private planners and architects to bring all their information to the table for a shared map of current and contemplated open space in the Verde Valley. The map that resulted from this exercise has become the standard map now used for Verde Valley regional land planning. More on Existing Conditions.
The Overlay Project
With the help of a Yavapai Foundation Grant, VVLPI has completed a new format to view the natural resources of the Verde Valley. It was developed by the Arizona State Parks planning department from an outline developed by VVLPI. The Blue Print Model uses Google Earth to illustrate current conditions on the ground and through the expert analysis of the federal and state agencies provides existing data encompassed in overlays, of, for instance, wildlife corridors, riparian areas, agricultural lands, existing trails, public and private ownership of parcels and cultural and historic areas. The goal is to use this information to prioritize possible acquisitions for open space.
More on Overlay Project.
Community Forums & Public Participation Meetings
VVLPI has held the following meetings over the initial 6 years of operation examining similar organizations to study their successes:
- Sierra Business Council - a presentation of successful stories by the Sierra Business Council of California who has preserved many parcels of land along the Sierra Nevada foothills. They also have a great fund raising plan that assesses $1 on each night in a hotel or motel and each meal at local restaurants in Truckee, California.
- Trust for Public Lands - has a well funded program for Arizona partnerships in land acquisition.
- The Lincoln Institute's film "Making Sense of Place" was the cornerstone of another forum. It gave food for thought on what has happened to the Phoenix area with its rampant growth and loss of identity. The workshop section of the forum elicited ideas on how the Verde Valley can learn from those mistakes and think more carefully about what we value.
- Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan - For the excellent example of a land use and conservation plan operating in Pima County, Arizona. To view this program go to Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. The officials from Pima County gave a seminar on their emerging plan with a program for acquisition and how it will be paid for. The local support organization Coalition For Sonoran Desert Protection representative gave details on how their group lends constant support for The Plan.
VVLPI has co-sponsored the following public forums on similar interests:
- Prescott National Forest Landscape Vision Workshop
- National Park Service presentation of the Tavasi Marsh Restoration Management Plan
- East Mingus Land Exchange or East Mingus Land Adjustment Task Force, as it was known by later. - This task force was facilitated by VVLPI in exploring possible land exchanges between the Prescott National Forest and owners of visible land on Mingus Mountain. This was to protect the local viewsheds. This task force represented all jurisdictions and unincorporated areas of the Verde Valley, deliberated for six months, and ended in six recommendations. No exchanges have resulted.
Kel Fox Ranch
(Revised from article written by Cottonwood Journal Extra, Wednesday, June 8, 2005)
The first conservation easement was acquired through the USDA National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Farm and Ranch Preservation Program (FFRP). It is 50 acres of the historic Kel Fox Ranch at the headwaters of Woods Canyon, an important watershed for the Verde Valley.
The part of the historic Kel Fox Ranch that creates the headwaters of Wood’s Canyon Creek has been preserved with a conservation easement. It is because of the efforts of three parties: the Verde Valley Land Preservation Institute, the current landowners, and the U.S. department of Agriculture’s Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program.
To qualify for the program the land offered must be part or all of a ranch or farm and must contain prime, unique or other productive soil or historical or archeological resources. The Fox Ranch qualifies under the prime watershed,  productive cattle grazing and historic categories.
VVLPI helped facilitate a successful outcome for the property located in a high alpine meadow where the land gently slopes with water swales, catchments and some Ponderosa pine very suitable for cattle grazing. It will remain in that status in perpetuity through the conservation easement.
The 50-acre parcel situated along I-17 was first established in the 1800’s. All of the old fences, cattle chutes and buildings will remain as original structures. Under the arrangement, officials of VVLPI will monitor the 50-acre parcel annually to ensure the land in the easement has not been converted to other uses.
This easement is an example of a win-win solution for maintaining open space through ranching, protecting watersheds and keeping a part of our heritage alive.
Click here for 360 degree views of Fox Ranch:
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