> Home > 2011 News Releases > Successful auction adds 2,482 acres to Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve
Successful auction adds 2,482 acres to Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve
Dec. 14, 2011
Contact: Kelly Corsette, communications & public affairs director,
480-312-2336
Successful auction adds 2,482 acres to Scottsdale’s
McDowell Sonoran Preserve
The city of Scottsdale acquired 2,482 acres of land for the Scottsdale McDowell Sonoran Preserve at a state land auction today in which the city was the only bidder.
The city’s successful bid was $ 45 million – approximately $19 million of that will come from a Growing Smarter State Trust Land Acquisition Grant approved by the Arizona State Parks Board in September. The remainder of the purchase price will come from money generated by two dedicated sales taxes approved by Scottsdale voters in 1995 and 2004. The use of state grant funding frees additional dollars to be used on future purchases.
“This week marks a major accomplishment for Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve,” said Mayor W.J. “Jim” Lane. “With these two auctions, we have combined our citizen-approved dedicated sales tax dollars with more than $36 million in state grant money to add nearly seven square miles to the preserve. By leveraging state grant funds over the last three years we have been able to save the city more than $62 million while extending the purchasing power of local sales taxes dedicated to expanding the preserve.”
With today’s acquisition, Scottsdale’s mountain preserve encompass approximately 21,400 contiguous acres – more than 33 square miles. That is roughly 63 percent of the long-range goal to preserve about 34,000 acres, nearly a third of the city’s land area. Preserving these lands protect an important wildlife corridor by moving the northern boundary closer to a planned connection to the Tonto National Forest north of Stagecoach Pass, an area targeted for possible acquisition in late 2012.
The preserve land acquired today includes extensive areas of exposed bedrock, boulder outcrops, portions of Cone, Cholla and Granite Mountains and lush upper Sonoran Desert vegetation including Rawhide Wash and a number of other large washes housing abundant wildlife. The lands generally are located north of Dixieleta Drive alignment, south of the Dove Valley Road alignment, east of Pima Road and west of 136th street. It is within a “recommended study boundary” that includes all of the land targeted to be part of the preserve, permanently protecting the acreage from development.
Learn more about the Scottsdale McDowell Sonoran Preserve at www.scottsdaleaz.gov/preserve.
News Releases RSS Feed