Monday, June 09, 2008

West Desert Preserve supporters make case for Trust land reform

[Source: Tim Hull, Green Valley News] -- For many years, conservation groups and citizen coalitions have been trying to amend the state constitution to allow a small portion of Trust land to be permanently removed from the auction block and preserved as open space, which is a concept that didn't really exist at statehood, when all that wild open space in Arizona was, understandably, something to be bridged and filled rather than celebrated and saved.

The Adamsons (pictured) are on the front lines of this effort, which has found a new and optimistic life in the form an initiative for which supporters are now gathering signatures in hopes of a statewide vote in November. Bill believes that to have usable open space within walking or biking distance of his home is essential to the good life, and it is this belief that has immersed the former aerospace engineer and marketing executive in the murky, often disappointing world of State Trust land reform for the last several years.

[Note: To read the full article, click here. Photo source: Tim Hull, Green Valley News.]