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Deformed (fasciated) Saguaro Cactus in the Ironwood Forest National Monument - Cindy Bell |
Stone
Canyon Adventures' guide to
Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona
Publication has been delayed. You can obtain a preliminary copy (no maps or photos, but all of the GPS data and directions) for $16.95 here, or call us toll free at 1-877-786-6296.
Why you need this guide book:
The new Ironwood Forest National Monument is a very popular area, yet many of the people who visit are unaware of its interesting history and features. This book identifies these features for you, and gives Global Positioning System coordinates for each!
This book contains an "Activities Index" that tells you where to go to enjoy your favorite activity!
Land of History and Controversy
The 129,000-acre Ironwood Forest National Monument was created on June 9, 2000 by executive order of former President William J. Clinton. He designated the Monument under the auspices of the Antiquities Act of 1906 from a large chunk of southern Arizona's Sonoran Desert. This area is rich in artifacts and history spanning about 8000 years, from prehistoric peoples to modern Tohono O'odham peoples, and the later history of miners, missionaries and ranchers. The Antiquities Act allowed Clinton to designate the Monument as a protection for these "cultural resources." Most of this Monument was previously under the Public Domain and managed by the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The Monument also contains a wide variety of classic Sonoran Desert plants and animals, including the Ironwood tree (Olneya tesota) and the huge Saguaro cactus (Carnegia gigantea). These biological resources are also protected by the Monument designation.
Clinton's designation was controversial, in part because it was a swift act with little public input. A proposal for conservation of this and adjacent areas, called the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan (SDCP), was being negotiated by the various interested parties, or "stakeholders" (such as county officials, miners, private land owners, conservationists, real estate developers, the State of Arizona and the BLM). Some claim that the Clinton administration ignored the SDCP and all that had been accomplished up to that point. In contrast, others point to what they call Clinton's "legacy of environmental conservation," and the fact that the duly elected Pima County Board of Supervisors had recommended the monument designation to then Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt.
Public land access and conservation issues will continue to be a source of controversy as the population of our western cities grow and the pressures on finite resources increase.
There are over 54,000 acres of Arizona State Lands, and about 6,000 acres of private lands within the Monument Boundaries. The rights of the State of Arizona and private landowners will have to be addressed at some point. The development and use of those lands is now restricted by the Monument designation. The landowners and the State want to be compensated for lost revenues and the lost value of their lands. Over the next 20 years or more, these lands may become part of the Monument as the BLM acquires them through purchases or land exchanges.
In the spring of 2001 the new Bush administration and its Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton, indicated that they would not seek to have any of Clinton's national monument designations overturned. Instead, they said they want to focus on resolution of conflicts involving various public land users, state and private land owners and other "stakeholders." It could be another rough and tough time in the Old West!
Net effect
As of this writing, the designation of this area as a National Monument has had very little effect on the land itself. Signs marking entry into the Monument have been placed on roads going into the area from the east, where the fast-growing cities of Tucson and Marana loom ever closer. Land users who had valid existing rights at the time of designation, such as mining claim owners and grazing permit holders, will retain their rights, though in reality it will be difficult or even impossible to start a mine or renew a grazing permit.
The BLM is required to formulate a management plan for the Monument, using input and involvement from the various stakeholders. A final management plan is expected to be in place by mid-2004. At that time, changes in the Monument may vary from mild or unnoticeable to drastic, depending on the outcome of the management plan negotiations. The BLM might charge a fee for entry. The boundaries of the Monument itself may even change.
The Monument proclamation also requires the BLM to develop a plan for a "transportation system." While no such plan exists and won't until at least mid-2004, some roads have already been closed. The road that leads directly to the Cocoraque Butte petroglyph areas is now open only to non-motorized travel. A set of multiple parallel roads has been closed by a new fence in the Turkey Hills area. Road closures in the future will likely involve perceived threats to plant and animal life classified as "endangered" or "threatened", "cherry stem" roads, parallel roads, and dead end roads that don't lead to any particular feature. There is a possibility that entire areas of the Monument will be off limits to humans, period. One such area of 800 acres already exists on Ragged Top Mountain to protect Desert Bighorn sheep.
It is now illegal to drive a vehicle off existing roads and trails. In other words, cross-country travel is prohibited with any kind of vehicle, including a mountain bike.
It has always been illegal to remove human artifacts such as pottery shards and arrowheads from this area. It is now illegal to remove anything from the monument, including rocks, minerals, wood and other commodities without a permit or other authorization (such as a valid mining claim holder). Gathering dead wood for use in campfires on the Monument is allowed.
Target shooting and hunting is still allowed, as long as the shooter doesn't create a "public disturbance, hazard, or nuisance."
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Tucson office, has a free brochure containing all the rules and regulations of the Monument.
© 2005 Stone Canyon Media Corp.