How We Got Here
The following information is a brief trip down MSC's memory lane. Enjoy!
1991
MSC incorporates as a non-profit 501©3 and joins the Land Trust Alliance, a worldwide land conservation movement. Our campaign to inform the public of the need to protect this land
begins in earnest.
1992
MSC asks the Scottsdale City Council to create a McDowell Mountain and Sonoran Desert preservation plan. The Council then forms the McDowell Mountains Task Force (MMTF) which
includes key MSC members.
1993
Based upon the MMTF recommendations, Scottsdale establishes the McDowell Sonoran
Preserve Commission (MSPC) and appoints five MSC Board members to the nine-person
Commission.
A study is conducted to determine the location of the future Preserve. The study produces a
“Recommended Study Boundary” (RSB). MSPC recommends a 25.7 square mile McDowell
Sonoran Preserve bounded by the RSB.
MSC begins a newsletter called “Mountain Lines”; a “Friends of the McDowells” membership program; free hikes into the areas identified for inclusion in the Preserve and a fourth-grade ◄education program entitled “Our McDowell Sonoran Heritage”.
1994
Scottsdale formally dedicates the initial McDowell Sonoran Preserve, which consists of three
parcels of land totaling approximately 5 square miles.
MSPC recommends asking Scottsdale voters to approve a sales tax increase of .2 percent for
thirty years to purchase land within the RSB. MSC is a critical part of the public effort to
promote this preservation tax.
1995
Activities designed to gain public support for the envisioned Preserve continue, including the
proclamation of the first “McDowell Sonoran Week” highlighting events to celebrate our unique
environment.
Voters approve the preservation sales tax by 64%!
1996
Voters approve the sale of revenue bonds - to be repaid using the existing preservation tax
revenues - to expedite land purchases, by 73%.
◄MSC begins a trailbuilding program that trains volunteers for work in the Preserve.
Council creates a Desert Preservation Task Force (DPTF) to make recommendations for
preserving additional desert lands and appoints 4 MSC Board members to serve on it.
October is officially declared “McDowell Sonoran Month” in both Scottsdale and the Town of
Fountain Hills.
1997
The DPTF recommends expanding the RSB by an additional 19,940 acres of desert, including
Granite, Cholla and Browns Mountains to the north.
MSC hires its first staff member, a full time Executive Director.
1998
Arizona Governor Jane Hull signs an agreement to conserve 2800 acres of State Trust Lands within the RSB under the Arizona Preserve Initiative which MSC members helped craft.
Scottsdale purchases DC Ranch property in the RSB resulting in 87% of the RSB being protected.
Council adopts expanding the RSB to include the DPTF recommendations. The McDowell Sonoran Preserve plan now encompasses 57 square miles (36,400 acres) of Sonoran Desert and its mountains. This will link the McDowell Mountains to the Tonto National Forest and surrounding communities’ trails and open-space systems.
Voters approve using the existing preservation tax in the expanded area by 70%.
◄In partnership with Scottsdale Community College, MSC begins the “Preserve Steward” program to train volunteers to be caretakers of the Preserve. Our hiking program expands to include mountain biking and equestrian rides.
1999
Scottsdale voters approve the sale of general obligation bonds – to be repaid using the existing
preservation tax, to expedite land purchases at a lower interest rate – by a 77% margin.
Key Preserve purchases are made in the southern Lost Dog Wash access area. In addition, the
City purchases the historic Brown’s Ranch in the expanded northern Preserve area.
2000
MSC continues to build upon partnerships with neighboring communities, homeowners
associations and user groups to help support the Preserve. In addition, MSC becomes a key part
of the Arizona movement to change the laws in order to facilitate conservation of State Trust
Lands.
In partnership with Scottsdale Community College, MSC receives a $311,000 grant from the
Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust to start the Center for Native and Urban Wildlife (CNUW)
at the college. CNUW will educate students of all ages about biodiversity and conservation. One
of its activities will be revegetation projects in the Preserve.
◄In partnership with the City, MSC purchases 31 acres of land outside of the RSB and donates it to the Preserve.
2001
On February 15th the Arizona State Land Department holds a hearing to determine if 16,600
acres of State Trust Land in northern Scottsdale within the RSB should be reclassified as
“suitable for conservation” under the Arizona Preserve Initiative. MSC takes the lead in
organizing a turnout of over 1500 people – a record shattering attendance for an API hearing – as
well as thousands of letters in support of the reclassification.
On August 30th, State Land Commissioner Michael Anable signs an order reclassifying 78% of the land (13,021 acres) and commits to hold off public auction on the remaining 22%, thereby giving Scottsdale time to explore funding options to purchase the land.
2002
In conjunction with the 8th Annual McDowell Sonoran Month, MSC Stewards are honored for
the 4,572 hours they donated over the past year patrolling and protecting the Preserve while at
the same time saving money for the taxpayers of Scottsdale.
MSC produces its first Annual Report, which details the history, current status and future goals
of the organization.
2003
◄Plans for the Sunrise Trailhead on the southeastern flank of the Preserve are approved by City
Council after successful MSC advocacy helps to address issues raised by new neighbors in the
adjacent Hidden Hills subdivision.
2004
Scottsdale voters approved an additional .15% increase in the sales tax for land acquisition and
for access area amenities. When completed, the McDowell Sonoran Preserve will be one of the
largest urban preserves. The Preserve will be larger than Tempe and Paradise Valley combined.
2005
Due to drought conditions and heat lightning, the Preserve closed early in the summer to prevent
potential wildfires. MSC provides vital assistance in enforcing the closure.
Construction began on the Lost Dog Wash Trailhead at 124th street north of Via Linda.
2006
Thanks to the generosity of the Pederson Group Inc., MSC opens its first office in the Scottsdale Promenade Corporate Complex. And - it came with a beautiful view of the Preserve through the front door!
Lost Dog Wash Trailhead was awarded the Valley Forward Environmental Excellence Crescordia award in the open space and connectivity category in October.
During 2006, 180 volunteers with the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy gave 18,158 hours of their time to protect and enhance Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve. That contribution, valued at $327,752 represents a 59% increase from the previous year.
2007
◄Lost Dog Wash Trailhead was awarded the top Honor Award by the American Institute of Architects, Western Mountain Region for its sustainable design and sensitivity to the desert habitat within the McDowell Sonoran Preserve in September.
MSC graduates 85 new Stewards, for a total of 215 trained volunteers, and is fully operational with 2 full-time and 3 part-time staff members.
A donation of a 10.02 acre parcel of land by a long-time MSC donor expands the Preserve boundary by 5 acres.
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