City of Scottsdale
The public/private partnership between the City of Scottsdale and the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy has received national recognition for
its success.

The McDowell Sonoran Conservancy works side-by-side with the City of Scottsdale to complete, manage and facilitate the use of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

Land within the Preserve is owned by the City of Scottsdale. The citizens of Scottsdale have voted to tax themselves three times in order to pay for the Preserve. The community also established the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy to serve and the a source of people-power thus saving the city the additional staffing burden. This collaboration has proved to be a tremendous success.

McDowell Sonoran Preserve Trailhead Earns Top Design Award
Recognized for its sustainable design and sensitivity to the desert habitat within the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, Scottsdale’s Lost Dog Wash Trailhead was recently awarded the top Honor Award by the American Institute of Architects, Western Mountain Region.

The trailhead’s building and parking area have been designed to blend in with the surrounding desert preserve and incorporate green building techniques.  These include photovoltaic cells that provide electricity, and grey water and rainwater harvesting that produce nearly 75,000 gallons of water annually for landscape irrigation. In addition, special attention has been paid to salvage and relocate native vegetation to other areas of disturbance within the preserve. 

“This award is a great example of Scottsdale’s continuing efforts to set the standard for green, sustainable buildings,” said Mayor Mary Manross.  “It’s particularly fitting that an entrance to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve demonstrates the city’s deep commitment to buildings that are sensitive to the environment.”

Earlier this summer, the city also received an award for the South Areas Trails Map of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve from the Arizona Geographic Information Council in the cartographic design category.

The Lost Dog Wash Trailhead also won the Valley Forward Environmental Excellence Crescordia award in the open space andconnectivity category last October.  

Since 1994, nearly 15,000 acres of the McDowell Mountains and Sonoran Desert have been preserved in Scottsdale. To commemorate October as McDowell Sonoran Preserve Month, residents are invited to attend Scottsdale’s Mayor and City Council Breakfast from 7:30 to 9 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18,at the Granite Reef Senior Center, 1700 N. Granite Reef Rd.

The AIA Western Mountain Region awards program covers a six-state region including Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Wyoming. The Lost Dog Wash Trailhead was one of three projects earning the Honor Award among 256 projects submitted.