"There is no hunger like land hunger, and no object for which men are more ready to use unfair and desperate means than the acquisition of land."—Gifford Pinchot, The Fight for Conservation

February 20, 2015

Photo Courtesy of Coconino National Forest

Dear Conservation Friends,

What a week! The agendas were packed at the Arizona Legislature this week -- and not with bills to address the key challenges our state faces. Instead, we saw a bill to make it difficult for those with a disability to bring their service dogs into restaurants (that one failed), a bill to make copper Arizona's state metal (that one passed), a bill to swipe the Clean Elections funding, and a plethora of anti-environmental measures, including four bills to try to swipe federal public lands and four bills to limit Clean Water Act protections in Arizona. The Arizona Senate passed five anti-environmental memorials (messages to Congress), including one to oppose the health-based standards for ozone pollution, and also passed SB1185 appropriation; wolf recovery; litigation costs to fund litigation to hinder wolf recovery by a vote of 18-11-1.

This week, please let your representatives know that public lands are important to you and that you want to keep them public and protected. Ask them to oppose the bills that seek to give the state control of these lands.


Please protect our public lands and keep them public -- ask representatives to vote NO on four bills that are advancing in the House.

credit: Rick Resnick

HB2175 public rights of way; claims (Finchem, Thorpe: Barton, et al.) asserts claims to "rights-of-way" across public lands. This is an issue that arises every few years in an attempt to get roads through parks and other public lands. This measure will create confusion regarding rights-of-way throughout our state and could cost counties thousands of dollars, plus harm important protected lands including national parks, national monuments, and wilderness areas.


Ask your representatives to oppose more user-created roads in our national forests, national monuments, and national parks!



SB1134 renewable energy; definition (Smith) did not come to the floor this week, but is ready to go there. SB1134 includes nuclear power in the definition of renewable energy. If you have to mine the fuel for an energy source, it is not renewable! As we know, there are all kinds of environmental issues with nuclear power, cradle-to-grave.


Ask your senator to vote "NO" on SB1134 and reject defining nuclear power as renewable.

Credit: Mark Coryell

• Presentations on Statewide Debt and also Debt and Lease Purchase Financing

• Presentation by Jeffrey Whitney, State Forester, regarding Forest Health and Management

•  Presentation by Central Arizona Project
• HB2142 water infrastructure finance authority; prepayment (Borrelli, Barton, Cardenas, et al.) prohibits WIFA from imposing including a premium as a condition of refinancing or receiving prepayment on an agreement, loan or bond if it did not contain a redemption premium. This is special legislation for Lake Havasu City. MONITOR.
• HB2508 navigable streambed adjudication commission; extension (Barton) continues this commission until 2020. MONITOR.

• SB1072 local planning; residential housing; prohibitions (Smith, Mitchell: Meza, et al.) prohibits inclusionary zoning, which can help to ensure that there is affordable and low-income housing in our communities, which is key to good urban planning and limiting economic segregation. OPPOSE.

• SB1144 technical correction; AHCCCS capitation rates (Worsley) has a strike-everything amendment on proposition 105; disclosure; ballot measures. The amendment is not yet posted, but I am assuming it is more of the same, intended to discourage ballot measures.

• HB2396 wildlife; guides; firearms (Pratt, Cardenas, Carter, et al.) removes restrictions on what firearms wildlife guides can carry. MONITOR.