Sedona KSB President Steve DeVol addresses NSA Rally.

NSA Rally Packs Sedona Elks Club

More than 300 show support for National Area Scenic Designation

By Tommy Acosta

SEDONA, AZ (July 23, 2009) - Members of Keep Sedona Beautiful, the Sedona Sierra Club and the Democrats of the Red Rocks turned out in force Wednesday, July 22 to rally behind an effort to designate Sedona as a National Scenic Area.

More than 300 community members gathered at the Elks Club in Sedona to voice support for the designation, which would effectively and permanently ban land swaps between the federal government and other property owners, except within the designated scenic area itself.

One hundred sixty thousand acres of Coconino National Forest currently surround Sedona, The Village of Oak Creek, and Big Park.

They are protected from land trades by Amendment 12 but revisions to the current forest plan which protects the Sedona area against land trades is now underway and may be in place as early as 2011, according to D.O.R.R. A National Scenic Area designation would make the policy of no land trades within the Amendment 12 area permanent.

More than 300 community residents attended NSA rally.

“The designation has only one purpose – to prevent land trades from outside the designated area for land inside the designated area,” said KSB President Steve DeVol. “That’s it!”

Opponents of an NSA designation for Sedona argue that it would create a new layer of government, affect private property rights and eliminate local control over forest land, which is presently controlled by the Forest Service under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Mr. DeVol contested the arguments.

“I’d like to make a couple of points of clarification this evening,” he said. “The scenic area designation does not bring a new layer of government. This is a myth. The Forest Service is administered by the US Department of Agriculture already and the management plan will remain the same. Control of the area will remain in local hands as it has been and will continue. Nothing changes. Except no land exchanges! Private property rights are not affected and are preserved. Private property can be bought and sold exactly as it is today.”

According to Mr. DeVol, the NSA Coalition is comprised of the Democrats of the Red Rocks, the Sierra Club Sedona-Verde Valley, and Keep Sedona Beautiful.

D.O.R.R. President Angela LeFevre speaks on NSA.

He said they collected more than 3,500 statements of support urging Sen. John McCain, Senator Jon Kyl and Congresswoman Kirkpatrick to introduce the Sedona-Red Rock National Scenic Area legislation into Congress this year.

D.O.R.R. President Angela LeFevre noted that Senators McCain and Kyl have stated that they will support the bill when Representative Ann Kirkpatrick introduces it.

She said Rep. Kirkpatrick ran on a campaign promise to support an NSA designation and that D.O.R.R. delivered 6,000 votes for her in the last election.

She said her organization worked very hard to elect the congresswoman and she wondered why she was seeking input from the community to support the designation when she promised during the campaign she would support it.

“”So now we have Ann (Rep. Kirkpatrick) settled into life in Washington D.C. and our hopes are high,” she said of the election. “And we waited and we hear nothing. Ann was being curiously non-committal about the issue despite the fact that this had been a strong campaign promise of hers.”

Sedona Sierra Club President Marlene Raynor makes a point.

She said she was concerned as to why they now had to convince the congresswoman to support the NSA designation

“Why should we need to convince Ann of the necessity for an NSA when she has already pledged to support a designation?” she said. “We are all hoping that Ann will hear us and listen to our voices, honor the pledges she gave to the Democrats, Republicans and Independents here in the Sedona area that she would support an NSA designation.”

Joe Katz, Congresswoman Kirkpatrick’s press secretary, said the congresswoman is simply trying to get all sides of the story before moving forward.

“This is an issue that impacts many people in the area, and the congresswoman wants input from folks on both sides of the issue before moving forward,” he said. “Getting continued feedback from members of the community is extremely important to the legislative process, and will allow the congresswoman to make a better-informed decision on the next step.”

Ms. LeFevre said the NSA Coalition was formed to motivate Rep. Kirkpatrick to follow through.

“So D.O.R.R. formed a coalition with KSB and the Sierra Club,” she said. “We all have the same goal – to get Ann to introduce legislation that would designate this beautiful country here as a National Scenic Area.”

She said the congresswoman’s staff in May finally contacted her and that Rep. Kirkpatrick was now ready to look at the NSA issue and needed to start a “due diligence” process in order to get feedback on how everyone feels about the NSA designation and the impact such a designation would have on Greater Sedona.

“Please send your reasons why you support NSA to Ann before the end of the month,” she said. ‘July 31 is the deadline. Send your e-mails and letters. Let’s make sure that Ann hears us and we make this happen.”

Steve DeVol said the congresswoman needed additional facts to justify her introducing the legislation for the designation.

“Congresswoman Kirkpatrick has sent letters to some of you asking for additional information about why we should have the scenic area designation,” he said. “She is aware of the intrinsic value of preserving what is here but she wants additional arguments – facts -- that justify her introducing this legislation. What would be the financial impact of decreased tourism? Is there an endangered species in our forests? What would be the impact if additional development were allowed in the forest? Would additional development impact water availability or our waste treatment plant?

He said contacting elected officials on this was crucial.

We must encourage our elected officials to do the right thing,” he said. “Rep. Kirkpatrick needs to know and needs to hear that "the people" want this designation.”

Former Sedona Mayor Dick Ellis was there to show support as well.

“An NSA designation for Sedona is a win/win situation,” he said. “It cannot hurt us. It can only do us good. We have a great turnout here today. It shows the community is interested.”

Community activist Doug Blackwell said he was concerned only two members of the Sedona City Council, Mayor Rob Adams and Councilman Mark DiNunzio showed up at the rally.

“I’m amazed that the majority of the city council did not show up. It just goes to show how much they care about Sedona.”

Sedona Times publisher Rita Livingston commended the community for turning out in such large numbers.

“This is the largest meeting I’ve seen in a long time,” Ms. Livingston said. “It shows how deep the support of the community is for an NSA designation for Sedona.”

Mr. DeVol said action must be taken now to save the wonder of Sedona.

“The NSA designation will permanently preserve the land and our irreplaceable scenic beauty, small town character, and property values while enabling the community to provide needed schools, roads and other public necessities in the future,” he said. “We are at a crucial time in the development of Sedona. As the U.S. Forest Service begins its revision process for regional existing Forest Management Plans, public awareness of the facts and their involvement are crucial. We need to take action now. This is the best opportunity we have had in five years to finally get this done.”