Arizona Issues
What Can You Do?
Tell your state representative to support efforts to conserve the state trust lands identified in Proposition 103. In northern Arizona, express support for the Open Spaces and Greenways Plan and the Regional Plan. Both plans protect lands in the Flagstaff area that were listed in Prop 103.
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Conserving Arizona’s Future
Proposition 106, “Conserving Arizona’s Future,” was a statewide initiative developed over several years by the conservation and education communities. If Prop 106 had passed on the November 2006 ballot, it would have reformed the way state trust lands are managed and protected key open-space parcels throughout Arizona. It would have:
- Saved 694,000 acres surrounding Arizona’s state and national parks, monuments, and preserves for future generations.
- Required state and local communities to cooperate in the planning of state trust lands.
- Given local authorities the power to limit and control development.
- Protected essential funding for Arizona public schools.
But in a squeaker, Proposition 106 lost by 51.3 to 48.7 percent — 38,000 votes — in the November 2006 election. The defeat came at the hands of rural county voters (every rural county except Santa Cruz voted against the measure). Pima County, long considered to be a bastion of conservation voters, passed the initiative; however, the 2,549-vote margin was much lower than expected. The measure won in Maricopa County by 5,246 votes. In Coconino County, where the Trust, in coordination with Friends of Flagstaff’s Future, conducted direct mail, print ad, early voter, and get-out-the-vote campaigns, Proposition 106 won by a 9 percent margin. The initiative would have protected more than 62,000 acres in northern Arizona, including not only Observatory Mesa but also lands near Grand Canyon, Walnut Canyon National Monument, Wupatki National Monument, Rogers Lake, and Dry Lake.
During the campaign, our primary opponents — the Homebuilders Association of Central Arizona, the Arizona Cattle Growers’ Association, and the Arizona School Boards Association — spent over $2M on their falsehood-laden “NO on 106” campaign.
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