Anza Trail Coalition of Arizona

the business of trail construction & maintenance

We are the Anza Trail Coalition of Arizona, Santa Cruz Management Council. In this article we will attempt to highlight some of our history and experiences as we strive to build the Anza Trail through Santa Cruz County, AZ.

Our goal;

Build, protect and map a contiguous segment of the Anza Trail through Santa Cruz County, AZ from Nogales north to the Pima County line in Amado.

Early one May morning in 1992 Bob Barnacastle (then Tubac Presidio Park Manager) and Don Garate flagged 4.6 miles of trail from Tubac to Tumacacori along the Santa Cruz River. At that time the Anza Trail did not exist in Arizona. With the trail flagged Bob, Don, Richard Williams and 33 members of the newly formed ATCA cut the trail in on Memorial Day 1992. The first members came from local Tubac and Tumacacori residents, Friends of the Santa Cruz River and the Tubac Historical Society amongst others.

ATCA was incorporated August, 1992 by Richard Williams (then Assistant Park Manager at the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park). Now 15 years later we have 16 miles of the Anza Trail re-established, requiring over 100,000 hours and $150,000. Over 75% of this was achieved with private funds. The National Park Service has contributed around $20,000 and Santa Cruz County $20,000. All of the money we raise is spent on trail construction, maintenance, signs, equipment, insurance, surveys etc. Each mile of surveyed, cleared and gated trail costs the ATCA about $9,000.

Our entire trail is within the Historic Anza Trail Corridor, along the Santa Cruz River. The trail passes through extensive mesquite thickets, river wetlands and desert topography. On any given day our trail boss and his team will observe a Golden Eagle hunting the trail where normally they are only spotted at Atascosa Peak, a Sonoran Mud turtle working the river bank or a King snake sunning itself on the trail. At one time, jaguar and beaver inhabited the banks of the Santa Cruz River and a few years ago a black jaguar was reported on the trail behind Carmen near the Tumacacori Mission. Jaguars come up from Mexico following the javalina herds and have been reported in other parts of Arizona as well.

When it comes to trail access one of the more daunting challenges we face is 90% of our historic trail segments cross, or will cross, private property. To succeed we must convince private land owners to let us build the trail through their property. ATCA must first flag the proposed trail, create the legal documents and then authorize land survey engineering and staking. To date three forward thinking land owners allowed us to record, in perpetuity, 50’ easements for the Anza Trail through their properties:

 

All three were extremely co-operative and helpful during this process.

It takes a minimum of a 50’ easement when a trail follows a river because the river can change its course. In the case of the Santa Cruz River we are forced to shift the trail after each monsoon season to keep the trail on dry ground. To further help us with river monsoon events our Trail Boss, Mike Burns, developed a foot bridge design which is anchored on one river bank and is located by 2 vertical posts on the other bank. When the river rises, the foot bridge will lift off the vertical posts and swing down river still attached to the opposite bank. Once the river recedes all we do is swing the bridge back between the vertical posts. This way we never lose a bridge to the floods and the trail is open again asap!

 

                                                                                                 Foot Bridge along the trail

 

In an effort to provide interpretive data, four Ramada’s were constructed by the ATCA with cooperation from US Fish and Wildlife and The Nature Conservancy on the trail between Tubac and Tumacacori, and four others at the Rio Rico Trailhead. These Ramada’s give hikers shade from the sun and a wealth of interpretive material focused on the Historic Anza Trail, its flora and fauna. All ATCA groups contributed towards materials and the signs which cost $4,000 each. They were constructed in 1993 and 2002.                                                            

 

Two of our trail segments are National Park Service Certified. Certification provides these trail sections with a known pedigree for hikers and allows the National Park Service (NPS) to provide additional support on the trail with signage and personnel. Once a new trail section is flagged, easements filed, cleared and signage installed, the ATCA coordinates with the National Park Service to certify the new segment. Tubac to Tumacacori and Rio Rico trails are Certified. The section through the Tumacacori National Historical Park is on NPS land and therefore does not require certification.

Several points along the trail we must cross from one owners land to another. In most cases this requires a gate. All of our gates are equestrian friendly with high levers so riders do not need to dismount.

 

A one mile section of the Anza Trail runs through the Tubac Golf Resort. The Resort has voiced concerns regarding public safety at a recent meeting in April. Mike Burns and assistant trail coordinator Glenn Vierra are working closely with the resort to provide a trail location which will remain inside the Historic Trail Corridor as well as meet the golf resort’s liability concerns. Special consideration is given in every situation, especially when working in an active public area such as a resort.

With 16 miles of trail complete we have 16 miles remaining to achieve our 32 mile goal through Santa Cruz County. Recently Hugh Holub, attorney, offered on behalf of Las Mesas de Tubac, LLC to allow the ATCA to flag over 1 mile of trail inside this new development and to pay for the survey prior to certification. The Las Mesas project is a 1,244 acre sub-division located just North of Tubac. Thanks to Mary Dahl, Director of Santa Cruz Planning and Zoning Department and a developer who wishes to preserve the Anza Trail Corridor through their property, the public will have unrestricted access to 81 acres following the Santa Cruz River. Las Mesas will donate this land to a non-profit entity to preserve and maintain it in perpetuity. This is an excellent example of the citizens, Santa Cruz County, and a developer working together to preserve a key historic site and Anza Trail access.

Last year we passed the 16 mile mark of trail on the ground. The ATCA is not only accountable for the administration and building of the trail in Santa Cruz County but we are also responsible for the maintenance. On foot and by hand the job of grading, weed clearing, trash cleanup and flood damage repair was overwhelming. Last year the ATCA purchased 2 John Deere Gators and a 4x4 diesel tractor with blade and brush hog. Even thought this purchase taxed us financially after a year of use we know we did the right thing.

 

We are also very fortunate to have two excellent parks inside Santa Cruz County adjacent to the Anza Trail Corridor. Tumacacori National Historical Park and the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park. Our most utilized segment runs between the two parks and is 4.6mi one way. These Parks coupled with the activities in Tubac, AZ produce key Anza Trail events each year; Anza Days, La Fiesta de Tumacacori, Festival of the Arts, and National Trails Day, to mention a few. We leverage these local events with our ATCA exhibition tent, ATCA membership and fundraising drives.

See our web site http://anzatrail.com for more detail and updates on our progress. Email info@anzatrail.com with questions or comments.

See you on the trail!