Last month, Coconino County Parks and Recreation announced it had acquired a significant 6-acre lot in Kachina Village.

Adjacent to a service road to Interstate 17, the parcel was an attractive location for future development in the Kachina Village area, but this recent acquisition brings the wetland landscape to the protection.

The 129-acre pumphouse area was buzzing with activity early Wednesday. Red-winged blackbirds flitted among the reeds of the pond where ducks sought shade from the rising sun. Wildflowers splashed across the low meadows, and men and dogs roamed. Ponderosa forests towered high above the hills surrounding the basin, but the purple San Francisco towering above the vibrant wetlands was nowhere near as tall as the Peaks.

“Everyone appreciates this when you drive on this highway,” said county superintendent Matt Ryan, looking over the scene. “It’s the gateway to Flagstaff in northern Arizona.”

Viewshed is just one reason the county has been working to protect the Pumphouse Wetlands, Ryan says.

The area is also the source of Oak Creek Canyon, a federally recognized “Unique Waterway”.

Multiple freshwater springs make the Pumphouse area of ​​the Colorado Plateau “rare,” said Hannah Griscom, Habitat Assessment and Land Program Manager for the Arizona Game and Fish Division. The “fractured” nature of the region’s geology in this region usually sees water seep into the water table before it appears on the surface, but in Pumphouse Wash, perennial springs “nourish the pastures.” , supporting a wide variety of species in the region, Griscom said.

“More than 80% of them [wildlife species in Arizona] At some point in their lives they depend on some kind of riparian or wetland habitat,” Griscom said. “This shows how important these wetlands are.”

According to a county press release, wetlands “provide many benefits to people and wildlife, including protecting and improving water quality, providing habitat for wildlife, retaining floodwaters, and maintaining surface water flow during the dry season.”

And in Arizona, wetlands are extremely rare. His 2012 report for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality estimated that 0.88% of his land in Arizona is wetland. The percentage is also decreasing year by year.

“Depending on the source, it is estimated that between 65% and 90% of Arizona’s wetlands and riparian areas have been lost,” says Ryan. “It’s definitely a diminishing opportunity for biodiversity.”

These factors are some of the driving forces behind the conservation of Pumphouse County natural areas, said Cynthia Nemeth, director of parks and recreation for Coconino County. According to the press release, the county has been collecting land piece by piece through “donations, purchases and grants.” Nemeth said the recently acquired lot was previously identified as a “priority” due to general zoning and potential for commercial and residential development.

“This kind of invasion can be really detrimental to the ecosystem here,” Nemeth said. “It will definitely not contribute to our plans to manage this very important natural resource.”

It cost the county just over $300,000 to get the six-acre parcel at market price, Nemeth said. Funding was obtained from the sale of a “conservation easement” in the Lake Rogers area. This is a contract for the U.S. Department of Defense to purchase development rights to protect the land surrounding its facilities. In this case, the US Naval Observatory and Camp Navajo.

“It was a real win-win, not just for the Department of Defense, but for the county,” Nemeth said. “I was able to use that money to buy this [Pumphouse parcel] I still have some money left, so I’ll keep it hidden. “

The county is “remaining vigilant,” Nemeth said, and is watching for more opportunities to acquire and protect similar areas.

“If there is another interesting and significant acquisition, I hope that we are ready to purchase, or at least secure funds to leverage against, a significant natural resource acquisition,” she said. Told.

The immediate plan for the new lot is to return it to a functioning natural habitat. The site currently has several abandoned structures and a degraded asphalt driveway.

“Our number one priority is to clean up the buildings. We want to get rid of them,” Nemes said. “They are dangerous and very unsightly. Then we want the fence line back.”

Recovery is expected to begin in the fall.

Longer term, Nemeth hopes the new lot will be able to hold small recreational sites that are places of “quiet enjoyment,” such as wildlife viewing areas similar to those maintained elsewhere in the pumphouse area. I hope Such sites could be part of existing trails, as well as future “dream” projects such as pedestrian-integrating boardwalks.

But above all, open spaces take precedence over any kind of sustained development, Nemeth said.

“The beauty of a property like this, an open space like this, is that it costs less to manage,” says Nemeth. “It’s about keeping an eye on it.”

She also noted that there are some costs associated with the regular management of invasive plant species in the area.

For John and Amy DeAngio, residents of the western edge of the Pumphouse County Natural Area since the 1990s, the protection of the county’s wetlands against development has clearly been good.

“When we first moved here, we initially thought of a golf course,” recalls Amy. “I said, ‘I hope they don’t do that.'”

Luckily for Amy, she instead enjoys observing wildlife throughout the wetlands.

“We see eagles, herons and mule deer,” she said. “I love quiet nature.”

Wildlife aside, the Pumphouse County Natural Area is a testament to good governance, John said.

“We are happy to see positive results out of taxpayer money.”

Although relatively small, the new six-acre acquisition is an example of “progressiveism,” Ryan said. It’s about land management. “

For Nemes, “it is a ‘pleasure’ to be part of an acquisition that protects an area not only for its ecological value, but also for its scenic value, our sense of arrival in mountain towns. I am very proud and honored to be able to achieve my goals. That vision doesn’t just belong to us, it belongs to our community. “