As reported by the PRT in May of 2019, public access to 34,000 acres of Forest Service land in Meadow Valley and the Boghole Cienega area located at the north end of the San Rafael Valley has been blocked by private landowners since July of the previous year.
Numerous attempts were made by Arizona Game and Fish Department, the Coronado National Forest Service and others to negotiate restoration of access, but the landowners remained intransigent.
Although hunters, birders, hikers and other recreationalists could still enter the area by foot, all vehicular traffic was terminated. As a result, anyone incapable of walking several miles across unimproved pathways was essentially denied access.
The good news is that after more than five years, the United States Forest Service (USFS) was finally able to secure the resources and authority to cut four miles of new roadway which will ultimately connect the Patagonia San Rafael Road (FSR 58) to pre-existing roads within Meadow Valley. Those folks who have noticed the recent installation of a cattleguard and the presence of heavy equipment along FSR 58, may be disappointed to learn that the road will not be open to the public until well after the December bird count and the upcoming hunting season.
When asked why the project has taken so long, Ed Monin, Engineering Officer for the Coronado National Forest, stated that, “The process for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) which requires a detailed assessment of any potential harm done to native wildlife habitat and ways to mitigate harmful impact, requires extensive amounts of time and resources. In addition, heavy equipment operation is restricted during the breeding seasons of the birds, reptiles, mammals and amphibians which reside there.”
Although phase one of the project, which he described as the realignment of roadway infrastructure, will be completed by the end of September, he went on to say that the remaining tasks of applying and compacting road surface materials will be awarded by bid to private contractors. Completion of the bidding process, coupled with the possibility of inclement weather, may further delay the final phase of construction for several more months.
Like many other recreationalists who enjoyed the use of Meadow Valley over the years, I’m grateful to the Timkin family, who formerly owned the adjacent property and granted us access to the public land beyond the gate.
No doubt, they too were concerned about noise, trash and gates left open by careless and discourteous members of the public. Obviously, it behooves us all to help ensure that this type of behavior is completely curtailed.
According to Monin, only about one third of the land in the Coronado National Forest is not subject to closure by private landowners. The rest is either locked up or potentially could be at any time at the discretion of area landowners. In a forthcoming article, we will report what proactive measures are being taken to prevent public land closures and what is being done about those areas which are already off limits to the general public.