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Welcome to DORR

Report on the DORR sponsored NSA Panel Discussion

Folk started arriving at the Community Center at around 5.45 pm. We ended up with somewhere near 100 attendees; it was a full house!

In fact, the organizers were there before 4:30pm. Karen Keller had worked out every detail. She had prepared handouts for the audience, including copies of the NSA legislation, a map of the Planning Area Overview, a letter drafted by Keep Sedona Beautiful to be signed and sent to our congressional representative, and cards for questions. Roni Jelm and Dusty Crisman set up a couple of tables full of good, nourishing refreshments and Steve DeVol of KSB was helped by Dick Searle as they set up the electronics, including a video camera set-up, which not only taped the discussion, but also fed it live to a pre-published web-site so that a live version could be seen and heard at home on the internet, should folk not be able to make the meeting. Quite a few took advantage of this option, but it did not seem to impact the attendance.

The meeting began at 6:00 pm with a welcome speech from Angela LeFevre, President of DORR. Angela welcomed the panel of speakers, made up of experts from various organizations: Joan McClelland and Barbara Litrell, past presidents of KSB who had been intimately connected with the original push to obtain NSA designation four years ago; Mike Ward, former President of the Friends of the Forest; John Neville, President of Sustainable Arizona; Connie Birkland of Friends of the Forest, and Marlene Rayner, President of the local Sierra Club branch.

Angela explained why the DORR Board had decided to endorse the designation, and to send a letter to Ann Kirkpatrick, copies of which were available at the back table. She then introduced Joan McClelland who gave some interesting insight into the background of the NSA designation. Barbara Litrell followed. She gave an excellent Powerpoint presentation which explained in full why the designation was so important and why we needed to take action now. John Neville spoke about the economic positives of an NSA designation for Sedona and how vital it was to respect the land and beauty of the red rocks. Marlene Rayner and Mike Ward shared their own concerns as regards the future of Amendment 12 and the need to protect the area. Marlene is President of the local Sierra Club branch and Mike Ward has been involved in a number of organizations, such as Friends of the Forest, but spoke as a private citizen who was hoping to stand for City Council next year. He was researching the various issues and had put together his views on the NSA. Finally Connie Birkland spoke for the Forest Service. She did have to remain neutral, but went into more detail about the Forest Services Land Plan and Amendment 12. She did explain quite clearly that there would be no extra layer of management with an NSA designation.



The meeting took a ten minute break, and resumed with questions which had been completed by members of the audience on cards they had been given. For an hour, the ins and outs of the NSA designation were discussed. Mayor Rob Adams was present and spoke of the need to publicize the bill and encourage input from residents.

The meeting broke up at 8:00 pm with the promise that more meetings will be held, that the bill will be made available on the websites of KSB and DORR and that the aim would be to build as large amount of support as possible, with the hope that Ann Kirkpatrick would decide to support this and introduce it into Congress.

Thanks for the outstanding contributions of the Panel members, KSB, ALL of the DORR Board, NSA subcommittee, volunteers and attendees for responding to help this event educate our community.

Angela Lefevre

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Click the link to reach the KSB website to access the support form: http://keepsedonabeautiful.org/national_scenic_area.html

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Here is the letter that DORR wrote to Congresswoman Kirkpatrick:

Dear Representative Kirkpatrick,

THE DORR BOARD UNANIMOUSLY ENDORSES NATIONAL SCENIC AREA DESIGNATION FOR SEDONA

While many of our members have been active in local Sedona politics, as an organization, the Democrats of the Red Rocks has stayed out of local issues, focusing instead on electing Democrats to office and organizing educational programs. On March 17, 2009 the DORR Board broke tradition and unanimously voted to endorse the National Scenic Area proposal put forward by Keep Sedona Beautiful. The DORR board voted to put its resources and energy behind the NSA proposal because we feel the proposal is of great benefit both in terms of protecting our unique and wonderful location and for its economic contribution to sustaining local businesses and working families in Sedona.

We are beginning an educational outreach effort starting in late April to our membership, our large mailing lists, and fellow Democrats and Independents. We will be coordinating our efforts with other local organizations supporting the NSA.

The board took this action because the NSA is a moderate, modest, and reasonable proposal for environmental protection. Despite the talk from opponents of the NSA, the board felt the NSA proposal simply has no serious or likely downsides . We do not feel that there are any solid arguments against NSA. How a small group of people used misinformation and vague, fearful invocations of possible problems to make this simple proposal appear controversial is a marvel of insider political action. But one DORR is determined to undo.

First of all, the dramatic beauty of Sedona deserves special, formal national recognition. The wilderness areas around Sedona do not protect the land adjacent to the City. When the areas were drawn, a gap of land was left between the City and the wilderness areas. That land is protected only by Amendment 12, which can be changed or withdrawn. NSA designation will provide permanent protection for the natural beauty of Sedona and make current Forest Service policies preventing land trades a permanent law.

As long as the Forest Service policy reflected in Amendment 12 is subject to change, dreams of land trade windfall profits will continue to dance in the heads of certain real estate entities. NSA will end this chapter in the expansive development in Sedona once and for all, shifting development focus to redevelopment and sustainable construction activities such as installing weatherproofing and solar panels. NSA will ensure that future development and redevelopment activities focus on in-fill housing (the town can still grow 30% residentially) rather than extending the town further into the forest and undercutting the beauty of the area.

NSA provides a powerful tool to promote tourism and attract visitors to Sedona. A National Scenic Area designation will help promote the beauty of our area nationally and internationally while preserving what makes Sedona so unique. It will bring just the sort of respectful and nature-loving tourism that Sedona needs. We know that there are folk who only want the wealthiest visitors, but that smacks of elitism and arrogance. And it is short sighted. The couple who comes and camps in their twenties, bikes and hikes, falls in love with the area, is the same couple who returns with their families in their thirties and forties, stays in our resorts in their fifties and sixties, eats at its best restaurants, and maybe buys a time share. It’s unfortunate that NSA was not passed years ago; an NSA designation will take some time to work its way through the promotional system and be reflected in brochures and maps.

NSA does not create a new layer of government. It does not affect private property. It does not undercut local control. These are national public lands that belong to the American people. Local stakeholders have special interests in nearby public lands but they do not belong to us and locals should do nothing that undercuts and damages the national scenic and cultural heritage of the United States—certainly not to make a few bucks.

DORR shares the position of conservationists on this issue. But we also see the NSA as protecting our most important and sustainable economic activity, tourism, well into the rest of the century. The Sedona area deserves national recognition for its beauty. Not everyone can live in Sedona or would want to, but Sedonans are right to encourage and share our area with different people all over the world as long as public lands are treated with respect and well regulated.

We have supported you strongly and will continue to do so and feel that campaign promises should be honored. It is time to move on NSA. We look forward to your visiting Sedona and DORR again.



Angela LeFevre Steve Williamson

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DORR is asking its members and supporters for their help:

Dear Member/Supporter:

The Board of DORR has been working hard to publicize this issue and gain support for this legislation which will do much to give recognition to the unique and beautiful red rocks of Sedona and make current Forest Service policies preventing land trades a permanent law. For more information on this, please visit our web site at: www.democratsoftheredrocks/org

We have been given reason to believe that Ann Kirkpatrick, our Democrat Congressional Representative, whom so many of you supported and worked hard for last year, will begin to focus on this legislation in June; that is NOW! She and her staff will be testing the waters to see what folk want here in Sedona. Much emphasis has been given to the nay sayers, those folk who have been spreading incorrect statements and half truths about the NSA Designation.

We need YOUR help NOW. Please contact the office of Ann Kirkpatrick and the Sedona City Council and let these folk know that you support the NSA designation and would like Ann to keep her campaign promise to support this measure.

Send an email to Ann Kirkpatrick at info@kirkpatrickforarizona.com
or:
contact her via her web-site at:
https://forms.house.gov/kirkpatrick/contact-form.shtml

Let the City Council know that you support the NSA Designation and would like them to honor their promises of previous years to help obtain the designation for Sedona. You can go onto the city website at: www.sedonaaz.gov and click on the contact us button at the top of the home page. Complete an email to one/all the councilors and the mayor.

Please forward this email on to friends, family and colleagues who care about Sedona and its future.

We now have the chance to be heard, and it is vital that we make our voices loud and clear. Your email will help!

Sincerely,

Angela LeFevre
President
DORR



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