Dry Lake land swap faces congressional hurdle

Patrick Graham

Tuesday, March 21, 2000 | 4:55 a.m.

PHOENIX - A plan to buy and preserve a highly prized volcanic caldera and wetland near the Grand Canyon is one step closer to reality, but backers need $2.5 million in congressional funding to seal the deal.

"Everything is in place now," said Geoffrey S. Barnard, president of the Grand Canyon Trust. The Flagstaff-based conservation group is leading the effort to purchase 247 acres of alpine desert landscape, which it then plans to turn over to the federal government.

Under the plan, Flagstaff Ranch Golf Club developer James Mehen will swap the land he wanted to develop within the caldera for an equal amount of acreage controlled by developer Robert Semple just outside.

The swap plan crossed a major threshold Monday night when the Coconino County Board of Supervisors approved Mehen's rezoning application to build a 317-home subdivision and golf course on land outside the caldera.

The plan gives Semple control of the 247 acres inside the caldera for immediate sale to the trust.

The ancient crater-like basin called Dry Lake southwest of Flagstaff contains a rare 44-acre wetland and is prime habitat for endangered or threatened birds along with elk and other wildlife. Perched at 7,000 feet, it is also home to old growth oak and pine trees.

"It has some spectacular views of the San Francisco Peaks" that overshadow Flagstaff, said local activist Linda Brandt, a member of Friends of Dry Lake, a grassroots group fighting to save the land.

Faced with a price tag exceeding $3 million, the Grand Canyon Trust has received pledges guaranteeing a $500,000 down payment for Dry Lake and the two developers have promised $100,000 each in matching funds, Barnard said.

Yet the biggest job for the trust is convincing the state's congressional delegation to tap $2.5 million of funding from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, he said.

"We really do need the federal resources," Barnard said Tuesday. "But we have two years to do it."

Sen. Jon Kyl along with Reps. J.D. Hayworth and Bob Stump have been supportive of the Dry Lake plan, Barnard said.

The congressmen did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment Tuesday.

If the trust's purchase is completed, the land will be transferred to the U.S. Forest Service and become part of Coconino National Forest, Barnard said.

All sides involved in the land swap paint it as a good example of cooperation between conservationists, developers and elected officials.

"The property gets preserved and the property owner gets compensated," Mehen said. "I see it as a win-win."

Mehen, who originally proposed developing the caldera, said he was willing to deal in part because "there has always been an environmentalist in me."