In Spring 2005, the Wilderness Land Trust received
a major grant from an anonymous donor to acquire private land
in Arizona’s BLM Wilderness Areas. In December 2005
the first three properties were acquired with this grant.
Development pressures are particularly acute in Arizona, highlighting
the urgent need for our work in the state.
View up Willow Creek
to
Wabayuma properties
Two of the recently purchased properties, totaling
60 acres, are within the Wabayuma Wilderness, approximately
20 miles south of Kingman. They are located on the flanks
of Wabayuma Peak, a dramatic 7,601 foot mountain rising out
of the desert, featuring granite outcroppings, spires and
crags, as well wildflowers, ponderosa pines and Gambel oaks
at higher elevations. The area contains the northern most
stand of saguaro cactus in Arizona, and Willow Creek runs
through one of the properties.
The third 40 acre property is located in the
Mount Tipton Wilderness, approximately 30 miles north of Kingman.
The property is comprised of Mohave desert shrub, chaparral,
and pinyon-juniper habitat and contains a riparian area along
a wash with small year-around springs. Rock outcroppings and
the twisting, shaded wash provide cover for a variety of reptiles,
small mammals, and raptors.
The Trust is in the process of transferring
all three properties to the Bureau of Land Management for
inclusion in the surrounding Wilderness Areas.
“The Mount Tipton and Wabayuma Wilderness
Areas are both spectacular hiking and horse packing areas,
which are becoming increasingly unique as the Kingman area
develops and expands,” said David Kirk, Senior Lands
Specialist for The Wilderness Land Trust. “By purchasing
these properties from willing sellers and transferring them
to public ownership, we are ensuring that they will always
be available as wilderness for future generations to enjoy.”
Arizona has more than 4,400 acres of private
land within the boundaries of its established BLM Wilderness
Areas, according to a report recently completed by the Trust.
Much of this land is in the Arrastra Mountain, Cottonwood
Point, Mount Tipton, Swansea and Wabayuma Wilderness Areas.
The Trust is currently working on more than 1,100 acres of
projects in the state.
