ORO VALLEY Rancho Vistoso is a beautiful golf course that is full of life.
It was located just a few miles north from Tucson and covered more than 200 acres. Golfers visited it during the day, and mule deer or javelina at night.
It was built by Tom Weiskopf, a famous golf course architect. It could have almost resembled a desert botanical park if it wasn’t for the signs and the golfers. The signs for the driving range were surrounded with cactuses such as cholla, barrel and prickly-pear cactuses. You will find other desert vegetation, such as mesquite and palo verde trees, scattered all over the greens.
The course toured 17 neighborhoods. The clubhouse was used for weddings and parties by residents of the town. Sometimes, those who were not there could still hear the music echoing from their homes.
The water was turned off in 2018 and the course was closed.
It didn’t take long before Oro Valleys residents began to speculate about development. A year and a half later the city council received the redevelopment plans.
Some suggested housing developments and others a nursing facility. Many neighbors were horrified by the idea of bulldozers in their neighborhood and the loss of open space rich with native animal and plant species. They wanted the course to be a natural preserve.
They set about to do their work. They spoke with land transaction attorneys over the next three and half years and sent over 1000 emails to the city’s planning andzoning department. They eventually raised $1.8million and worked with Conservation Fund to purchase the property.
The fund and the group were able to create the first nature preserve for the town.
While the council and developers consideredalternatives, many neighbors had already decided the former golf course was a preserve. They began illegally traversing the property’s 208-acres on foot, by bike, and with dogs and strollers.
It was easy for people to accept it. Rosa Dailey, Rosa’s neighbor on the golf course, said that it was an organic process. Although it was private property, people thought it was a park.
The 18-hole course was closed in 2018 due to financial difficulties. According to Ed Gowan (executive director of the Arizona Golf Association), golf courses have a small profit margin, typically around 2-4%. After the owner of the mortgage defaulted, Canadianlender Romspen took over the course and made it sustainable.
The water was turned off at the course that year. According to Dailey, there was something remarkable over the three-and a half years that followed. Dailey saw more birds and deer than ever before, despite the fact that the greens were not green anymore, as invasive grass species had overtaken them.
Dailey says that the neighborhood fawns are now using the former sandpit to play on the courses.
Dailey said that Oro Valley is a small town founded in 1974. You need to get involved.
I’ve never been involved with community work in any other community I have lived in. She said that you have to get involved in Oro Valley. You must say that this is what you want. Otherwise, opportunists will come in and try to make a living from the beauty here. They do not like the community, but they like the opportunity to make money.
Dailey followed her parents to Oro Valley from Baltimore 15 years ago when she and her husband decided to retire there. She and her husband raised their daughters together, who now attend the University of Arizona in the town.
After the closing of the golf course, Dailey and some neighbors formed an organization to combat development offers. They named the organization Preservevistoso and applied for and received 501(c),3 non-profit status.
Dailey stated that they had read up on conservation law and educated their selves. They spoke with their neighbors as well as different lawyers. They attended virtual city council meetings per pandemic rules. The former golf course was designated for recreational open space. Developers would need to have the majority of the City Council in order to convert the land to a residential area.
The issue eventually made it to local blogs. The Let Oro Valley Excel (LOVE) blogSeveral neighbor columns were published, expressing their opinions on the future of the course.
Preserve Vistoso launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise $1.8 million. Some of the funding was from people they had never met before.
The non-profit group was split at first over what to do about the former golf course. One developer approached the community and suggested that if neighbors would contribute money to water the golf course, the developer would only build on certain parts of the property.
The pitch failed. The group united to oppose all development when a formal development bid was submitted to the City Council in 2020.
Dailey believed that they needed more structure in order to make the preserve a sustainable entity. She reached out to Mike Ford, the Conservation Fund’s director in Nevada and Southwest, and convinced him to visit the property.
Dailey stated, “It was a game changer when Mike Ford came down here.” We now had an organizing principle. Someone who knew how to buy land, who knew everything, from getting an appraisal to conducting environmental studies, all the things we didn’t know.
According to Kirste Kowalsky (southwest field representative for Conservation Funds), Rancho Vistoso is not a typical client. They accepted the challenge because of community passion and the imminent danger of development.
We deal with all federal agencies, and we deal with thousands of acres. She said that federal funds are involved and large grants are involved. This was all community since the beginning.
After many back-and-forth discussions with the property owner Preserve Vistoso won.
Six acres of the property were already used for residential purposes. The clubhouse and restaurant are located here. 202 acres were given to the Conservation Fund.
According to Kowalsky, they paid fair market value for the acres and purchased it at $1.615million.
At night, the Oro Valleys First, an entire food chain is released: bobcats, javelinas, coyotes, mule deer and javelina.
Kowalskys said that although there hasn’t been a formal study to study wildlife corridors in this area, its unique nature nestled againstthe Santa Catalina Mountains and three paths that descend beneath major roads make it ideal for animals.
Kowalsky stated that although the property is located in a suburban area, it allows for significant movement for wildlife to enter and leave. Many migratory birds fly in and out of the property. We have photos of javelina, coyotes, bobcats, and deer that we have taken. This is to allow us to see the nearby mountain ranges where they likely come in and out on a regular basis.
Tom Stegman, a member from Preserve Vistoso, donated a substantial sum to the campaign. He stated that he wanted the lands beauty and wildlife to be protected.
He said that we have already seen quite some wildlife in the area surrounding our house. Development would block the movement of wildlife deer, mountain lions, and bobcats. We’ve seen just about everything in the area.
Romspen commissioned an archaeological report. It revealed that the property was once a Hohokam village called Sleeping Snake Village. It had a ballcourt and six loci. It still has Hohokam-petroglyphs.
This is clearly occupied land. Kowalsky said that we feel somewhat like secondary citizens anywhere, regardless of whether it is Ahwatukee, or any other place. You can see layers upon layers of civilizations, peoples, and cultures that have left their marks.
To ensure that unfriendly city councils can’t be undoneThe Conservation Fund issues a conservation agreement, which is a legal agreement that permanently limits the use of the land.
Each property has multiple rights attached to it: water rights, land use rights, and mineral rights. A conservation easement seperates the land-use right from the rest. However, the Conservation Fund will donate property to Oro Valley but retain the land right for the foreseeable.
Deed restrictions, covenants, conditions and restraints (CCRs), which are created by homeowners associations, are another option for conserving land. Kowalsky stated that those restrictions can be reversed if you have a good attorney.
She said that a conservation easement is like a literal catastrophe if you ever attempt to get away from it. We want to ensure that the preserve is protected no matter who is elected in the next 10, 30, 50, or 60 years.
The Conservation Fund will clean up the tumbleweeds that once dominated the wild west but are now invasive species. They can spread quickly and cost six figures to remove before they give the property over to Oro Valley.
Kowalsky spoke out about the hope the Preserve Vistoso Campaign has inspired. It is a tangible example that ordinary people can take action to preserve land. She called Dailey a force for nature.
“I’ll be truthful, sometimes you can get pretty jaded. Like, what is my voice really going to do? How can I really make a difference? She said. She said, “Rosa Dailey” is what we have called her since the beginning. She is a force in nature.
Zayna is an environmental reporter at The Arizona Republic/azcentral. Follow her tweets @zaynasyed_ to keep up with her reporting and send any tips or information regarding stories.[email protected].
The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust grants support environmental coverage on azcentral.com as well as in The Arizona Republic. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team atenvironment.azcentral.com @azcenvironmentonFacebook,TwitterandInstagram.
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