At a meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 6, the Camp Verde Town Council unanimously approved the purchase of a 4.4-acre parcel along Salt Mine Road from the Salt Mine Cattle Co., owned by Camp Verde resident Blair Jenner.
The land abuts a patch of land owned by the U.S. Forest Service that has multi-use trails into Ryal Canyon. There is no connection to the road for that trail without crossing Jenner’s property.
“When people go to access Ryal Canyon Trail they have to park on Mr. Jenner’s private land,” Camp Verde Economic Development Director Steve Ayers said. “Well he’s been pretty tolerant about it over the years but he’s wanted the Forest Service to take over the property.”
Since the land in question is alongside the edge of Camp Verde town property, the town decided to buy the land from Jenner instead, hoping that it would be able to do so faster than the USFS process.
In order to make the purchase, the town received $211,600 in funding from Arizona State Parks and Trails through the Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Fund. The grant was approved inApril of 2018.
According to Ayers, the Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Fund grant will be used not only in purchasing the land, but also for future development of it to improve the dirt road to the USFS trail and make it more accessible for those who want to make use of it.
Ayers said he sees the purchase as part of a broader plan to expand trail access in Camp Verde. He said he hopes to develop a Camp Verde urban upland trail plan this year that will set out ideas for future development of trails, path- ways and right-of-ways both in Camp Verde and in the surrounding landscape, making the increased access to Ryal Canyon just one step of a broader focus on the beautiful landscape around town.
According to Ayers, there are currently 42 trails in and around Camp Verde, a number he wants to increase and make more accessible.
“All you have to do is go over to Sedona on any weekend and see the amount of people who hike their trails,” Ayers said. “We know that when people go out and they spend three or four hours on a trail, they come back and they usually stop at one of your restaurants and eat, or maybe even spend some time up here and spend some money in town.”
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551, or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
