Get Involved to Guide Fossil Creek's Future

Fossil Creek Wild & Scenic River Draft CRMP and DEIS ~ 125-day Comment Period: 

A Summary of the Alternatives

Dec. 1, 2018 – April 4, 2019
Hikers, paddlers, campers---ALL outdoor enthusiasts with in interest in how recreation in Fossil Creek will be managed should check out the resource links below and WEIGH IN. The public comment period ends April 4, 2019.  You MUST comment before the deadline to be eligible to participate any post-decision discussion or lodge objections.
To Participate in a Public Meeting and to Comment:
Comment Period: A 125-day comment period is occurring from Dec. 1, 2018, to April 4, 2019.
Online Project Information: Go to http://tinyurl.com/FossilCreekCRMP
Online Planning Documents: Go to http://tinyurl.com/FossilCreekDocuments
To Submit Comments: Please submit comments in writing through one of several methods:
• Email: to comments-southwestern-coconino-redrock@fs.fed.us (include “Fossil Creek CRMP” in the subject line)
• Mail: to Coconino National Forest, Attention: Fossil Creek CRMP, P.O. Box 20429, Sedona, AZ 86341
• Fax: to (928) 203-7539
• In person: to Red Rock Ranger District Office, 8375 State Route 179, Sedona, AZ 86351.
Comments should clearly articulate the reviewer’s concerns and contentions and provide the Forest Service with information that will be helpful in making a decision on the Fossil Creek CRMP and DEIS. For example, are there components of an alternative that you believe will result in effects (good or bad) that are not adequately described in the DEIS? Be as specific as possible and support your statements with facts and references. Consider whether your comments are solution-oriented. Do more than just provide an opinion or a vote. Remember that comments are not counted as votes where the alternative that is most referenced is the selected alternative. Also, remember that identical comments submitted (as a form letter, for example) will be treated as one comment.
Names and physical and/or e-mail addresses that are submitted during the comment period will be included in the official record for the Fossil Creek planning project and may be available for public inspection.
Public comments collected during the 2016 scoping period and during earlier comment periods serve as the basis for the range of alternatives presented now in the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). All previous comments, since 2010, have helped the Forest Service understand the issues important to people who visit or are interested in Fossil Creek, namely how people are able to recreate in Fossil Creek, the impacts that use has on natural and cultural resources and the recreation experience, the amount and type of recreational development in the Fossil Creek corridor, and public health and safety. Comments submitted in earlier phases of planning for the Fossil Creek CRMP need not be re-submitted.
Contact Us: If you have a question about the Fossil Creek CRMP or want to know how to get involved, contact:
Fossil Creek Project Coordinator Marcos Roybal: (928) 203-2915 maroybal@fs.fed.us
Red Rock Ranger District NEPA Planner Elizabeth Munding: (928) 203-2914 elizabethamunding@fs.fed.us

Legends of Superior Trails: Arnett Canyon Trail segment

Legends of Superior Trails: Arnett Canyon Trail segment

Arnett Creek is a key feature of the LOST system

Picketpost Mountain looms over the LOST 

The new LOST trail segment connects with the AZT

“When I first hiked the Legends of Superior Trails, I had no clue how awesome they are,” says Mila Besich, Mayor of the Town of Superior.  “After the hike, I felt like crying but I wasn’t sure if it was because of the overwhelming beauty or because I had gone nearly nine miles,” Besich laughed. 

Hikers descend a steep section of the new Arnett Canyon Trl. 

Speaking at the March 24, 2019 inauguration of the new Legends of Superior Trails (LOST) Arnett Canyon segment, Besich acknowledged the many individuals and organizations that contributed to the planning and construction of the fresh-cut, 1.5-mile trail section that connects with the Arizona Trail at the Picketpost Trailhead off U.S. 60. 

A steep, narrow section of the trail.

Arnett Creek flows through volcanic terrain.

While leaders at the Tonto National Forest, Resolution Copper, Arizona Trail Association and the Town of Superior did the governmental and land management red-tape wrangling, young American Conservation Experience workers did much of the shoveling and sweating to build the singletrack path that can be hiked as a loop or a one-way trek to the historic Pinal Townsite that’s part of the LOST system of interpretive routes that explore the town’s history and mining heritage.

Hikers in Arnett Canyon

Wildflowers grow among outcroppings of volcanic ash.

Although the mountain-bound community sits in the heart of the mineral-rich Copper Corridor just an hour east of Phoenix where mining is a core industry, Besich is quick to point out that the area’s treasures extend beyond its ore.

Mila Besich, Mayor of the Town of Superior in Arnett Can.

“We’re not a mining town. We’re a town with a world-class mine,” she emphasized.  Cognizant of the boom-and-bust nature of the mining business, the town ranks its natural outdoor assets as being as important as any commercial enterprise. The improvement and expansion of the LOST hiking hub is part of the town’s diversification objectives to boost the economy while staying true to their roots.  “The project is a marathon,” Besich said. “LOST is a start, and we envision Superior becoming home to the next best hiking destination in Arizona.”  This ambitious goal includes plans for a 110-mile stacked-loop trail system that will wind through rugged back country and the Queen Creek-Arnett Creek watersheds south of town. The project—which will use the LOST system as an anchor-- is currently in the planning and permitting process and if all goes well, construction could begin in the next couple of years.  In the meantime, hikers can enjoy the many miles of outstanding existing trails in Superior. 

Situated at the crux of two of the state-traversing Arizona Trail’s most spectacular desert passages that meet at the base of volcanic Picketpost Mountain, the newly completed Arnett Canyon Trail segment is a segue to a landscape of amazing biodiversity, history and complex geology. 

Globemallow bloom along the trails.

The segment begins near the site host campsite with an uphill walk and views of the Superstition Wilderness. Other than a short section where the trail descends steeply on a narrow, rocky ridge that’s not recommended for bike or equestrian use, the hike is effortless.

Hikers on the LOST loop approach the Picketpost TH 

Where the route brushes the flanks of Picketpost Mountain, hikers might be inspired to climb to its 4375-foot summit by way of a sketchy and difficult spur path off the Arizona Trail.  At the 0.6-mile point, turn right and pass through a gate to complete the 1.5-mile loop. Or, to extend the hike, continue straight ahead into Arnett Canyon for a drop-dead-gorgeous, out-and-back creekside trek smothered in greenery and pillars of petrified volcanic ash.  It won’t take too many miles of hiking to understand why Besich says this enchanting trail system is, “a dream come true” and a key inspiration for the reimagination of a desert town.

LOST is just the beginning of a planned hiking hub.

Volcanic rock formations in Arnett Canyon

Superstition Wilderness vistas seen from LOST

LENGTH: 1.5-mile loop

RATING: easy

ELEVATION:  2461 – 2342 feet

GETTING THERE:

Picketpost Trailhead:

From U.S. 60 just before entering the Town of Superior between mileposts 221 and 222, turn right at the Picketpost Trailhead sign and continue 1 mile to the parking area. Roads are paved and maintained dirt suitable for all vehicles. There is a restroom at the trailhead. The trail begins near the site host campsite.

INFO:

Legends of Superior Trails

http://www.lostinsuperioraz.com/

Arizona Trail

https://aztrail.org/explore/passages/passage-17-alamo-canyon