October 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 41

advocacy

Arizona Forward
Grass-roots group stresses economic necessity of parks
By Maureen Hannan

eldom does a park--supporting citizen group conduct statewide economic impact studies or launch voter education campaigns. Arizona Forward, though, is
not about traditional park activism. The group, a coalition of citizens, businesses, and universities, was
chartered at the beginning of this year as a voice for balance
between economic growth and environmental quality. As envisioned, Arizona Forward will promote cooperative efforts to improve the livability, sustainability and economic vitality of cities
and towns throughout the state. The group decided to focus on
the parks and open space issue as its first project, after funds
supposedly dedicated to parks and wilderness protection (including park entrance fees and monies set aside from the state
lottery) were swept by state lawmakers into the general appropriations fund. As a result, state park funding was devastated-
and only a few small grants and individual partnerships were
left for parks without direct funding.
One of the state's 27 parks is still closed, five others now operate on limited hours, and 14 are open only because of support
from municipalities and non-profit groups.
So Arizona Forward, an offshoot of a 42-year-old nonprofit organization dedicated to general sustainability issues within the
Metro Phoenix area, got to work. The group's objectives were to
research how state residents view their parks and open spaces
and then educate citizens about the myriad ways parks enrich
their economy and improve their lives.
First, they commissioned a survey of over 400 Arizonans about
their beliefs and attitudes about the state's parks, open spaces, and
wilderness lands. The survey yielded the following results:

■■ 92

percent believe that parks and open spaces are essential to
the state's tourism economy.
■■ 86 percent visit parks at least once or twice a year, and 41 percent visit weekly or monthly.
■■ 74 percent say parks and open spaces are important to them
personally, and 71 percent say parks are important to the overall economy.
One of the most interesting findings, though, had to do with
residents' knowledge of where the money for their parks comes
from: Only about 18 percent of those surveyed said they fully understood how state and local parks are funded, even though the
much-publicized budget cuts and park closures had only recently occurred.
The survey results prompted Arizona Forward to publish on
their website a leaflet entitled " Why Parks and Open Space Matter: The Economics of Arizona's Natural Assets. " The publication
tackles the misconception that parks are purely a cost-and it
supplies ample research showing the returns on investment that
Arizona's parks have brought the state. A 2007 study by Northern Arizona University, for example, calculated that visitors to
state parks produced more than $266 million in economic benefits and supported 3,347 jobs. Diane Brossart, director of Arizona
Forward, says the goal of educating the state's residents (rather
than advocating for particular methods of funding) is resonating with the public-and that her organization has been flooded
with positive emails from all over the state.
The way Arizona Forward's organizers see it, Arizonans already believe instinctively that parks are essential-and, if supplied with hard facts, will insist on keeping parks funded.

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October 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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