Many news sources available to choose your perspective on the towering walls of yo'see miniteys.
The legislation has two main impacts. First, it establishes a National Park and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund that will provide up to $9 billion over the next five years to fix deferred maintenance at national parks, wildlife refuges, forests, and other federal lands, with $6.5 billion earmarked specifically to the 419 national park units...Second, the GAOA guarantees $900 million per year in perpetuity for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), a flagship conservation program paid for by royalty payments from offshore oil and gas drilling in federal waters.
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, called the bill "a demonstration of everything wrong with Washington ... written not by committees but in backrooms, packed full of special interest provision and now being forced through without the opportunity for us to amend it."
House Natural Resources Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) appeared unfazed by the onslaught. "Today, I didn't think it was necessary to engage in the same argument we've been engaging in about the LWCF and the backlog," Grijalva said in his concluding remarks. "This legislation is not about robbing Peter to pay Paul. It is not about taking money from the East to give to the West. It is not about denying coastal states their share.
The USFS has a pfancy storyboard thingy that shows the GAOA projects that are going on in their jurisdictions.
A cursory glance leads me to believe that among Arizona forests Tonto is far and away the best at spending large sums of money on huge nonspecific projects that can never really be verified or accounted for. https://experience.arcgis.com/experienc ... 38be67031/
I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.
Cool map. Additionally, Tonto is the only Arizona Forest Region that is not using any of the money towards trail maintenance, only on maintenance for paved roads and improving Tonto FS maintained campgrounds. On the bright side, I identified about $2 million that is being used for trail maintenance elsewhere in AZ .
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, ankle-twisting, HAZmaster crushing ROCKS!!
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, shin-stabbing, skin-shredding plants!
Hike Arizona it is full of striking, biting, stabbing, venomous wildlife!
@Alston_Neal
Gut feeling? Somewhat less... but in reality I have absolutely no idea compared to other NF's.
When I last worked with Robin (2 years ago) she was one of only four LEO's covering ALL of the Mesa District so they are stretched pretty thin.
Example: If there is an issue somewhere on the west side of the district, like Ballantine or Mount Ord area, forget about getting any response when the closest LEO is handling an issue over by Canyon Lake.
If BY CHANCE there is a DPS officer along 87 and the issue is within reach of their vehicle they MAY respond. (This was the case when I reported campers with a large campfire during a fire ban some 3 or 4 years ago)
Route Editor
Route Scout
On the bright side, I identified about $2 million that is being used for trail maintenance elsewhere in AZ 
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