Guide Your Customers: Arizona’s Public Lands and What To Do On Them
Whether your customers like to hike, hunt, camp, or fish, they get to choose from more than 30 million acres of public lands in Arizona. With so many adventures for outdoor recreationists to choose from, it makes sense that tourism was the number one export in Arizona in 2022. (source)
But, do you know in which direction to steer your customers? Let’s take a look at the most common types of public lands you’ll see in Arizona and what they mean for outdoor recreationists — aka your customers.
Types of public lands
Federal
Our federal public lands are owned by you and held in trust and managed by the U.S. government to benefit taxpayers. They primarily manage them through a variety of agencies like the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and the Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
National Parks: You’ve heard of them before — national parks can only be created by Congress and are managed by the National Park Service. These land designations are protected for their natural, historical, and cultural resources while still allowing for most types of outdoor recreation, though what’s allowed varies by the specific Park.
Arizona’s National Parks are:
Grand Canyon National Park
Petrified Forest National Park
Saguaro National Park
Arizona’s National Parks bring in an estimated 10,276,07 visitors per year and $1,880,100 in economic output. (source)
National Forests: Managed by the United States Forest Service, these lands can be used for natural resource harvesting in addition to recreation — like timber harvesting, livestock grazing, and mineral extraction. These lands are not protected because they are used to generate income for the benefit of taxpayers. As a result, outdoor recreation in National Forests can be restricted in leased areas. However, due to outdoor recreation’s growing economic benefits and the industry’s lobbying, more and more areas of National Forests are being managed for recreation activities.
Fortunately, National Forests update their management plans at least once every fifteen years. These revised management plans are required to be opened up for public comment, community meetings, and other public and stakeholder outreach. Forest planning is a great opportunity for businesses and public lands advocates to steer these public lands towards allowing more outdoor recreation opportunities.
Arizona’s National Forests are:
Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests
Coronado National Forest
Tonto National Forest
Coconino National Forest
Kaibab National Forest
Prescott National Forest
National Monument: National Monuments are designated by Presidents under the Antiquities Act. They are designated to protect cultural, historic, and scientific resources on public lands and waters and, while they are federally managed, they allow for broad recreational use. Arizona has 19 national monuments, including President Biden’s newest one, The Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni - Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. To learn more about Arizona’s National Monuments and find out which ones are near you, check out our primer on them here.
Wilderness Area: Wilderness with a capital W! As written in the bipartisan Wilderness Act of 1964, wilderness is an “area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain”. The legislation granted Congress the ability to protect “wild” land and give it the highest level of protection for public lands, which means only human-powered recreation opportunities are found in these areas like hiking, backpacking, bird watching, trail running, and horseback riding.
We won’t list Arizona’s incredible 90 Wilderness Areas, but you can find a map and list of them at the Arizona’s Wilderness Coalition’s website, here (PDF warning).
National Recreation Areas: Found near reservoirs, these public lands offer an environment to experience water-based, outdoor fun. Perfect for swimming, kayaking, fishing, or boating in the summer months and beyond, there are 40 national recreation areas across the country — all managed by either NPS, BLM, or USFS. (source)
Arizona’s Lake Mead National Recreation Area was the first in the country — welcoming roughly 8 million people to play on its 1.5 million acres of mountains, canyons, valleys, and lakes in 2020. (source)
National Trail: There are three types of national trails: scenic, historic, and recreation. In Arizona, we only have one, but it’s a popular one: our very own Arizona National Scenic Trail. Going from the Mexico border to our border with Utah, the non-motorized path connects 800 miles of diverse landscapes across the entire state. The trail is a huge draw for outdoor recreation in the state, attracting thru-hikers, trail runners, day hikers, and more, who are making a big economic impact in local communities. The trail is such a worthy investment for Arizona that Governor Hobb’s 2023 budget, passed by the bipartisan state legislature, included a historic $500,000 investment in the Arizona National Scenic Trail. Learn more about the recent investment, here.
Wild and Scenic Rivers: No dams here — this designation preserves free-flowing rivers as nature intended. They are not, and can not be, altered in any way. While very, very few waterways qualify for this designation, this is the highest level of protection for rivers and streams.
In Arizona, the value of our waterways to the state’s economy is indisputable. Each year, 1.5 million Arizonans recreate on our waterways, adding $13.5 billion to the economy and supporting 114,000 jobs across the state. (source) However, our state only has two Wild and Scenic Rivers, the Verde and Fossil Creek Rivers, both of which are in the Coconino National Forest.
National Wildlife Refuge: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) manages 560 wildlife refuges across the country. Nine of them are here in Arizona. These public lands protect native wildlife and provide outdoor recreationists with incredible opportunities for wildlife viewing.
Don’t underestimate wildlife-watching activities, they generate $1.4 billion every year for Arizona as nearly 750,000 visitors flock to our state to see our wildlife (source).
National Historic Sites: National Historic Sites) are properties of historical significance that are managed by the National Park Service. There are 47 fascinating National Historic Landmarks in the state of Arizona.
State
State public lands are owned and managed by individual state governments. On these public lands, you will find state parks, wildlife management areas, forests, and state-owned bodies of water. You can hunt, fish, hike, camp, bike, and more in Arizona's 32 state parks — but outdoor recreationists must follow rules and regulations around these activities as determined by state authorities.
In Arizona, we have the Heritage Fund, which provides grant opportunities for trail projects, outdoor environmental education programs, local, regional, and state parks, as well as historic preservation projects through legislatively appropriated funds. In Gov. Hobb’s 2023 budget, $6 million was awarded to the Heritage Fund. (source) This funding is a major investment made in outdoor recreation and conservation programs on Arizona state public lands.
Local
These are parks in your backyard. Not literally. But local parks are well-loved for their proximity to home in urban areas and are ideal for walking, picnicking, and just enjoying the outdoors. Some even offer opportunities to learn activities like mountain biking, camping, fishing, and more.
They are your city parks, playgrounds, local neighborhood parks, county forests, and local nature reserves that are owned and managed by city or county governments across Arizona. According to the Outdoor Industry Association, these closer-to-home outdoor spaces are popular, as well as visited more frequently by participants. (source)
And getting more people outside locally leads to a future full of adventures on other public lands, like State or National Parks. We can increase access to outdoor spaces through these local parks and through programs like REI’s “Outside in 5” initiative. Our local parks are a vital gateway into the world of outdoor recreation and they are an essential part of urban and suburban life — offering accessible outdoor spaces for relaxation, exercise, and outdoor recreation to local communities.
Your Business Voice Matters
Arizona’s wide variety of protected public lands offers endless opportunities for diverse recreation activities — drawing in millions of tourists from all over the world. In 2022, tourism spending in Arizona reached $28 billion and generated $3.8 billion in tax revenue. (source) And while tourism numbers are sky-high, so is outdoor recreation participation among Arizonans. In 2021, a shocking 59% of Arizonans participated in outdoor recreation. (source)
These are your most loyal customers as well as your potential customers. And according to the Outdoor Industry Association, more than half of outdoor consumers say that they care about where the businesses they shop at stand on social issues. (source) This is an opportunity to reach your customers in a new way, not a challenge.
From securing funding for Arizona’s trails to the recent designation of our newest national monument, your business voice matters. And as a business owner who depends on the good stewardship of our public lands, you are a critical part of these moments.
And finally, as a member of Get Outdoors Arizona, you’re on the list to be notified of any advocacy opportunities that come our way — opportunities for you to use your voice to strengthen our public lands. Stay tuned, and we’ll keep you updated on what’s happening in outdoor recreation in Arizona.
