Fort Lowell was a supply base for the United States Army “Apache Campaigns” between 1873 and 1891. Following abandonment of the fort in 1891, settlers moved in and used some fort buildings as residences, or stripped the buildings of useful materials. By the 1930s, much of the fort had fallen into disrepair or had been sold off. Eventually, the City of Tucson acquired a large portion of the old fort which became what is today’s “Fort Lowell Park.” A 5.2 acre (“Adkins”) parcel of the former fort containing several original adobe buildings was still in private ownership, and the 2004 County bond election passed a proposal to acquire the land and preserve the historic resources.

The Arizona Department of Transportation was authorized in 1996 to administer a State Infrastructure Bank under a cooperative agreement with the Federal Highway Administration. The Highway Expansion and Extension Loan Program (HELP) was established. The financial statements present only the funds comprising the Fund and are not intended to present fairly the financial position or results of operations of the Department.

The HELP program is meant to be a funding tool to accelerate needed highway projects throughout the state. Board Funding Obligations are an important part of the HELP capitalization and the current stress on the State's General Fund has impacted our ability to use BFOs as a funding source for new loans. Though $140 million of BFOs are authorized by statute to capitalize the HELP, the State Treasurer was required to call all outstanding BFOs in April 2009. Consequently, the State Transportation Board and the Department have suspended the HELP program given the uncertainty of a long term funding source.

This five-year update of Arizona’s Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) is in accordance with the provisions of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act, which was enacted in 1964 to encourage the provision of greater recreation opportunities for American citizens. Arizona receives annual congressional appropriations administered through the Arizona State Parks Board to fund state and local government sponsored outdoor recreation projects.

This update of Arizona’s Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan is in accordance with the provisions of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act, which was enacted in 1964 to encourage the provision of greater recreation opportunities for American citizens. Arizona receives annual congressional appropriations from LWCF, administered through the Arizona State Parks Board to fund state and local government sponsored outdoor recreation projects.