On August 15, 1988 the Board of Supervisors appointed an eleven-member citizens' committee to develop policies designed to guide future growth and development in the Fort Valley area. The committee selected the issues of concern which included water, fire protection, solid waste disposal, utilities, environmental quality, roads, and land use. The study area decided upon was that depicted on the Department of Community Development's Fort Valley Zoning Map. This includes all lands outside of the incorporated City Limits of Flagstaff on both sides of Fort Valley Road/Highway 180 out to and including the Fort Valley and Baderville areas. The Committee decided to exclude Hart Prairie and Kendrick Park. Throughout the process, the Committee thought of the study area as being in tow distinct parts. South Fort Valley included the Lockett property, Colton Ranch area, Mount Elden Lookout Road, Schultz Pass Road, the Magdalena/Van Sickle area, Forest Hills and Hidden Hollow. North Fort Valley included Fort Valley Ranch, both sides of Highway 180 in the main valley, and Baderville.

In 1992, Graham County conducted a transportation study for the Gila Valley Region. This study prepared a long-range transportation plan and a transportation improvement program. Many of the improvements have been completed. The purpose of this study is to update the 1992 transportation plan and to address the current issues within the area.

The Graham County, Safford, Thatcher, Pima Small Area Transportation Study was initiated by Graham County, in conjunction with the Arizona Department of Transportation, to develop a countywide, long-range multimodal transportation plan for this growing rural Arizona community. The project sponsors selected the PB Americas team to conduct this study under the direction of a Technical Advisory Committee, which included representatives from Graham County, City of Safford, Town of Thatcher, Town of Pima, Southeastern Arizona Governments Organization, and ADOT.

The purpose of the plan is to bring about coordinated physical development in accordance with the present and future needs of the county. The comprehensive plan shall be developed so as to conserve the natural resources of the county, to insure efficient expenditure of public funds, and to promote the health, safety, convenience, and general welfare of the public. Such comprehensive plan may include but not be limited to, among other things, studies and recommendations relative to the location, character and extent of highways, railroads, bus and other transportation routes, bicycle facilities, bridges, public buildings, public services, schools, parks, open space, housing quality, variety and affordability, parkways, hiking and riding trails, airports, forests, wildlife areas, dams, projects affecting conservation of natural resources, air quality, water quality and floodplain zoning.

The information in this report is based on telephone interviews with 700 registered voters. One random sample of 500 registered voters was selected from all registered voters living in Arizona. This sample was proportionately stratified so that voters in each of Arizona’s 15 counties were included in the sample. An additional sample of 100 interviews with registered voters living in Pima County was also interviewed. A third random sample of 100 registered voters living in the more rural counties also was interviewed. The purpose of selecting the two smaller samples was to create sub-samples of Pima County and rural voters that could be compared with the opinions of voters in Maricopa County.

This report is one of several from Statistical Research Inc. written to develop the Cultural and Historic Resources Element of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. Divided into four parts, the report summarizes available information that reflects the experience of (1) ancient peoples of Southern Arizona; (2) indigenous peoples; (3) non-indigenous peoples of the historical period; and (4) Pima County today.

Cultural and historical resources are those places that are produced by, and reflect upon, the people who have lived for thousands of years in what is today Pima County, Arizona. These places include archaeological sites of both historic and prehistoric times; buildings, structures, and engineered features, as well as historically modified landscapes; and finally, places of importance to the beliefs, practices and historical identity of traditional communities. This report is an effort to prepare a detailed and comprehensive summary of all that is known about cultural and historical resources in Pima County.