Homolovi Park subsidy preserved

Ellen Bilbrey, public information officer for Arizona State Parks, announced yesterday that the $305,000 needed to save Homolovi Archaeological State Park and McFarland State Park will be available for the next fiscal year.

"It's wonderful," said E. Charles Adams, curator of archaeology at the Arizona State Museum.

Adams, a University of Arizona archaeologist, has spent the last 13 years excavating and recording the vast prehistoric pueblos at Homolovi near Winslow, Ariz.

The park was in danger of closing after the Joint Legislative Budget Committee recommended shutting down the two parks to save money.

Park officials estimated Homolovi would cost taxpayers $228,000 in operating costs next year, while revenue estimates from entrance fees totaled only $42,000.

McFarland State Historic Park, a historic building in Florence, had similar budget shortfalls.

By The Numbers More than 26,000 tourists visited the park in 1998 Park officials estimated Homolovi would cost taxpayers $228,000 in operating costs next year Revenue estimates from entrance fees totaled only $42,000 The $305,000 needed to save Homolovi Archaeological State Park and McFarland State Park will be available for the next fiscal year

Money for the parks will come from the State Park Enhancement Fund, Bilbrey said. The fund consists of money generated from entrance fees to all Arizona state parks.

Homolovi consists of four pueblos and clusters of adobe buildings used as living and work areas by the ancestors of the modern Hopi Indians. At its height in the 14th century, it was home to about 2,500 people, Adams said.

Excavations have revealed much about the early economic and spiritual life at the pueblo, Adams said. Several modern Hopi clans trace their lineage to Homolovi's ancient inhabitants and maintain shrines at the site.

Increasing concern about protecting the pueblos from vandals and artifact hunters led to the creation of the park in 1993. A visitor center and interpretive signs were provided for the site.

More than 26,000 tourists visited the park in 1998, according to Park Service records.

Jackrabbit Pueblo, an unprotected group of ruins near Homolovi, has suffered at the hands of vandals for years. Walls have been knocked down and holes have been dug all over the area, Adams said.

Adams said he is concerned that Homolovi may suffer a similar fate if the park is closed.

"I'm glad they have wisened up" said Vince Lamotta, a UA archaeology graduate student.

Lamotta works with Adams at the site and is writing his dissertation on the religious life of its inhabitants.

Lamotta and Adams, along with about 20 undergraduate and graduate students, plan to return to the site this summer to complete their investigation of one of the pueblos.

Lamotta said the money invested in the park will be worth it. Increasing the numbers of visitors and the scientific value of future excavations will more than make up for the cost of keeping the park open.

"They will get it back manifold," he said.