Protesters, planners spar over Mt. Graham campsite

Leigh-Anne Brown Arizona Daily Wildcat Earth First! representative Daniel Barron holds a sign in protest, Friday, of the Forest Service's proposal to create a new Mount Graham campground. Several people protested outside of the Federal Building downtown, saying the action could result in the death of a rare species of bird, the goshawk.

The proposed campsite could modify the existing 10-acre area by adding a road, parking spots, ramadas, picnic tables, a garbage can and a restroom, Templin said. Up to 150 trees could be cut down, she said.

The project's critics complain it could be detrimental to Apache goshawk birds, only eight of which live on the mountain.

"The loss of one tree affects this very rare species," said David Hodges, a member of the Southwest Forest Alliance. "If they were to cut it down, it probably would mean the death of those birds."

Campsite Twilight is one of the few areas on Mount Graham available for construction, said Carrie Templin, a Safford Ranger District spokeswoman. Only 3.6 percent of the mountain can be developed.

The proposed plan could reduce the number of people camping by 140 and shorten the camping season, benefiting all the wild animals in the area, she said.

"By defining the use and reducing the capacity, it provides some (recreational) use and protection for the goshawk," Templin said.

But a University of Arizona environmentalist said the campsite is unnecessary.

"We are not against people camping up there," said Michael LeBlanc, a UA agricultural resource economics sophomore and a Student Environmental Action Coalition member. "We want to keep Twilight primitive but not industrial."

Templin said Apache goshawk nests have not been found on the campsite since 1994, but one pair was found nearby this summer.

If Apache goshawks were found nesting in the campground area, the site would be closed temporarily, she said.

Meanwhile, Templin said campsite development would change the landscape as little as possible.

"The campground construction was designed to avoid cutting trees," she said, adding that no more than 2 acres would be paved.

Still, more than 700 letters denouncing the campsite - half signed by UA students - were presented to the Forest Service during a rally Friday in downtown Tucson, said Hodges.

Under the National Environmentalist Policy Act, the Forest Service must allow 30 days for the public to air their opinions before such a project is implemented, according to Templin.

"We hope by saying a lot of people don't want this, they'll take us seriously," LeBlanc said.

The decision date for the project has not been determined, said Gail Aschenbrenner, a Forest Service spokeswoman.

The content and opinions expressed in the letters will be considered, Templin said.

Peter Galvin, a conservation biologist for the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity, said he hopes the Twilight Campsite plan is scrapped.

"There is adequate camping and it is really frustrating they want to pave paradise and put up a parking lot," he said.

Rachael Myer can be reached via e-mail at Rachael.Myer@wildcat.arizona.edu.