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County to provide $1,000 to Arizona Alpine Trail; nonprofit outlines economic potential
Summary
Arizona Alpine Trail Inc. presented a plan for a 700-mile motorized trail through national forest lands; the board directed staff to provide a $1,000 donation and to assist with permitting and local coordination.
Jerry Smith, president of Arizona Alpine Trail Inc., gave the board an overview of the nonprofit's work to assemble and promote a contiguous motorized off-highway vehicle (OHV) route that links national forest trails from Hanigan Meadow to Payson. "This Arizona Alpine Trail is a really important economic, development and economic generator for this rural towns, and counties in Arizona," Smith said.
Smith told the board the trail is entirely on National Forest land, complies with the travel management plans for the Tonto, Coconino and Apache-Sitgreaves national forests, and connects existing forest routes into an approximately 700-mile, multi-day motorized trail. He said State Parks provided about $400,000 to develop a master plan, being prepared by Logan Simpson of Tempe, targeted for completion by December.
Smith estimated trail users would spend roughly $300 per day in communities along the route and projected 300–400 riders per day on peak days, creating an estimated $90,000–$100,000 in daily spending across the trail corridor. He asked Greenlee County for a $1,000 donation to support marketing and outreach.
County Administrator Derek Rupier told the board the $1,000 request falls within his spending authority and asked whether staff should proceed. The board directed administration to provide the $1,000 donation and to follow up on permitting questions raised by Smith about fueling at Hanigan Meadow; staff said they would identify the appropriate permitting contacts (for example, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and local permitting offices) and follow up with Smith.
Why it matters: the project is positioned as a multi-county tourism and economic-development effort that would concentrate OHV activity on approved trails, reduce off-route impacts, and bring out-of-state visitors to rural communities.
What happens next: county staff will issue the $1,000 donation, follow up with Smith on permitting for a pay-at-the-pump fueling option at Hanigan Meadow, and coordinate with Rupier as the county's point of contact for marketing.
