By David Madrid | The Arizona Republic
Roy and Ella Pierpoint continue a 1,500-year way of life, farming near an area awash in Hohokam and Patayan treasures.
The Pierpoints, who farm the land the Hohokams cultivated, say they want Congress to shield the ancient sites from vandals, limit future development and protect the wildlife that lives there.
The farmland lies 30 miles southwest of Phoenix, near the mouth of Red Rock Canyon. The canyon’s red-sandstone walls are dotted with ancient petroglyphs and graffiti.
The Pierpoints have joined a wide-ranging coalition of political groups, including Luke Air Force Base advocates, environmentalists and developers, to support a bill that would preserve more than 950,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management property, mostly in western Maricopa County.
The Arizona Sonoran Desert Heritage Act of 2013 was introduced by Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Tucson on Friday, said Adam Sarvana, a spokesman for Grijalva’s office.
Military supporters say the bill would protect open space beneath critical military flight corridors between Luke and the Barry M. Goldwater Range.
Environmentalists want the natural resources to be protected. And developers who support the proposal see economic benefit in preserving the past and wild areas as metro Phoenix grows.
