Despite the recent electoral loss of the Sedona Red Rock National Scenic Area’s congressional sponsor, the legislation is not dead.

After several years of negotiations regarding a potential NSA for 160,000 acres around Sedona, U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick [D-District 1] introduced House Resolution 4823 Sedona-Red Rock National Scenic Area Act of 2010 on March 11. It passed House Committee on Natural Resources review on July 22.

The bill reached the House floor in September. It was considered along with dozens of other small bills under the “suspension of the rules,” a common legislative procedure used to pass noncontroversial and/or nonpartisan legislation with debate limited to 40 minutes and no amendments permitted.

A suspension of the rules vote requires a two-thirds majority instead of a simple majority normally need to pass a bill. The NSA vote failed Sept. 23 by 21 votes. All five of Arizona’s Democrats in the House voted in favor of the bill while its three Republicans voted against.

Kirkpatrick lost her reelection bid Nov. 2 to Republican challenger Paul Gosar, a Flagstaff dentist.

Gosar did not return numerous telephone calls and e-mail requests for comment.

“It appears at this time he is not in support,” said Tom O’Halleran, president of Keep Sedona Beautiful. “But there hasn’t been much of an educational effort on the complexity of this issue. This is a very simple bill in relation to other NSAs.

“Our goal now is to start to develop that strategy with him. He’s a fair-minded person.”

O’Halleran is a former member of the Arizona House of Representatives and Arizona Senate. As a fellow Republican, O’Halleran said he has known Gosar both professionally and personally — Gosar used to be his dentist.

The main issue will be bringing Gosar up to speed on the NSA and assuring him the legislation will protect private property rights and infrastructure improvements, O’Halleran said. The bill
is nonpartisan and has support from local people regardless of party.

What is most important to convey to Gosar, O’Halleran said, is Amendment 12 to the Coconino National Forest Management Plan — current U.S. Forest Service land conservation management guidelines for the Sedona area — is an administrative tool. Amendment 12 does not protect the area in the same way an NSA would.

“The members of [Sedona] City Council are involved with that effort,” Sedona Mayor Rob Adams said. To show support for the NSA, council members drafted three letters Tuesday, Nov. 9.

“The strategy right now is to, obviously, work with Gosar to see where he stands,” Adams said.

“We’re going to try to arrange a meeting soon. The sooner, the better.

“Now that the election is over, we can take the politics out of the process. We can listen to the will of the people and do what’s for the good of the community.”

The bill may have one last option to become law this year — an omnibus bill.

O’Halleran said the NSA might still be lumped in with other land bills into a single omnibus bill that could be passed in a lame-duck session before the end of the year. Such a bill would require a single, majority vote in both the U.S. House and Senate, 218 votes and 51 votes, respectively.

O’Halleran said there are efforts under way to get the NSA added to an omnibus bill.

Kirkpatrick did not reply by press time.