The question “Is Secret Mountain holding some kind of secret?” has been circulating among some Sedonans and was the topic of a recent episode of the History Channel reality show “Beyond Skinwalker Ranch.”

In December, History Channel film crews came to Sedona to investigate some of the rumors of paranormal anomalies. The series followed a former employee of the Central Intelligence Agency, Andrew Bustamante, and journalist Paul Beban as they went looking for what they claim are secret military tunnels at the Bradshaw Ranch. The 90-acre ranch is located 12 miles west of Sedona, 4 miles southwest of Secret Mountain and 1.5 miles west of Palatki Heritage Site between Hartwell Canyon wash and Loy Canyon wash.

The ranch was formerly owned by Bob Bradshaw, a Hollywood stuntman who purchased the property in 1960. The 90-acre ranch was used as a location for five Western movies, two television series and numerous commercials.

Bradshaw’s wife, Linda, and UFO enthu­siast Tom Dongo claimed in the 1995 book “Merging Dimensions: The Incredible Saga of Bradshaw Ranch” that “orbs,” bright lights and otherworldly beings began to appear at the ranch in 1992.

John Bradshaw, a former Sedona vice mayor and the owner of a Jeep tour company, and his son Mason were interviewed for the episode.

“There’s a lot of rumors and speculations of stories and I think there’s a little bit of truth with each story,” John Bradshaw said. “Supposedly there’s a military site in Secret Canyon.”

Located five miles away from Bradshaw Ranch, hundreds of visitors and locals hike Secret Canyon weekly year round, nearly none reporting anything out of the ordinary.

“Beyond Skinwalker Ranch” aired two episodes on Bradshaw Ranch. The first episode discussed theories of possible mili­tary operations, unusual infrastructure and an alleged tunnel beneath the ranch.

The film crew hired Bob and Robert Leonard, whose company specializes in land-based geophysical surveys and the detection of archaeological sites, caves and tunnels, under­ground water, mineral deposits and even caches in difficult terrain or hard-to-reach locations, to survey the area.

The team overflew the Bradshaw Ranch area with a drone and the show’s producers claimed that it revealed a 50-foot under­ground “anomaly” and tunnels.

The show’s producers did not confirm these findings using different data collection methods, nor did they submit their findings to be checked and replicated by unaffiliated researchers before airing them.

The raw data is not available via the History Channel’s website for independent review.

Ranch Preserved with Sale to USFS

Gamma Investors LLC acquired the ranch around 2000, then sold it for $3.15 million in May 2001 to Trust for Public Land, an environmental nonprofit based in San Francisco that preserves private land for public use. The trust then sold the land a month later to the U.S. Forest Service, which now owns it and the surrounding national forest.

The Trust for Public Land stated it has preserved more than 200 acres in the Verde Valley.

TPL “has a long history of working in the Coconino National Forest, dating back to 1980 when we began assisting the U.S. Forest Service with acquiring high-priority conservation properties from willing sellers.”

The Trust for Public Land “has protected land adjacent to the Red Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness Area, expanded visitor access to the Woo Ranch property near Red Canyon and protected important archaeological resources in the Lincoln Canyon area.”

Southwest Experimental Garden Array Project

Since 2016, the Bradshaw Ranch has been used for the Southwest Experimental Garden Array, a project based at Northern Arizona University that has a special use permit from the U.S. National Forest Service for up to 20 years to conduct long-term climate change research on up to 22 acres at the site.

SEGA is following up on community genetics research conducted by members of the Cottonwood Ecology Group. The foundational research uses common gardens to examine how individual genotypes of cottonwoods support different communities of organisms and ecosystem processes.

Amy Whipple, an adjunct professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and the director of the Merriam-Powell Research Station, manages the day-to-day activi­ties of SEGA’s experi­mental gardens, and Paul Heinrich, a research informatics officer for the Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research, is responsible for the development of data management policy and tools, climate instru­mentation and other infra­structure for SEGA

The researchers said that they had been looking for a plot of land that had access to water for experimentation with different varieties of cottonwood trees and piñon pines. The U.S. Forest Service recom­mended Bradshaw Ranch, as it contains a 900-foot well that is used for irrigation.

Currently, the site is fenced and is home to a camera, several solar panels and a generator, among other equipment.

YouTubers alleging para­normal activity sometimes trespass on the property.

For more information about the SEGA project, visit sega.nau.edu, email mpcer@nau.edu and phone (928) 523-6221 for those interested in the SEGA project.

None of NAU’s SEGA team scientists have seen any paranormal anomalies associated with Bradshaw Ranch and are completely unaware of rumors of any secret military base or tunnels.