Source from ParkPlanning - Final Saguaro National Park Comprehensive Trails Management Plan.

In 2026, I’m not sure how relevant this document still is, but I’ve saved it here in part because, regardless of changes over time and on-the-ground realities, it’s interesting what gets written into official documents.

Fwiw: through my current lens (April 2026), planning documents often seem to underestimate the dramatic changes in the landscape, city, and population that border public lands. There is always a valid reason to say “no” to additional access, but fundamentally, is it actually public land if the public doesn’t have access to it? So I’ve been frustrated that access is not an overriding primary concern in most planning.

As someone who has never led planning at a large public lands organization, my opinions are largely armchair ramblings, but with roughly 150k (about 15%) more people in Pima County than 20 years ago, I would hope a top goal would be 15% more, 15% improved, access.

It may be a touch dramatic, but it feels fair to say that public lands may be one of the last places in America where there is a shared physical experience and a kind of equality, even if access to that experience is still unequal.