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Tumamoc Hill Road Project Nears Completion |
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TUCSON, Ariz. — Tumamoc Hill will reopen to visitors Monday, Feb. 4, at 6 a.m., weather permitting, with a ribbon cutting and reopening ceremony scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 9 at 10 a.m. Rain, predicted for Tucson this weekend, could cause slight delay of a day or two in reopening the road, which has been closed for repaving since Jan. 22. The University of Arizona repaved the 1 1/2-mile road up Tumamoc Hill to make it more passable for walkers and researchers, and to preserve the ecological and historical elements of the property. "We are really excited to be back up on Tumamoc soon – we have missed it!" said Ben Wilder, director of Tumamoc Hill. "The new road is the first of many great things to come. It will enhance a site hundreds of Tucsonans use every day for health and rejuvenation and allow us to continue to execute the Desert Lab's mission of research and education." The $200,000 investment in the new road was funded equally by the UA and a crowdfunding campaign initiated by the UA College of Science at crowdfund.arizona.edu/tumamocroad. As of Feb. 1, the crowdfunding campaign was 90 percent funded by more than 215 donors. Edith Sykes Lowell and David Lowell provided a dollar-for-dollar match that has been extended to the end of the campaign. Sykes Lowell is the granddaughter of Godfrey Sykes, one of Tumamoc Hill's early scientists. Tumamoc is an 860-acre ecological reserve and U.S. National Historic Landmark owned and operated by the UA in partnership with Pima County. Andrew Carnegie established the Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill in 1903, beginning more than 115 years of ecological research and making Tumamoc Hill a world-renowned center for arid land studies.
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| Media contacts: Ben Wilder Tumamoc Hill Office: 520-626-3987 | Cell: 520-971-2486 bwilder@email.arizona.edu Stacy Pigott |
| Established in 1885, the University of Arizona, the state's super land-grant university with two medical schools, produces graduates who are real-world ready through its 100% Engagement initiative. Recognized as a global leader and ranked 16th for the employability of its graduates, the UA is also a leader in research, bringing more than $606 million in research investment each year, and ranking 21st among all public universities. The UA is advancing the frontiers of interdisciplinary scholarship and entrepreneurial partnerships, and is a member of the Association of American Universities, the 62 leading public and private research universities. It benefits the state with an estimated economic impact of $8.3 billion annually. |
