HOUSE MEMORIAL 88

51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2013

INTRODUCED BY

Brian F. Egolf

A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF DALE BALL TO THE CITY OF SANTA FE AND THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO AND DECLARING THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013, "DALE BALL DAY" IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

     WHEREAS, Dale Ball first fell in love with Santa Fe and the surrounding area when he visited, at the urging of his wife Sylvia, in 1977, and he soon started looking for a way to relocate to this beautiful part of the world; and

     WHEREAS, Dale and Sylvia moved to Santa Fe in 1981, purchased the bank of Santa Fe and managed it together for several years; and

     WHEREAS, Dale served as president of the bank of Santa Fe and Sylvia served as chairman of the board; and

     WHEREAS, in 1994, Dale founded, and became the first executive director of, the Santa Fe conservation trust, a nonprofit land trust dedicated to serving the community of greater Santa Fe by preserving open spaces, traditional landscapes and trails; and

     WHEREAS, under Dale's leadership, the Santa Fe conservation trust was successful in halting private development on Atalaya mountain and repairing the well-worn hiking trail to the top of Atalaya, among many other projects; and

     WHEREAS, in 1996, Dale negotiated a complex land swap between landowners and the city of Santa Fe that opened up public access from Upper Canyon road to the trails of Picacho peak, Atalaya mountain and the Santa Fe national forest; and

     WHEREAS, the "Indefatigable Dale" and the "Indispensable Sylvia", as they have been called, made many contributions to the arts and social causes in Santa Fe over the years and were named Santa Fe living treasures in 1999 for their lasting impact on the community; and

     WHEREAS, after retiring from the trust in 1999, Dale continued to pursue his long-time vision of a system of hiking and biking trails that would allow year-round public access to the foothills of Santa Fe and provide a direct connection between the city and the high-country trails of the national forest; and

     WHEREAS, Dale worked tirelessly, bushwhacking the land, studying maps, developing his concept, negotiating agreements with Santa Fe county and the city of Santa Fe, gaining easements from private property owners and obtaining access to enough land to create an expansive system of foothills trails; and

     WHEREAS, through the generosity of an anonymous donor and a matching contribution from the McCune charitable foundation, along with votes of approval from the Santa Fe city council and Santa Fe county board of county commissioners, the trail system was secured; and

     WHEREAS, Dale enlisted the help of Mike Wirtz, an experienced forest service trail builder, to map the exact trail locations and oversee the building of trails; and

     WHEREAS, the first fifteen miles of the trail system opened in July 2001; and

     WHEREAS, later that year, Dale was named one of "Ten Who Made a Difference" by The Santa Fe New Mexican; and

     WHEREAS, the Dale Ball trails now connect with the Atalaya trail and the Dorothy Stewart trail to form a thirty-mile foothills trail system, and the northern section of the Dale Ball trails links with the Winsor trail and, thus, to the Santa Fe national forest trails leading into the Pecos wilderness; and

     WHEREAS, at the age of eighty-eight, Dale is still making headlines, having recently been featured in the cover story, "Trail Blazer: How Dale Ball Gave Santa Fe a Wilderness Legacy" by Mia Rose Carbone in the Santa Fe Reporter; and

     WHEREAS, Dale finally retired at the age of eighty-one, and he and Sylvia now live in Albuquerque;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that Dale Ball be recognized for his outstanding contributions to the city of Santa Fe, to the state of New Mexico and to the many residents of and visitors to the beautiful country that he loves; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Dale Ball be recognized for his talent as an articulate and masterful negotiator who has been stunningly successful at turning his ideas into reality by collaborating with others to achieve his visionary goals; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Thursday, March 7, 2013, be declared "Dale Ball Day" in the house of representatives; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to Dale Ball.

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