It used to be that only Phoenix had preserved desert land within its borders for hiking and non-motorized recreation. In the last 15 years, however, Scottsdale has caught up by developing the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. The forward-looking decisions of Scottsdale voters are part of the success story, but equally important is the role of the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy, a non-profit organization that works side-by-side with the City of Scottsdale. While Scottsdale's municipal government has acquired the land and built the facilities, the Conservancy develops and maintains trails, leads guided hikes, and offers education programs.

Phoenix needs an equally robust non-profit auxiliary to champion its own desert preserve and supplement its park rangers. There are currently some organizations with missions in support of the preserve, but none has the visibility and effectiveness of the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy. This may be an area in which the City can either encourage an existing organization so that it can become larger, better publicized, and more robust or cultivate a new one if none of the current players are up to the challenge.