The morning after the November election, she came running out to where I was feeding my cows and said Schwinden had just called and wanted me to come up to his house.
Controversy has long surrounded State Trust land bordering the community of Crystal Beach. The area was a popular site for campers and outdoor recreationists until this week, when officials from the Arizona State Land Department officially closed the area after years of community complaints.
Arizona State Land Commissioner Lisa Atkins signed an order last month prohibiting overnight camping in the area. Temporary paper signs advising campers of the closure were posted in early December, and existing signage was painted over this week to advise campers of the area’s new restricted access.
“The Arizona State Land Department received numerous complaints over several months from residents in the area regarding noise from overnight campers and the trash they were leaving behind,” Atkins said Friday. “In response, and in coordination with requests from (the Mohave County Board of Supervisors), we closed the area to overnight camping indefinitely.”