Editing Scottsdale, Arizona (section)

===Further expansion and development, 1970s–1980s===
[[File:Scottsdale-Scottsdale Spire-1957-2007.JPG|thumb|right|upright|Scottsdale Spire]]
The city continued to grow in the 1960s and 1970s, the population reaching almost 68,000 by 1970.<ref name=Museum>{{cite web |url=http://www.scottsdalemuseum.com/index.php/history/key-events-in-the-history-of-scottsdale |title=Key Events in the History of Scottsdale |publisher=Scottsdale Museum}}</ref> Most of the unused property within the city limits was to the north, so that was the direction in which the city expanded. The city, which in 1959 had spanned {{cvt|5|sqmi}}, expanded its borders to encompass {{cvt|62|sqmi}}.<ref name=ScotHist /> Large ranch tracts covered huge areas in the northern part of the city. One of the largest of these was the McCormick ranch, a {{cvt|4236|acre|adj=on}} ranch serving much of the eastern boundary of Scottsdale owned by Fowler and Anne McCormick. Fowler's paternal grandfather was [[Cyrus McCormick]], the inventor of the grain reaper, and his maternal grandfather was [[John D. Rockefeller]].<ref name=AZOdd>{{cite web|url=http://arizonaoddities.com/2009/12/the-stories-behind-scottsdales-mccormick-ranch-gainey-ranch/|title=The Story Behind Scottsdale's McCormick Ranch|date=December 22, 2009|publisher=Arizona Oddities}}</ref> When Anne died in 1970, the property was sold to Kaiser-Aetna for $12.1&nbsp;million.<ref name=RR>{{cite web|url=http://www.therailroadpark.com/history-ranch|title=History of McCormick Ranch|publisher=McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park}}</ref> This started a series of large-scale, master-planned communities within Scottsdale's borders, including Scottsdale Ranch (1978),<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.scottsdaleranch.org/history-summary| title=Scottsdale Ranch History| access-date=January 5, 2014| archive-date=January 6, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106032820/http://www.scottsdaleranch.org/history-summary| url-status=dead}}</ref> Gainey Ranch (1980),<ref name=AZOdd /> McDowell Mountain Ranch (1992),<ref>{{cite web | url=http://scottsdaleindeed.com/MMR_History.html|title=McDowell Mountain Ranch History}}</ref> Desert Mountain (1986),<ref>{{cite web | url=http://desertmountain.com/become-a-member/history/|title=Desert Mountain History}}</ref> and DC Ranch (1990s).<ref name=DCR>{{cite web | url=http://www.dcranch.com/For_Residents/Community_Overview/DCRanchHistory.htm|title=History |publisher=DC Ranch }}</ref>

In 1975, the city annexed the "east Shea" section, bordering [[Fountain Hills]], expanding its area from {{cvt|62.2 to 88.6|sqmi}}. This was followed by a four-year period from 1981 to 1984 during which the city annexed an additional (almost) {{cvt|80|sqmi}}.<ref name=Museum />

Faced with this rapid expansion and growth, many residents became concerned about losing their southwestern scenery. The McDowell Sonoran Conservancy was born in 1991.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mcdowellsonoran.org/content/pages/history#sthash.o3BD6SOK.dpbs|title=What Trail Led Us Here|publisher=McDowell Sonoran Conservancy|access-date=January 5, 2014|archive-date=January 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106032135/http://www.mcdowellsonoran.org/content/pages/history#sthash.o3BD6SOK.dpbs|url-status=dead}}</ref> Teaming with developers, a plan was developed to set aside the McDowell Mountains and adjoining areas in a huge preserve. In 1995, Scottsdale's citizens voted to implement a sales tax to purchase acreage for this purpose. When completed, the {{cvt|36,000|acre}} planned for the McDowell Sonoran Preserve will be nearly one-third of Scottsdale's land area, equal in size to [[Bryce Canyon National Park]].<ref name=ScotHist /><ref name=DCR />