Are Western States Getting Fair Return on Energy Development?
With sky-high energy prices driving new oil and gas exploration in the American West, states are struggling to keep pace with critical infrastructure and revenue policies. Working with Montana-based Headwaters Economics, The Rural West Initiative has published a comprehensive multimedia report, combining a rigorous economic and policy analysis with a 31-minute interactive video documentary. Click here for the full report
Beaver alongside Utah stream Photo by Jeremy Christensen
Exciting things are happening that celebrate and highlight the importance of this keystone watershed engineer. It’s been a dry, warm winter throughout much of southern Utah. High elevation snowpack is well-below average, and in the lower elevations summer has all but arrived. Because it’s been such a mild winter, and following a relatively wet year in 2011, our wildlife is flourishing.
In the case of beaver, that is great news for the State’s efforts to increase beaver populations on the National Forests. Unfortunately it also means a few extra headaches for landowners and irrigators this year. However, where some see a nuisance, others see opportunity.
The Trust is actively partnering with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) and taking the opportunity to talk with land owners and managers and share information on best management practices that protect resources and property, while giving beaver a second chance to work their restoration magic in some impaired watersheds. In some cases, that means simply fencing trees to prevent felling, or installing devices to protect culverts or control pond size. In other cases, it means removing beaver altogether from certain areas.
Beaver livetrapped by GCT's Jeremy Christensen and Boulder Community Alliance's Sage Sorenson
In April, Grand Canyon Trust Wildlife Associate Jeremy Christensen and Boulder Community Alliance’s Sage Sorenson, at the request of UDWR’s Southern Region Biologists, were able to live trap nine beaver in five days from the irrigation ditches near Panguitch in Garfield County. The beaver were treated to five days of pampering in quarantine to remove any aquatic hitchhikers like whirling disease before being released into suitable sites on the Dixie National Forest where their dam building activities can again provide a host or restorative benefits to the watersheds. The Trust’s Utah Forest Program, with the help of our incredible Volunteer Program , will be actively tracking the progress of these and future transplant beaver, as well as continue assessing historic and potential habitat on the three southern Utah national forests.
Help the Trust and our many partners in southern Utah celebrate this useful, charismatic creature at the first ever Utah “Leave it to Beavers!” Festival to be held on September 21–22 at the Escalante Petrified Forest State Park outside Escalante, Utah. More information at utahbeaversfestival.org.
This is the perfect time to visit southern Utah’s national parks and monuments, and the festival will be filled with fun, engaging activities and exhibits celebrating the Beaver, Utah’s chief hydrological engineer.
— Jeremy Christensen
Northeastern University Alternative Spring Break volunteers enjoy the sunset after a day helping at North Leupp Family Farm on the Navajo Nation. Kate Watters photo
Spring is in full bloom all across the Colorado Plateau. In our travels, we are enthralled by the wildflowers emerging from impossibly dry landscapes. The beauty and determination of the natural world despite all the factors stacked against it offers us hope. Young volunteers also give us reason to look to the future with optimism.
This spring the energy and hard work of young people has been instrumental in advancing many of our projects. This March we hosted three groups of Alternative Spring Break students from Northeastern and Boston University. We sponsored a crew of ten AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps volunteers for six weeks at Kane Ranch. Former volunteer coordinator, Lauren Berutich, brought her Northern Arizona University social and environmental justice seminar students to do service work with Navajo communities.
Americorps National Civilian Community Corps volunteers improved pronghorn habitat by modifying miles of Kane Ranch fence. Kate Watters photo
Thanks to their collective work, big, juicy Palmer’s penstemon and pale evening primrose flowers bloom in the Kane Native Garden, offering nectar for pollinators. Pronghorn now travel freely and have better access to food and water in the House Rock Valley. Six miles of the Paria Canyon and the ten acre restoration site at Lee’s Ferry are completely cleared of invasive tamarisk and Russian olive trees. 650 native plants in the Page Unified School District greenhouse are available for future native plant restoration projects, and the greenhouse at North Leupp Family Farm is ready for planting.
Navajo elder Glenmore Begay shared his stories with NAU Social and Environmental Justice students at the edge of his ranch on Coal Mine Mesa. Kate Watters photo
Navajo elder Glenmore Begay shared his commitment to traditional life while volunteers sheared sheep and helped slow arroyo erosion on his family’s ranch on Coal Mine Mesa.
We are inspired by their work ethic, their commitment to service, and willingness to challenge themselves to try new experiences. This helps us all believe in the power of renewal for humans and the natural world. Witness these young people in action in a documentary video by our NAU environmental communications intern, Derek Schroeder.
Northern Arizona University student Traci Huskon and GCT Americorps member Lindsay Martindale shear Churro sheep at Coal Mine Canyon. Kate Watters photo
Since 2008, we have trained over eighty Budding Botanist volunteers to document Arizona’s vast plant diversity. This year GCT received two grant awards to complete a flora inventory of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. Join us in the remote corners of the Paria Plateau while we deepen our understanding of this unique landscape. Visit our website for the training and trip dates.
Fort Valley Weed Warriors celebrated Earth Day in force by removing invasive plants. Read an article by dedicated GCT volunteer Dorothy Lamm in the AZ Daily Sun about why it is so important to pull weeds before they alter ecosystems.
Save the date! GCT Community Education Series will host a panel discussion and Q & A of what communities can expect to experience throughout implementation of the Four Forest Restoration Initiative. Join us on June 5 at 7:00 pm at Cline Library.
A great summer of dynamic volunteer opportunities across the Colorado Plateau is just around the corner. Visit our trip schedule and get in on the last available spots!
— Kate Watters
Grand Canyon mouth of Havasu Creek by Erin Whittaker
Full recovery of the endangered humpback chub in Grand Canyon will require ultimately that habitat conditions be improved in the Colorado River. Fluctuating flows from Glen Canyon Dam eliminates much of the designated critical habitat needed to ensure the chub’s survival and recovery. Because water released from the dam is too cold and fluctuations destabilize habitat along the mainstem, other suitable habitat is needed. Tributaries to the Colorado River are the answer, at the least for the near term.
This month hundreds of young humpback chub are being moved to Havasu Creek, a tributary that empties into the Colorado River in Grand Canyon at River Mile 157. It is similar to the Little Colorado River in water chemistry and physical habitat and has few non-native fish predators. This will be the second translocation made in Havasu Creek during the last two years by the National Park Service. The Grand Canyon Trust is supporting this work through its participation in the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program.
Juvenile humpback chub captured for translocation NPS photo
Translocations in tributaries can benefit the population in two ways: first, they may lead to the establishment of additional spawning populations of humpback chub, increasing the odds for their survival in Grand Canyon. Second, tributaries provide a refuge where young chub can grow to a size large enough to survive the colder temperatures of the Colorado River.
2010 Humpback Chub Translocation to Shinumo Creek NPS photo
Translocations have also occurred in Shinumo Creek, a small tributary stream that joins the Colorado River at River Mile 109. In 2009, over 300 humpback chub were successfully moved. One of Shinumo Creek’s positive features is the presence of barrier falls just above its confluence. The 15-foot waterfall isolates chub habitat in the creek from non-native predatory fish in the Colorado River.
The humpback chub is an endangered, 4-million-year-old fish found only in the Colorado River basin. It is one of eight species of fish native to the Colorado River basin. Because of changes caused by Glen Canyon Dam and the introduction of non-native fish such as rainbow trout, the humpback chub population has seriously declined. Today the largest remaining population in the world is found in the Little Colorado River and its confluence with the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. Now the chub recovery effort includes moving young fish into additional tributaries.
— Nikolai Lash
Since the beginning of the year, the Opportunity Fund has become a model for tribal philanthropic work across the Colorado Plateau. In addition to funding, our staff is conducting site visits and providing advice to all grantees.
During the visit with the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project, the organization expressed to us their sincere appreciation. They brought together their project team and presented their plans and curriculum that will be on full display this summer at the Youth Ecology Camp. The day ended with the rare experience of observing a Zuni Kachina Dance.
Inside the new elder center green house
We experienced a similar expression of gratitude in our visit to the newly constructed elder center green house built by the Tolani Lake Enterprises. Our hearts were touched as we visited over lunch with the elders. There was joy in their eyes as they toured the new facility.
Easter egg hunt begins
The day ended with us helping the elders with their Easter egg hunt.
Nahat’a Dziil Initiates works to achieve balance between protection of land and traditional ranching
Years ago, traditional Navajo elders and community members gathered under the shade of nearby trees to talk through important issues and discuss solution steps. Today, the community of Nahat’a Dziil, Arizona is reinvigorating these processes as they create a plan instilled with strong cultural values and prosperity as defined by Navajo teachings. Nahat’a Dziil elders and young adults have been gathering regularly to discuss their vision for their ranch community in the years to come to ensure that they cooperatively protect the land’s health and also achieve a sustainable profit on their cattle sales.
In 1974, an act of Congress relocated some of most traditional Navajo families from their homelands on Big Mountain to the community of Newlands, Arizona, a community just two hours east of Flagstaff off of I-40. While the community has suffered collective trauma as a result of their removal, they are determined to begin planning a brighter future. To reflect this mentality, the name of “Newlands” was changed by the community to “Nahat’a Dziil,” which translates to “strength in planning” in the Navajo language.
Today, the community has fourteen grazing units spread across 300,000 acres of land, and has been strategizing on creating a ranching association that will help them get top dollar for their cattle. In order to achieve this goal they must unify to implement a uniform health, tagging, and vaccination process and sell their cattle collectively. The team that has been actively planning the business is working on a formal business plan that will help the community think through long-term needs. It has been a challenging task, but they are making great progress. With the help of Navajo Padres Mesa Demonstration Ranch, a 60,900 acre ranch located just across the freeway from the community, they are learning how to implement health programs that will create a top-quality beef product while respecting and honoring the land.
— Tony Skrelunas
Two decades ago, developers wanted to build a massive outlet mall in Tusayan, at the southern entrance to Grand Canyon National Park. That dream has metastasized into today’s proposal for “…3 million square feet of commercial space—with high-end stores, fancy hotels, condos, a concert pavilion, spa, dude ranch and Native American cultural fair—along with hundreds of homes, at a range of price-points, and some of it meant for local workers.”
Seeps and springs in the canyon could be adversely affected by groundwater pumping for Tusayan development
Groundwater to meet Tusayan’s current needs is pumped from deep wells in the Redwall-Muave aquifer, which also feeds springs in the Grand Canyon. Park officials, Havasupai leaders, and the Grand Canyon Trust are concerned that the proposed new development will require new wells that will further diminish flows into the Canyon’s fragile seeps and springs. Later this year, permits for the development’s water and sewer systems will be reviewed by the Arizona Corporation Commission. The Trust has filed to intervene in the process and will press for alternative water sources to be considered.
This is merely the most recent threat that business interests impose on the Grand Canyon. Papillon Helicopter’s owner Elling Halvorson, for example, is also invested in Tusayan’s 250-room Grand Canyon Squire Inn and an IMAX theater. After making substantial donations to political campaigns of Arizona Senator John McCain, Halvorson has won McCain’s support for weakening rules to reduce air tour noise over the park.
In addition, IMAX representatives are complaining that a new educational video being shown at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center is hurting their business and are urging the National Park Service shorten its length
An in-depth investigative story in High Country News unveiled how Halvorson has entered into a business partnership with proponents of the new development in shaping the Tusayan city council’s support for key decisions in favor of the sprawling project.
Newly retired Arizona Republic editorial writer Kathleen Ingley was so appalled that she devoted her final two columns to expressing concern about Tusayan’s development plans and other schemes to exploit Arizona’s “premier natural wonder.”
—Roger Clark
