Brief History (Back to Online Press Kit Index)

The Trust was established in 1985 by Arizona governor Bruce Babbitt, Jim Trees and Huey Johnson to be a national trust for conservation projects in the Grand Canyon. However, within a year, board member Stewart Udall made an impassioned plea that the Trust should be an advocate for both the Grand Canyon and Colorado Plateau. The board adopted his suggestion and the Trust was shaped as a regional organization thereafter.

The Trust’s early years were marked by work on protecting natural quiet in the Grand Canyon, cleaning up the coal-fired Navajo Generating Station, and re-operating Glen Canyon Dam to protect downstream resources in the Grand Canyon. By 1990, the organization had expanded its work from pure policy advocacy to a broader set of conservation objectives throughout the Colorado Plateau region. The Trust completed a new Strategic Plan in early 2004 that will guide our work over the next two years.

The Trust currently employs a professional staff of 22, encompassing a wide range of skills from biology and forestry to economics and law. We have 21 active board members, a growing nation-wide membership of more than 5,500 people, and a seasonal volunteer network of more than 150 people who assist with our on-the-ground fieldwork. The Trust is based in Flagstaff, Arizona with satellite offices in Moab, Utah and Las Vegas, Nevada.