On February 26, 1919, President Woodrow Wilson signed an act establishing Grand Canyon National Park. With the stroke of a pen, U.S. citizens — and the world — gained an incredible natural treasure that would be permanently protected and preserved for future generations. Today, millions of people peer over the edge of the Grand Canyon each year, making it the second most visited national park in the country.
The Grand Canyon Trust has been devoted to protecting the Grand Canyon and surrounding landscapes for over 30 years. We still have a lot to do. Join us as we look forward to the next century of conservation on park lands and beyond.
There are over 800 active mining claims on national forest and other public lands around Grand Canyon National Park. If passed, the bill would make the current temporary mining ban around the park permanent.
Long before the Grand Canyon joined ranks as a national park, it was home to Indigenous people. At least 11 tribes trace their ancestors, culture, and places of origin to the Grand Canyon. But Native peoples — the canyon’s original caretakers — have been pushed off their traditional homelands and excluded from park management throughout the past hundred years.
The Trust is facilitating the Intertribal Centennial Conversations with cultural leaders from Grand Canyon-affiliated tribes across the Colorado Plateau. Dozens of individuals from Hualapai, Havasupai, Zuni, Hopi, Southern San Juan Paiute, and Navajo communities have come together to identify priorities and goals, placing tribes at the forefront of education, interpretation, and stewardship of the Grand Canyon. They've already presented 40 recommendations to the park service and other partners on how to better engage with tribes, and they will continue to push inclusiveness into the second century of Grand Canyon National Park.
I want people to know that the cultural history of the Grand Canyon is not the history you read in colonial books. I want them to honor and respect our oral history and to understand that the history of the Grand Canyon doesn’t start with Mary Colter...more ›
Since the creation of the national park at Grand Canyon, their whole approach was not very accommodating to the tribes. Theodore Roosevelt went there, designated it, and had all the tribes moved out of that area, claiming it a natural treasure for the American people. We are the American people too, and that’s our homeland...more ›
I’d like to see my progeny — all my great-grandchildren, and their grandchildren — be able to go to the canyon and realize and know that those places are protected and preserved for them. I don’t want them to come to face what we had to. The humiliation, the attempts to make us so ashamed of where we come from...more ›
The Intertribal Centennial Conversations seeks to develop respectful relationships between federal land mangement agencies and tribal communities and promote greater involvement of Grand Canyon's first stewards in managing the park and public and tribal lands. Here's a glimpse of the group's recommendations:
Was it love at first sight, or did sore knees make you vow never to hike in the canyon again? We’re collecting stories about first impressions of the Grand Canyon. Tell us why you love the place ›
The Grand Canyon Trust was born out of our love for the Grand Canyon. Help us continue safeguarding the canyon's air, waters, views, and communities into the next century. Make a gift ›
From trail descriptions and maps to permit information and directions, we've got you covered. Plan your next Grand Canyon adventure, and check out our favorite routes ›
A permanent mining ban around the Grand Canyon is possible during the Biden administration.
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How can the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) permit dams on Navajo Nation land? Great question.
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