BY TRUST STAFF
JACK DYKINGA
Dam Proposals Threaten Little Colorado River
Greetings friends. We are sitting here at the edge of the Little Colorado River, mere miles from the Colorado River, which runs through the Grand Canyon. We can’t help but be in awe and humbled by the vast beauty of this rugged desert landscape that surrounds us. If you listen closely, you can hear the water carve its way through layers of geologic time. In the most recent layers of time, this beautiful landscape has faced many threats of proposed developments, from the Escalade resort to two hydroelectric dams, which would alter and erase our historical and religious ties not only to the Little Colorado River, but to the Grand Canyon as a whole. Currently our continued long-term goal is to establish permanent protections for this rich cultural landscape and we seek your continued support in this endeavor.
Sarana Riggs
Grand Canyon Program Manager
Legislation to Ban New Uranium Mines Moving
The Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act passed in the House with bipartisan support in October 2019. In December, Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema introduced a version of the bill in the Senate where it now awaits the chance for committee hearing. Arizona’s other senator, Martha McSally, has remained silent about the bill, which would ban new uranium mines on about 1 million acres of public land around the Grand Canyon. The Trust and our partners have asked her to co-sponsor the legislation. And while the recommendations of President Trump’s Nuclear Fuel Working Group—established to examine options for aiding the U.S. uranium industry—have yet to be made public, the president has asked Congress for $1.5 billion over 10 years to create a new national stockpile of U.S.-mined uranium. Such a move would increase business for U.S. uranium mines, and could jumpstart mining on the Colorado Plateau.
A Campaign to Save 1,100 Species
Over 1,100 native bee species call the Colorado Plateau home. Today, these remarkable pollinators are threatened by their European cousin, the honeybee, which transmits diseases to native bees and outcompetes them for pollen and nectar. Millions of honeybees are parked each summer on Utah and Arizona national forests and other public lands for the profit of a few commercial beekeeping operations. We are helping protect native bees from this threat by informing land managers about honeybee impacts and working to ensure honeybee operations do not receive permits by “categorical exclusion,” which relieves agencies of considering their dire consequences. Protecting native bees also helps save rare plants, which often depend on particular native bees for pollination. In today’s climate, our native bees face increasing challenges— taking honeybee hives off public lands is a big way to help them out.
Thomas Meinzen
Utah Forests Program Fellow
SALLY HENKEL
Rock Mosaics Keep Streams Healthy
For the last two years, the Trust has worked closely with volunteers and national forest managers in Arizona to restore precious freshwater streams and springs. In June 2019, a group of volunteers spent three days hefting rocks to build structures in streambeds to slow runoff from snowmelt. These rocks help to slow erosion, spread out the surface water, and keep stream systems healthy. Fast-forward to January 2020: after some wintery precipitation, one of our Forest Service partners photographed these large rock mosaics at work, each stone set in place by a volunteer. The rocks were already helping to prevent the stream banks from eroding away. The pools formed by the rocks also help back up water above the rock structure so that a section of the meadow floods, leaving a marshy area that will be vital to insects, amphibians, and birds all spring.
Audrey Kruse
Community Engagement Director
DEIDRA PEACHES
Environmental Day at the Arizona Capitol
Before the sun had risen on a chilly February morning, 30 young climate activists equipped with powerful words and a deep passion for climate justice, journeyed to the Arizona State Capitol to deliver a message to their representatives. When legislators failed to attend these scheduled meetings, however, students did not give up. At an afternoon press conference, they took the floor and delivered their message anyway: “We respectfully demand that all government officials here today listen to the voices of the youth and implement a meaningful climate action plan in the state of Arizona...We, as future and current voters, will be watching,” they called into the microphone. “Give the future generations a fighting chance!”
Maria Archibald
Rising Leaders Program Manager
Also in this issue:
Bringing generations of Indigenous traditional knowledge to bear. Read now ›