Grand Canyon Trust Style Guide

In public-facing communications, the Grand Canyon Trust follows the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook in most instances. Style questions that come up frequently and notable instances in which the Trust style guide diverges from that stylebook are noted below. This is not an exhaustive list; more guidance can be found in the Grand Canyon Trust Writing Guide. Other style references the Trust consults include Elements of Indigenous Style and the Native American Journalists Association AP style insert.

In general, the Trust:

  1. Aims for a clear and accessible style, avoiding jargon, acronyms, initialisms, offensive language, language of conquest, and bureaucratic and technical terms, and uses concrete examples. For a list of terms to avoid and suggested substitutes, visit the Grand Canyon Trust Conservation Dictionary.
  2. Acknowledges the work of communities and partners.

When writing about the Grand Canyon Trust

Refer to “the Grand Canyon Trust” on first reference and “the Trust” on subsequent mentions. Note that when functioning as an adjective, the article “the” is not required. Never use “GCT” to refer to the Trust in written materials.

Example: The Grand Canyon Trust is proud to announce that, on Saturday, Grand Canyon Trust staff will distribute Trust t-shirts to community members.

Animals

In conservation content: When writing about species from a conservation perspective (threatened status, habitat protection, forest restoration etc), it is acceptable to write about and use images of animals without filtering for specific cultural taboos as part of a core commitment to respect and advocate for all species as part of the environment.

In cultural content or content with a strong cultural component (for example, a blog from a Native perspective, about Native communities, or featuring Native voices) cultural taboos and beliefs about specific animals in those communities or perspectives must be considered and respected.

Archaeological sites

Use “cultural site” or “archaeological site” and provide concrete examples and context. Avoid using the words “ruin,” ancient,” “artifact,” and “prehistoric” to describe these sites as, for many Native peoples of the Colorado Plateau, these sites are living, not abandoned.

Black

Capitalize “Black” when refering to race. (AP capitalizes Black as of June 19, 2020.)

Example: Black people, Black communities.

Board

Lowercase “board of trustees, board, trustee, etc.” when used alone, capitalize when used as proper noun: “Grand Canyon Trust Board of Trustees.” Capitalize committee names, i.e. “Finance Committee.”

The Colorado Plateau Advocate

The Grand Canyon Trust’s magazine, published twice a year. Capitalize the article (The Colorado Plateau Advocate, or The Advocate for short) but do not italicize.

Colorado River Basin

Capitalize Colorado River Basin as a proper noun on first reference. Lowercase subsequent references of “the basin.”

  • Capitalize “Lower Basin” and “Upper Basin”

Day hike

Also day hiker, day hiking, when used as nouns, no hyphens. Day-hiking takes a hypen when used as a phrasal adjective.

Examples:
Day hiking is a popular activity.
Please pack your own day-hiking gear.

Dollar-for-dollar

In fundraising appeals, when writing about matching gift opportunities, always hyphenate, even when not used as a phrasal adjective, for clarity.

Email or e-mail?

On the website, email, no hyphen. Why? Certain third party apps used in conjuction with the website will not permit hyphen. For style consistency, hyphen is omitted.

Font styles

Don’t use all caps, italics, or underlining.

Government agencies/bodies

*Rule of thumb: if the article “the” is part of the agency’s name, you must use the article “the” when referring to the agency

Use “the Bureau of Land Management”

Use “the Environmental Protection Agency”

Use “the U.S. Forest Service” on first reference, and “the Forest Service” 

Grand Canyon Trust program names

Capitalize the program name as a proper noun. Do not use acronyms.

Example: Rising Leaders Program.

Grandfather in, grandfathered in

Avoid this expression, given the racial history of this term. Instead, to indicate that something has been allowed to go ahead under old rules, despite new rules, use “exempt” or “exempted” or similar.

Example: Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni national monument banned new mines, but Canyon Mine was exempted from that ban because the mine was determined to have valid existing rights.

Just transition

Lowercase, use quotes on first reference.

Example: The “just transition” movement works to…the push for a just transition…

Knowledge holder

Two words.

Language of commodity and conquest

We avoid speaking about the natural world in ways that commodify it. We avoid words like “treasured,” “riches,” and “crown jewel” in this context.

We avoid words like “explore” and “discover” and other language of conquest that implies that land was uninhabited before colonization.

Language of war

Do not use the language of war or violent language to describe Grand Canyon Trust work or goals. Solution-oriented, proactive language (what we’re working for, not against) should be used instead.

Examples of phrases to avoid:

We’re working to combat climate change

We’re fighting climate change

Laws, policies, acts, rules

Lowercase, when used alone, the following document types related to the National Environmental Policy Act: environmental impact statement, environmental assessment, record of decision. Capitalize only when the full name is used.

Example: The formal name of the environmental impact assessement is the Northern Arizona Proposed Withdrawal Final Environmental Impact Statement.

Example: Emissions are regulated by a rule called “Subpart W.”

Lees Ferry

No appostrophe.

Months

Spell out the whole month instead of using the abbreviation (contrary to AP).

Example: September, not Sept.

Names

Use a person’s full name on first reference, and last name only in all subsequent references.

Native, Indigenous

The words Native and Indigenous are capitalized. (AP now capitalizes Indigenous to refer to the original inhabitants of a place, as of June 19, 2020.)

Example: The canyon has long been home to Native peoples.

Example: We support the rights of Indigenous peoples.

Native languages in writing

Do not italicize words that appear in a Native language. When explaining the meaning of words in Native languages, put the Native language word first, followed by the English meaning in parentheses.

Example: miigwech (thank you)

National Monuments

Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument on first reference, and Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni in subsequent references (due to excessive length).

Note: While the monument proclamation doesn’t use spaces on each side of the en dash, we do. When writing for the Grand Canyon Trust, use an en dash with spaces on both sides (for display issues on mobile).

Numbers

Spell out numbers one through nine. Use numerals for numbers 10 and greater except when the number is the first word in a sentence.

Example: Forty-nine states ban smoking in schools.

Million and billion do not accept hyphens.

Example: The 50-acre monument is much smaller than the 1.9 million acre monument proposed by the tribes.

Use numerals when approximating age.

Example: The woman is in her 30s. 30-something, but Thirty-something to start a sentence.

For more complete guidance, see the “numerals” entry in the Associated Press Stylebook

Place, geographic feature names

Use “the Colorado Plateau” on first reference and “the plateau” on subsequent mentions. Note: plateau, when used alone, is lowercase.

Use “the Grand Canyon” on first reference and “the canyon” on subsequent mentions. Note: canyon, when used alone to refer to the Grand Canyon, is lowercase.

Use “the Colorado River” on first reference and “the river” on subsequent mentions. Note: river, when used alone to refer to the Colorado River, is lowercase.

Use “the White Mesa Mill” on first reference and “the mill” on subsequent mentions.

Use “Canyon Mine (renamed Pinyon Plain Mine) on first reference (no “the” required).

Use “Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument” on first reference and “Grand Staircase-Escalante” on subsequent mentions. Note: do not drop “-Escalante” and do not use “the” before the name of the monument.

Note: in plural combinations, the word “rivers” is lowercase.

Example: The Colorado and Little Colorado rivers.

Capitalize the proper noun North Rim when used alone. However, when specifying the north rim of the Grand Canyon, north rim is not capitalized. Ditto for the South Rim.

Example: The south rim of the Grand Canyon is the most popular tourist destination in Arizona. In 2015, the South Rim attracted several million visitors.

Use “Pando aspen grove” on first reference and “Pando” on subsequent mentions.

Example: The Pando aspen grove is the largest living organism in the world. Pando is located in central Utah.

Red rock (two words)

Slickrock (one word)

Four Corners region on first reference, Four Corners on subsequent mentions.

Plant, animal names

Capitalization of plants and birds: In general, lowercase the names, but capitalize proper nouns or adjectives that occur in a name.

Examples: tree, fir, white fir, Douglas fir; Scotch pine; clover, white clover, white Dutch clover.

If a botanical name is used, capitalize the first word; lowercase others

Examples: pine tree(Pinus), red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), blue azalea (Callicarpa americana), Kentucky coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioica).

If a direction or region is used in the species name, lowercase the name.

Examples: western meadowlark, eastern bullfrog, northern leopard frog.

Specific spellings:

  • Piñon pine or pinyon pine accepted.
  • Pinyon and juniper forests (not pinyon-juniper forests)

Punctuation

Oxford comma is used after the penultimate item in a list of three or more items, before and, or, etc.

Example: We love lions, tigers, and bears.

Em dash — used with a space on either side online and in print.

Example: Whatever your aesthetic objections — and emotions run high — the consensus is that a space will be used on both sides.

Public lands

Use public lands (plural) even when modifying a noun (“lands” in this case includes lands managed by different agencies).

Example: Public lands belong to all Americans. We all celebrate Public Lands Day.

Rights of nature

Lowercase, use quotes on first reference.

Example: The “rights of nature” movement recognizes the legal rights of nature, and, according to rights of nature advocates…

State

Lowercase in all “state of” constructions: the state of Arizona, the states of Utah and Arizona.

Utahn – local usage (rather than Utahan).

Titles

Lowercase and spell out titles when they are not used with an individual’s name: The president issued a statement. The park superintendent gave his blessing.

Also lowercase and spell out titles in constructions that set them off from a name by commas: The vice president, Mike Pence, was elected in 2016. Jane Doe, the current attorney general, was born in Kansas.

Capitalize a title before a name when not offset by commas.

Examples:
Executive Director Ethan Aumack says the day is long.

According to the executive director, Ethan Aumack, the day will be long.
According to Ethan Aumack, executive director, the day will be long.
According to the executive director, the day will be long.

For more specific guidance on titles, see the “titles” entry in the Associated Press Stylebook.

Tribes

The word “tribe” is only capitalized when part of a proper noun.

Example: Twenty-five tribes support the proposal. Proposal supporters include the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.

Use “intertribal” (one word, no hyphen) except when part of a proper noun that uses the hyphen.

Example: We support the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition’s efforts to secure intertribal collaborative management.

Use “collaborative management” instead of “co-management” when describing land management between sovereign nations (see above).

Capitalize proper clan names.

Example: Lyle Balenquah is a member of the Greasewood Clan. 

Visit with respect

The Bears Ears Partnership trademarked the term “visit with respect” in 2024. The Trust’s legal team consulted with an intellectual propoerty lawyer and the partnership to determine contraints to our use of the term.

  • We can use “visit with respect” if it’s used in a narrative or body copy of communications piece. We shouldn’t use “visit with respect” as a title or as a campaign.
  • We can use “visit [Grand Canyon, Bears Ears, Baaj Nwaavjo] with respect as a title or for campaign use (very little organizational risk).
  • We can use “vist respectfully” or any other variant (no risk) in titles, campaigns, text, etc.

Zuni

Use “Zuni Tribe” for the government

Use “Pueblo of Zuni” for the community