March 2005 Newsletter
Monthly Newsletter of the Glen Canyon Institute
May 5, 2005
Volume 4, No. 5
Hello Friends of Glen Canyon!
I spent a lot of time in the emerging canyons of the Glen during the past few months and have had incredible experiences exploring places that were thought to be lost. With the Era of Water Surplus now over and water demand steadily growing, the future of Glen Canyon is bright. A shrunken Lake Powell is surrendering to the natural beauty of Glen Canyon and a healthier Colorado River.
In the future, an exposed Glen Canyon will prevail as we advocate for Lake Mead to become the primary storage facility for the thirsty cities of the lower basin. Lake Mead is enough. While reservoir levels are rising now, places like Cathedral in the Desert are re-flooded at a rate of 6 inches a day. For those who haven't been able to see that Jewel of Glen Canyon, take heart-- that water will retreat back out of Lake Powell by the fall and continue dropping through next April; Cathedral will return soon.
Fluctuating reservoir levels this summer will have a devastating effect on already damaged cultural and sacred sites throughout Glen Canyon. We have initiated the Coalition for Glen Canyon to protect these precious emerging historical, biological, scenic, and cultural resources. The Coalition for Glen Canyon is advocating for the Colorado River runoff to flow around Glen Canyon Dam, stopping the destructive re-flooding of rock art, ruins, and sacred sites until the Glen Canyon tribes are informed of the emerging cultural resources. These precious historic and cultural sites are going under water as we speak, and we ask your help to stop this unnecessary action. Visit our website to learn more about what you can do and see which organizations and businesses have already signed on to the Coalition for Glen Canyon.
This is a historical time and I urge you to make the pilgrimage to Glen Canyon and Cathedral in the Desert as soon as you can. Even if you can't get out here until later in the summer or fall, don't hesitate to plan it! Water levels will have dropped back down to current levels within six months. Go see Glen Canyon with your own eyes, and visit our website to see how you can help. We need you to spread the word about the remarkable restoration of America's Lost National Park: Glen Canyon.
Thank you for defending Glen Canyon. Keep it up; we're getting closer.
Free the Colorado!
Christopher Peterson
Executive Director
Glen Canyon Institute
GCIFT Update:
Our field trips have gotten off to a successful start this spring! We had our first backpacking trip of the season last month where our group and intrepid guides headed down to Coyote Gulch on the lower Escalante. Our next trip this May will be heading down Coyote again with freelance photographer Elias Butler to learn the techniques of landscape photography and the art of capturing the beauty of the Glen on film and digital.
We still have room for trips later this year! You can visit White Canyon, Moqui Canyon, Rainbow Bridge, or the mystical Trachyte Canyon with our knowledgeable guides to explore the revealed canyons of the Glen.
Click here to learn more about our trips.
Grand Canyon in 2006
The Ultimate River Trip!
Don't miss this opportunity to learn about the diverse desert southwest and explore the hidden coves and glens of the Grand. We still have a few spots for our 2006 Grand Canyon trip. Get all the details here!
Upcoming Events:
Thursday, May 5 Tom McCourt, author of "White Canyon: Remembering the Little Town at the Bottom of Lake Powell," will be speaking at the Visitor's Center in Moab, Utah on Thursday, May 5, at 7:00pm. Tom will be showing slides and talking about his adventures at Hite, White Canyon, and the red deserts of Southern Utah in the 1950s.
Visitor's Center
Moab, UT
7pm
Tuesday, May 31 GCI slideshow presentation.
REI
Albuquerque, NM
7pm
Wednesday, June 1 GCI slideshow presentation
Santa Fe Baking Company
Santa Fe, NM
7pm
Check out our calendar to see all upcoming events and find out how to schedule something in your area.
Donate to GCI:
Your generous donations help us ensure that Glen Canyon is not forgotten again! Support Glen Canyon today.
Donate Now!
Win a Trip to Glen Canyon!
We're giving away a trip for 2 into Glen Canyon. Just get two of your friends to join GCI at the Individual Level or higher and we'll enter your name into a drawing to win a trip to Glen Canyon on one of our 2006 GCIFT trips. Get the full details here.
Take Action!
As the symbolic heart of the modern Conservation Movement, the unprecedented attention for Glen Canyon is rallying canyon lovers everywhere to take action and get involved. Spread the word. Glen Canyon needs your help and we have an incredible opportunity to fight for a healthy Colorado River.
Send a letter to Congress demanding that Cathedral in the Desert, Register Rock and Fort Moqui not be flooded again.
Download Sample Letter
And if you have not done so already, sign on to our petition to protect Glen Canyon and Fill Mead First!
Forward This On To Your Friends!
Please forward this newsletter on to tell your friends about the current restoration of America's Lost National Park!
Recent Photos:
Check out the latest photos of the restoration of Glen Canyon!
Glen Canyon's Horseshoe Bend, located just downstream from Page, provides a spectacular view of what historical Glen Canyon was like (minus the crystal clear river) April 2005
Photo by Christopher Peterson
Spring floods continue to flush sediment through Davis Gulch, below LaGorce Arch. April 2005
Photo by Christopher Peterson
Newslinks:
Bad Projects Never Die
Ed Quillen
The Denver Post
May 3, 2005
Quillen makes the argument that there is plenty of storage on the Colorado River, just not enough water.
Interior Secretary Settles Dispute Over Level of Lake Powell
By Bettina Boxall
Los Angeles Times
May 3, 2005
On Monday, Interior Secretary Gale Norton ordered federal dam managers to continue making regular water releases from Lake Powell. Although some optimistic estimates have said that Powell's water levels could increase as much as 50 feet, more realistic estimates from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA) indicate that the levels will only rise 25 feet and the reservoir will peak at levels no higher than last year. This means that we will see the floor of Cathedral in the Desert again this fall.
Wet Winter Doesn't Douse Water Wars
T.R.Reid
Washington Post
May 2, 2005
Far from celebrating this welcome flood, though, the seven dry states that depend on the Colorado for their water supply are engaged in yet another intractable water war.
The Return of Glen Canyon
Dan Leeth
Chicago Tribune
May 1, 2005
Times have changed. The West's lingering drought has dropped Lake Powell more than 130 feet, and formations that have been waterlogged for more than three decades now stand high and dry.
A Race Against Water
Electa Draper
Denver Post
April 26, 2005
Lake Powell has yielded a track of a creature called a Grallator, "only the second example in the West and the first ever from the Kayenta formation"
Biologists to see if latest experiment on Colorado River helped fish habitat
Deseret News
April 14, 2005
An experiment regarding fluctuating flows in the Colorado River below the Glen Canyon Dam ended last week. Now, biologists will begin collecting data to see if the fluctuating flows actually helped the endangered humpbacked chub.
Water Wars
Nightline
April 11, 2005
GCI's Board President, Richard Ingebretsen, and Executive Director, Christopher Peterson, appeared on Nightline to discuss the future of Glen Canyon and the Colorado River. Follow the link above to order a copy.
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