Untitled DocumentFriends-
I am forwarding on a message from GCI founder Rich Ingebretsen along with a couple of the most recent photos of Cathedral in the Desert taken March 10th as well as a comparison shot with Phil Hyde's famous 1964 photo. I was touched by the photographs of the restored Jewel of Glen Canyon and wanted to share them with you. Please feel free to share them with everyone you know who might be interested. People around the country should know that this spectacular place is found after 40 years of being lost beneath Lake Powell reservoir.
People should also know that it will be flooded with 30-50 feet of water this year starting in May. This is unnecessary because Lake Mead has plenty of room to store the water there. Please forward this message on and stay tuned to
www.glencanyon.org for a call to action for the preservation of this special place and an open dialogue about its future.
I also wanted to be sure you all got to see GCI's latest Press release. I've included it at the bottom of this email.
HELP US SAVE CATHEDRAL IN THE DESERT: The 8th Wonder of the World.
"Would you flood the Sistine Chapel to get closer to the ceiling?"
--
Christopher Peterson
chris@???
Glen Canyon Institute
________
Hello Everyone,
I saw Cathedral in the Desert yesterday. It was nothing short of amazing. I was almost a religious experience to see this famous place. There is some lake water in the entrance, but most of it is out of water and the waterfall is at its full length. Seeps are all along the walls and new growth is on the walls and on the floor. I stood on the exact rock on the talus slope at the entrance where so many photographers stood to try and capture it on film. I could hardly control my joy. All must see this with their own eyes.
I am sending two images for you to enjoy.
Rich
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Glen Canyon Institute
For Immediate Release
Extirpation of Humpback Chub in Grand Canyon Unacceptable
Contacts:
Christopher Peterson, GCI Executive Director: 801.232.3226
David Wegner, GCI Science Director: 970.259.2510
Lew Coggins GCMRC Fisheries Biologist: 928.556.7376
The destruction of the Grand Canyon ecosystem has been the subject of controversy since long before the passage of the Grand Canyon Protection Act (GCPA) in 1992. The GCPA was passed in response to growing concern over the health of the fragile riparian corridor and required that management of Glen Canyon Dam, upstream from the Grand Canyon, be secondary to protecting the biodiversity of the Colorado River.
The Adaptive Management Program was implemented in 1996 with the First Experimental Flood in the Grand Canyon, designed to build beaches and habitat throughout the 200-mile long canyon. While much was learned about the importance of seasonal flooding to the health of the Colorado River, the flood failed to reverse the decline of Endangered Species; specifically the native Humpback Chub. Humpback Chub populations have dropped steadily since the building of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963, and the last decade has seen populations fall to alarming levels in the Grand Canyon. A Second Experimental Flood was run in late 2004, and early results show the flood didn't help Humpback Chub in the Colorado River.
"It is clear that adult Humpback Chub populations have declined in the Grand Canyon since at least the late 1980's." says Lew Coggins, a fisheries biologist at the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center. Christopher Peterson, executive director of Glen Canyon Institute, claims that the continued decline of Endangered Species populations in the Grand Canyon clearly demonstrates the failure of the long-controversial Adaptive Management Program since 1996. "The Grand Canyon Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act mandate that Humpback Chub are not only protected, but are managed for recovery, "says Peterson. "This unique and precious native species is about to be extirpated from the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, and it must be stopped."
Glen Canyon Institute, a nonprofit organization working to restore a healthy Colorado River, advocates for immediate action by the National Park Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Reclamation to stop the extirpation of Humpback Chub from the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. As new habitat has emerged upstream of the Glen Canyon Dam during the last few low-runoff years, the institute is developing a coalition of organizations to pursue the legal action necessary to save the Humpback Chub and incorporate the potential new habitat in Glen Canyon as prime native fish species habitat.
While environmental and recreation interests sit on the Adaptive Management Working Group (AMWG), which acts as the decision-making body for management of the Grand Canyon, Peterson and the institute claim that AMWG has failed. "Science is critically important in managing ecosystems for sustainability and biodiversity. However, AMWG has been pushed by water and power interests to ignore the monumental problem in the Grand Canyon: Glen Canyon Dam. "Band-aid solutions like temperature control devices, sediment augmentation, non-native fish removal, and artificial floods can be argued about until the end of time". Peterson contends. "Today, were about to lose an Endangered Species in the Grand Canyon and someone needs to stand up for the Humpback Chub."
The Endangered Species Act was passed into law to protect native species and to ensure that our biological heritage is protected for future generations. "Native fish are important indicators of a healthy ecosystem and are our aquatic heritage," says Dave Wegner, the institute's Science Director. "They exist nowhere else on this planet and are depending upon us for their survival, and we have very nearly failed." Glen Canyon Institute is has recently initiated the Glen Canyon Native Species Recovery Project to advocate for the recovery of native species of the Colorado River
