Grand Canyon Issues
What Can You Do?
Tell your congressional representative and Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar that science and law should be followed in Grand Canyon National Park. See our goals for specifics.
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The changing dynamics of the Colorado River have created an unexpected benefit: a broad vista of new possibilities for restoring health to the Grand Canyon.
According to geologist James L. Powell, “the Colorado River has triumphed over solid rock of every type.”
River management practices that ignore science have taken a heavy toll on Grand Canyon.
The Glen Canyon Dam has forever changed the landscape of the Grand Canyon, and the Bureau of Reclamation’s operational practices ignore the Grand Canyon Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act, which were designed to protect key resources.
Recent changes — severe drought combined with burgeoning growth — have put intense pressure on the Colorado River and its canyons, species, habitats, and communities. As reservoir levels have fallen to historic lows, it has become imperative to not only change the way we manage the river but also to reconsider how we operate dams and diversions. The solutions for sustainable living in the basin have the potential to revive the river and restore health to Grand Canyon.
For millions of years, the river carved its way through the Colorado Plateau, persisting through ice ages, changing course to adapt to continental shift, and burrowing through molten lava dams and walls of granite. The Colorado brought life to the ancient civilizations of the canyons and made possible the early European settlements of the Southwest. Finally, it was captured to create today’s dense urban Sunbelt. Now, 30 million people, thirteen Native American tribes, innumerable species, and thousands of acres of increasingly rare habitat depend on it. But after 15 million years of triumph and generosity, the Grand Canyon’s ecosystem has begun to weaken under the river’s heavy burden.
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