5$7( 7+( $7,21$/ 3 $5. - Sierra Club · 2016-06-29 · age or fund the state lands under their au-thority now. Their only alternative if they were to take over federal lands would

Treasure means many things to many people. To some, it means material wealth. To many of us, it means the

joy of time spent in our national parks, wil-derness areas, national forests, wildlife ref-uges, Bureau of Land Management lands, and more – all public lands intended for all Americans to find refuge from our highly technological society.

These public lands provide solitude, rec-reation, and habitat for wildlife (including many endangered species), as well as spiritu-al renewal. The health benefits of breathing clean air, exercising, and relaxing in a natural setting are enormous. There are numerous archaeological and paleontological sites to be studied and inspired by.

But threats to our public lands are many and pervasive. Climate change, pollu-tion, and devastating fires can alter the land-scapes in extreme ways. Mining, over- and

improper grazing of livestock, harvesting of lumber, and even over-recreating – “loving it to death” – can severely degrade our lands.

Several states in the West, including Ari-zona, are attempting through legislation to gain control of much of our federal public lands. These states cannot adequately man-age or fund the state lands under their au-thority now. Their only alternative if they were to take over federal lands would be to sell or lease the lands to industry in order to raise capital for their state coffers. In addi-tion, they would lose any federal funding they now receive for such lands.

Let us protect the treasure of our public lands and preserve it for all Americans as it was intended. If not, the damage will take many generations to repair, and places of historical significance could be lost forever.

Be a Leader!Chapter and Group Nominations

Are you interested in becoming more involved with Sierra Club? Are you interested in helping create a vision, make policy, execute plans to protect and preserve our environment, and have fun while doing it? If not you, do you know someone else who might be? Submit a

nomination for a chapter or group leadership position! See p. 4 for details.

2 Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter

Canyon Echo © 2016. Canyon Echo (ISSN 0164-7024) is published quarterly for Sierra Club mem-bers by Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter, 514 W. Roosevelt St., Phoenix, AZ 85003. Phone: 602-253-8633. Printed at Valley Newspapers.

Front page banner designed by Erika Gronek.

Printed on 100% recycled paper with soy ink.

Tiffany Sprague602-253-9140, [email protected]

Jerry Nelson602-279-4668, [email protected]

: Kurt Florman

Keith Bagwell520-623-0269, [email protected]

Jon Findley, Kurt Florman, Chris Gehlker, Tyler Kokjohn, Jerry Nelson,

Kathy Ann Walsh, Meg Weesner

John Sheffield [email protected]

Annual dues to Sierra Club are $39 (including $1 for Canyon Echo). Subscription rate for non-members is $10. Send check payable to Sierra Club - Canyon Echo, 514 W. Roosevelt St., Phoenix, AZ 85003.

Advertising is sold on a first-come, space-available basis. The editor reserves the right to refuse any advertisements, and inclusion of advertisements does not imply endorsement by Sierra Club. All interactions between advertisers and consumers are solely the responsi-bilities of those parties.

Send electronic or hard copies to the editor (include a self-addressed stamped envelope for return of hard copies). Indicate copyright or Creative Commons preference. We are not responsible for lost or damaged items. Writer’s guidelines can be obtained by contacting the editor. All rights to publication of articles in this issue are reserved. The deadline is the first day of the month preceding the issue. Opinions expressed in Canyon Echo are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of Sierra Club.

Send address changes and postage due to Sierra Club Member Services, c/o Canyon Echo, P.O. Box 421041, Palm Coast, FL 32142-6417. Periodi-cals postage paid at Phoenix, AZ.

PALO VERDE

YAVAPAI

SEDONA/ VERDE VALLEY

PLATEAUCONSERVATION

SAGUARO

RINCON

Summer 2016 Canyon Echo 3

Calling All Photographers!We are trying to build our photo

library and need your help! Do you have photos of a favorite place in Arizona? Local animals or plants? A Sierra Club activity in which you’ve participated? Images of environmental concerns affecting our state? Please send them our way!

Images must be high resolution (at least 200 dpi at 4x6 inches in size) with good contrast and clarity. Only submit images for which you are the photographer and that can be used in any Sierra Club publications or webpages.

For more information or to submit your photos, please contact Tiffany Sprague at [email protected].

City of Phoenix has begun installing light-emitting diode (LED) streetlights, and 100,000 more are coming to a street, neighborhood, or park near you. The city will decide in October about all outdoor lights.

The city has chosen 4000 Kelvin LED street-lights that are bright white, have a bad blue spike, and are very different than the natural color spectrum. This means 4000K LED are not like moonlight. This blue spike makes LED harmful to people and wildlife at night. Un-fortunately, staff already chose 1,500 GE 4000K LED streetlights that are harsh, bright, and have a bad glare problem, too.

The good news is that to save energy, soft-white LEDs at 2700–3000K are avail-able for your home or outdoor needs. La-

beled “soft-white or warm,” this Kelvin range is what residents in other cities have picked. Also, these LED lights have a low blue spike, which makes them okay at night.

Recently, Phoenix began community review of four 3000K streetlights. One 3000K LED model can be seen at Mountain View Park. A 4000K LED can be seen there, also.

So go take a look at both types and let the city know that 3000K provides better human visibility at night. Going below 3000K makes LED lights okay at night and saves lots of energy, too! See photographs of differ-ent LEDs and submit a survey

to the city at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3BHVB7D.

Sign Up for the Electronic Newsletter!

Help save resources and money by signing up for the electronic newsletter! Send an email with your full name and membership ID (8-digit number on your mailing label) to [email protected] or fill out the short form at http://bit.ly/e_echo. You will receive an email when issues are available online.


Kathy was born in Ohio but grew up and spent most of her life in Orange County, CA. She moved to Arizona in 1996 and bought a house near the McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale. She had traveled to this area quite often for business, made some friends, and loved the clear air and mountains.

After graduating from Cali-fornia State University at Ful-lerton with a BA in Business Administration/Accounting in 1979, she worked as a certified public accountant, primarily in the homebuilding business. She is now retired, but her life is filled with a diversity of activi-ties. She is a Master Steward for the McDowell Sonoran Con-servancy, focusing on trail con-struction and maintenance; the Phoenix Broadband Leader for Great Old Broads for Wilderness, a national, non-prof-it conservation organization; a steward for Arizona Wilderness Coalition; and an Ani-mal Care Volunteer at Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center, caring primarily for coyotes, bobcats, foxes, and raccoons. She has also participated in several projects with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, such as prairie dog studies, spotlighting for black-footed ferrets, and inventory of desert tortoises. Her love of animals is boundless, and she has been a strong advocate for the endangered Mexican gray wolf.

Kathy became active with Sierra Club about three years ago and has gradually as-sumed more responsibility. She is very in-volved with the Arizona Water Sentinels, serving as an outings leader and performing monitoring duties on the San Pedro and Verde rivers; she has helped with Environ-mental Day at the Capitol for the past two years, serving as a team leader for legislative district 23; and is a member of the Bor-derlands Team. Last December, Kathy was elected to the Chapter’s Executive Com-

mittee and serves as chair for the Wildlife Activist Group. She is also a member of the Publications and Nominating committees. In March, she represented Arizona and Si-erra Club on a trip to Washington, D.C., to lobby for Utah wilderness with the Utah Wilderness Coalition. She also represents Arizona in Sierra Club’s Wildlands Group.

In addition to all of her hiking and vol-unteer activities, Kathy loves to travel and has been to Europe, Costa Rica, and Hawaii many times. She enjoys snorkeling, kayak-ing, yoga, reading, book collecting, jewelry making, and art. She is a certified Bikram yoga instructor, having completed a 500-hour course in Acapulco, Mexico, in 2008.

She shares her home with her life part-ner, Kevin Steele, General Manager of Na-tional PEO in Scottsdale; their two Basenji dogs, Foxy and Boone; and their three cats, Carmen, Cleo, and Gypsy.

Kathy believes she has much for which to be grateful. Her greatest joy in life comes from trying to save the planet and its many creatures and from advocating to keep pub-lic lands accessible to all Americans.

Sierra Club seeks to involve its member-ship at all levels. We hope to provide educa-tion as well as a chance for you to make your voice heard at group, activity, and chapter levels. Attend a meeting if you haven’t yet done so. There are myriad committees and many activity possibilities from Water Sen-tinels to leading outings to tabling at an event and more. (Look through this Canyon Echo to see how other members have got-ten involved.) Your club needs committed people who will give their time and energy to further its mission to explore, enjoy, and protect the planet. And we generally have a good time doing so!

Once you have gotten involved, then you might feel the urge to take a leadership position. Even without prior involvement, one can get involved simply by “throwing one’s hat in the ring.” Become a candidate to serve on your group or chapter execu-tive committee! No experience is necessary. If you want to help create a vi-sion, make policy, execute plans to protect and preserve our en-vironment, and have fun while doing it, please nominate your-self. If you know of another good person, let us know.

If you would like to learn more about what would be involved, please contact one of the following leaders: Nominations Chair Elna Otter at 520-212-9736 or elna.otter@

gmail.com, Chapter Chair Ken Langton at 520-749-3829 or [email protected], or your group chair (see pp. 12–13).

Guidelines for chapter and group ex-ecutive committee elections:

1) To be listed on the ballot, candidates must submit their names and membership numbers. If you aren’t sure what your mem-bership number is, see your Canyon Echo la-bel or contact the chapter office at 602-253-9140. Be sure to include contact informa-tion along with your submission.

2) Submit a candidate statement (rec-ommended but not required), indicating the chapter or group executive committee for which you are running, to the Nomina-tions Committee at [email protected] by no later than August 15, 2016. Can-didate statements are limited to 200 words and must be submitted by email. You will re-ceive acknowledgement within a few days of submission. (Because much of the executive

committee’s business is done by email, candidates must have email capability.)

The official ballot will ap-pear in the Fall 2016 Canyon Echo. So, go ahead, nominate yourself or someone else you think would be a good leader. Thank you for stepping for-ward at whatever level!


Thank you to our Political Action

Committee donors!

NOTE: This list includes donations from March 16 through June 7.


SENATE HOUSEA+ Friese (LD 9), Kopec (LD 9), Mach (LD

10), McCune Davis (LD 30), Meyer (LD 28)

A Bradley (LD 10), Dalessandro (LD 2), Hobbs (LD 24), Quezada (LD 29), Sherwood (LD 26)

Alston (LD 24), Andrade (LD 29), Clark (LD 24), Fernandez (LD 4), Gabaldón (LD 2), Larkin (LD 30), Mendez (LD 26), Otondo (LD 4), Plumlee (LD 26), Rios (LD 27), Saldate (LD 3), Velasquez (LD 29), Wheeler (LD 10)

B Contreras (LD 19), Farley (LD 9), McGuire (LD 8), Meza (LD 30), Pancrazi (LD 4)

Bolding (LD 27), Cardenas (LD 19), Espinoza* (LD 19), Gonzales* (LD 3), Hale (LD 7)

C Cajero Bedford* (LD 3), Miranda (LD 27)

Benally* (LD 7)

D Begay (LD 7) Brophy McGee (LD 28), Campbell (LD 1)

F S. Allen (LD 6), Barto (LD 15), Biggs (LD 12), Burges (LD 22), Dial (LD 18), Donahue (LD 5), Driggs (LD 28), D. Farnsworth (LD 16), Griffin (LD 14), Kavanagh (LD 23), Lesko (LD 21), Pierce (LD 1), Shooter (LD 13), Smith (LD 11), Worsley (LD 25), Yarbrough (LD 17), Yee (LD 20)

Ackerley (LD 2), J. Allen (LD 15), Barton (LD 6), Borrelli (LD 5), Bowers (LD 25), Boyer (LD 20), Carter (LD 15), Cobb (LD 5), Coleman (LD 16), Fann (LD 1), E. Farnsworth (LD 12), Finchem (LD 11), Gowan (LD 14), Gray (LD 21), Kern (LD 20), Lawrence (LD 23), Leach (LD 11), Livingston (LD 22), Lovas (LD 22), Mesnard (LD 17), Mitchell (LD 13), Montenegro (LD 13), Norgaard (LD 18), Olson (LD 25), Petersen (LD 12), Pratt (LD 8), Rivero (LD 21), Robson (LD 18), Shope (LD 8), Stevens (LD 14), Thorpe (LD 6), Townsend (LD 16), Ugenti-Rita (LD 23), Weninger (LD 17)

D+ Governor Ducey

The 52nd Arizona Legislature’s focus was on limiting safeguards for much of what makes Arizona spe-cial. Legislators sought to further weaken water laws, promoted un-accountable special taxing districts to accommodate unsustainable developments, clouded the future of rooftop solar, and passed bills to hinder protection of public lands. Rather than taking advantage of our 300+ days of sunshine and growing solar industry, legislators passed a bill to hinder installations and even considered proposed constitutional amend-ments that would have likely destroyed the rooftop solar industry in Arizona.

The session did have a few bright spots. The Governor vetoed three harmful bills, including two terrible water bills and a big developer/land speculator bill that would have made it easier for developers to control special taxing districts for infrastructure. The Senate also did not advance a repeal of the State Parks Board, nor did it bring to the floor two referenda that would have weak-ened the Voter Protection provisions of the Arizona Constitution. Finally, a bill to allow electronic billboards in more areas of the state was deep-sixed in a Senate committee.

However, in addition to the plethora of anti-environmental measures, the Legis-lature once again passed no bills to signifi-cantly advance conservation or environmen-tal protection, although there were a couple of amendments that improved bills and programs, including one on notification of pesticide spraying in schools.

While our state faces more and more challenges relative to climate change, water quality and quantity, air quality, protection of wildlife and habitat, transition to clean energy, and continued environmental in-equity, the Legislature consistently seeks to take us backward by weakening state laws, limiting local government’s ability to protect resources, and objecting to and challenging important federal protections.

The lack of progress on environmental protection was reflected in the Environmen-

tal Report Card grades. This year, all but one Republican in the Senate and two in the House received failing grades. Five represen-tatives earned an “A+,” which means they voted 100% pro-environment and also did not miss a vote on the key bills Sierra Club scored.

Special recognition goes to Environ-mental Superstar Representative Debbie McCune Davis, who is ending her decades of service in the legislature at the end of 2016. She has served with integrity and ded-ication and has consistently voted to support environmental protection and against efforts to weaken protections for our water, wildlife, air, and more. She will be missed at the Ari-zona Legislature.

Governor Doug Ducey earned a “D+.” Although we appreciate him vetoing the bad water and community facilities districts bills, he did again sign the bills to limit cit-ies’ ability to require energy benchmarking and to stop cities from limiting the use of plastic bags and other disposable containers. He signed two anti-wolf bills, a bill to divert dollars from habitat protection, a measure to criminalize helping with early ballot collec-tion, and a bill to hinder rooftop solar instal-lations.

Everyone was graded on a curve. The bills focused on water, development, energy, wildlife and habitat, state parks, national monuments, Voter Protection Act, electron-ic billboards, and elections.

You can view the full report card at http://bit.ly/2016SCreportcard.

*Some of these legislators received lower grades due to missed votes and conflicts in scheduling.


Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter thanks and very much appreciates Edwards Mother Earth Foundation for its support of our energy efficiency work. Mil gracias!

June 1, 2016

Dear Senator Worsley and Representative Bowers,

My name is Anna Rose Mohr- Almeida, and I am 13 years old. I live in District 25, which you represent, and in our district there are 1,250 Sierra Club members and supporters. Canyon Echo, the Grand Canyon Chapter of Sierra Club newsletter, has a readership of 11,000 Arizonans, not including the “pass-along” readership. The Westwood High School Environmental Club is also in District 25; you both received letters from the club members early this year regarding water concerns in Arizona.

You may recall that I have met with you both about climate change, water, and re-newable energy concerns in Arizona. Sena-tor Worsley, I met with you in February 2015 and 2016 during Environmental Day at the Capitol. This year, you came off the floor of one of the legislative meetings to talk with me. You said you have many grandkids

IWhere trees have twisted winter branches wrestling with the sky, roots growing deep into the unknown, and trunks set close enough to block the view ahead, they cause the errant traveler to break out in a sweat and become as afraid of continuing as of turning back. He can’t remember how he came so far. Now the wolves are voicing music from the world beyond this one. Now the chill slips down from the moon and stills time. In the forest it is always night; always an end without any beginning.

IISuch fear as is found in the forest is not overcome except with the axes our ancestors took to clear space for themselves when they knew neither which way to run nor how they could cure the ache running through their heads. So they cut until nothing remained but light streaming over wounded ground.

IIIIt begins by believing the dew that collects on a leaf is to blame and the cure is to wipe it away but it comes back daily so the leaves must be removed. The fear remains, so the nextact is to strip branches until only trunks are left. This is when the chainsaws bare their teeth, and soonthere are no more shadows the owls might use for a perch. Yet no matter how much has been taken the need for control doesn’t end. It turns intopruning and poison to shape every garden in the image its creator has summoned to be of comfort while he sleeps.

–David Chorlton

Hylophobia

and that you share my worry about what the future, climate change, and water short-ages will bring to our lives. You told me you would vote for the best interests of my gen-eration, and yet your environmental stand-ing on the Sierra Club Environmental Re-port Card says otherwise. Our meetings left a great hope in me, but, now, after seeing the report card and your voting record, I feel like I’ve been lied to or, worse, merely patted on the head.

Representative Bowers, I met with you this year and expressed my concerns about climate change, water shortages, and dirty energy in Arizona. In our meeting, you also talked about your grandkids and your con-cerns for them. You showed great hospital-ity to me and to the people I attended the meeting with on Environmental Day by bringing many chairs into your office when

you saw there weren’t enough seats for ev-eryone in our meeting. You talked at length about protecting rivers and water in Arizona and assured us you would safeguard water in Arizona for the future. However, given your environmental voting record, it looks like we were being pacified with lip service. This makes me feel really sad and confused, as you seemed sincere about protecting Ari-zona’s future when we met. Worse, I feel to-kenized as a young person.

Senator Worsley and Representative Bowers, climate change is a big worry people my age are carrying, and you both are in a position to do something about it. We are

relying on you to protect our futures in Ari-zona with your voting choices. Our futures are closely intertwined with what climate change, extreme weather, and drought will bring to our doorsteps. Votes that cause damage or do not protect the environment cause me, and people my age, direct harm.

I look forward to hearing your response to this open letter and hope you will work on improving your Sierra Club Environ-mental Report Card grade next session.

Sincerely,Anna Rose Mohr-AlmeidaFounder, Kids Climate Action Network


Arizona officials are curiously proud of state water policy. The 1980 Arizona Groundwater Management Act (AGMA), after many earlier attempts, was approved only after the federal government threatened to withhold funding for the Central Arizona Project (CAP). Without the CAP, California would have claimed “our” water, creating a huge incentive for mining, agriculture, and the cities in central and southern Arizona to agree to control groundwater pumping.

The environment wasn’t at the negotiat-ing table, so our rivers were on the menu. We have now seriously degraded five of Ari-zona’s major perennial rivers: the Colorado, Gila, Salt, Santa Cruz, and much of the San Pedro. Additionally, future perennial flow in the upper Verde River is deeply threatened. Researchers predict that by 2050, ground-water demand in seven additional river ba-sins will exceed base flow. Twenty-one of Arizona’s original 33 native fish species now have status under the Endangered Species Act, and three are extinct. Reduced river flows and deterioration of riparian habitats have detrimental effects on hunting, fishing, boating, birding, and other water-based rec-reational activities that significantly contrib-ute to Arizona tourism – a growing $20.9 billion industry bringing revenue from out-side Arizona.

To date, Arizona water resource man-agement has failed to bring either surface or ground water to a sustainable condition. The “General Adjudication of All Rights to Use Water in the Gila River System and Source” has spanned four decades with costs exceed-ing $100 million dollars, yet it has failed to adjudicate a single basin. The AGMA has failed to achieve key goals in the Active Management Areas covering only 13% of the state. The AGMA does not recognize

environmental water rights, has weak regula-tory authorities, and is administratively un-derfunded. The remainder of the state not covered by the AGMA now confronts sig-nificant threats, especially for environmental water resources. Environmental water has no legal rights statewide, and nowhere in the AGMA is environmental protection a goal.

Clearly, Arizona water policy is due for an overhaul – pride has become an embar-rassment.

In 2014, the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) released Arizona’s Next Century: A Strategic Vision for Water Supply Sustainability, which pro-poses to increase water supply by desalini-zation or other expensive infrastructure to import water. Neither conservation nor environment was seriously considered.

In response, the Grand Canyon Chapter developed “A Conservation Vision of Arizona’s Water Future” (see http://bit.ly/AZwatervision) which calls for Governor Ducey to establish a study commission to modernize our water law and protect environmental water. Inde-pendently of our request, Ducey con-vened an “Augmentation Council” to recommend changes to water policy and to consider rural water issues. However, Ducey appointed the same stakeholders

that created the existing outmoded water law. There are no advocates for environmen-tal water or wildlife. With this lineup, sig-nificant change is unlikely; the first meetings have displayed a very negative view of water conservation and have totally ignored rivers.

The Chapter will monitor and partici-pate (if permitted) in this lengthy process.


What a year so far. There were some bad water bills at the legislature – no-tably SB1268 and SB1400, both of which were vetoed – but others not quite as egre-gious were passed, too.

When those bills were first introduced by Senator Gail Griffin (from Cochise County), they were outra-geous. SB1400 would have allowed Cochise County to immediately opt out of the state requirement for a des-ignation of adequate water supply before a subdivision could be approved. In re-sponse to some pushback, the proposal wound up leav-ing the requirement in place unless supervisors unani-mously voted to end it, so only one dissenting county supervisor could leave the requirement in place.

SB1268 was originally going to let any city in Coch-ise County or Yuma County

opt out of the requirement for an adequate water supply for a subdivision. And it was going to be retroactive! It was very clearly designed to undercut a legal battle to protect the San Pedro from a proposal for 7,000 new homes, referred to as the Tribute case, that has now gotten as far as the Arizona Court of Appeals. It was modified a lot during the struggle at the legislature but ultimately passed both houses.

Thanks to activism by thousands of people in the state who wrote and protest-ed, plus some support by major players in the Arizona water world, Governor Ducey decided to veto both measures. He was per-suaded that the proposals represented a step backwards in water management for Ari-zona.

In addition to the Tribute case, there is a proposal to build 28,000(!) homes – ap-proximately 70,000 new people – in Ben-son, which lies in the middle San Pedro. It’s called The Villages at Vigneto and proposes a Tuscany-theme for the new city. Tuscany gets nearly three times the rainfall that Ben-son does. Vigneto would pump a lot of water for the homes, golf courses, and vine-yards that are part of the proposal. All that

pumping would diminish the aquifer that supplies the San Pedro River, both middle and lower sections.

I’m sure most of our readers know about the value and biodiversity richness of the San Pedro River, so I won’t go into that. But because the state places no value on pro-tecting riparian resources, unless there is an instream flow water right (a very, very rare circumstance) for creatures or habitat, Arizo-na doesn’t consider river flow in and of itself when deciding about adequate or assured water supplies. It only considers people’s le-gal rights to the water.

A step forward in water management would be to apply the concepts of the as-sured water supply regulations to the whole state. An even more impressive step forward would be to recognize there is a physical con-nection between groundwater and surface water. Or to recognize that riparian areas have value and their water “rights” should be protected. The only way to get any of these steps accomplished is to elect people who share our values, so please keep being active and speaking up!

Our wild, natural, and undeveloped lands are increasingly essential. They satisfy us with a place to pursue recreational activi-ties and to view wildlife and serve as a re-minder of something that is bigger than us. These lands are home to countless creatures, big and small, that rely on them for food and water and a place to live and contribute to the complex ecosystem. All things rely on these places, which is why we must protect them.

One local place of particular impor-tance is the Verde River in central Arizona. This 170-mile river is one of the few remain-ing perennial rivers in Arizona; a significant portion of it features high quality riparian habitat, bursting with beauty and diversity.

The Verde River Watershed is a major com-ponent to the Colorado River Basin and in-cludes both of Arizona’s two Wild and Sce-nic River segments.

The Verde River sustains one of five Fremont cottonwood/Goodding willow forests left in Arizona, one of only 20 left in the world. This habitat supports more than 270 bird species, providing a flyway for sub-tropical migratory birds as well as an impor-tant breeding site for 209 bird species. This habitat is also home to rare species of rep-tiles and amphibians and is one of the best remaining native fish streams in Arizona, home to eight native fish species. The Verde


When and why did you decide to work with the National Park Service (NPS)?

During a family vacation in 1980 to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, I saw my first Park Ranger and thought how cool to be one. This was pre-inter-net, and it was difficult to find informa-tion about the NPS. A friend and I tried a few years later to learn about working at a restaurant in national parks; no luck.

I finished my undergrad in Hotel/Motel/Restaurant Management and worked in the hospitality industry for seven years. During the last few months in the hospitality industry, I envisioned what my life would look like 20 years down the road and did not like what I saw. So I quit my job and moved to Tucson with the idea of getting a degree in Community Recycling. A guidance professor at the University of Arizona said that I just needed to get experience. Not what I was looking for, but it worked out. I left his office and saw a flyer for a Student Conservation Association intern/volunteer position at Saguaro National Park – I was finally going to do what I wanted to since I was 14. I called and set up an appointment with Stanley Lawhead at the Rincon District and was “hired” for the position. This expe-rience helped me land my first Green and Grey job at Ocmulgee National Monument in Macon, GA, starting May 1996.

Did you work with other NPS units be-fore your current position?

I was Park Guide at Ocmulgee National Monument during the summer of 1996 and Visitor Use Assistant at Zion National Park during the summers of 1997–1999. I then worked at Saguaro National Park as Group Volunteer Coordinator during the winters of 1998–2005 and as Backcountry Ranger during the summers of 2000–2005. From 2006–2007, I was Assistant Volunteer Coor-dinator at Yosemite National Park. I’ve been at Grand Canyon since 2008.

Tell us a little about your park (location, current projects, cool facts, etc.).

Grand Canyon is in northern Arizona and encompasses 1,217,403.3 acres. The

minimum width of the canyon is 600 feet at Marble Canyon. The park is full of history. The oldest human artifacts found date to the Paleoindian period, nearly 12,000 years old. In 1893, this area was designated as a “for-est reserve” by President Benjamin Harrison. President Theodore Roosevelt established it as Grand Canyon National Monument in 1908; that designation changed to national park on February 26, 1919. Grand Canyon was the 10th most visited park unit in 2015 with 5,520,736 visitors that year.

Some of the current projects we’re work-ing on include replacing part of the water system at Phantom Ranch, which was built in the mid-1960s. Planning has begun to re-duce the bison herd. This summer will also be the sixth time Grand Canyon National Park has hosted Alternative Break Citizen-ship School (http://youtu.be/30qosYtozGk).

What are your favorite aspects of being an NPS employee? Favorite aspects of your park?

My favorite aspect of the park? The amazing views!

Being an NPS employee enables me to meet other NPS folks across the coun-try. I also love scheduling alternative breaks for college students; instead of going to the beach, they come to the park to do volunteer service. The students gain valuable experi-

ence. These are some of the students’ com-ments:

“Thank you so much to all the rangers and fire staff who helped make volunteer-ing at the Grand Canyon such a fun and rewarding experience. The combination of learning about fire ecology prevention while actively working to promote fire safety made this a memorable worthwhile trip.”

“The Grand Canyon has been extreme-ly impactful throughout this week. I learned so much about the park, forest fires, other participants, and myself. Alternative spring breaking is the way to go.”

“Even with the short amount of time I’ve been here, it has taught me so much

and has changed my perspective on National Parks. While I have loved vis-iting the park for my first time, it has truly been a different experience than it would’ve been if I hadn’t volunteered. I have immensely enjoyed learning about the behind the scenes aspects regarding fire mitigation work in the park. This trip has given me a great appreciation for the Grand Canyon and what it takes to maintain and grow this incredible park.”

Describe a challenge that your park faces and what is being done to ad-dress that challenge.

One challenge is the aging Trans-Canyon Pipeline (TCP). The TCP was built in the mid-1960s and feeds water to the park from Roaring Springs. Six-teen miles in length, the aging pipeline is constructed of 6–8-inch aluminum

pipe that, over the past decade, has suf-fered numerous leaks, fissures, and breaks. Full replacement of the TCP is estimated at $100–150 million dollars. Currently, a half-mile section of the TCP, including pipeline from the lower Campground Bridge north to Phantom Ranch Cantina and a short sec-tion around the NPS mule corral, is being replaced. Since 1978, major pipeline breaks have occurred 5–30 times annually, and the frequency of breaks continues to increase as the pipeline ages. This project only addresses immediate issues in the Phantom Ranch area.


Our 411 National Park Service (NPS) units were created for people to visit and enjoy unique natural places. But if they are managed only for visitation, what happens to the flora and fauna that make them so special?

Around the 75-year mark of the NPS’s 100-year history, it recognized this as an issue and launched a system-wide inven-tory and monitoring program that now en-compasses more than 300 of its units. This program operates in groups based on geo-graphic proximity and ecosystem features. In Arizona and eastern New Mexico, 11 system units are covered in a Sonoran Desert Net-work, with headquarters on 40 acres of the Desert Research Center adjacent to Saguaro National Park East.

The Sonoran Desert Network was launched in 2000. Since 2001, Andy Hub-bard has been its lead scientist and program manager. “The Network ranges from Organ Pipe [Cactus National Monument] of more than a million acres to Casa Grande [Ruins National Monument] of about 600 acres,” he said.

Network scientists spent its first de-cade on the inventory phase, documenting the units’ baseline birds, wildlife, vegeta-tion, invasive species, and water (location,

volume and quality). The inventory heart-ened scientists, who found the 11 units in better condition than they feared might be the case. A finding was that even the small units, featuring historic or archaeological remains, had “amazing” arrays of unique natural resources. Montezuma Castle Na-

tional Monument, for example, covers fewer than 1,000 acres but is home to more than 200 bird species. Hubbard notes that “most of [these units] are around water, which is why people settled there.”

Monitoring the Network’s liv-ing natural resources has occupied scientists’ work over the last 5–6 years of the 16-year-old program. This process produces “an early warning system” for finding nega-tive local ecosystem trends.

It is too early to recognize major trends, Hubbard said. But studies are focused on the dangers of inva-sive species, the worst of which are buffelgrass and bullfrogs, and on water issues in this arid area. Buffel-grass, an African native that ranchers planted widely in the arid Southwest for cattle, has no natural impedi-ments to its ability to thrive. Expan-

sive in Saguaro National Park and elsewhere, it crowds out native species and increases wildfire risk, able to survive fiercely hot burns that the natives cannot. Hubbard said the NPS has had considerable success con-trolling buffelgrass and continues to spend money and energy on that important effort.

Sonoran Desert Network Casa Grande Ruins National MonumentChiricahua National MonumentCoronado National MemorialFort Bowie National Historic SiteGila Cliff Dwellings National Monument Montezuma Castle National Monument Organ Pipe Cactus National MonumentSaguaro National ParkTonto National MonumentTumacacori National Historical ParkTuzigoot National Monument

Bullfrogs, large and aggressive, crowd out native frogs already suffering from lack of quality habitat due to extensive river dam-ming and water diversions. Bullfrogs carry chytrid fungus that native amphibians can-not tolerate. Amphibians also are in decline globally, so keeping natives such as the low-land leopard frog extant is a challenge, he said.

The Sonoran Desert Network operates with six full-time and one part-time NPS scientists, 4–6 paid interns, and 2–4 unpaid interns who are graduate students working on related studies for their educational en-deavors.

“In the end, the National Park Service will either be praised for preserving the last fragment of primitive America or condemned to failure to hold to the real purpose.” George Melendez Wright

In the 1930s, George Melendez Wright believed that our national parks were richer than just scenic features. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (ORPI), situated 185 miles southwest of Tucson and established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 13, 1937, was part of a movement to protect not just scenery but also ecological wonders. Using the Antiquities Act of 1906, FDR proclaimed areas of public land with historic, archeological, or scientific value to be national monuments. Located along 33

miles of the international boundary of U.S. and Mexico, it is an area of 517 square miles, 95% wilderness.

More than 79 years later, ORPI is the only place in the U.S. that the Sonoyta mud turtle, Quitobaquito spring snail, and the desert caper plant can be found naturally oc-curring. More than 800 species of plants are found here, including 26 species of cactus. In 1976, it was proclaimed an International


River watershed nurtures more than 470 vertebrate species, nearly 80% of all the species in Arizona. Thirteen species in the Verde River watershed are listed under the En-dangered Species Act with an ad-ditional two proposed for listing; critical habitat (CH) has been des-ignated for six of these species and proposed for three.

The Verde River is also a source of water and income for communities nearby. It supplies Phoenix with 40% of its water, and the watershed itself sustains more than 700 jobs and more than $100 million in economic value in the Verde Val-ley. Protecting and restoring the habitat of

Listed species the Verde River supports:

Chiricahua leopard frog (CH designated)Southwestern willow flycatcher (CH designated)

yellow-billed cuckoo (CH proposed)narrow-headed gartersnake (CH proposed)

northern Mexican gartersnake (CH proposed)Arizona cliffrose

Colorado pikeminnowGila chub (CH designated)

Gila topminnowGila trout

loach minnow (CH designated)razorback sucker (CH designated)

spikedace (CH designated)roundtail chub (proposed for listing)headwater chub (proposed for listing)

the watershed is vital to protecting all species that rely on it.


My color brick is found in the red clay of Sedona, the walls of Grand Canyon, the descending cliffs of Vermilion and Can-yon de Chelly. Brick hides underground in mines, inside the body. The sound of brick is like a rough-edged saw working through crumbling clay. The orangy crazy redness feels rough as it turns into different sunset shades on Superstition Mountain.

The job of the brick-colored Red Mountain is to color shift for drivers as they head east on the 202 just before dusk. Brick

wants to be restored to its natural place in the world of sediment laid down by the riv-ers and seas. Sweet is the taste of brick as it melts in watery droplets after a rain. Close up, brick smells as if it was freshly placed there over the centuries. The scent of smoky dust stays with me as I walk forward.

Speak up and sit beside me, brick says. Touch me and I will glow. The secret of the color brick is that I am fragile and also ap-pear strong.

Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Orga-nization (UNESCO).

Artifacts date back approximately 16,000 years. The Hia C-ed O’odham and the Tohono O’odham lived at Qui-tobaquito Springs. More than 40 historic structures from ranching history and three mines, as well as irrigation canals, corrals, and O’odham graves, were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, reflecting a history and culture of Native

Americans, Mexicans, and Europeans. In the mid-1800s, ’49ers traveled through the area. Today, immigrants and drug traffickers travel through, which prompted the Nation-al Park Service (NPS) to close nearly 70% of the monument in 2003.

The good news is that in April 2015, the monument was re-opened after increased border security. The bad news is that Border Patrol had created more than 10,000 miles of tire tracks that cut across Organ Pipe and Cabreza Prieta – the deserts destroyed, animal migration routes disrupted, native plants disturbed.

For three days this past April, I was priv-ileged to be a part of the Sierra Club Wild-lands Lobby in Washington, D.C. While we lobbied for permanent funding for the Water, Land, and Conservation Act, we also lobbied for opposition to S. 750/H.R. 1412, which uses the phrase “notwithstanding any other provision of law” to establish a blank waiver of all laws for any Border Patrol activ-ity on all Department of Interior and De-partment of Agriculture lands within 100 miles of the border. It expands the sweeping authority provided by the REAL ID Act of 2005 that allowed for 37 federal laws to be

ignored during the construction of walls and roads along the border. Waivers included Arizona Desert Wilderness Act, Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Act, National Environment Policy Act, and Archaeological Resources Protection Act. Instead, we asked for support of H.R. 4303, the Border Secu-rity and Accountability Act. It provides for monitoring and mitigation of environmen-tal impacts caused by border security infra-structure and activities.


For the past three years, Sierra Club vol-unteers have joined Friends of Petrified For-est National Park to help take down fences, do a little painting, and complete other chores to keep Petrified Forest National Park looking its best and to provide needed assis-tance to its wildlife. This has been a stellar way to celebrate National Public Lands Day at the end of September in one of Arizona’s premiere national parks.

Petrified Forest National Park, located in northern Arizona, has vast landscapes, astonishingly dark skies, a myriad of late Tri-assic fossils, and a diversity of plants and ani-mals. In recent years, the park has been ex-panded. That is good news! The bad news is that its budget has not – which means there is limited funding to restore areas that have been added to the park. That is where we can make a difference. One of the key challenges is removing miles and miles of fences of vari-ous sizes and styles on the expansion lands. Fences are a huge barrier for wildlife, espe-

cially species such as pronghorn, which pre-fer to scoot under fences and can get caught on barbed wire, especially in the winter time.

Sierra Club has a long history with Pet-rified Forest. John Muir explored the lands in this area that were not yet protected when he was living there between 1905 and 1906. Muir became a strong advocate for protect-ing the Petrified Forest and expressed his desire to see it protected to President Theo-dore Roosevelt. Soon after the Antiquities Act passed in 1906, giving him the author-ity to do so, President Roosevelt established Petrified Forest as a national monument. In 1962, Congress made it a national park. In 2004, the park boundaries were expanded.

A lot has been done to protect these amazing lands, their historical, cultural, and natural resources, the petrified wood, and the wildlife. The work is not finished, how-ever. In this, the 100th anniversary of the Na-tional Park Service, it is important that we not only visit and enjoy Petrified Forest Na-

tional Park but also that we step up to care for it and help the National Park Service by doing our part to take down a fence, paint a ceiling, remove trash or invasive species, and help with a myriad of other activities that show how much we love our parks. Find out

what is happening on National Public Lands Day 2016 at Petrified Forest National Park and other public lands and come out and love your parks!

The National Park Service (NPS) Centennial and that of Grand Canyon National Park, not surpris-ingly, nearly coincide. The NPS was established just 2.5 years before Grand Canyon received national park designation. In the century since, Grand Canyon’s lonely grandeur and beauty have become seriously compromised – impaired – by the endless parades of noisy tour heli-copters.

Many stretches of the most frequented backcountry trails and superb promontories have for decades been hard hit by the noise – especially those within the original protected national monument President Theodore Roosevelt designated. The spires and pin-

nacles and plateaus are swamped in a roiling sonic sea, the deeps drowned under noise of whirling blades.

On his first visit in 1903, President Roosevelt was haunted by “the great loneli-ness” of the canyon’s vastness and solitude. He wanted this sense of “great loneliness”

left, preserved and un-marred, as the product of the ages.

The helicopter noise onslaught remains an in-appropriate distraction from – and virtual elimi-nation of – primeval time made visible. The ancient vision is lost under repeti-tious noises from modern machines.

In May, Sierra Club sent a letter to NPS Di-rector Jonathan Jarvis, in-

sisting on preserving unimpaired these walls of geology and time. For the integrity of this wilderness park, the helicopter onslaught needs to be promptly phased out. The let-ter sharply reminded of the still unused and unfinished procedures set forth in the 1975 Enlargement Act, as ways of furthering the

restoration of quiet. These are entirely aside from, and beyond, the deplorably weak 1987 Overflights Act. NPS still has author-ity to propose and co-author further regula-tion, and the Federal Aviation Administra-tion must “take appropriate action to protect the park and visitors.”

What better time, then, for reassertion of NPS authority than these pivotal two years (2016–2018) between the centennial of the NPS and of the park to push on to-wards complete restoration of the pervasive (but lost) solitude and natural quiet?

You can view the complete text of the Chapter letter to Secretary Jarvis at http://bit.ly/2016GCoverflights_letter.



“Look at all the animals that we saved!” Jordan said this to me as they were pick-ing up garbage along the Santa Cruz River on the Anza Trail near Tubac. We were on an “Every Kid in a Park” trip (http://www. nationalparks.org/ook/every-kid-in-a-park). Jordan was one of the few middle school students who decided to come with me to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Na-

tional Park Service. I invited 4th to 8th grade students to come on my final trip from our school. Many had participated in trips I took them on in the five years I was at Safford K–8 Magnet School in Tucson. I was retir-ing, and I wanted the final trip to be a big one. I ended up with only 16 students, but they were eager, energetic, and excited to be on this trip.

We started the day with a sharing of our favorite national park. The adults quickly shared parks to which they had been. I knew my students hadn’t been to any or to just a few. They named some of the parks that we had studied in class. Shouldn’t every 5th grader study a national park?

After an hour-long drive, they partici-pated in many Junior Ranger activities at Tubac State Park and Tumacacori National Park. After lunch, we arranged with Ranger Melanie to clean up an area on the river and have the bags picked up later. We came to a spot in the river that was filled with garbage. The students and parents excitedly donned gloves, filled bags, and rolled tires and con-tainers to the path where they would be picked up. We continued on the four-mile trail and then found the spot we were re-ally supposed to clean up! Unfortunately, we had used all the bags at the previous site. How embarrassing! The rest of the trail was beautiful, an easy hike along the creek under

shady trees. Not the kind of hike we usually have in Tucson.

We’re planning on going back and clean-ing up the right spot. Each trip is a lesson – whether it’s to get better directions or just to enjoy nature. This trip, the students learned to give back to the community (again). Over the years, they’ve learned to overcome fears in a cave; learned they can hike, walk, or run for more than a mile; learned new science ideas; made new friends. They’ve learned about me (separate from being a teacher), and I’ve learned about them – things we of-ten don’t have time to do during the school day. I’ve been able to use everything we did outside for lessons inside our class. We made so many connections, every day. This day, they connected what we learned about in the classroom to the outside. “Look at all the animals we saved today!”

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5$7( 7+( $7,21$/ 3 $5. - Sierra Club · 2016-06-29 · age or fund the state lands under their au-thority now. Their only alternative if they were to take over federal lands would