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75166nwsltr.qxd 12/26/07 9:00 AM Page 1 Hidden Passage the journal of glen institute Issue XV, Winter 2008

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You Don’t Know What You Got ‘til It’s Back

Glen Canyon Institute by Richard Ingebretsen President S ongwriter Joni Mitchell wrote, “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know Richard Ingebretsen what you got ‘til it’s gone? They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” But, as far as is concerned, we might want to rewrite that lyric to say, “You Board of Trustees don’t what you got ‘til it’s back.” With each passing day, each passing rain storm, Mikhail Davis and each passing wisp of the wind, the Glen’s wondrous continue to be Ed Dobson restored. Wade Graham Powell is only 47% full right now and is lowering. The reason is that Margaret Hoffman , downstream from , operates at a 1.3 million acre-foot Nancy Jacques deficit each year. That means that more water goes out of Lake Mead then goes Rick Ridder into it each year. Because of the critical need to keep Lake Mead generating power Lea Rudee and providing water to users in the Lower Basin, an accord was reached in the Fall Dave Wegner of 2007 which allows for more water to pass through Glen Canyon to keep Lake Mead full in "wet" years and hold onto water in "drier" years with the hope Development Director of keeping both Lake Mead and Powell at maximum levels. It also mandates that the Lower Basin share in these shortages by encouraging conservation measures. Amy Collins This is another in a series of “accords” designed to maintain a fragile peace among the ’s competing water users—but this one is different, because it Advisory Committee reverses the tortured logic that built in the first place. Dan Beard It all started in the decades before the dam was built, when the Upper Basin Steve Black states recognized that, in spite of the fact that most of the time the actual flow of Philmer Bluehouse Ryan Brown the Colorado would be sufficient for the Upper Basin to make its required deliv- Niklas Christensen ery of water each year, it nevertheless needed a storage reservoir—not to deliver Agustin Garza water to the Lower Basin, but to hold it back! The problem was that the Lower Michael Kellett Basin, eager to appropriate any “surplus” water that came down the river, refused Peter Lavigne to credit the Upper Basin for any water that flowed into Lake Mead in excess of the Katie Lee minimum annual requirement. Therefore, a huge reservoir was needed to try to Daniel McCool keep water upstream of Mead as long as possible. In effect, Lower Basin water Francis McDermott would be stored in the Upper Basin merely to counter Lower Basin greed. Bruce Mouro But this new accord acknowledges that the earlier policy was a mistake. The Tom Myers Page Stegner Lower Basin has agreed to credit the Upper Basin for future water delivery in order Flake Wells to keep Lake Mead full now. This flies in the face of the stated purpose of Lake Bill Wolverton Powell and accentuates the colossal mistake of arbitrarily dividing the Basin into two halves at . The new accord also begs the obvious question: now, what is the purpose of Lake Powell? 1520 Sunnydale Lane In the future, the demand on Lake Mead is going to increase, and the inflow to Salt Lake City, 84108 Lake Powell is going to continue to decrease. Lake Powell is caught between seven tel (801) 363-4450 very thirsty states (and Mexico) and a dwindling water supply entering it. The lat- fax (801) 363-4451 est studies reveal that, because of global climate change, Lake Powell will empty to [email protected] “dead pool” (the level of the dam’s outlet tunnels, when the river will simply flow www.glencanyon.org through the dam) and stay there for at least 15% of its existence—some studies say up to 40% of its future. When it does reach that very low level, Lake Mead will Hidden Passage drop very rapidly and it will be difficult to keep it full. Obviously, there needs to Issue XV Winter 2008 be a significant change in Western water management, not a number of meaning- less “accords.” It simply does not make sense to try to maintain Lake Powell’s level Editor when there is not enough water to fill Lake Mead. Wade Graham Anyone traveling and exploring this area will find it unbelievable to think that, [email protected] because of the Bureau of Reclamation’s fiats of the 1950s, irreplaceable Glen Canyon has served as a water storage facility for the states of , , printed on 100% recycled paper and for four decades. The decisions to build and to store water in this

Cover: La Gorce Arch in Davis near the mouth of the , at loca- page 2 tion once 90 feet under water. Photo by Jim Kay — jameskay.com

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uniquely beautiful place were made when the West was oper- Historical District, the famous Mormon Pioneer Hole-in-the ating in an era of excess water. The shrunken Powell reservoir Rock, the Glen Canyon region is our part of our Western past has a greatly-diminished value now as well as in the future as and heritage. It is well known for its cultural significance to a water storage project, not to mention as a power generator, many native Indians, filled with thousands of sacred ruins or as a flat-water motorized boat recreation destination. and rock art sites scattered throughout the maze of canyons. A realistic future of the area is a natural restoration of Glen The environmental impacts of Glen Canyon Dam are Canyon where much of this incredible place, including nearly undeniable, with the failing health of the fragile Grand 40 miles of the Colorado River, 20 miles of the San Juan and Canyon ecosystem near the top of the list. Endangered 30 miles of the Escalante River, is free again and will be there species populations in the shrink while nutri- for our and future generations to enjoy. The natural restora- ent-rich deposits grow rapidly in Glen Canyon at tion of Glen Canyon should be allowed to continue and the the rate of 30,000 truck loads daily. Other major impacts restored areas that will likely never go back under water need include diminished water quality and the flooding of histor- to be protected. Glen Canyon is truly America’s lost national ical, cultural, and scenic treasures. park. It is a national park already in its splendor—an In the long term, climate change and steadily increasing unequaled national treasure boasting more than 200 miles of water demand will render Lake Powell reservoir useless for the Colorado River above Grand Canyon, 88 miles of the San water storage. As such, Congress should direct the National Juan River, 65 miles of the spectacular Escalante River, and Park Service to redesignate the Glen Canyon Unit as a hundreds of miles of unique and scenic side canyons. Glen National Park instead of a , and to Canyon is legendary for its beauty, with lush , manage its re-emerging landscapes for a dry future and a arches, soaring mesas, ancient ruins and rock art, twisting more diversified, non-motorized recreational economy. The narrows, hoodoos, arches and natural bridges. improved health of the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon, Glen Canyon is at the heart of Utah’s spectacular redrock and Glen Canyon will all result from this protection. Future country. This geological wonder contains such landscapes as generations will be thankful for the protection of this won- Cathedral in the Desert, Rainbow Bridge, Music Temple and drous landscape and the restoration of a free-flowing the Goosenecks of the San Juan River.With deep historical Colorado River around Glen Canyon Dam. roots in places like Old Hite Historical District, Lee’s Ferry Restored section of Wetherill Canyon once 100 feet under water. Photo by Jim Kay — jameskay.com page 3

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Drought, Climate Change, and the Colorado River

by Dave Wegner, Science Director F ires in Southern California. Record Drought in Los Angeles. basin, making for faster drying out of the soils and plants and Lake Powell and Lake Mead less than 50 percent full. Record a higher volume of water evaporated from the reservoir sur- CO2 emission levels. Thousands of acres of pine trees in faces. Colorado dead or dying. Taken individually, all of these events • volume of lakes Powell and Mead: currently both are concerns that need to be addressed. Taken collectively, they are less than half full and are projected to continue represent a far larger event happening in the West and one that to decline. Without a high level of snowpack and resulting slow will have a direct impact on how we manage our water in the runoff we can expect the reservoirs to continue to decline in future. volume and elevation. Direct and indirect changes are hap- • Seven basin states allocations: the pening at a fast pace in the Colorado in 1922 split River Basin. Climate change and asso- the watershed into two parts, the Upper ciated societal impacts resulting from and Lower Basins. The Lower Basin large scale global and local perturba- states of California, Nevada and tions such as greenhouse gases, land Arizona are now taking their full allo- use changes, and energy policies are cations, and more, if they can get it. driving the volume and availability of Demand for water is driving the Lower water. The Colorado River supports Basin states to look at alternatives that over 30 million people and a myriad of include more water banking, ground environmental and natural system water development, pipelines, desalin- components, all dependent upon a ization plants, fallowing lands, and consistent and readily available source developing more efficient ways to of water. The National Research transport and use water. The Upper Council, at the request of the Basin states have not used their alloca- Department of the Interior, concluded tions yet and instead of focusing on in February 2007 that historical infor- conservation are looking for ways to mation should be used as a guide in protect their rights—by using more looking at droughts in the Colorado water. River Basin and determining their • Drought: 2007 ended up being the potential implications. Evaluating tree 9th year of below-average runoff in the ring and sediment core data revealed last 10 years. Only in 2005 was there that droughts have lasted several above-average runoff (105%) in the decades and in one case for over 60 Colorado River Basin. years! The current drought of nine • La Nina Development in the Pacific: years is small potatoes in comparison to the past. Surprisingly, ocean circulation patterns in the Pacific Ocean define upper air the NRC’s report and those of the IPCC and other scientists are circulation patterns and the amount of moisture in the air not being taken into serious consideration by the government masses. Historically, low snowpack years have been associated in planning for the future. Business as usual is their approach with La Nina circulation patterns. to managing Lake Powell and Lake Mead. • Long range climate conditions: all the science now points to significant changes in temperature and hydrologic conditions So where do we sit in the Colorado River Basin this year? in the Colorado River Basin. Understanding how our globe’s Should we be worried? There are several issues that we should climate functions and is impacted by changes in temperature is be looking at as we plan for the next few years. important for us to make wise decisions on water and land • 2007 conditions: last year’s runoff into Lake Powell was management. 69% of normal. This equates to approximately a volume of 8.10 million acre feet. This volume of runoff does not meet the These elements independently do not indicate an imminent legal minimum release amount from Glen Canyon Dam of catastrophe; however, taken together they paint a picture of 8.23 million acre feet per year. concern. While common sense would suggest that each of the • Record heat: record hot temperatures during the summer seven Colorado River Basin states should embark on a required resulted in high evaporation and transpiration rates from the reduction in water use, instead they are relying on voluntary Grounded buoy in Forgotten Canyon at location once 80 feet below Lake Powell. Photo by page 4 Jim Kay —jameskay.com

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reductions. It is highly unlikely that voluntary efforts alone manage our water resources in order to meet all of our legal will provide the support they need. and moral obligations under a globally climate-dictated The broader picture of accelerating global climate change hydrology. that will impact our water issues here in the West should be • Fill Mead First proposal: the objective is to reoperate the taken into consideration. With 30 million people currently Colorado River Basin to reduce evaporation from the two large depending on the Colorado River for some part of their water reservoirs (Powell and Mead) by filling Mead first, keeping and the region’s population continuing to increase, the Powell reservoir drawn down but with Glen Canyon Dam in demand for water is not going to go down. The cascading effect place for periodic control needs. The backbone of this of issues hap- program is a sci- pening around entific modeling the globe should approach to provide a wake- evaluate future up call to those water manage- of us dependent ment options upon Colorado under antici- River water. A pated climate few of the and hydrologic important indi- changes in the cators include: Colorado River rising global Basin. temperatures • Restore resulting in Grand Canyon record melting sediment and of glaciers from water flows: Greenland to reengineer and Alaska; warming operate Glen of the Arctic Canyon Dam to Ocean resulting allow the move- in an open ment of sedi- Northwest ment into the Passage and a loss of habitat for polar bears and seals; melting Grand Canyon to provide for the restoration of beaches and of the tundra and the release of methane into the atmosphere; habitats for native and endangered species. forest fires releasing massive amounts of carbon dioxide into • Implement a water footprint program: develop and imple- the atmosphere; runoff occurring three to four weeks early ment a user-friendly and web-based approach to determine resulting in earlier drying of soils; and increased evaporation our individual water footprint coupled with ways to reduce our and plant transpiration due to higher temperatures of air and water needs. water. • Long-term monitoring program in the Grand Canyon: GCI with an alliance of other conservation groups has forced the So What is GCI Doing About This? Department of the Interior to embark on a public review of the believes that climate change is real proposed science to be used in the management of the and that it will impact the Colorado River Basin. We believe resources along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Our that in order to support our natural and social resources in the concern is based on needs of the endangered species with the Colorado River Basin we need to look at system solutions and intent to ensure that the right science and data is collected to not band-aids that continue business as usual. Specifically, GCI evaluate operations and river management. is pushing for: Glen Canyon Institute will continue to be involved and vocal • Colorado River Basin Environmental Impact Study (EIS): regarding water in the Colorado River Basin. We count on your the objective is to bring all stakeholders and the public together ideas and support. Thanks. in a publicly defined debate and process to evaluate how we

Drowned cottonwood trees in Davis Gulch, once under 140 feet of water, re-emerged in 2005. Photo by Jim Kay — jameskay.com page 5

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Lake Powell to St. George Pipeline: Folly in Utah’s Dixie

by Richard Ingebretsen T he plan is to build a water line from miles north of Glen Canyon Dam, then But the costs of the water are stagger- Lake Powell to St. George, a city built over 120 miles of land into the Sand ing. Engineering studies commissioned smack dab in the middle of the desert. It Hollow Reservoir located 10 miles east of by the Washington County Water will deliver around 70,000 acre feet of St. George. The pipeline is currently Conservancy District (WCWCD) and water annually to this growing area, planned to follow Highways 89 and 59 as the Utah Division of Water Resources water that developers hope will allow a much as possible, avoiding wilderness (DWR) show the costs of the pipeline to city of 65,000 people to grow to nearly areas, but crossing through a Native be at least 1.5 billion dollars—too high 500,000 people over the next 30 years. American reservation. However, the to begin construction at this point in The pipeline is to be subsidized prima- time, and requiring a headstart on rais- rily by raising the Utah state sales tax ing the money. for all Utah residents. Developers are But more revealing are recent studies hopeful that the tax increase will be that indicate that Lake Powell is going passed soon, even though the project to be at dead pool for a significant part will likely not start for 15 years. The of its existence. The average tempera- idea is to spread the raise over a long ture of the Colorado River Basin has period of time so that the blow to tax- been 2.1 degrees above normal over the payers will not be severe and will go last several decades. The temperature is unnoticed. In addition to this, Senator expected to rise another 2.4 degrees in Bennett and Congressman Matheson the next several decades. The Colorado from Utah have reintroduced the River and its water resources are partic- Washington County Growth and ularly susceptible to the effects of cli- Conservation Act to authorize the mate change due to global warming. right-of-way for the pipeline as well as The basin lies in a semi-arid region allowing for a massive land-swap for where it has an almost complete alloca- development. This bill was defeated in tion of its streamflow to consumptive the last session of Congress. uses. This means that almost any The need for water from Lake Powell streamflow reduction has significant is based on a report prepared in 1998 implications. Global warming alone is by Boyle Engineering, now referred to expected to decrease streamflow input as the Boyle Report. It made a number to Lake Powell by at least 14 – 18%. of projections of population growth Furthermore, consumptive use in the and water needs for St. George as well Upper Basin is expected to increase to as for Washington County, Utah. To the 5.4 million acre-feet per year, from 4.2 glee of developers, the report predicted or so now. All of this will keep the level that St. George could reach a population pipeline will largely fall under current of Lake Powell at dead pool or near that close to 500,000 in 30 years. It concluded highway rights-of-way. level for most of its existence. There will that the region would eventually run out Only 60,000 acre-feet would make it to simply not be enough water to “fill” the of water using current sources. Therefore St. George; the other 10,000 would go to pipeline. it was recommended that a Lake Powell- the city of Kanab and other future devel- But, the WCWCD and the DWR don’t to-St. George pipeline be built as “the opments along the 130 miles of pipeline. seem to care and are not giving up. They best solution to future water shortages.” From Lake Powell, the water would be are currently trying to lobby Congress Water for the pipeline would come out pumped uphill for a small portion of the and the Utah Legislature to appropriate of Utah’s allocation of Colorado River journey; gravity would then pull the funds for the project. As water in the water. The water for the pipeline would water into St. George where it would fill region becomes an even scarcer resource, be stored in a reservoir and power a hydroelectric the benefits of piping water in are pre- where 70,000 acre feet annually would be plant. Sales of the electricity created dicted to outweigh the costs of construc- released down the Green River into Lake would pay for part of the pumping costs. tion. The WCWCD still predicts the Powell. The pipeline would pump this Kanab would have to pick up a share of project will be complete by 2030. water from a point on Lake Powell seven the price. But, is the pipeline really needed? Do

Aerial view of Wetherill Canyon with reservoir level 100 feet below full pool. Photo by Jim Kay — jameskay.com page 6

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we really have to raise statewide sales Water Conservancy District, for they are Population projections of the Boyle taxes? Do we really need to take water pressing on developing the pipeline Report were based on 1988 data pre- from a river, where there really is no without one word about conservation. pared by the Utah Governor’s Office of more water to be taken? Do we need to Several years ago, Grand Canyon Planning and Budget, and did not further damage the fragile ecosystem of Trust, a Flagstaff-based environmental account for factors such as the availabil- the ? Do the residents organization, commissioned a study by ity of developable land, land use, and of St. George really want to see that city Hydrosphere Resource Consultants to zoning. Per capita water use in the Boyle get that big so fast? Is growth in a desert explore solutions to the inevitable Report was also somewhat miscalculated really a good thing when conservation isn’t the main pri- ority? To answer these questions, let’s first look at the city. St. George, Utah, is the fastest-growing city in the state of Utah, growing 73% from 1990 to 2000. And that is nothing compared to what some experts pre- dict for the future. The problem is that it just happens to be located in the driest county in the sec- ond driest state in the country. More remarkably, St. George already has the highest per capita water consumption rate for desert growth of St. George and surrounding according to Hydrosphere, as all classes cities in the U.S. and quite possibly the areas. The study concluded that of water use were included in the esti- entire nation. Residents use a staggering Washington County can accommodate mate with the underlying assumption 335 gallons per person per day. For com- projected water use needs for the next 50 that all sectors, commercial, industrial parison, Phoenix uses only 170 gallons years using water conservation meas- and residential, would grow in direct per person per day, half that of St. ures, and that the proposed pipeline proportion to population growth. The George. This is because Phoenix ordi- from Lake Powell to St. George is not Hydrosphere Study found the Boyle nances designed to conserve water have needed. Report used outdated and flawed data; proved invaluable in reducing water use. The Hydrosphere study questioned therefore future water demand figures Similar ordinances in other cities such as the two basic assumptions of the Boyle were overestimations as well. Las Vegas, Tucson, and Los Angeles have Report. They made a more conservative The Hydrosphere study concluded proved effective as well. But neither St. population estimate of 340,000 by 2050. that water use rates will be significantly George nor Washington County have The report claimed that Boyle had over- lower than those projected by the Boyle ordinances in place for water conserva- estimated population growth based on Report and that in order to satisfy realis- tion or landscaping, and apparently that consolidated development plans in 12 tic water needs of the region in the does not bother the Washington County municipalities in Washington County. future, no imported water will be

Abandoned Wahweap launch ramp at 142 feet below full pool, April 2005. Photo by Jim Kay — jameskay.com page 7

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required. In addition, the of 50% government-sub- a simple bill to change the study suggests that envi- sidized water use and name of the Utah ronmental concerns must today it has the cheapest Division of Water be addressed, particularly consumer water prices in Resources to the Utah the potential impact of the country. These cheap Division of Water exotic fish species on prices have encouraged Resources and native species in the over-consumption. Utah Conservation never made Upper Basin is the second driest state it out of committee. which are listed as threat- in the country (Nevada is In Utah, the lack of ened and endangered. In the driest) yet it has the financial conservation fact, the study shows that, highest per-capita water incentives goes beyond “based on the Governor’s consumption, between the consumer. County Office of Planning and 300-320 gallons per per- water boards have a disin- Budget 1999 population son per day compared to centive to conserve water growth scenarios in an average of 245 gallons in their districts. Water Washington County, few per day for other western board revenue is based additional water supply states and 180 for the largely on how much projects would be needed nation. The political pres- water they deliver. The to meet future water sure to maintain the cur- more water they deliver needs.” rent water consumption the more money they The Hydrosphere study system is high and each receive. This provides also found that Boyle had time there is a water financial disincentives for grossly overestimated shortage politicians and water conservation; future water use. planners jump to increase county boards that spend Hydrosphere used an eco- supply rather than con- money on conservation nomic/financial model serve water. efforts find that the more for determining future Water conservation is successful they are the water use. The model viewed as a bad thing by smaller their budget took into account eco- Utah politicians. When it becomes. The result is nomic factors like price comes to education, most counties in Utah elasticity: as new water health care, and social increase supply as water supplies are tapped, prices services, many legislators becomes scarce. go up and people con- are eager to cut budgets How big can a city get serve more and per capita and make agencies prove in the desert? Las Vegas is water use goes down. The they need more money. a good model to look at: Boyle Report didn’t take When it comes to water this is a city that is grow- these factors into account. development, they can’t ing at a faster rate than St. Based on the new popula- seem to throw tax money George. But in its 2007 tion growth and water use at it fast enough. There water budget, planners to complete construction on the pipeline estimates, the are adequate supplies of have declared that there by 2030. So far, the only holdup is fund- Hydrosphere Report con- water for current Utahns are no new sources of ing for the project. There is strong back- cluded that no new water and future generations water and that Las Vegas ing from Utah politicians and state sources would have to be with a renewed emphasis will have to become a government agencies like the DWR. The developed. The current on conservation. But, “mature” city unless last session of the Utah legislature pro- water sources would be amazingly, state legisla- stronger water conserva- duced a bill that was immediately signed more than enough if cost- tors have rejected propos- tion will work or other into law by Governor Huntsman that effective conservation als to establish a task force sources of water can be forwards the process of raising statewide methods are employed. to look into increasing found. taxes to pay for the project. There is still Utah has had a history water conservation. Even The WCWCD still plans hope that saner heads will prevail and

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that the project will be defeated. But the less water project to be drawn from a water in the southern Utah desert areas planning process has begun and major reservoir with an uncertain future. so that it is in line with everyone else in decisions will have to be made, and water Support Citizen’s for Dixie’s Future, the West. Cheap water in St. George has is always controversial and complex, with www.citizensfordixie.org, an organiza- already led to over-consumption. the outcome of development and recla- tion devoted to stopping his horrible Bringing in more water only fuels the mation proposals unpredictable. project. problem. Conservation incentives, Contact your legislators. Don’t let Remember that we live in a desert sur- including making water users pay a them pass the Washington County rounded by a fragile ecosystem and that higher percentage of the costs, and city Growth and Conservation Act with the other living things rely on water from the and county ordinances designed to pipeline provision. Don’t let them raise Colorado River. The best solution calls reduce water consumption will allow for your taxes to pay for a wasteful and need- for conservation of the already existing wise growth.

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Portfolio: Restored Glen Canyon Up Close

Photos by Jim Kay

Hiking along restored section of Lake Canyon once 25 feet under water.

Exposed narrows of Driftwood Canyon, once below 100 feet of water.

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Hiking along restored section of Lake Canyon once 25 feet under water.

Pool in Mountain Sheep Canyon at location once 60 feet under water.

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New West Values Trump New Guest Column by Scott Christensen

O ne of the great ironies of growth in the West is the rapidly one last bastion for fish, wildlife and recreation—the Oneida changing political landscape and the emergence of new value Narrows. The Narrows is a deep canyon located just upstream systems. The trend magnifies in places where natural amenities from Preston that provides a glimpse into what the river like , mountains, wildlife and outdoor recreational looked like before the age of dams. Long loved by locals for its opportunities are literally just out the back door. Part of the easy public access and pristine nature, the canyon represents a irony is that many newcomers are unaware that their subdivi- set of values that don’t include a dam. sion lot or second home site is chipping away at the very things So when a local irrigation company proposed to dam the that drew them to the area. The other half of the irony is that Bear River in the Oneida Narrows, values drove local opposi- these folks generally understand that the gazillion dollars they tion. Hundreds of folks turned out at public meetings and sent spent on their new digs is directly related to the stunning lands, letters to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission asking waters and wildlife that now surround them. the agency to deny a permit to construct a concrete tomb for As new dams are proposed in the West, they often run head- the canyon. Recently, motions were filed to dismiss the prelim- on into the buzz saw that is the New West. A growing realiza- inary permit for the proposed dam and locals are hoping this tion that fish and wildlife, wilderness areas and outdoor action signals the end of road for the destructive proposal. recreation are real economic drivers is the basis for strong People fight for what they love. Clean rivers and , opposition to concrete healthy fish and monuments and wildlife, solitude and drowned landscapes. stunning scenery are The Sonoran Institute increasingly rare in the recently completed a once-wild West. Rarity study on some of the creates values that trends that characterize trump even the grand- the New West. The est of schemes. Glen report clearly showed Canyon Dam would the presence of pro- not have been built had tected public lands more people had the (National Park, opportunity to explore Wilderness, Wildlife its rich and unique ter- Refuge, National rain. As Lake Powell Monument, etc.) in a recedes and hidden county is good for the secrets are revealed and local economy. Personal witnessed by a new income grows faster in generation, there is counties where more than 60 percent of the land is in federal hope that new-found values will guide future water manage- ownership, compared to counties with less than 10 percent of ment. their land base in public ownership. Furthermore, counties The West is changing, of this there is no doubt. Change where more than 60 percent of the federal lands are in some brings new opportunities, but not without hard work. Join type of protected status have grown 66 percent faster from Glen Canyon Institute and share your values with new neigh- 1970 to 2000 than counties where the same percentage of pub- bors. Ed Abbey once wrote,“The developers and entrepreneurs lic land had no permanent protective status. In essence, pro- must somehow be taught a new vocabulary of values.” Amen. tected public land and the fish and wildlife it supports is the Let’s get to work. “competitive advantage” for many Western counties.1 This phenomenon isn’t just playing out in ritzy ski towns — Scott Christensen lives with his wife and two children in and elite gated communities. In southeastern Idaho, residents Bozeman, MT. He’s a firm believer in activism and a sucker for of the small farming town of Preston are making a stand wild, free-flowing rivers. against a proposed dam on the Bear River. Over the past hun- dred years, the Bear River watershed has suffered the effects of 1 “You’ve Come A Long Way, Cowboy: Ten Truths and twelve dams, resulting in large scale losses of native species and Trends in the New American West.” Sonoran Institute. widespread aquatic degradation. Today, the Bear River holds www.sonoran.org/cowboy/ September 29, 2006. Restored cutting through sediment banks in Lake Canyon. Photo by Jim Kay — page 12 jameskay.com

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Water Grab on the San Juan

by Dave Wegner I n June 2007, the Secretary of the Interior signed a Hydrologic plot how to get the power plant approved before the public and Determination that allows the State of to go ahead Congress figure it all out. and develop 20,000 acre-feet of water over and above their • The White House has told the Department of Interior that 1922 and 1948 allocation via the Colorado River Compact and they are to give Sithe Global a "No Jeopardy" biological opin- Upper Colorado River Basin Compact. This in itself would not ion that will allow the plant to be built. The Bureau of Indian seem to be a big deal, however it is important to GCI and the Affairs, noted as being the worst DOI bureau in the develop- ecosystems of the Colorado River for the following reasons: ment and following of NEPA rules and regulations, is ramrod- ding the EIS through with minimal comment and limited • The water will come out of the San Juan River and in addi- public meetings. tion to the existing NM allocation—an already over-depleted water source and the primary to Glen Canyon. GCI believes that the withdrawal of this water will have • The Hydrologic Determination signed by the Secretary of major impacts on the Colorado River system, which DOI must the Interior purposefully does not take into account the poten- consider. Specifically: (1) the Hydrologic Determination avoids tial impacts of climate change and the impact that will have on addressing climate change information and actually concludes overall water availability in the San Juan and Upper Colorado that there is more water in the system because of climate River Basin. change due to lower reservoir levels and less evaporation. This • The withdrawal will further deplete the available water set position does not accord with climate science; (2) the with- aside for the native and listed fish of the San Juan and drawal of 20,000 acre-feet will definitely impact Glen Canyon Colorado River systems. and Colorado River flows, and have impacts downstream in • The water is being set aside ostensibly for the the Lower Basin; and (3) building more subsidized coal-fired Nation and is likely to be used for the development of the power plants with old technology will further erode the health Desert Rock coal-fired power plant being proposed to be built and well-being of the Native Americans who will live near the on the Navajo Reservation. This is a speculation power plant plant, the people of Colorado and other areas downwind of the (i.e. there is no existing market for the electricity). Desert Rock, plant (who will inhale more mercury and bad air), and the being proposed by the New York investment company Sithe stressed ecosystems of the Colorado River Basin, which will Global, will use old technology (i.e. no scrubbers on the stacks) lose yet more water to ill-conceived development. that will increase the amount of CO2 and mercury that falls on Nevada Senator Harry Reid has come out strong and stated the (Colorado River watershed). publicly that he will not allow coal-fired power plants to be • Sithe Global directors are connected to Dick Cheney and built in his state. Is New Mexico any different than Nevada? several of them have been identified as part of the group that met secretly with the White House to formulate US energy pol- Where is an investigative reporter when you need one? icy. Cheney met this Fall in Denver with Sithe Global people to effects of Glen Canyon Dam on the decline towards oblivion. Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. "To put it bluntly, current flows from TRUST SUES D.O.I. OVER The bureau launched the Grand Canyon Glen Canyon Dam are in violation of DAM Environmental Studies, a multi-year federal law," said Nikolai Lash, senior ————————————— monitoring effort, guided by GCI’s program director at GCT. Grand Canyon Trust, the Flagstaff- Science Director Dave Wegner, then with GCI is advising on the lawsuit. based conservation group, sued the the agency. The studies showed that the —————————————— Department of Interior Friday, operations of Glen Canyon Dam, by ERRATA from Hidden Passage XIV: December 7, 2007, in federal court, blocking sediment and seasonal flood accusing its agencies, the U.S. Bureau of flows into the canyon and lowering • The picture of the Escalante flood at Reclamation and the US Fish and water temperatures, had imperiled pop- Neon Canyon on page 4 was taken by Wildlife Service, of mismanaging the ulations of native fish. Stefanos Folias (not Bill Wolverton). Colorado River and pushing endangered In 1996, the bureau adopted a plan to • The picture on page 9 of the 2-step species closer to extinction. alter dam releases, but the lawsuit alleges in Davis Gulch was taken in In 1992, Congress ordered the Bureau the agency has not lived up to the rules, 2005, not 1995, making the cottonwoods of Reclamation to address the negative continuing to manage releases to benefit pictured 1 1/2 years old, not 11 years old. power production while native fish

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Historic Phil Pennington Photo to be Auctioned for GCI Glen Canyon, Mile 110.7, near Shock , 35-mm photo taken 1961/62.

This 13” x 19”color print is one of only two printed from Phil’s negative by professional landscape pho- tographer Bob Schlesinger (www.bobschlesinger.com). It will be auctioned on the Glen Canyon Institute website the second week of February, 2008. Please check the website (www.glencanyon.org) or call GCI at 801-363-4450 for details on how to bid.

couple explored vast sandstone canyons lined with willows and A Tribute to Phil & Keturah cottonwoods, discovering many paintings and artifacts of the Pennington native people who preceded them. They observed the frogs, bats, deer, and chuckwalla that thrived in the Glen’s unique landscape. The Penningtons remember Glen Canyon as From the first time Phil Pennington saw Glen Canyon from “enchanting, magical, one of the most beautiful experiences in a search plane in 1961, he knew it was a special place. He was the world.” on a backpacking trip with students from U.C. Berkeley when But the place was destined to disappear. In 1960, the Bureau some members of the group wandered off and got lost. As the of Reclamation had poured the first bucket of concrete on a group leader, he found himself in the cockpit of a plane circling dam that would eventually drown almost 200 miles of the over a labyrinth of canyons, looking for the hikers. The hikers Colorado River under Lake Powell. Over the next two years, the were eventually found and the images of Glen Canyon would Penningtons returned as often as they could. Keturah climbed forever be in Phil’s mind.“Nothing could have prepared me for sandstone walls and stood on Phil’s shoulders to explore hid- what I saw,” Phil said. He described the sight in writing years den canyons. Phil tested his theory that quicksand wouldn’t later: “Canyons that are twisted saw-cut slots in red sandstone swallow a person the way it did in the movies (it didn’t). In the with natural bridges and arches everywhere with stair-stepped winter, they slid their boats on top of floating icebergs and desert mesas, domes, ridges and needles of spectacular rock spun in slow motion down the Colorado. plus a river lined with greenery.” Their images and stories ignited the modern movement to He was so intrigued by what he saw that he and future wife restore Glen Canyon and have helped keep its memory alive. Keturah promptly organized a river trip the following year. The

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In conjunction with the , they produced a powerful ways to improve understanding of the science that has made film recounting a journey through Glen Canyon that proved to such a difference in human cultures and could make a big dif- be crucial in preventing the construction of two dams in the ference in personal lives. Phil has his PhD from University of Grand Canyon. They just put that film onto DVD and it will California at Berkeley. soon be available from Glen Canyon Institute. Keturah is currently looking for ways to grease the gears of They have a wonderful web page where you can take a “pho- community affairs, including the Neighborhood Emergency tographic journey” down Glen Canyon. Team, the neighborhood crime watch, and participant in (http://explorepdx.com/where.html) Phil and Keturah are Portland’s Block Captain Steering Committee. environmental crusaders who have spent a lifetime working to To honor their years of commitment and effort towards the show people the beauty of Glen Canyon. Currently, Phil is environment, they were honored by GCI with the 2006 David working on the his Knowledge Use Project that tries to find Brower Award. — Richard Ingebretsen

Book Review: Restoring Colorado River Ecosystems: A Troubled Sense of Immensity, by Robert W. Adler. Washington D.C: Island Press, 2007.

Make room on the shelf next to Reisner and Brower—Bob Adler has written a classic of Western water analysis, and the definitive book on the Colorado River and its tangled, intractable environmental problems. A professor of law at the University of Utah, Adler calls his narrative “an inquiry into the intersection of law, science, and public policy,” but it bursts even these generous boundaries. It is a tour de force guided tour through the history of water and power development on the river and the various realms of massive damage these have caused—and the torturous, bureaucratic, and mostly ineffec- tive efforts at stanching the bleeding. Chapters range through the mechanics of geomorphology, riparian ecosystems and native fish, grazing and , tamarisk and biological control, agricultural economics, the law of the river, and US-Mexico politics, and systematic, miraculously clear explications of the expensive and endless exercises in twiddling-your-thumbs-while-nature- crashes known as the Adaptive Management Program in Grand Canyon and the Multi-Species Conservation Program in the lower river. Adler attempts to chart a way through the political mess of the Colorado River Basin to a blueprint for real restoration. He is patient and evenhanded, diligently laying out all sides of the arguments—including interviews with GCI president Richard Ingebretsen—while marshalling historical evidence and distilling science, laying down the layers of the story like sedimentary deposits that pile up into a hard, irrefutable mass of physical fact. His conclusions are unsurprising: the infrastructure carapace the Bureau of Reclamation has laid over the living river is killing it, and the piecemeal efforts at mitigation taken thus far by it and other agencies have failed to slow the death spiral of the river’s creatures and ecosystems. But, because of his nonpartisan discipline as a chronicler, his recommendations should carry weight beyond the environmental community. The principle one is: restoration can only succeed if it is undertaken on a river-wide scale, and meaningfully, prepared to succeed—even if it means questioning and probably dismantling parts of the legal and economic arrangements on which the system is based. My only quibble with Professor Adler is a substantive one: he demurs before the moral task of committing to defend our nat- ural endowment. Admirably, he makes clear that there are costs to every move on the board, and that someone must pay them. He understands that the river’s irreplaceable native fish have borne the price of scientific uncertainty, and that that price may prove be their extinction. He warns that restoration will involve “hard choices.”Yet he proposes that both sides of the debate over Lake Powell “are equally legitimate,”because they “are essentially value judgments.”This may be true of preferring to kayaks, or “slickwater” to , but the debate is not about personal preferences. The gift of Lake Powell and the rest of the infra- structure system to its beneficiaries has had horrible costs, environmental, economic and social, and will have far greater costs down the road—and these have not been and will not be borne by those who benefit. The nation as a whole and the natural envi- ronment have and will pay the price. That is a value calculation, a math problem which has only one solution: the river and the public trust are being pillaged, in the name of an ancient and anyway-perverted social vision (settling yeoman farmers in the arid West). remarked that he wouldn’t mind if the Bureau dammed Grand Canyon, as long as it built a comparable canyon somewhere else. Perhaps the houseboaters and alfalfa growers, indignant that some might tamper with their good for- tune, can build us a comparable river basin somewhere else…? — Wade Graham

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Hiking in Mountain Sheep Canyon at location once 75 feet below Lake Powell. Photo by Jim Kay — jameskay.com

To abolish a landscape is not merely to destroy; it is to engage in collective amnesia. It becomes incumbent upon us to keep Glen Canyon alive if only as a wound that will not heal, to give us eyes and hearts, the precedent and the rage to defend what is left. — Bruce Berger, “There Was A River.”

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