MEDIA ALERT
Irreplaceable: Grand Canyon
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 10, 2021
Contact:
Alicyn Gitlin, (928) 774-6514, alicyn.gitlin@sierraclub.org
Gary Beverly, (928) 308-1003, yavapaisierra@gmail.com
Web: https://www.sierraclub.org/arizona/events-activities
A webinar and podcast series focusing on ongoing threats to the Grand Canyon region, focusing on people, place, water, and wildlife: Four webinar programs. Free and open to the public. Accompanying podcast series to be released concurrent with the webinars.
Sponsor: Sierra Club – Grand Canyon Chapter.
Date/Time: Tuesdays - March 23, March 30, April 6, April 13; 5:00 - 6:30 PM.
- March 23, 5pm to 6:30pm MST/AZ: Uranium mining
- March 30, 5pm to 6:30pm MST/AZ: Little Colorado River
- April 6, 5pm to 6:30pm MST/AZ: Proposed development at Tusayan, AZ
- April 13 5pm to 6:30pm MST/AZ: The San Francisco Peaks Traditional Cultural Property and Arizona Snowbowl
- Each webinar will provide time for audience questions.
Pre-Registration required: Visit https://www.sierraclub.org/arizona/events-activities and select the event by date. Grand Canyon TV podcasts will be available on multiple platforms.
Description:
Shaped by the Colorado River and surrounded by a stunning forested landscape, Grand Canyon is one of the most visited places in the country. When most Americans think of Grand Canyon, they envision a national park and natural wonder with strict rules to preserve the land and water. Yet Grand Canyon is part of a large interconnected landscape, and the people who live in and around it are threatened by historical decisions and planned projects that could irreversibly degrade this special place.
Drinking water, springs and tributary streams are endangered by groundwater pumping and contamination. As uranium mining threatens water quality, it threatens the health of Indigenous people who call the Canyon home. Newly proposed dams and developments would damage the culture and spiritual practices of several Tribes - a corruption of their natural rights and religious freedoms. Unique ecosystems, including endangered wildlife and endemic threatened plants, could be forever lost if some of these projects move forward.
The Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club will host a series of webinars and podcasts to spread awareness about these threats to the Grand Canyon region, highlighting uranium mining near the Canyon, proposed dams and tourism development on the Little Colorado River, a massive proposed development just south of Grand Canyon National Park at Tusayan, and an expanding ski resort on the San Francisco Peaks, a mountain that is a Traditional Cultural Property for no less than 13 Tribes.
This is a series of conversations with people from affected communities about why these places are important, the values at risk, and the tools we have (and tools we need) to ensure that future generations have access to clean water, traditional use areas, sacred places, and livable spaces. Each of the webinars will focus on the importance of place, people, water, and wildlife.
Viewers will have the opportunity to learn more about each speaker, their work, and their connection to each issue via the podcast, Grand Canyon TV, which will co-produce an interview series with Sierra Club's Grand Canyon Chapter.
Participants include:
Diné (Navajo) Environmental Scientist Dr. Tommy Rock
Havasupai Council Member Carletta Tilousi
Havasupai Traditionalist Dianna Sue Uqualla
Tusayan Mayor Clarinda Vail
Diné (Navajo) Indigenous Community Organizer and Activist Leona Morgan
Diné (Navajo) Grand Canyon Program Manager for Grand Canyon Trust, Sarana Riggs
Tewa and Hopi Artist and Musician Ed Kabotie
Diné (Navajo) Artist and Community Organizer Klee Benally
Havasupai Tribal member Coleen Kaska
Former Tusayan Sanitary District Chairman and former Tusayan Mayor Pete Shearer
Lawyer and former Executive Director of the Association on American Indian Affairs Jack Trope
PSA – 20 sec:
The Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club will host a series of webinars about threats to the Grand Canyon: uranium mining, dams, and tourism developments. Irreplaceable: Grand Canyon will explore the importance of place how to protect sacred places and livable spaces. For more information or to pre-register, see the events calendar at sierraclub.org/arizona or call (928) 774-6514
Photos:
Credit: Gary Beverly. Low resolution images embedded below. High resolution images available on request to gbverde99@gmail.com
Release: Permission granted for uses associated with this press release.
Caption: Confluence of Little Colorado and Colorado Rivers from Marble Bench.
Caption: Grand Canyon sunset from Shoshone Point.