Volunteer with Sierra Club in Northern AZ!
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Participants in hike at the top of Red Butte with Grand Canyon in the distance photo by Jim Dublinski
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Northern Arizona-Flagstaff Volunteer Meet-up
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For those interested in being a part of our local volunteer network/group, mark your calendar for the evening of Thursday, Sept. 12 from 6 to 7 pm. Contact Mattea if you are interested in volunteering and being part of our northern Arizona Sierra Club activities and actions.
Sept. 12th at 6PM
Mayan Wind Coffee House
2144 N 4th St, Flagstaff, AZ 86004
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Keep an eye out for local Flagstaff protests against the Pinyon Plain uranium mine, a trivia night, and more. To get more frequent event updates, email mattea.goetz@sierraclub.org to be added to the local email list and follow us on Instagram @protectgrandcanyon.
Interested in organizing your own event in Flagstaff around Pinyon Plain Uranium Mine or another issue affecting this region? Reach out to Mattea for support!
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Sierra Club, Havasupai Tribe, and Groups Gather on August 24th for a Protest to Shut Down Pinyon Plain Uranium Mine
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Protestors at the August 24th Pinyon Plain Protest photo by Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity
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Photo credit Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity
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Thank you to everyone who showed up in support and solidarity with the Havasupai Tribe, Sierra Club - Grand Canyon Chapter, and other organizations to protest the toxic Pinyon Plain Uranium Mine. The day was full of energy as folks gathered from around the country to stand together against this mine and the transport of uranium ore through the Navajo Nation. Not only are we fighting to shut down this mine, but we are fighting against the massive systems that allow it to exist -- systems that see land, water, and people as dispensable resources.
We say -- NO MORE.
We hope this event sent a powerful message to Governor Katie Hobbs and President Joe Biden that we need to SHUT DOWN and clean up this mine NOW.
Keep an eye out for upcoming events regarding Pinyon Plain Uranium Mine, the false hope of nuclear as a climate solution, and more!
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Take Action!
Shut Down Pinyon Plain Mine
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We are STILL collecting signatures against Pinyon Plain Mine. Make your voice heard by using the link below to sign!
This mine threatens the waters of Grand Canyon and the Havasupai and is located within our newest national monument, the Baaj Nwaavjo Itah Kukveni - Ancestral Footprints of Grand Canyon National Monument. This is no place for a uranium mine!
Sign the petition using the button below.
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A screen print design by Mattea Goetz
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Sierra Club Celebrates the One-Year Anniversary of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument
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President Biden Designating the National Monument in 2023
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President Biden signed the proclamation to establish the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument on August 8, 2023, in a ceremony near Red Butte on the Kaibab National Forest. This was after years of advocacy for protection of the region led by Tribes, including the Havasupai Tribe. The Monument encompasses more than 900,000 acres near Grand Canyon National Park.
"On its first anniversary, we celebrate and express deep gratitude for the establishment of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni -- Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument," said Sandy Bahr, director of Sierra Club's Grand Canyon Chapter. "Tribal nations, including the Havasupai, Representative Raúl Grijalva, Secretary Deb Haaland, local communities, and conservation organizations, were all instrumental in moving this forward. We appreciate the President hearing our voices and protecting these lands for future generations."
Tribes including the Havasupai Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Kaibab Paiute Tribe, Las Vegas Band of Paiute Tribe, Moapa Band of Paiutes, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Shivwits Band of Paiutes, Navajo Nation, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Pueblo of Zuni and the Colorado River Indian Tribes were part of the Grand Canyon Coalition that urged President Biden to designate the national monument to protect the cultural and natural values of the region.
However, there is still work to do to better protect this area, including a strong management plan that centers Indigenous people and the closure of an existing uranium mine, the Pinyon Plain uranium mine. Despite the monument designation, Pinyon Plain was grandfathered in. This mine threatens to pollute the waters that feed the Grand Canyon seeps and springs that provide the sole source of drinking water for the Havasupai Tribe.
Currently, Tribal nations, environmental groups, and local communities are asking Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs and President Joe Biden to assist with closing this mine permanently. See the link above to take action!
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Student Group Names Wandering Wolf “Hope”
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Mexican Gray Wolf photo credit USFWS
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FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Arizona students proposed a new name for Mexican gray wolf F2979, calling her “Hope.” She was captured and collared by the Arizona Game and Fish Department earlier this month. The agency intends to use her to locate any packmates north of Interstate 40 and then to send them back into the bounds of the current recovery area. Hope and at least one other wolf have been roaming the lands west of Flagstaff since early June 2024, earning them the moniker of the “Kendrick Peak pack.”
“It’s thrilling to see them flourish in new territories, living as they have for millennia. My excitement continually grows in supporting the wolves” said Dina, a student from BASIS Mesa Charter School. This is the first family of wolves confirmed north of Interstate 40 since Mexican wolves were eradicated by the government in the 1930s.
“We’re so excited about Hope and her family exploring the ideal habitat of the Grand Canyon region,” said Claire Musser, executive director of the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project. “This is exactly what a healthy wolf population should be doing: roaming freely and finding new territories to call their own.”
In 2021, the City of Flagstaff passed a resolution supporting the recovery of Mexican gray wolves in northern Arizona in order to restore the natural balance of the land, and for the economic benefits from wolf related tourism. Scientists have recommended that additional subpopulations be included in the recovery plan for Mexican gray wolves, including the Grand Canyon ecoregion and the southern Rockies of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado.
“Like Anubis before them, the Kendrick Peak wolves are finding that the habitats of the Grand Canyon ecoregion are a perfectly suitable place to call home,” said Cyndi Tuell, Arizona and New Mexico director of Western Watersheds Project. “The plans to remove them are wholly for the sake of the humans who only want wolves in certain areas of the state to satisfy special interests. This translocation plan has nothing to do with the actual needs of the species.”
“The Kendrick Mountain Wilderness area is ideal for wolves and they should be allowed to stay and thrive – they are a missing piece to this rugged wilderness area,” said Sandy Bahr, director for Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter. “Arizona Game and Fish needs to consider the science and recognize the conservation value of these animals in this wildland area, and let them stay! Wolves need wilderness and wilderness needs wolves.”
“Lobos are thinking, feeling beings who form deep bonds with their families, much like us. And just like us, they deserve the freedom to make choices about their own lives, including finding a place to call home,” said Erin Hunt, managing director for Lobos of the Southwest. “Hope and her family are showing us just what Mexican gray wolves need to recover – room to roam and the freedom to make a life for themselves in suitable habitat of their choosing. It's up to us to honor their choices and let them stay.”
Harming a Mexican wolf is a violation of state law and the Federal Endangered Species Act and can result in criminal penalties of up to $50,000, forfeiture of vehicles and firearms, and/or not more than one year in jail, and/or a civil penalty of up to $25,000. Visitors to wolf habitat are encouraged to learn the differences between coyotes and Mexican wolves.
Media contacts:
Claire Musser, Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, (928) 202-1325, claire@gcwolfrecovery.org
Cyndi Tuell, Western Watersheds Project, (520) 272-2454, cyndi@westernwatersheds.org
Sandy Bahr, Sierra Club - Grand Canyon Chapter, (602) 999-5790, sandy.bahr@sierraclub.org
Erin Hunt, Lobos of the Southwest, (928) 421-0187, erin@mexicanwolves.org
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To participate in discussions, share information, and find out about events, join our northern Arizona Google Group. Send an email to mattea.goetz@sierraclub.org to be added. Emails are sent out more regularly regarding upcoming events. |
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