'Why everyone needs a Grand Canyon'

This article was published in April 1997 in the Geographical Magazine:

The Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, is in danger of being 'loved to death', but the National Park Service approach to protecting it has lessons for all managed natural environments.

Contrary to popular belief, the Grand Canyon is not the longest, deepest, or widest canyon in the world. But it is relatively accessible and you can see it: In an area of low rainfall, it is not hidden by vegetation. And it feels big. No exposure to photographs or figures can prepare you for that first sight of it. Incised into the Colorado Plateau at 2,133 metres, it drops 1.6 kilometres to its desert floor below. It vertically compresses four vegetation zones, from arctic alpine at the top to Sonoran desert at the bottom. At sea level one would have to walk from Canada to New Mexico to experience the vegetation changes seen on a descent into the canyon. Spring can take 5 months to move up the canyon to the Rim. When it's snowing at the top it is T-shirt weather at the bottom. In the summer, temperatures at the bottom are in the 40's.

The North and South Rims of the canyon are 16 kilometres apart on average but 400 kilometres by road. The Plateau slopes up to the North, giving the North Rim 300 metres more height. As a result the North Rim has twice as much rain (76 mm) as the South Rim, which in turn has twice as much rain as the canyon bottom (18 mm). The Park's area is 4,931 square kilometres or approximately the size of Northumberland. The canyon is usually measured in "river miles", making it 277 miles (446 kilometres) long. The Colorado river flowing through it drains an area more than twice the size of the United Kingdom. The oldest rocks are 2 billion years old, nearly half the age of the earth. The Grand Canyon dwarfs you in time as well as space.

Big though it is, it is not big enough to be unaffected by people, 5 million of whom visit it a year. Their feet, the fuel they use to get there, the water they use while there, the noise they generate when they fly over, the fumes from the generating station that runs their air conditioning, are all impacts sufficiently large to affect, in Roosevelt's words, "the one great sight which every American should see". The environmental challenges the Park thus faces are not only forcing the pace of response to human influences, but are a microcosm for some of the issues faced by the world.

The Grand Canyon was declared a National Park in 1919, three years after the creation of the National Park Service. Then, visitation numbers were 44,000 and the National Park Service's remits did not seem mutually exclusive; to make the Grand Canyon accessible to visitors, and to safeguard it for the future. These are now, apparently, conflicting goals, and the Park Service is realising that to achieve the latter they may have to push for environmental changes outside the park boundary. And some would argue therefore outside their jurisdiction.

One of the issues which has forced the Park Service to take such a stand is air pollution. On bad days in the summer when the wind comes from the Southwest, particulate haze from southern California can restrict the view of a lifetime, which many people have saved long and hard for; 60% of visitors are non-American. The Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission was created by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 to determine what steps are needed to preserve clear days and improve visibility on the Colorado Plateau. In an industrialised nation the process inevitably involves looking at the wider implications of pollution control. The assessment process will therefore look at effectiveness, the costs to industry and other emitters, social effects, equity of problem vs. solution contribution, and administrative ease and effectiveness. Whatever recommendations they come up with, the will has to be there to implement changes.

An earlier example of Federal intervention is represented by the FAA regulations covering overflying of the park. In 1975 Congress had recognised the potential impact of aircraft over Grand Canyon on the health, welfare and safety of visitors on the natural quiet and experience of the park. With 500,000 tourists a year flying over the Canyon, air corridors and over flying regulations were drawn up in 1988 to restrict the impact on those below. 44% of the park falls within the Flight Free zones and within these no aircraft are allowed to fly below 4,420 metres.

When visitors arrive at the park they expect water, but the Grand Canyon area is classed as semi-arid, and in 1996 Northern Arizona experienced the worst drought in more than 100 years. Like Las Vegas, the numbers of people wanting to stay in the area can not be supported by available resources. Average water consumption is 163 litres per visitor. But water in this part of the States is politics and therefore power. The Colorado river drains 626,780 square kilometres, and is used to irrigate 4,050 square kilometres of land. In 1540 when the first European, Cardenas, saw the river from the Canyon rim, he estimated it to be about 3 metres wide. After his men had spent three days trying to reach it they climbed out with a revised respect for it. It's average width is actually 90 metres. Every drop of it is fought for. By the time it has flowed the 2,333 kilometres from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico, dropping 3.2 kilometres as it does so, all that remains is a murky trickle. Extraction rights to the river were signed away in 1922 in the Colorado River Compact. The fledgling National Park was not a signatory and to this day the Park cannot extract water from the river which flows through it. Instead, water is derived from Roaring Springs on the North side of the canyon, using a pipeline which is susceptible to regular damage. Massive landslides after heavy rain in March 1995 destroyed trails and the pipeline, and water had to be trucked in for two weeks at the rate of 1,135,500 litres a day. The supply from the spring is limited, and the Park's recent General Management Plan (GMP) suggests water conservation measures to address this, together with greater efficiency of use, to reduce average water consumption to 75 litres/visitor.

One result of intense water management along the river, is that the Colorado, for all its excitement to white water rafters and its wild looking nature, is anything but a wild river. Glen Canyon Dam, 24 kilometres upstream from the Park, closed its gates in 1963 and took 20 years for the reservoir behind it to fill. It has had profound impacts on the river. In 1869, when the river carried 10 times the silt of the Nile, or 17 times that of the Mississippi, famed soldier, explorer and geologist John Wesley Powell remarked "The Colorado river; too thick to drink, too thin to plough". Average water flows are now a tenth of pre-dam, and sediment transport has been reduced from 380,000 tons a day to 40,000 tons as the dam becomes a giant silt trap. This was one of the aims. The river was dumping such huge volumes of silt into Lake Mead, the reservoir behind Hoover Dam downstream of the Park, that in just 35 years, it had more silt than 98% of the reservoirs at that time had capacity.

The river no longer reaches summer temperatures of 24oC, instead it maintains a cold 7oC all year as water release from the dam comes from deep in the reservoir. As a result, three species of endemic fish have become extinct, and three more are endangered. But introduced trout are flourishing as are the Bald Eagles which now feed on them. Oarsmen on the inflatables which take rafters on a two week descent of the river have also noticed the change. Rapids are getting bigger, as the river does not have the strength to bulldoze boulders washed out of the side canyons, downstream. River beaches and sand bars are disappearing as new material is denied them. Vegetation, including the "alien invader" tamarisk, is choking the banks as the dam has ended the annual spring floods which scoured them clean.

Normal water flow now fluctuates on a daily basis rather than an annual basis. As electricity users switch on their air conditioning in Phoenix and Los Angeles, the river rises and falls 3 metres or more in a matter of hours. In March 1996 after 13 years of research, Glen Canyon dam mimicked a pre-dam flood of the river by releasing 113 billion litres per day for two weeks. Sediment was scooped off the river bed and rebuilt many of the beaches. The significance of water being released for non-utilitarian purposes in this part of America was not lost on environmentalists and business alike. Like beavers, politicians in the Southwest seem to hate the sound of running water: It implies isn't being utilised.

Water is allowed to be extracted in the event of a fire breaking out. The Southwest has the greatest frequency of lightning related fires in the contiguous United States; between 1940 and 1975 there were 52,518 fires attributed to lightning in the Southwest. Although some animals may perish from fire, many species benefit. Because forest fires burn at varying intensities and patterns, they create a greater diversity of habitats, shelter, and food sources which support a wide variety of animals. In pre-Columban times, fires occurred every three to twelve years, the "fire frequency". The fire at Yellowstone National Park in 1988 showed just how damaging the suppression of fire could ultimately be. There hadn't been a wildfire for over 100 years, allowing a major build up of "fuel" (undergrowth and vegetation). When a fire did take hold, it burnt incredibly hot and caused immense damage. At Grand Canyon it has been recognised that fire is a natural process and is essential to maintaining a balance. Fire suppression on the North Rim has reduced the aspen to conifer ratio as aspens are regenerated mainly through fire, which reduces competition for light and nutrients with slower growing conifers. Natural fires have helped restrict pinyon pine-juniper woodland to rocky soils and rough topography. Fire suppression has therefore switched to fire management. Prescribed burns are thus set on a regular basis to prevent the build up of fuel and allow regeneration of natural vegetation. If a lightning triggered fire starts in an area due for burning it is classed as a prescribed natural fire and is allowed to burn under supervision. Otherwise it is classed as a wildfire and is fought vigorously.

5 million visitors a year can make preservation for the future difficult to achieve. They can present a formidable pressure, which has forced the NPS to draw up its ambitious General Management Plan to, amongst other things, restrict motorised vehicles in the park and provide more public transport. However, the same people who visit the Park and agree that traffic should be reduced in principle, are often loathe to be the ones to get out of their cars and use public transport. In a 1992 visitor survey, concern was expressed about there being too many vehicles, but at the same time not enough parking. These two views were not recognised as being a paradox. The Plan has entered the public domain and presents proposals for the next 10-15 years. The political will and capital to enforce some of its suggestions however, could be hard to find. Even that great advocate for the Park, Roosevelt himself, might not have agreed with many of its proposals. In the famous speech he made on his 1903 visit he warned: "Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it. What you can do is keep it for your children, your children's children, and for all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American.....should see". It is usually the final line of this speech which is commonly quoted, tourist development on the South Rim has already rendered Roosevelt's words hollow in many people's eyes.

But coupled with an understanding of the problems people can cause, is a realisation that visitors can also become powerful allies for the good of the park. Many of the visitors who come initially to wonder at "the Big Ditch" can also learn about the fragility of it. The Park's interpretive rangers are encouraged to address environmental and Park issues in the daily free ranger programs. Visitors can join any of these walks and talks which aim to enhance the visitors appreciation of the Park and introduce them to the challenges which it faces. Visitors are introduced to a range of environmental issues which they may not have thought impinged on their lives, including pressure on natural resources, disruption of wildlife, and the speed of species extinction. It has been estimated that global species extinction rates are running at 25,000 times normal rates, and here visitors can actually see an example; how endemic fish species have been affected by man's activities.

On the geology walk they can learn that the earth is 4,500 million years old, but compressed into a one year time scale, the Canyon formed about lunch time on December 31, and the industrial society which affects it came into being two seconds before the end of the year. It highlights the rapid impact that the first species on Earth that can change its environment has had on the planet. Visitors who thought the Canyon was just an awesome hole in the ground have the opportunity to realise that, huge though it is, it is very much affected by man's activities. Carefully presented programs educate them without realising they're being educated and turn them into "friends" of the Park and ensures they will take an interest when they hear of threats to it. There is talk of Congress reducing the Park Service budget by 10%. This would mean the end of interpretive programs for visitors. They would come, look, photograph and return home having learnt little of why it is so special, but more importantly what it can teach us about the interconnectedness of man and natural systems.

It is not enough to admire scenery, one has to be able to learn from it. Because with understanding and appreciation comes concern. And the moral? That anywhere in the world, beauty alone is not enough; it is essential to explain that beauty and draw out the lessons it shows us. Specialness can be eroded away if no-one realises it is special. Environmental education becomes an essential aid to survival. Every country needs a Grand Canyon.