Saving the Grand Canyon

"Sandbars and beaches have dwindled since the government finished Glen Canyon Dam in 1963."

Another issue about the damn dam...we are loosing native fish populations and habitat in the Grand Canyon. Without the natural flow of the river and the spring flooding, the sandbars are missing, and the debris remains.

"Experimental floods from Glen Canyon Dam have proved effective at rebuilding environmentally critical Grand Canyon sandbars when timed properly, but could kill endangered fish when they’re not, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey report."

The last of three experimental flood occurred in 2008, the report suggests that timing is critical to the survival of endangered native fish species. The report suggests that the best time to flood "The Canyon" may be fall, since Paria Canyon which is the primary source of sand accumulates this sand during autumn monsoons.

 "What is so frustrating is they can fix this, but they won't," said John Weisheit, conservation director for the Moab, Utah-based conservation group Living Rivers. "Glen Canyon Dam is a cash-register dam, and they want it to make money. They're going to have to make a choice. The Grand Canyon or some kilowatt hours?"

The hydroelectric power generated by the damn dam now affects six states, and despite the known effect on the environment, the filling behind the damn dam of sediment, restriction of the flowing river that helped create the Grand Canyon and the beauty that was destroyed when the damn dam was built...there are still those who see this as only a money/energy issue.
But, there is hope...

"I’m hearing the USGS saying we should test that," Ostler said, "which means we’re kind of running a test on endangered fish."

Grand Canyon National Park officials hope for more flushes, assuming river managers also control trout.

"It’s our feeling," said acting Park Superintendent Jane Lyder, "that if we can have a high flow whenever there’s a sedimentation trigger, then we will be much better off than we have been in the last 15 years."

Money/Energy drives this country, its minimalistic view of wilderness and the environment has caused more than one division between friends and relatives. Another example of this is the issue of off-road and ATV use in the red rock area.
Just last month, $35,000 in fines were levied against two men responsible for "creating" an ATV trail to some of my favorite ruins. Now the government is considering making it a legitimate "trail".

“Why on earth would BLM legitimize what was a criminal act to begin with?” asked Rose Chilcoat, associate director of the Great Old Broads. “It’s a little like giving the bank robbers the money they stole from the bank.”

I have friends on both sides of the issue, but the real issue for me, is what will be left for my children and grandchildren to enjoy in the same fashion I have? Once the road is there, once the tracks cut into the cryptobiotic soil (or whatever we are calling it these days) the area is changed forever. In areas, you can still see the wagon tracks that are over a century old.

I for one would like to find an answer, one that would appease everyone, but I don't think you can when there is a group that figures it is there inalienable right to drive where ever they want to go...after all, they spends tens of thousands of even hundred of thousands creating their off-road monster machines, just for this pursuit.
I would love to hear proposals to the question...how do we please both sides? Is there a middle ground?

Birds: With Old Bird season just around the corner, I am watching for the day when the starlings quit flocking, in my neck of the woods, this is the indicator that the migratory hawks and falcons have past through, and I can start flying the birds again.

Honey: Time to rack the wine again, I will have to add pictures again soon, the color of the Mead is a beautiful mahogany, can't wait until it clears and reveals the final color it will take on.

ATVs not a family affair

The ATV industry is advocating an ATV as being the perfect gift for children as young as five.  This creates the use of ATVs as a family activity. Children involved in ATV accidents are becoming an epidemic, according to recent studies. We are losing 150 youth a year to ATV accidents, and thousands more are being seriously injuried. Children under 16 should not be allowed to operate them, according to both the Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Surgeons.

Even the Consumer Product Safety Commission began getting involved, as early as 2005. At that time over 1/3 of the 6,000 fatal ATV accidents reported since 1982 involved children under the age of 16.



Even adults often suffer serious injury on ATVs

 And then there is this headline: ATVs are more deadly than Motorcycles. The researchers said that even when the severity of injuries was the same, the patients who had been riding ATVs were 50 percent more likely to die, and 50 percent more likely to need treatment in an intensive care unit, as compared to the motorcycle riders.

Regulations are in place in the state of Massachusetts and in Canada that require operators to be 14 years of age.  This brings up a personal delima for me. Do we legislate morality? Parents should be responsible for the raising of their children, and this requires the common sense to say no to dangerous activities. I personally don't believe that we need laws to create a safe environment for children, but we need laws that make a parent or guardian responsible for ensuring they learn common sense.

Birds: My blog got mentioned in a blog in the UK, I often enjoy reading Pigeons as Pets. A different approach to having pigeons than I am used to, but maybe one that works well for them...and that is what the hobby is about: the pleasure we get out of it individually.

Honey: Time to start the next batch of wine...still waiting for suggestions from friends, but the response to Backyard Blonde tells me I have to make another batch of that.