Our 50 Years: Protecting Arizona’s Waters
http://arizona.sierraclub.org
Grand Canyon Chapter
Winter 2015
A Chapter – the Grand Canyon Chapter – is Born
By Sandy Bahr
S
ierra Club’s contributions to protecting Arizona’s natural resources – air,
land, water, and wildlife – started early
and were significant long before there was a
“Grand Canyon Chapter.” But it was in the
1960s that Sierra Club’s engagement in conservation in Arizona increased considerably
and warranted the formation of a chapter.
In 1963, Sierra Club launched a campaign
to protect Grand Canyon after Congress
proposed damming and flooding portions
of it. Bridge Canyon and Marble Gorge
dams were proposed on the Colorado River in what is now part of the national park
but was then outside the park’s boundaries.
Fighting these dams became a top priority,
especially as many Sierra Club activists were
still mourning the loss of Glen Canyon to
Glen Canyon Dam.
Around this time, John Haskin Ricker
increased his activities in Sierra Club significantly. Dr. Ricker was essential to fighting
the proposed Grand Canyon dams. Known
as “Mr. Sierra Club,” he had come to Arizona in 1940 to intern at St Joseph’s hospital.
He was very involved in Sierra Club outings
– hikes, backpacks, rafting, etc. As issues
around dams in Grand Canyon began to
heat up, he, Jerry Loebel, Edith Reeves, and
the 100+ Sierra Club members in Arizona
decided it was time to form an official chapter. The chapter was approved as the “Grand
Canyon Chapter” by the Sierra Club Board
of Directors on December 11, 1965. Jerry
Loebel was the chapter’s first Conservation
Chair; he worked on the dam issues but also
dealt “with problems of air pollution and
beautification of Arizona.”
See History continued on pg. 6.
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Top: Although our chapter formed to protect Grand Canyon, our work now extends across the state of
Arizona. Photo by Scott Sprague. Left: Edith Reeves, one of our chapter’s founders. Photo by Dave
Mowry. Right: We encourage all ages to explore, enjoy, and protect Arizona. Photo by Cheryl Walling.
Explore, enjoy, and protect the planet
2
Sierra Club
Grand Canyon Chapter
Arizona Chapter Action Directory
Canyon Echo
Winter 2015
Vol. 51 No. 1
Canyon Echo © 2015. Canyon Echo (ISSN 01647024) is published quarterly for Sierra Club members by the Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter,
202 E. McDowell Rd., Ste. 277, Phoenix, AZ
85004. Phone: 602-253-8633, Fax: 602-258-6533.
Printed at Valley Newspapers.
Chapter Director
Sandy Bahr
602-253-8633
[email protected]
Chapter Coordinator
Tiffany Sprague
602-253-9140
[email protected]
Grand Canyon Conservation Program Coordinator
Alicyn Gitlin
928-774-6514
[email protected]
Border Conservation Program Coordinator and Coal to Clean Energy
Dan Millis
520-620-6401
[email protected]
Water Sentinels Program Coordinator
Jennifer Martin
602-254-8362
[email protected]
Front page banner designed by Erika Gronek.
Printed on 100% recycled paper with soy ink.
EDITOR: Tiffany Sprague
602-253-9140, [email protected]
DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS
Outings Editor: Jerry Nelson
602-279-4668, [email protected]
Mailing Organizer: Jerry Nelson
Publications Committee: Priscilla Benbrook,
Jon Findley, Kurt Florman, Chris Gehlker,
Tricia Gerrodette, Renée Guillory,
Tyler Kokjohn, Jerry Nelson,
Carole Piszczek-Sheffield, Mike Smith
Publications Chair: Keith Bagwell
520-623-0269, [email protected]
Webmaster: John Sheffield
[email protected]
SUBSCRIPTIONS: Annual dues to the Sierra Club are
$39 (including $1 for Canyon Echo). Subscription rate for
non-members is $10. Send check payable to Sierra Club Canyon Echo, 202 E. McDowell Rd., Ste. 277, Phoenix,
AZ 85004.
ADVERTISING: Advertising is sold on a first-come,
space-available basis. The editor reserves the right to refuse
any advertisements, and inclusion of advertisements does
not imply endorsement by the Sierra Club. All interactions
between advertisers and consumers are solely the responsibilities of those parties.
SUBMISSIONS: Send electronic or hard copies to the
editor (include a self-addressed stamped envelope for
return of hard copies). Indicate copyright or Creative
Commons preference. We are not responsible for lost or
damaged items. Writer’s guidelines can be obtained by
contacting the editor. All rights to publication of articles
in this issue are reserved. The deadline is the first day of the
month preceding the issue. Opinions expressed in Canyon
Echo are those of the contributors and do not necessarily
reflect the official views or policies of Sierra Club.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes and postage
due to Sierra Club Member Services, c/o Canyon Echo,
P.O. Box 421041, Palm Coast, FL 32142-6417. Periodicals postage paid at Phoenix, AZ.
GRAND
CANYON
CHAPTER
CHAPTER OFFICES & COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Chairperson:
Vice-Chair:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Fundraising:
Conservation:
(xc) 2014 Chapter
Membership:
Executive Committee Nominations:
(ExCom) members
Outings:
Political:
NOTE:
Wilderness:
2015 ExCom will
Ex-Com (At-Large):
take office in January
Elna Otter (xc)
Keith Bagwell (xc)
Lynne Cockrum-Murphy
David McCaleb (xc)
John Beshears
Don Steuter (xc)
Natalie Lucas
Lynn DeMuth (xc)
Bev Full
Thom Hulen (xc)
Jim Vaaler (xc)
Mark Coryell (xc)
Ken Langton (xc)
520-212-9736
520-623-0269
602-569-6078
602-840-7655
602-502-3990
602-956-5057
928-600-7844
480-345-2626
480-221-2554
480-730-5218
602-553-8208
480-219-8673
520-749-3829
Flagstaff
PLATEAU
SEDONA/ VERDE
VALLEY
Prescott
YAVAPAI
Phoenix
SAGUARO
PALO VERDE
Tucson
RINCON
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
2014 Group Voting Representatives to Chapter Ex-Com (see pp. 12–13 for contact information):
Palo Verde: Mike Brady
Plateau:
Joe Shannon
Rincon: Randy Serraglio
Saguaro:
Bev Full
Sedona/Verde Valley: Carole Piszczek-Sheffield
Yavapai: Gary Beverly
Chapter Announcements
JAN 10–11 (SAT–SUN) Chapter Conservation (SAT) and Executive Committee (SUN) meetings. Club leaders meet to consider
matters related to statewide conservation efforts, share experiences across groups, and coordinate strategy to align our chapter
mission and goals with that of national Sierra Club. For more information, contact Don Steuter at 602-956-5057 or dsteuter@
hotmail.com or Elna Otter at 520-212-9736 or [email protected]. Meetings will be located in Phoenix.
JAN 19, FEB 16, MAR 16 (MON) 6:30 p.m. Political Committee meetings. In 2015, there will be important municipal elections,
and our goal is to elect more environmentally-friendly candidates. If you are interested in helping improve the political climate in Arizona, consider being part of our Political Committee! For information, contact Thom Hulen at 602-619-9717 or [email protected].
JAN 27, FEB 24, MAR 24 (TUE) 6:30 p.m. Energy Committee gatherings. Discussions, programs, and field trips encompass renewable energy and energy efficiency campaigns nationally and locally. Everyone is invited to participate, no matter how much or
how little you know about energy issues. Specific times and locations will be announced online or via email. To be added to our list
or to get more information, please contact our chapter office at 602-253-8633 or [email protected].
FEB 4 (WED) 5:30 p.m. Publications Committee meeting. Have an idea? Help plan future issues of Canyon Echo! Contact Keith
Bagwell at 520-623-0269 or [email protected] or Tiffany Sprague at 602-253-9140 or [email protected].
FEB 11 (WED) 6 p.m. Wildlife Activist Group meeting. Are you interested in learning more about the wildlife that calls our state
home and in working for species’ protection? Join us to learn more about what’s happening with Arizona’s wildlife, upcoming
projects and opportunities, and how you can get involved. For more information, contact our chapter office at 602-253-8633 or
[email protected].
MAR 1 (SUN) Copy deadline for Spring 2015 Canyon Echo. Theme of “Our 50 Years: Protecting Arizona’s Waters.” Articles,
art, photographs, poetry, essays, and brief epiphanies are welcome. Contact the editor before submitting at 602-253-9140 or
[email protected] to discuss word count, photos, licensing, issue topics, and to request submission guidelines.
MAR 25 (WED) 1–5 p.m. (stop by anytime) Canyon Echo Mailing Party. Volunteers save the chapter hundreds of dollars by preparing Canyon Echo for mailing. Thank you! The job is easy to learn, and we all have a great time. Any amount of time that you’re
available is appreciated. Contact Jerry Nelson at 602-279-4668 or [email protected] for details.
http://arizona.sierraclub.org
Winter 2015
Canyon Echo
Grand Canyon Chapter – What’s Going On?
Wild for Wilderness!
Stay Tuned for a
New Address!
Due to the impending redevelopment of our
old office location, we are moving to a new
spot. Stay tuned for our new address. Our
phone and email remain the same: 602-2538633, [email protected].
Please Take a Brief Survey
Help us understand how you use Canyon Echo. Take a
one-question survey at http://bitly.com/Echosurvey
or call 602-253-9140 with your response.
Roy Emrick and Mary LeRoy staff the Rincon Group’s wilderness activity station at
the Wild for Wilderness Festival at Sabino Canyon. Photo by Diane Drobka.
On November 8, 2014, Sierra Club’s Rincon Group participated in the Wild for
Wilderness Festival at Sabino Canyon. The event attracted thousands, including lots
of children interested in learning about wilderness at 30 “wilderness activity stations.”
Sierra Club’s booth allowed youth to make nature notebooks with paper, yarn, and art
supplies. Many thanks to Natalie Lucas and Keith Bagwell for organizing the booth
and to Tiffany Sprague for gathering materials for the activity.
The festival included music, crosscut saw practice, Leave No Trace training, live
animals (from the Desert Museum), and appearances by Smokey Bear. Local representatives from the four federal agencies that manage wilderness described the importance
of wilderness preservation. Plus, everyone shared a beautifully decorated cake and cupcakes. Overall, this was a delightful event to celebrate Arizona’s wilderness areas.
I download the online version of Canyon Echo.
I receive Canyon Echo in the mail.
National Club Elections Coming Soon
The annual election for the Club’s Board of Directors is coming
soon. You can request an electronic ballot at http://bit.ly/
SCballot, or you will receive a ballot in the mail. Learn more
about the election at http://bit.ly/SC2015election.
–written by Meg Weesner
2 Chapter Announcements
4 Thank You!
Exciting membership and mentoring opportunity
Become a Trailblazer!
Do you wonder from where the next generation of Sierra Club members and leaders will come? We
need more new faces, new ideas, and new perspectives to sustain John Muir’s legacy into the next century.
Our Trailblazer Program provides a great opportunity to help encourage and mentor the new
generation. The Trailblazer Opportunity Fund provides a Sierra Club membership and mentoring for
young people and people with limited income who are interested in joining the Grand Canyon Chapter.
Please consider assisting with organizing and implementing the program, serving as a mentor, or
supporting the program financially.
Do you know someone who could benefit from this program? Please send us their names!
If you want to learn more about the program, are interested in helping, or have names of potential
Trailblazers to share, please contact Mark Coryell at [email protected] or our chapter
office at 602-253-8633.
http://arizona.sierraclub.org
6 Grand Canyon Dams
7 Saving Spur Cross
8 Fossil Creek Flows Again
9 Arizona Water Sentinels
10 Congreso de Biología
11 Aravaipa Mountain Lions
12 Group Happenings
14 Hikes and Outings
16 Service Outings
3
4
Sierra Club
Grand Canyon Chapter
Giving Thanks for You
Cast of Characters
Tricia Gerrodette
Protector of the San Pedro
2014 chapter award winners. Left to right: (back) Tom Slaback, Anna Rose Mohr-Almeida,
Russell Lowes, Bev Full, Urb Weidner, Frank Welsh, Chapter Chair Elna Otter; (front) Oscar
Medina for Tierra Y Libertad Organization and Chapter Director Sandy Bahr. By Mark Coryell.
No doubt about it. This past year was
a challenging – yet also rewarding – one. As
a way to say thank you to all of our members and volunteers who helped this year, we
hosted our annual picnic on November 16,
2014. Approximately 80 people gathered
from across the state to mingle, give thanks,
and enjoy a beautiful (though blustery) day
at South Mountain Park.
We also took this opportunity to recognize some of our long-time members, including the following folks who were able to
join us: Ray Kunselman and Robert Mark
and Evelyn Billo, who have been members for 50 continuous years; Cathy Della
Penta, Douglas LaRock, Mark Laverman,
and Don Steuter, who have been members
for 25 continuous years; and Doug (and
Lynne, who could not attend) Murphy and
Morgan Wirta, who have been members
for 10 continuous years.
We also used this time to recognize
the outstanding work of some of our key
volunteers and supporters. Our Behind the
Scenes Award went to Urb Weidner, who
has served as treasurer for the Saguaro Group
for seven years and continues to be an asset
to Sierra Club. Our Environmental Partner
Award went to Tierra Y Libertad Organization, which has been educating and training
youth in Tucson and has also worked with
Sierra Club on energy issues. Bev Full and
Frank Welsh were both recognized with our
Lifetime Achievement Award. Bev has served
our chapter in a variety of capacities for nearly two decades, and Frank has been a regular participant in our activities and actions
since the 1980s. Russell Lowes received our
Outstanding Service Award for his consistent contributions to the Rincon Group and
our chapter. Our Outstanding Youth Award
went to Anna Rose Mohr-Almeida, an
amazing 12-year-old who works to stop climate disruption and volunteers with various
Sierra Club campaigns. Last, but certainly
not least, Tom Slaback received our Steve
Pawlowski Memorial Award, which is new
this year. Tom was recognized for his dogged
persistence in working to save Arizona’s rivers, especially the Verde.
The chapter also recognized Beth Ann
Krueger with our Outings Award, John
Pifer with our Special Achievement Award,
and Meg Weesner with our Conservationist of the Year Award. These individuals were
unable to join us at the picnic.
We are so grateful to each of these people and groups – and to all of you. Our state
is a better place because of your efforts, and
our environment thanks you for it.
The habitat-rich San Pedro River,
its meager flows long threatened by the
rampant development in and around Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca, has a vital champion in the person of longtime
Sierra Club member Tricia Gerrodette.
Tricia, who spends much of her
time protecting the San Pedro as president of the Huachuca Audubon Society,
has fought urban sprawl practices that
devour wildlife habitat and scenic wonders for more than 30 years. She cut her
environmental teeth with the San Diego Chapter of Sierra Club, serving for
nearly a decade as chair of its San Diego
County Land Use Committee.
That committee opposed the sprawl
of San Diego and its suburbs that was
carving up the unique local backcountry
Photo courtesy of Trica Gerrodette.
that Tricia and her colleagues and allies
recognized as worthy of preservation, for the benefit of both people and wildlife.
Weary of the San Diego area’s relentless growth, already pushing past the one-millionpopulation mark, she and her husband sought an escape. In January 1995, he landed a
contractor job at Fort Huachuca, and Tricia found herself in Sierra Vista.
“I quickly realized what a special place this is, and, within six months, I was aware of the
problems the San Pedro faces,” she said.
True to her past in San Diego, Tricia plunged into the efforts to save the San Pedro, going to meetings and events where she inveighed against the costs of unbridled development,
against the costs of urban and suburban sprawl, and in favor of the benefits of switching to
smart-growth principles.
These days, Tricia picks her battles more carefully, as she became frustrated with the
inability of local decision-makers to listen to reason. “There is a lot of hostility here toward
those of us who express environmental concerns about the viability of the river,” she said. “It
has been less overt in recent years, but this is a small town and I have been refused service in
some local businesses.”
Tricia is not dissuaded by the local antagonism. She is a plaintiff in a lawsuit, charging
that the Arizona Department of Water Resources failed to consider federal water rights to
San Pedro flows in approving a massive development proposal near the river.
That legal action succeeded recently in Maricopa County Superior Court, but the state
agency filed notice that it intends to appeal the ruling. “The state continues to use taxpayers’
money to try to kill the San Pedro,” she said.
Tricia also works with the Grand Canyon Chapter’s Water Sentinels Program to monitor San Pedro flows and test its waters’ quality.
As a devoted Sierra Clubber, Tricia helps us every chance she gets – which is often and
has proven important to our efforts. And she appreciates the Chapter’s long and dedicated
work to keep viable the San Pedro, the most significant undammed river in Arizona and vital
habitat for hundreds of local or migratory bird species, a number of which are threatened or
endangered.
http://arizona.sierraclub.org
Winter 2015
Canyon Echo
5
Thank You to Our Donors!
Support Your Local Sierra Club
The Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter thanks and
very much appreciates the Wilburforce Foundation and
all it does for our Restore and Protect the Greater Grand
Canyon Ecoregion project, Edwards Mother Earth
Foundation for its funding of our energy efficiency work,
and American Express for providing matching grants
for the volunteer hours contributed by American Express
employees. Mil gracias!
When you make a donation to the Grand
Canyon Chapter, you support the Sierra
Club’s work in your own backyard. You allow
us to continue our efforts to protect wilderness and wildlife, to improve the quality of life
in our cities, to curb global climate change,
and to promote the enjoyment of nature.
Watch for a letter or email in March!
The Morning Stars Sing Together (500+)
Contributions to the Sierra Club are not tax-deductible;
they support the Sierra Club’s citizen-based
advocacy and lobbying efforts.
John M. Franklin
Ellen Zuckerman
Donate online at http://arizona.sierraclub.org or by mail to
Sierra Club – Grand Canyon Chapter
202 E. McDowell Rd., Ste. 277
Phoenix, AZ 85004
The Grand Canyon Chapter is also thankful for the generous
support from those who chose to remain anonymous.
We received several memorial gifts this quarter.
Thank you to the following
individuals for donating in
memory of the person listed.
Make the Mountains Glad ($100–499)
Patricia & Briggs Ackert
Sandy Bahr & David Komm
Constance M. Beaupre
Peter & Barbara Burkholder
Maureen Domogala
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Hager
Richard Hill
Kenneth P. Langton
James Matthews
Jane Mcclellan
Linda & J. Michael Powers
Sally & Esther Rings
Kathy Roediger
Kathleen & Douglas Sanders
Dale & Christine Volz
Ric Watkins
Walt Wictor
Keep Close to Nature’s Heart ($50–99)
Jan Bush
David Cathell
James & Sara Gibson
Gayle G. Hartmann
Carl Kanun
Tyler Kokjohn
Howard Myers
Lori Quigley
Karen Rebb
Liz Wise
Jon Arndt
Tom Brysacz
Linda Crouse
Madison Doucette
Roxane George
Betty & Ralph Gregg
Elizabeth Gricus
Anntoinette & John Gurvin
Sandy Hanson
Elizabeth Harrison
Carl Jacobs
Jules Ketcham
Jonathan H. Kress
John Lippert
Erica Lowry
Judith Maeda
Carrol McDonald
Aracely Mejia
Susie O’Keeffe
Bruce Plenk
Donna & Michael Sarda
Kathryn J. & David Schwarz
John Seamon
Peggy Taylor
Eugene Topper
NOTE: This list includes donations received
through December 12. Donations received after
that time will appear in the next issue.
Thank you to the following
people for donating in
memory of Bob Witzeman
Thank you to Jenny Roberts for donating
in memory of Bill Baker.
Thank you to Darlene Hagan for donating
in memory of Aaron Hagan Senter.
Thank you to Cathy Williams for donating
in memory of Hal Williams.
Hitched to Everything Else in the
Universe ($1–49)
Vermilion flycatcher.
Sketch by David Chorlton.
http://arizona.sierraclub.org
Kathryn Anderson
Elizabeth & Jerry Hatcher
Marilyn & Gordon Peters
Don Steuter
Bill Thornton
Dale Turner & Julia Fonseca
6
Sierra Club
Grand Canyon Chapter
Damming Grand Canyon
By David Mowry
Historically, one of the most important flood the Sistine Chapel so tourists can get legged, mimeographed, Naconservation victories of Sierra Club and nearer the ceiling?” These ads and other ef- tional Park Service, Escape
the Grand Canyon Chapter was the defeat forts caused the I.R.S. to revoke the Club’s Route guide to find our way
of the Bureau of Reclamation proposal to tax exempt status.
down to the river. There was
construct two dams – Marble Canyon and
To promote the conservation effort, the a huge pile of driftwood
Bridge Canyon – in Grand Canyon.
Club published Time and the River Flow- taller than a person on the
Significant damTanner beach, left
age to Grand Canyon,
“Should we also flood the Sistine Chapel so tourists can get over from pre-Glen
the Colorado River
Canyon Dam days.
nearer the ceiling?” –Sierra Club ad
corridor, and the surI was also on
rounding areas would
an Edith-Reeves-led
have resulted if the dams were to have been ing – Grand Canyon, a coffee table book by Hatch commercial river
built. In Marble Canyon, all the significant Francois Leydet with beautiful photographs trip (motorized!) to also
sites upstream of Mile 39.5 would have been by Phillip Hyde. This book, through a promote efforts to halt dam
flooded, including Redwall Cavern, Vasey’s Grand Canyon river trip led by Martin Lit- building in Grand Canyon.
Paradise, North and South canyons, and ton (Grand Canyon Dories), passionately
The Bureau of Reclaother major side canyons. The Bridge Can- through words and photographs, eloquently mation abandoned the projyon Dam would have inundated Lava Falls argued the reasons to preserve Grand Can- ect in 1968 due to public
and Havasu Creek, and there would have yon and its river corridor.
pressure. The Marble Canbeen a power station at Deer Creek!
The Grand Canyon Chapter, led by yon and Bridge Canyon
This fight, led by Sierra Club President its founder and Chair Dr. John Ricker and areas were designated naDavid Brower, occurred from approximately others, including Edith Reeves, Jerry Lobel, tional monuments in 1969
1963–1968. Having recently lost the fight and John McComb, supported the national and, subsequently, included
to save Glen Canyon, an all-out national ef- club’s efforts by lobbying, letter writing cam- in Grand Canyon National
fort was made to defeat the Grand Canyon paigns, and leading chapter and national Park in 1975 to preserve the
dams’ proposal. David Brower initiated run- backpacks and river trips in the Canyon.
areas from dams and other
ning full page ads in New York Times. In an
As an impressionable 19-year-old, I was “improvements.”
effort to counter the government’s argument on an Edith Reeves’ Tanner Trail backpack
that the lakes formed by the dams would to subtly promote the campaign. At the
Dave is an active Sierra Club member.
make the Canyon more accessible by boat, time, the Tanner was really only a route,
the headline on one ad read, “Should we also which required a map, compass, and bootHistory continued from pg. 1.
In an article about the new chapter,
Sierra Club Bulletin said this:
Members have attended congressional
hearings in Washington on the proposed
Grand Canyon dams and the Central
Arizona Project. Letters have been written to the hearings on wilderness reclassification, as the following wilderness
areas have come up for reclassification:
Mt. Baldy, Sycamore Canyon, Petrified
Forest, Pine Mountain….
Many of those who were instrumental
in forming the Grand Canyon Chapter back
in 1965 remained active until they passed.
Edith Reeves continued to go on hikes well
into her 80s and could be seen frequently at
newsletter mailing parties. Grand Canyon
Chapter staff and volunteers were honored to
http://arizona.sierraclub.org
Bore hole at the proposed Marble Canyon dam site.
Photo by Dave Mowry.
help her celebrate her 90th birthday and also
to give her a Lifetime Achievement Award in
2005. Several members of that original class
of Grand Canyon Chapter activists, including some of the children of Dr. Ricker, all
of whom signed the petition to establish a
Grand Canyon Chapter, continue to work
to conserve this wonderful state, its beauty
and its wildness. The conservation torch has
been passed to new generations of activists,
but the work of these early chapter volunteers continues to resonate, leaving a legacy
for this and future generations, a legacy of
an undammed Grand Canyon, millions of
acres of wilderness, and thousands of people
who explored, enjoyed, and protected the
wild places of Arizona…and, of course, the
Grand Canyon Chapter.
Sandy is the Chapter Director.
Winter 2015
Canyon Echo
7
Glen Canyon: Never Again
By Alicyn Gitlin
“My trips through Glen Canyon and the river that ran through it gave me an understanding of
myself, my talent and its limitations; taught me about intimacy and the value of observation.
Together they resurrected my spirit and melted my heart with their beauty; showed me time was
not my enemy, and, with their power to entertain, mystify, and nearly kill me, diluted my ego to its
proper consistency. The Glen gave me roots as tenacious as the willows along its banks.” –Katie Lee
I never knew Glen Canyon. I have
peeked into it, or into remnants of what I
imagine it once was, on the lower San Juan,
at an abandoned Hite Marina in 2014, and
below Glen Canyon Dam. Yet the story of
its presence and its loss drive me to be the
person I am – to study, act, speak for, and
protect wild places. Glen Canyon reminds
me daily, “Never again.”
Lake Powell is a mostly clear pool devoid of native fish. Its riparian habitat is
relegated to the few places water flows: reemerging side canyons and the upper end
of the reservoir, exposed due to ongoing
drought. Hanging gardens proliferate where
water forces its way through soft sandstone
walls around and below the dam, like nature’s pledge to return intact someday.
Occasional high flows attempt to restore Grand Canyon’s ecosystem, but they
are destined to fail. Ninety-five percent of
Colorado River sediment drops to the bot-
tom of Lake Powell before the river passes
into Grand Canyon. Instead of historic summer floods of warm muddy water, cold lake
water tries to build new beaches using only
Paria River delta silt in spring or fall.
Life cycles of riparian and aquatic life
adapt to natural flow regimes, including
flow timing, temperature, and duration. For
example, a plant might seed when an annual
flood recedes, or an insect might move from
the river’s edge when flash floods tend to hit.
Grand Canyon’s floods are not historically
timed; they are cold; they are not the correct
magnitude or duration and ramp up and
down too quickly. Therefore, they cannot
support Grand Canyon’s full suite of species.
With our members, we continue the
fight. Sierra Club’s national policy now supports decommissioning Glen Canyon Dam.
The Grand Canyon Chapter has and will
continue to push for scientifically-based and
ecologically-sound management of the Col-
Glen Canyon now lies under Lake Powell. Photo by Jean-Christophe Benoist.
orado River and its tributaries. We will continue to encourage science and sensibility in
the upcoming revision of the Colorado River
Management Plan, Grand Canyon National
Park Backcountry Management Plan, Glen
Canyon Dam Long Term Experimental and
Management Plan, and other native-fish and
high-flow plans. We will support wilderness
designation in Grand Canyon.
Is there hope? Yes, definitely. Ironically,
the recent drought has restored some aspects
of a damaged Colorado River. A shallower
Lake Powell means warmer water passing
through the dam. Warmer water has benefitted native fish, such as endangered humpback chub. Sediment even flowed through
the dam for a day or two last year. In 2014,
a dropping Lake Mead allowed endangered
razorback suckers to reproduce in Grand
Canyon, where they weren’t seen for more
than 20 years. Riparian vegetation is returning near Hite, at the upper end of Lake Powell.
We will continue to work to protect the
Colorado River and hope that, one day, we
can see the place Katie Lee celebrated: “The
Glen gave me roots as tenacious as the willows along its banks.” Her roots give us stability to keep up the fight.
Alicyn is the Grand Canyon Conservation
Program Coordinator.
Saving Spur Cross – The Wild Ride
By Don Steuter
More than a decade has passed since
Spur Cross Ranch, north of the town of
Cave Creek, was spared the developer’s bulldozers. Master planned in 1996 for a resort,
600 homes, and a golf course, today’s quiet
hiking trails, cultural artifacts, and thriving
riparian areas mask the intense struggle and
effort required to protect the picturesque site
from urban sprawl then occurring around
metropolitan Phoenix. Unlike most land
conservation issues that drag on for decades
and sometimes never get resolved, the debate over Spur Cross was resolved in a few
short, but adrenaline-rushed, years.
Local equestrians first raised the issue of
finding a way to save the historic 2,154-acre
ranch and formed Friends of Spur Cross,
which met regularly with Sierra Club and
other organizations. By 1997, the Spur Cross
matter was being widely debated and had
Jewel of the Creek, a 27-acre preserve of cottonwoods and willows in Cave Creek Wash purchased
by the Desert Foothills Land Trust. Parts of Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area are visible in the
background. Photo by Don Steuter.
http://arizona.sierraclub.org
reached the ears of Senator John McCain,
who proposed initially that the property be
purchased by the federal government using
Land and Water Conservation Fund dollars
and turned over to Tonto National Forest to
manage. It was not a bad idea, except that it
was likely to be a slow process and the Forest
Service had little interest in managing land
so close to an urban area.
The Senator’s next idea was a land exchange in which Spur Cross Ranch would
be traded to the Forest Service and the developer given 3,000 acres of Forest Service land
just north of the City of Scottsdale’s border
at Stagecoach Pass Road. This also might not
have been a bad idea, except that the progressive City of Scottsdale was firmly committed to preserving the nearby McDowell
See Spur Cross continued on pg. 13.
8
Sierra Club
Grand Canyon Chapter
Rising Waters – A Comeback for Fossil Creek
By Sandy Bahr
“Tracing rivers to their fountains makes the most charming of travels. As the life blood of
the landscapes, the best of the wilderness comes to their banks, and not one dull passage is
found in all their eventful histories.” –John Muir
Like most of the perennial streams and
rivers in the Southwest, Fossil Creek was
dammed and diverted. In 1909, after construction of a 25-foot concrete dam, all of
Fossil Creek’s base flow was diverted to supply the Childs Power Plant downstream; in
1916, the Irving Power Plant was constructed upstream of Childs. For nearly a century,
the diversions through penstocks and flumes
left Fossil Creek water-starved for much of
its journey to the Verde.
Fossil Creek is a major tributary of
the Verde River and forms the boundary
of Coconino National Forest on the north
and Tonto National Forest on the south. Its
flows are intermittent from its headwaters to
Fossil Springs, where the springs’ discharge
make it perennial. As most Arizonans know,
any flowing water is special. Fossil Creek is
no exception.
In 1997, American Rivers and Center
for Biological Diversity (CBD) intervened
in opposition to Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission’s (FERC) proposed relicensing
of the Fossil Creek dam and continued diversion of Fossil Creek’s entire baseflow by
Arizona Public Service (APS) for power pro-
duction. They invited Sierra Club and several
other organizations to join them in opposing
relicensing of the dam. The Yavapai-Apache
tribe also participated in the opposition as
Fossil Creek is the heart of their traditional
lands and is still used for hunting, gathering,
and religious and cultural purposes.
But meetings and negotiations aimed
at return of full flows were getting nowhere.
FERC proposed to relicense the dam.
CBD initiated legal proceedings. Protests were planned. CBD co-founder and Sierra Club life member Robin Silver decided
to use a tactic that was promoted strongly by
Sierra Club founder John Muir – that was to
go to the creek with a key decision-maker.
He and Bill Post, then CEO of APS, visited
Fossil Creek together. Soon thereafter, APS
was talking about when there would be decommissioning and how it would take place.
On June 18, 2005, many of those involved in advocating for a free-flowing Fossil
Creek took a shuttle bus from Camp Verde
to attend the official ceremony to celebrate
the return of flows to Fossil Creek. Afterwards, there was another celebration downstream. There was music and partying as
Renée Guillory, Sandy Bahr, Roger Featherstone, and Tom Slaback (back right) celebrating the
return of flows at Fossil Creek. Photo courtesy of Renée Guillory.
everyone awaited the return of the flows to
the creek. Then there was a moment that
was really quite magical – during Dana Lyons’ singing of “Drop of Water,” the water
arrived! Accompanied by our tears of joy,
Fossil Creek joined our party. Fossil Creek
was truly re-born.
Subsequently, Fossil Creek’s full flows
have attracted many visitors. In fact, the
creek is in danger of being loved to death.
http://arizona.sierraclub.org
Sierra Club successfully petitioned for
designation of Fossil Creek as an Outstanding Arizona Water. Our coalition successfully secured Wild and Scenic Designation, and
we are supporting ongoing efforts to restore
native fishes and development of the Wild
and Scenic management plan that protects
the creek. The work to restore and protect
Fossil Creek continues.
Sandy is the Chapter Director.
Winter 2015
Canyon Echo
Arizona’s Water Sentinels
Join Us!
By Jennifer Martin
You know you’ve been in Arizona for
a long time when you no longer associate
bridges with water.
Most people assume that those dry river beds are a function of desert hydrology,
which is boom and bust by nature. That
may be true of many ephemeral creeks and
streams around the state, but the sad fact
is that, often, diversion and groundwater
pumping have made dry washes where rivers
and streams once flowed year-round.
In the desert, water is life. The Arizona
Water Sentinels Program began in 2006 in
recognition of the fact that our remaining
perennial rivers and streams are precious
water resources that deserve protection. The
mission of this grassroots, hands-on conservation program is to protect, improve, and
restore rivers, streams, and riparian areas
within Arizona.
The primary objective of the program
is two-fold: hands-on conservation that
educates and engages the public through
volunteerism. We recruit Sierra Club members and non-members to become citizen
scientists, performing water quality and flow
monitoring, invasive plant eradication, and
stream clean-ups. Engaging volunteers in
conservation functions to educate the public about water issues, foster investment in
Arizona’s rivers, and build personal relation-
ships between communities and their local
watersheds.
Water Sentinels are citizen scientists and
advocates who volunteer because they care
deeply about a local stream, or they’ve seen
too many Arizona rivers reduced to bonedry washes through impoundments, diversions, and groundwater pumping or have
witnessed their degradation by pollution
and want to do something about it. Our activities have primarily been focused on the
Verde, San Pedro, and Rio Salado. Volunteers have collected monthly water quality
and flow data on the Verde and San Pedro
rivers and have performed non-native plant
eradication and trash pick-ups in the Rio
Salado since the program’s inception.
The program fills a gap in water
conservation by collecting data that state and
federal agencies lack the staff and funding to
gather and providing it to those agencies.
Public bodies need adequate information,
both in the form of data and public input,
to make good decisions. We engage in water
policy and grassroots organizing to support
stewardship of Arizona’s invaluable water
resources. One area of focus has been the
citizen proposal to designate the upper Verde
as a Wild and Scenic River, as well as efforts
to designate it an Outstanding Arizona
Water.
Protecting the Verde River
For more information and to get involved with the Arizona Water Sentinels,
contact Jennifer Martin at 602-254-8362 or [email protected].
There is room to grow. In the next year,
we are looking to expand, both in terms of
geography and volunteer engagement. Target watersheds for expansion include the
Gila River within the Tres Rios Ecosystem
Restoration Project area and Rio de Flag.
We will enhance our outreach by connecting
with local schools and youth groups to engage children and, ultimately, whole families
in riparian conservation and by partnering
Top: Arizona Water Sentinels collect
water samples on the Verde River. Photo
by Mark Coryell. Right: A remote and
wild section of the proposed Upper
Verde Wild and Scenic River. Photo by
Gary Beverly.
By Gary Beverly
I often get this question from prospective members: “What does Sierra Club do?”
Instead of a complex answer, I give an example: how the Club works to protect the
Verde River.
The Sierra Club Water Sentinels recruits
citizen scientists to study the river. Since
2006, teams have measured water quality on
the Verde to help ensure that it meets Clean
Water Act standards for body contact. Other
teams have measured the river flow and conducted a seepage study to better understand
flow changes along the river. Club volunteers worked with industry and the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service to determine the
baseline mercury content in Verde fish before Drake Cement plant started operations.
9
Reports covering the Water Sentinels studies
are online at http://arizona.sierraclub.org/
conservation/water/index.asp.
Sierra Club staff and volunteers prepared a Citizens Proposal for Upper Verde
Wild and Scenic River (UVWSR). This
300-page study documented the physical
and biological features of the river corridor
and found that the upper Verde is exceptionally well suited for WSR status. The proposal
is ready to be introduced to Congress, but
Republican Representative Paul Gosar is not
inclined to support public lands, so politics
have temporarily blocked the UVWSR. In
response, the Club has pursued several other
strategies to protect the river.
What if we could get Prescott
National Forest (PNF) to better
manage the river? While the Club
was preparing the UVWSR proposal, we were careful to inform
the PNF leadership about our
findings and proposal and to address its concerns. As a result, PNF
agreed with our work and, as part
of the current forest plan revision,
declared the upper Verde as eligible
for WSR status. Now, the river
must be managed as a WSR until
Congress acts on the proposal – a
nice victory for the river.
See Verde on pg. 10.
http://arizona.sierraclub.org
with local businesses and groups to foster a
conservation ethic within communities and
to seek support for the Water Sentinels Program.
If you have been involved with Water
Sentinels in the past, thanks for making it all
possible! If you haven’t, don’t you think it’s
time you started?
Jennifer is the Arizona Water
Sentinels Program Coordinator.
10
Sierra Club
Grand Canyon Chapter
Tacos, Karaoke, and Trans-Border Conservation: A Report from the Congreso de Biología
By Will Hodges
Will Hodges (left) and Dan Millis engage students at the Congreso de Biología. Courtesy of Dan Millis.
It wasn’t your typical conference – from
the rock band jamming on the steps of University of Sonora upon our arrival to the
menu of carne asada on a tortilla every which
way; the careening through Hermosillo traffic in our Scooby-Doo van like the band of
eco-sleuths we were; and the night of cathartic karaoke over emotive Mexican ballads,
trashy music videos playing over our heads
dulling our senses until our local companion
splashed hot sauce in our faces.
We’d come from Tucson to present at
the Congreso de Biología, or Conference on
Biological Studies, in Hermosillo, Sonora.
We hoped to share our work conserving the
biological diversity of the Sonoran Desert
with university students in our neighboring state to the south. With us were Sergio
Avila, Carianne Campbell, and Christopher
Morris of Sky Island Alliance; Dan Millis
of Sierra Club’s Borderlands Program; Kim
Franklin from Arizona-Sonora Desert Mu-
seum; and two independent scientists, Robert Villa and Rosemary Schiano.
Robert kicked off our panel, illustrating the fantastic underworld of reptiles and
amphibians. Kim explained what made the
Sonoran Desert so rich to study, with its
sharp elevation reliefs over a small area. Dan
detailed environmental impacts of the border wall: illegal Border Patrol roads, severed
wildlife corridors, flooding and erosion, and
the superhighway of bladed desert. Carianne
and Christopher described projects creating
wetlands for leopard frogs and native sedges.
But Rosemary earned the heartiest applause. She had no slideshow and spoke in
English. She had tracked wildlife for the Forest Service for more than 20 years, living out
of her car, spending summers in the Rockies and winters in the southwest deserts. She
warned these students against becoming
“armchair biologists,” squirreled away in an
office. She urged them to do what they loved
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– for their sake as well as for the species that,
without astute scientists out in the field, are
doomed.
The audience cheered, inspired by this
woman who had rejected house, steady salary, and Costco to devote herself to conserving animals; who infused so much of her
heart into her work; who lived by example;
who dedicated herself to saving the living
world.
Guillermo Molina closed our panel.
He teaches engineering in Cananea, where a
mine spill in August contaminated the wells
of 25,000 residents. His talk completed the
circle. He described the restoration projects
that he and his students have undertaken in
and around Cananea. Here was one of their
own, a professor, a regular guy from up the
road, doing what he could to restore damaged places.
As we cruised back north, through the
mirror reflection of mesquite, ocotillo, and
creosote found around Tucson, we knew
there was a long way to go for the region’s inhabitants to find a balance with the environment. It would take many more trips, many
more arms reaching across arbitrary political
lines, to fulfill cross-border cooperation in
the conservation of a single bioregion. For
some, this was our first trip; for others, it was
the fourth of many to come.
Humility
Your posture’s stoop
Bemoans little
Of what this planet’s
Mountainous ranges
Have shouldered
Throughout some eons
Of human chauvinism.
Until your breath
Ceases for loss
Of its respirator
And your cellulose
Is ground
Into its
Nitrogenous fare,
Your salty tears
Shall leave their residues
Between the wrinkles
Of this age, solidifying
Deposits like cement
Afore an ice
Wall – soon,
To crumble.
–Cynthia Bennekaa
Will is a high school teacher and volunteer in Tucson.
Verde continued from pg. 9.
What if we could establish a wilderness
area along the river? The upper Verde flows
through 10.8 miles of the Muldoon Potential Wilderness Area, so we worked with
PNF to include the Muldoon in the new
forest plan. That didn’t work, but we gave it
a great try. If we want a wilderness area there,
the Club will need to do a separate proposal,
which would also be blocked by Gosar.
Or perhaps we could strengthen the Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for
the river? The Club supported ESA listing
with critical habitat of two gartersnakes and
the yellow-billed cuckoo – success! Now the
river corridor is home to nine listed species.
http://arizona.sierraclub.org
We asked the Arizona Department of
Environmental Quality to designate the
Verde as an “Outstanding Arizona Water” to
prevent future degradation of water quality.
Unfortunately, Governor Brewer has prevented state agencies from issuing new rules
– another political block.
Politics matters: three of our protection
strategies are blocked. The Club works to
endorse and elect environmentally-friendly
candidates.
Our Verde effort demonstrates that Sierra Club has the commitment, influence,
determination, creativity, persistence, and
resources to protect public lands. That’s why
I like this Club.
Gary is Chair of the Yavapai Group.
Winter 2015
Canyon Echo
11
43 Mountain Lions Killed in Aravaipa
By Phil Hedrick
Mountain lion. Photo by Joshua Barnett.
Aravaipa Canyon is a wilderness area
with perennial water and endangered species, located about 60 miles northeast of
Tucson. A reintroduced population of desert bighorn sheep inhabits the area; recently,
trophy hunting has allowed two or three
rams to be taken each year.
Multiple bag limits (MBL) for mountain lions, which allow a hunter to kill more
than one lion per year, were established in
Arizona in 1999 to reduce predation on prey
populations. At the request of the Arizona
Desert Bighorn Sheep Society (ADBSS), the
Arizona Game and Fish Commission introduced in 2011 the very high MBL of 20
lions per year for Aravaipa Canyon and the
surrounding bighorn sheep habitat.
For the three hunting years since 2011
(July 1 to June 30), at least 12 (2011–2012),
20 (2012–2013), and 11 (2013–2014) lions
were killed in the target area for a total of at
least 43 lions killed over the three years. Each
year, at least 10 of these lions were killed by
lion bounty hunters who were paid by ADBSS. Before this MBL, very few lions were
killed in and around Aravaipa Canyon.
Did this slaughter have an impact on
the Aravaipa bighorn sheep population? The
following table shows the Arizona Game
and Fish Department (AGFD) survey numbers for bighorns in October for the most recent years in Aravaipa Canyon. These numbers in 2012, 2013, and 2014 were after the
MBL lion kills, which generally ended in the
spring for the hunting year.
The total sheep numbers after the MBL
began in 2011 did not increase in 2012, did
increase in 2013, and then declined in 2014.
The increase from 2012 to 2013 may be re-
Sheep numbers
Rams
Lambs
Yearlings
Ewes
Lamb/Ewe
Yearling/Ewe
2006
83
25
11
0
47
0.23
0.00
2009
85
28
7
6
44
0.16
0.14
lated to imprecision in the counting method. For example, there were 16 ewes in 2012
and only 2 female yearlings; these 18 ewes
could not have resulted in 33 ewes in 2013.
Further, the numbers never reached the
80+ observed in 2006 and 2009 before the
MBL, and the number of rams was lower
after the MBL began. Similarly, the number
of lambs and yearlings increased somewhat
in 2013 but were down in 2014. The lamb/
ewe and yearling/ewe ratios, which AGFD
wildlife managers often use, were also down
in 2014.
In other words, given these sheep survey
data, there is no clear signal that this mass
killing of 43 lions resulted in an increase of
sheep numbers or other sheep population
measures. In other situations, lions that kill
sheep have been specifically identified and
removed; in this case no “sheep-killer” lions
were even identified.
Mountain lions are an important part
of our natural environment and are the keystone predator in Aravaipa Canyon, where
their preferred prey are deer. Efforts to eliminate lions from Aravaipa Canyon with no
evidence of a significant impact on bighorn
2012
35
8
7
4
16
0.44
0.25
2013
67
14
12
8
33
0.36
0.24
2014
54
15
6
6
27
0.22
0.22
sheep were completely misguided, had no
obvious impact on the bighorn sheep numbers, and was potentially detrimental to this
unique ecosystem.
Phil is a resident of Aravaipa Canyon and
long-time conservation biologist.
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http://arizona.sierraclub.org
2000
12
Sierra Club
Grand Canyon Chapter
Happenings Around the State
Six groups make up the Grand Canyon Chapter. All the events and meetings listed below are open to members interested in learning more about the Sierra Club. You can
find out more at our website: http://arizona.sierraclub.org/meetings_events.asp. Schedules are subject to change.
(x) Group ExCom members
Rincon Group (Tucson)
Palo Verde Group (Phoenix)
http://arizona.sierraclub.org/rincon
http://arizona.sierraclub.org/paloverde
Michael Brady (x)
Fareed Abou-Haidar (x)
Jerry Nelson (x)
Blair McLaughlin (x)
Don Steuter (x)
Jim Vaaler (x)
Lisa Vaaler
Gary Kraemer (x)
Ariel Lebarron (x)
Natalie Melkonoff (x)
Chair/Membership:
Vice-Chair:
Treasurer:
Secretary:
Conservation:
Outings:
ICO:
Ex-Com (At-Large):
480-250-4054
480-345-1779
602-279-4668
602-618-8591
602-956-5057
602-553-8208
602-468-4158
602-373-6301
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
JAN 6, FEB 3, MAR 3 (TUE) 6:30 p.m. Conservation Committee meetings. Contact Don Steuter.
JAN 8, FEB 12, MAR 12 (THU) 6:30 p.m. Executive Committee meetings. Contact Mike
Brady. Location TBD.
JAN 15, FEB 19, MAR 19 (THU) 6:30 p.m. Free monthly programs. The Palo Verde Group
offers monthly programs on the third Thursday of each month from 6:30–8 p.m. Location
TBD. Monthly programs are open to the public. Visit http://PaloVerdeGroup.org or call 480990-9165 for more information.
Saguaro Group (North Maricopa County)
http://arizona.sierraclub.org/saguaro
Chair:
Vice-Chair/Conservation:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Outings:
Service Outings:
Political:
Website:
Bev Full (x)
Dianne Leis (x)
Lynne Cockrum-Murphy (x)
Urb Weidner (x)
Peter Weinelt (x)
Doug Murphy (x)
Jim Wilkey (x)
Harry Lumley
480-221-2554
480-432-9181
602-569-6078
602-595-3301
623-388-2209
602-569-6078
480-649-2836
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
For information about the following, contact Bev Full.
JAN 3 (SAT) 8 a.m. Breakfast discussion. Meet for breakfast at the Grotto Café, 6501 E.
Cave Creek Rd. in Cave Creek. Enjoy good company and good food. Bev Full, Chapter Outings
Chair, will talk about some of the great outings we have scheduled.
JAN 29 (THU) 7 p.m. Endangered Arizona Rivers. Join us for our general meeting to hear
a program from Dr. Gary Beverly. Location: Black Mountain Phoenix Police Station Meeting
Room, 33355 N. Cave Creek Rd. in Phoenix.
For information about the following, contact Dianne Leis.
FEB 7 (SAT) 8 a.m. Breakfast discussion. Join us for a delicious breakfast and discussion
at the Grotto Café in Cave Creek, 6501 E. Cave Creek Rd. Our special guest will be Jennifer
Martin, Sierra Club’s Arizona Water Sentinels Coordinator, who will explain the Sentinels’
important work.
Chair:
Vice-Chair/Conservation:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Energy:
Outings:
ICO:
Political:
Membership:
Ex-Com (At-Large):
Randy Serraglio (x)
Keith Bagwell (x)
Roy Emrick (x)
Ken Bierman
Russell Lowes (x)
Mitch Stevens
Judy Rubin
Lee Oler
Natalie Lucas (x)
Michelle Crow (x)
Carl Kanun (x)
520-784-1504
520-623-0269
520-326-7883
520-882-2708
520-321-3670
520-647-3823
520-891-3310
520-791-9246
928-600-7844
520-743-9958
520-297-1128
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
JAN 22, FEB 26, MAR 26 (THU) Conservation Committee (6 p.m.) and Executive Committee
(7:15 p.m.) meetings. The meetings are open to the public. Sierra Club members, in
particular, are urged to attend and to participate. Hope you see you there! Located in the first
floor conference room of the Historic YWCA, 738 N. Fifth Ave., Tucson.
The following programs are located at SEIU, 439 N. 6th Ave., Tucson. Free and open to the
public. For more information, contact Keith Bagwell.
JAN 8 (THU) 7 p.m. Viva la Verde! Yavapai Group Chair Gary Beverly and Hugh Denno
produced this 40-minute film that highlights the values of and threats to the Upper Verde
River in Northern Arizona. This little-known and under-appreciated river boasts some of the
best surviving riparian wildlife habitat in the Southwest. Hugh and Gary’s film was gleaned
from their three years of photography, video shooting, and interviews with activists who live
near, study, or enjoy the wonders of this incredibly important river. The film premiered in July
before an appreciative audience at the Prescott Film Festival. Gary will lead a post-screening
discussion.
FEB 12 (THU) 7 p.m. Continental Divide: Wildlife, People, and the Border Wall. This
slideshow of celebrated conservation photographer Krista Schlyer is taken from her 2013
book of the same title. It won a National Outdoor Book Award and received one of the
American Library Association’s “Best of the Best” awards. Krista won the Sierra Club’s Ansel
Adams Award for conservation photography. The book and slideshow are the product of her
eight-year project to record the devastating impacts of border walls and installations from the
Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico that knife through many rare and unique ecosystems.
Krista will cover natural and human history of the borderlands, the evolution of border policy,
and the implications of today’s immigration debate.
MAR 12 (THU) 7 p.m. Uranium Drive-In. We will screen a 70-minute documentary film
exploring the conflict and contradictions that the prospect of a new uranium mill poses for the
desperately poor Colorado town of Naturita and its struggling neighbor Nucla. In the 1950s,
uranium mining and milling was big business for these thriving towns. The Uranium Drive-In
Theater was a hub of social and community life. Boom went bust and locals were left with
ugly health consequences and few jobs – the drive-in theater closed with most of the towns’
shops and businesses. The lure of new prosperity if a modern mill is built pits desperate
folks who recall the old glory days against those whose families are ravaged by disease and
environmental activists. It’s a tough choice.
FEB 18 (WED) 5:30 p.m. Executive Committee meeting and potluck. Located at the home
of Joe and Dianne Leis. Any interested members are welcome.
MAR 7 (SAT) 8 a.m. Breakfast discussion. Join us for a delicious breakfast and discussion
at the Grotto Café in Cave Creek, 6501 E. Cave Creek Rd. Speaker TBD.
http://arizona.sierraclub.org
Winter 2015
Canyon Echo
Trip Report: San Pedro River Birding Hike
Plateau Group (Flagstaff)
Leader: Beth Ann Krueger
http://arizona.sierraclub.org/plateau
Chair:
Vice-Chair:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Ex-Com (At-Large):
Joe Shannon (x)
Sienna Chapman (x)
Sarah Johnson (x)
Sharon Galbreath
Dick Hingson (x)
928-380-9537
928-863-0074
831-998-2585
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
928-699-8366
For information about activities in the Flagstaff area, contact Joe Shannon.
Sedona/Verde Valley Group
http://arizona.sierraclub.org/sedona
Chair:
Vice-Chair:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Conservation:
Outings:
Political:
Webmaster:
Ex-Com (At-Large):
Brian Myers (x)
Anne Crosman (x)
Carole Piszczek-Sheffield (x)
Margaret Anderson
Tina Choate (x)
Angela Lefevre
Duane Edwards
John Sheffield
Carol Grieshaber (x)
928-204-1703
928-284-9252
928-204-1517
928-203-4355
928-204-1703
928-204-5827
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
928-204-1517 [email protected]
928-592-9222 [email protected]
For information about activities in the Sedona/Verde Valley area, contact Brian Myers.
Yavapai Group (Prescott)
http://arizona.sierraclub.org/yavapai
Chair/Outings:
Vice-Chair/Conservation:
Secretary/Treasurer:
Membership:
Ex-Com (At-Large):
Gary Beverly (x)
Tom Slaback (x)
Sandy Geiger (x)
Robby Alley (x)
Bart Brush (x)
928-636-2638
928-778-4233
928-710-7691
928-200-5631
928-710-7691
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
For information about activities in the Prescott area, contact Gary Beverly.
Spur Cross continued from pg. 7.
Mountains and was loath to see its wildlife
corridor cut off from forest service lands to
the far north.
Then things got very complicated. To
placate Scottsdale, the Senator, in 1998,
proposed a much larger land exchange. For
years, Scottsdale had been trying to figure
out a way to incorporate several thousand
acres of state trust land into its planned McDowell Sonoran Preserve. To avoid the City
having to pay dearly for the state lands, the
Senator proposed the Spur Cross exchange
to include giving the state trust lands in the
McDowell Mountains (plus a parcel near
Spur Cross) to the Forest Service and having Forest Service lands elsewhere given to
the state in compensation. The exchange
13
had to happen immediately due to congressional schedules and an anxious Spur Cross
developer.
This proposal set off a firestorm of protests. Estimates of the amount of unidentified Forest Service land to be traded away
ran as high as 350,000 acres. The land exchange idea succeeded in alienating almost
everyone and finally died of its own weight.
After all the anguish, Spur Cross was
protected the old-fashioned way. It was purchased in 2001 by the State with Heritage
Fund dollars, Maricopa County, and Cave
Creek. Today, the Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area is there for all to enjoy.
Don is the Chapter Conservation Chair.
On a chilly November morning, eight adventurous hikers joined
me for a 2–3 mile moderate morning birding/photography hike on the San
Pedro River in Cochise
County. Thankfully, we
had several experienced
birders on the hike, including someone who
had also participated in
an Audubon Bird Count
with me last year.
The day represented
the best of early winter:
crisp air, racing clouds,
and incredible light contrasts. Birds we spotted included loggerhead shrike, Cooper’s
hawk, lesser goldfinch, Gila woodpecker,
ladderback woodpecker, Say’s phoebe, Cassin’s kingbird, western screech owl, whitecrowned sparrows, pyrruloxia, Brewer’s sparrows, chipping sparrows, vesper sparrows,
lark sparrows, canyon towhees, common
Photo by Beth Ann Krueger.
ground dove, house finches, and curvedbilled thrashers.
Check out the Sierra Adventure Group
on MeetUp (http://www.meetup.com/Sierra-Adventure-Meet-up/events/204918012)
for photos and comments about this hike,
and please plan to join me on another San
Pedro River hike this winter.
To Feel: A Fable
By Ann McDermott
It is said that there was once a time
when two California condors soared south
toward the baja. Wind whispered of beached
whales, traditional foods for condors, and
these two were answering Wind’s summons.
One was young, still black-headed and blackwinged. The elder was pink-orange-headed
and showed white underwings. Below them
spread the Mojave Desert, veined with dry
arroyos harboring scant green where brush
lined their banks.
“Dry and desolate,” commented the juvenile. “Lifeless.”
“You must learn to see with more than
eyes,” replied the adult. “I spoke once with
tortoise in the very lands you see below.
Wise and old, she took time to teach and I
to learn. She showed me how to feel Earth
as I flew above her, to sense the forces of
her life. Earth lives. There is Water we see,
and that which lies below. What is below
flows, as surely as that above, though we see
http://arizona.sierraclub.org
it not. The dark, deep waters are blood to
Earth and feeds her body as your blood feeds
yours. Wind is her breath and this, too, is
throughout her soil, sustaining, maintaining. Just as it does in you. Earth’s heart is fire.
It is this that has raised the mountains you
see below. All these powers of Earth are in
her creatures, including you, so all have the
capacity to know themselves and each other
through these energies. They connect us.
They are us. They are Earth. So, I see life everywhere. Even in the dead whales we seek. I
see nothing but life.”
The youth eyed his companion but
didn’t answer.
“Hang here. Stop and feel,” commanded the senior condor. He banked to glide in
a thermal rising from the short mountain
range below. The younger followed.
Ann is committed to the fable as an art form that
reaches across rational mind limitations.
14
Sierra Club
Grand Canyon Chapter
Explore and Enjoy Arizona
For up-to-date information about outings, visit http://arizona.sierraclub.org/outings.asp.
JAN 3 (SAT) “B” White Tank Mountains (10
mi.). This hike will take us into the heart of
the White Tank Mountains west of Phoenix.
We will follow the Goat Camp and Mesquite
Canyon trails, which will offer plenty of upand downhill travel as well as interesting
sights and fine vistas. Maricopa County
charges a $6 per car admission fee. Drive 30
mi. from Phoenix. Call Ken McGinty at 602265-2854. Phoenix
JAN 3 (SAT) “C” Climb Black Mountain in
Cave Creek (2 mi., 1000’ EC, 9 a.m. start).
Start off the new year with an exhilarating
climb and great views of the Valley and beyond. Meet in Cave Creek. Contact Bev Full
at 480-221-2554 or [email protected]. Phoenix
JAN 10 (SAT) “B” Brady Trail (8–10 mi.,
1600’ EC). On this hike, we’ll follow the interesting but brush-clogged Brady Trail up into
the rarely-visited highlands of the Goldfield
Mountains north of Mesa. We’ll then hike off
trail to the summit of Peak 3,097 for spectacular vistas. Expect steep and slippery slopes
and spiny vegetation (leather gloves recommended). Drive 35 mi. from Scottsdale. Call
Ken McGinty at 602-265-2854. Phoenix
JAN 11 (SUN) “C” San Pedro River Trail, Sierra Vista (2.5–3.5 mi., <500’ EC). Join us
for this moderate morning hike in the San
Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area,
which is beautiful. Expect to see some birds
and small wildlife. Don’t expect a high-speed
hike as we will pause for photography and observing birds, insects, and plants. Binoculars
and camera recommended. Limit 8. Contact Beth Ann Krueger at yardengine1919@
hotmail.com (preferred) or 520-405-5470.
This is posted on Sierra Adventure MeetUp
(http://www.meetup.com/Sierra-AdventureMeet-up). My hikes fill fast, so it is recommended you join MeetUp (free). Tucson
JAN 17 (SAT) “B” Wild Burro Ramble Loop
(12 mi., 1330’ EC). Join us for an enjoyable
winter outing in the Tortolita Mountains. Cochie, Wild Burro, and Ruelas Canyons cut
through the southwest end of this rugged
range. From the Dove Mountain Trailhead,
we’ll start on Wild Burro Trail then trek to
Upper Javelina Trail. We will access Wild
Mustang Trail then back to Wild Burro Trail
to Alamo Spring Trail. We will return to Wild
Burro Trail. Views of the Catalinas and other
ATTENTION, CURRENT AND POTENTIAL
OUTINGS LEADERS!
Are you interested in leading outings for Sierra Club? Or are
you a current leader who needs to update your first aid or
outings leader certification?
Outing Leader Training 101 and First Aid Certification
Saturday, January 31
8:30 a.m. (first aid) and 1:30 p.m. (OLT)
Location TBD (Central Phoenix)
Cost for first aid is $25; scholarships are available. OLT 101
is free. These courses are required of all Sierra Club outing
leaders. First aid training is required every three years, and
OLT 101 is required every four years.
RSVP required by January 29. To sign up or for more information, please contact
Sandy Bahr at 602-253-8633 or [email protected].
ranges will be spectacular. Contact Mitch
Stevens at 520-991-1199 or mitchstevens@
qwestoffice.net. Tucson
JAN 17 (SAT) “B” Blacktop Mesa (14 mi.,
1000’ EC). This on-trail hike will take to the
3374’ summit of Blacktop Mesa in the western Superstition Wilderness. From First Water Trailhead, we’ll take Dutchman’s Trail to
Bull Pass Trail to the trail up the mesa. Our
total elevation change will be greater than
1000’. Expect spectacular scenery, steep
slopes, and spiny plants aplenty (leather
gloves recommended). Drive 25 mi. from
Tempe. Call Ken McGinty at 602-265-2854.
Phoenix
JAN 24 (SAT) “B” Sycamore Ridge (6–8
mi., 800’ EC). This delightful off-trail hike will
follow ridges and highlands in the southern
Mazatzal Mountains paralleling State Route
87, between the Sycamore Creek and Mesquite Creek bridges. We’ll have abundant
up- and downhill travel. Expect thorny plants
aplenty (leather gloves recommended),
steep slopes, and fine views. Drive 40 mi.
from Scottsdale. Call Ken McGinty at 602265-2854. Phoenix
JAN 25–27 (SUN–TUE) “D” Colorado River
Canoe and Kayak. Canoe or kayak 20 mi.
from Hoover Dam to Willow Beach in the
Black Canyon of the Colorado River with
camping at Lake Mead and Arizona Hot
Springs. Cost is $150, which includes rentals, shuttles, meals at camp, and campground fees. Contact Bev Full at 480-2212554 or [email protected]. Phoenix
JAN 31 (SAT) “B+” White Canyon Rim (10
mi.). This on- and off-trail hike will take us
to the eastern rim of White Canyon in White
Canyon Wilderness south of Superior. We’ll
confront truculent vegetation (leather gloves
recommended); travel over steep, rocky, and
slippery slopes; and enjoy countless vistas of
wild and spectacular slickrock terrain. Drive
70 mi. from Tempe. Call Ken McGinty at 602265-2854. Phoenix
FEB 7 (SAT) “D” Climb Lone Mountain (2
mi., 500’ EC). Meet at 9 am in Cave Creek.
Contact Harry Lumley at lumleyhw@gmail.
com. Phoenix
FEB 7 (SAT) “B” Pusch Ridge (4 mi. RT,
2600’+ EC). This is a short but steep hike
up one of the most distinctive peaks near
Tucson. A hidden gem. There is a stunning
360° panorama from the peak. The hike
can be strenuous, so experienced hikers
only. Should be 3–3.5 hrs., depending on
water breaks and photo ops. Meet at 9 a.m.
Contact Colleen Collen at 520-577-4543 or
[email protected]. Tucson
FEB 7 (SAT) “B” Black Canyon Trail, New
River Rd. to Table Mesa Rd. (12 mi., 400–
http://arizona.sierraclub.org
500’ EC). This exploratory trek will take us
along BLM’s Black Canyon Trail, a well-built
and relatively new trail that passes over interesting and scenic country. We will have
plenty of up- and downhill travel. Leather
gloves recommended. Drive 30 mi. from
Phoenix. Call Ken McGinty at 602-2652854. Phoenix
FEB 14 (SAT) “B” Migraine Mountain (10–
12 mi.). On a peninsula formed by Canyon
Lake, the Salt River, and Tortilla Creek in the
Superstitions is a rarely-visited but highly
scenic area of cliffs and buttes, which we will
explore on this off-trail hike. This is a new, exploratory route, somewhat different from our
other explorations of this area. Expect fine
views, steep slopes, endless stretches of
teddy bear cholla, and other adversities. Call
Ken McGinty at 602-265-2854. Phoenix
FEB 16 (MON) “C+” Hike Vulture Peak (4
mi., 1000’ EC). The first 1.3 mi. follows a
pleasant path through a hilly desert floor
area, with an elevation gain of 300’. The
last 0.7 mi. to the saddle is a challenging, almost non-stop uphill of 700’ over a
number rocky surfaces and high stepping
parts. Some might want to climb the final
240’ to the top of Vulture Peak, which is a
steep unmaintained path that involves some
hand-over-foot climbing. The top offers 360°
views of the far northwest valley. Contact
Pete Weinelt at 623-388-2209 or vitalpaw@
yahoo.com. Phoenix
FEB 21 (SAT) “D” U.S./Mexico Border Up
Close and Personal. Join us in Sierra Vista
at 10 a.m. for a talk with videos about the environmental impacts of U.S. border enforcement. Then we will have a short lunch and
travel to the border to visit a border resident
who will share his experiences with us. Carpooling from Tucson and elsewhere encouraged. Meeting place in Sierra Vista. Contact
Elna Otter at 520-212-9736 or elna.otter@
gmail.com. Sierra Vista
FEB 21 (SAT) “B” Sunrise Peak (8 mi.,
1300’ EC). This hike in Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve will take us to the 3069’
summit of Sunrise Peak, following Sunrise
and other trails. The preserve map rates the
Sunrise Trail as “difficult.” Drive 6 mi. from
our meeting place in Scottsdale. Call Ken
McGinty at 602-265-2854. Phoenix
Winter 2015
Canyon Echo
15
Explore and Enjoy Arizona
For up-to-date information about outings, visit http://arizona.sierraclub.org/outings.asp.
FEB 22–25 (SUN–WED) “D” Colorado River Canoe and Kayak. Canoe or kayak the
Lower Colorado River for 40 mi. from Walter’s Camp to Fishers Landing through the
Imperial Wildlife Preserve and camp in Picacho State Park. Cost is $150 and includes
rental, shuttle, meals in camp, and camp
fee. Contact Bev Full at 480-221-2554 or
[email protected]. Phoenix
FEB 28 (SAT) “B” Apache Trail to Boulder
Canyon (6 mi.). This exploratory, off-trail adventure will take us across the northwest
corner of the Superstition Wilderness from
Milepost 204 on the Apache Trail to Canyon
Lake marina. We’ll have no high peaks to
bag but plenty of up- and downhill travel. Expect steep slopes, cruel vegetation (leather
gloves recommended), possibly wet feet,
and spectacular views. Drive 48 mi. from
Tempe. Call Ken McGinty at 602-265-2854.
Phoenix
MAR 7 (SAT) “B” Northeast Goldfields (6–7
mi.). This exploratory ridgetrek will take us
on a peak-bagging adventure to Mormon
Flat Dam. We’ll try to avoid canyons and
enjoy spectacular views much of the time
while suffering the usual off-trail tribulations.
Expect steep slopes and malevolent plants.
Leather gloves recommended. Short pants
not recommended. Elevation gain and loss
are hard to calculate, but there will be plenty
of each. Drive 40 mi. from Tempe. Call Ken
McGinty at 602-265-2854. Phoenix
MAR 7 (SAT) “D” Metate Trail (2 mi., 100’
EC). Hike the Metate Trail through a magnificent saguaro forest. Meet at 9 a.m. in Cave
Creek. Contact Harry Lumley at lumleyhw@
gmail.com. Phoenix
MAR 8 (SUN) “C” San Pedro River Trail, Sierra Vista (2.5–3.5 mi., <500’ EC). Moderate morning hike in the San Pedro Riparian
National Conservation Area. Expect to see
some birds and small wildlife. Not a highspeed hike as we will pause for photography
and observing birds, insects, and plants.
Limit 8. Meet time 9 a.m. Contact Beth Ann
Krueger at [email protected]
(preferred) or 520-405-5470. This hike is
posted on Sierra Adventure MeetUp (http://
www.meetup.com/Sierra-Adventure-Meetup), and my hikes fill fast, so it is recommended you join MeetUp (free). Tucson
MAR 14 (SAT) “B+” Pueblo LaPlata (14
mi.). This hike will take us to one of the larger
archaeological sites in Agua Fria National
Monument. Pueblo LaPlata is the ruin BLM
prefers people to visit in the monument. Following roads, trails, and an off-trail route, we
will hike across granite hills and along the
Agua Fria River and Silver Creek and climb
to the rim of Perry Mesa. Expect plenty of
up- and downhill travel, steep and slippery
slopes, vicious plants, and possibly wet feet.
Drive 50 mi. from Phoenix. Call Ken McGinty
at 602-265-2854. Phoenix
MAR 21 (SAT) “D” U.S./Mexico Border
Near and from Afar. Join us in Nogales, AZ,
at 10 a.m. for a talk about the environmental impacts of U.S. border enforcement. We’ll
visit the wall and then ascend to a vista in
one of the nearby mountains for a panoramic view of the border and a talk about
the larger ecosystem. Carpooling from Tucson and elsewhere encouraged. Meeting
place in Nogales, AZ. Contact Elna Otter at
520-212-9736 or [email protected]. Nogales
MAR 21 (SAT) “B” Peak 3457 (7–9 mi.,
800’ EC). On this on- and off-trail hike, we’ll
follow a ridge in the Mazatzal Mountains
near the Four Peaks Rd. to the summit of
Peak 3457. After bagging the peak, we’ll
climb rocky ridge and continue our ambulation back to our cars. Expect up- and downhill travel aplenty, steep and slippery slopes,
vicious spiny plants (leather gloves recommended), and high adventure. Drive 32 mi.
from Scottsdale. Call Ken McGinty at 602265-2854. Phoenix
MAR 28 (SAT) “B” Hill 4875 (10 mi., 1485’
EC). This trek in the Mazatzal Mountains
near Sunflower will follow a dirt road and an
off-trail route to the summit of Hill 4875. Expect steep slopes, brushy vegetation (leather
gloves recommended), and fine views. Drive
45 mi. from Scottsdale. Call Ken McGinty at
602-265-2854. Phoenix
MAR 28–29 (SAT–SUN) Gila Box Canoe/
Kayak Trip. The Gila Box Riparian National
Conservation Area has year-round water.
Bring binoculars and camera to view spectacular wildlife. Starts at the Old Safford Bridge
near Clifton and ends 23 mi. downriver at
Dry Canyon near Safford. Camp overnight
near the halfway point. Participants must
provide or rent all equipment and must have
previous experience and the skill to negotiate up to class II+ rapids and to avoid strainers/sweepers. The Gila Box RNCA charges
a $3/person fee. Contact Donald Smith at
520-591-9938 or [email protected]
or Mitch Stevens at 520-991-1199 or [email protected]. Tucson
MAR 29–31 (SUN–TUE) “C” Organ Pipe
Cactus National Monument Camp. Multiple “C” hikes. Carpool from Phoenix area to
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument on
Sunday to camp Sunday and Monday. Hike
and explore several scenic trails in this rugged wilderness. Hiking difficulty will be easy
to moderate in the desert and mountains.
Meals will be provided and prepared at the
campground by the leaders and will include
2 dinners, 2 lunches, and 2 breakfasts. Fee
to be determined ($35 or less). Contact
Pete Weinelt at 623-388-2209 or vitalpaw@
yahoo.com or Bev Full at 480-221-2554 or
[email protected]. Phoenix
APR 4 (SAT) “B+” Quien Sabe Peak (12 mi.,
1200’ EC). On this strenuous on- and off-trail
hike near Seven Springs northeast of Cave
Creek, we’ll ascend to the 4884’-high summit of Quien Sabe Peak, where we’ll enjoy
superb views. Expect steep and slippery
slopes, thorny plants (leather gloves recommended), and possibly wet feet. Drive 40 mi.
from Scottsdale. Call Ken McGinty at 602265-2854. Phoenix
APR 5–7 (SUN–TUE) Channel Islands National Park, CA. Join a 3-day, 3-island, liveaboard tour of the Channel Islands. Hike
windswept trails bordered with wildflowers.
Marvel at pristine waters teeming with fish
and sea lions. Use binoculars to spot birds
and an occasional whale. Cruise departs
from Santa Barbara, CA. Cost is $615,
which includes an assigned bunk, all meals,
snacks, beverages, and the services of a
naturalist who will help lead hikes and programs. Carpooling encouraged. Note: This
outing repeats May 3–5. Contact Bev Full at
480-221-2554 or [email protected]. Phoenix
APR 4 (SAT) “D” Waterfall Trail in Tonto National Forest (2 mi., 200’ EC). Meet at 9 a.m.
Enjoy this real waterfall and pool on Camp
Creek. Contact Sally and Erick Howland at
[email protected]. Phoenix
Hiking Guidelines
The Sierra Club is a nationwide organization with active local outings for members and non-members.
Please join us as we make friends and explore life-enriching interests. Simply find an outing by date
and contact the leader for directions, reservations, time, and additional information. RESTRICTIONS: NO
FIREARMS, RADIOS, OR PETS (unless noted otherwise). Outings are by reservation. Call early (group limit
20). Each hike is rated for degree of difficulty and risk by the leader.
“A” “B” “C” “D” >16 miles or > 3,000 ft. elevation change (EC)
8–16 miles and 1,500–3,000 ft. EC
3–8 miles, 500–1,500 ft. EC
RT
<3 miles and 500 ft. EC
OW
Round Trip
One Way
The trip leader has absolute authority to question trip participants as to their equipment, conditioning,
and experience before and during the trip. All participants on Sierra Club outings are required to sign a
standard liability waiver. If you would like to read the liability waiver before you choose to participate in
an outing, please go to http://www.sierraclub.org/outings/chapter/forms or contact the National Outings Dept. at 415-977-5528 for a printed version. Sierra Club liability covers leaders only. Each person
is responsible for his/her own first aid equipment. If you are injured, notify the leader immediately. If you
leave the trip, with our without the leader’s permission, you are considered to be on your own until you
rejoin the group. Hikers are encouraged to carpool and share the driver’s fuel expense. Donations are
accepted from all participants at $1 (member) and $3 (nonmember). Money is collected by the leader
and deposited with the group treasurer. For more information, contact Bev Full at 480-221-2554. Hikes
and outings are also listed online and in the Sierra Singles newsletters. CST 2087766-40. Registration as
a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State of California.
http://arizona.sierraclub.org
16
Sierra Club
Grand Canyon Chapter
Sierra Service Opportunities
Murray Springs Well Monitoring
Thursday, January 15, February 12, March 26
Contact: Jennifer Martin, 602-254-8362,
[email protected]
Verde River Winter Clean-Up
Saturday, February 21, 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Contact: Doug Murphy, 602-329-3690,
[email protected]
Volunteers are needed to help monitor shallow groundwater
levels in wells in the Murray Springs Clovis Site near Sierra
Vista. These data help us track impacts to the San Pedro River
and to archaeological resources in the area. What could be
better than spending a day in gorgeous scenery while working
to make a difference?
Help us clean up the area around Needle Rock on
the lower Verde River. The area is home to bald
eagles and great blue herons and is a popular
swimming and fishing hole just 14 miles from
Scottsdale. Carpooling will be available from North
Phoenix and Cave Creek. Tools and refreshments
will be provided. Join us as we help to clean up one
of Arizona’s largest perennial rivers.
Rio Salado Habitat Restoration
Beat Back Buffelgrass Day: Saturday, January 24
Weed-and-Clean: Sunday, February 22 and March 22
Contact: Jennifer Martin, 602-254-8362,
[email protected]
Spur Cross Ranch Needs a Hand
Saturday, March 14, 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Contact: Doug Murphy, 602-329-3690,
[email protected]
Help us restore habitat! Join us for an invasive weed pull and
clean-up at the Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area, just south
The Bloom Family helps clean up Rio Salado. Photo by Jenny Roberts. Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area (the newest
of Maricopa County’s Regional Parks) needs some
of downtown Phoenix. Once a dump site, the area is now a lush
riparian corridor that supports a variety of wildlife and recreation opportunities. We need help restoring trails damaged in last fall’s rains and removing old barbed wire fencing. The
help removing trash and buffelgrass, a non-native, invasive species that alters habitat and park is home to archeological sites and Sonoran Desert and riparian areas along Cave Creek.
Carpooling from North Phoenix to Cave Creek will be available, along with refreshments.
increases fire risk. Snacks, drinks, gloves, and tools provided.
New Name, Same Mission
By Cheryl Walling
youth and 142 adults (including ICO
volunteers) outdoors on a total of 40
outings, including five overnights!
Students and families explored wild
caves, Mount Lemmon, and Sabino
Canyon, climbed Picacho and Wasson
peaks, and went camping. They visited
the Desert Museum, Madera Canyon,
national and state parks. Many participated in service projects, such as pulling
buffelgrass and Leaving No Trace! We
provide opportunities for disadvantaged
youth to experience what many of us
think is our natural right. Many of these
children have never left their neighborhoods.
Every month, a few teachers, like
me, arrange a trip. We take the time to
fill out the district paperwork and contact parents. The students are excited
and eager to explore new places and to
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Walling.
talk to the adults who volunteer with
Tucson Inner City Outings (ICO) has us. Our students and parents thank each
changed its name to Sierra Club Youth Out- of us after every trip. Parents who volunteer
doors. Even though our name has changed, are especially grateful that we provide these
our mission has not. Last year, we took 461 opportunities, that we take time out of our
personal schedules to make these trips happen. We hear them say they will be returning
on their own and that they never knew there
were places like this in Arizona.
To achieve this, we are trained by Sierra
Club to lead these trips. We are really grateful for the funding we have received through
Sierra Club grants and our local chapter,
with the majority coming from individuals.
We have applied for and have been enthusiastically funded by Educational Enrichment
Foundation, with Tucson Unified School
District, for several trips to the Mount Lemmon Sky Center and to take students caving. I also use tax credits that are donated to
my school for my group. A local company,
Summit Hut, has provided financial support
and volunteers. All of the donations help to
pay for vans to transport students (to help
reduce our carbon footprint), which is our
biggest expense. We also partner with programs in Tucson, like the Sky School on
Mount Lemmon, to take students on overnights at the top of the mountain. Students
get to be engaged in science experiments and
also look through a real telescope in an observatory. Even though the university gives
us a price break, it still costs us more than
$100 for each student. Many of us take on
the expense of gas, snacks, and water and
provide our own equipment for longer trips.
We love what we do, and we encourage
you to get involved, as well!
Cheryl is a Safford K–8 teacher and SCYO leader.
Would you like to help youth experience the outdoors? You can donate your time
by volunteering. Come to our meetings on the second Tuesday of every month in the
Education building at the University of Arizona (1430 E. 2nd St., Tucson). You can also
donate directly to our group or donate your tax credit dollars to our specific schools.
http://arizona.sierraclub.org
Learn more at http://ico.sierraclub.org/tucson.