The
Grand Canyon Trust , one of the Southwest's premier conservation organizations, manages nearly one million acres of rangeland and forest across federal, state, and private lands north of the Grand Canyon. This is one of the first instances of a conservation organization purchasing grazing leases from the government with the intent of not shutting down operations, but improving them through sound science, public participation, and an historical ecological approach. In 2005, I was a member of the 8-person team who inventoried over 600 plots across the project area, encompassing the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon National Park, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, and other 'Canyon Country' treasures. Visit the
Grand Canyon Trust website to read about this incredible project.
Old growth ponderosa pine stand at Fire Point, Grand Canyon North Rim
Following this period of rigorous field work in extremely remote areas, I was retained to research and write a comprehensive environmental history of the area. My research brought me back 40,000 years into pollen records and paleo-ecological studies that portrayed a much different ecosystem. I included detailed assessments of Native American land use, early settler accounts, fire history chronologies, and much more. Investigations of scientific and popular literature were critical to this research, as were interviews, visits to regional, local, and university libraries, and a perspective only gained by spending so much time on the ground.
For a really interesting read, download the report here.