New water bottle stations in Grand Canyon make park safer, more “green”

by Kraig Becker on

Stretching for 277 miles through the Arizona desert, the Grand Canyon is amongst the more impressive natural wonders you’ll ever see. It is over 6000 feet in depth and at its widest point, it is 18 miles across. Everything about the place is truly epic in scale, and that is why the park receives nearly 4.5 million visitors a year. But all those visitors can have an impact on the environment there, which is why the National Park Service recently took steps to protect the Canyon, while serving its visitors better at the same time.

A few weeks back the NPS completed the installation of nine water bottle stations in the park. Those stations, located in the highest traffic areas, will provide visitors with plenty of water while hiking in the canyon, which can be quite warm in many months of the year. Visitors are now encouraged to bring their own reusable water bottles or hydration packs, and refill often while on the trail.

Keeping visitors hydrated during hot days in the park was only one of the reasons these stations were installed however. The Park Service estimates that about 30% of all the waste removed from the park comes from plastic water bottles, and they are hoping that these filling stations will become a more viable option for hikers, while cutting down on litter and the use of plastics in general. The Park’s leadership has made a commitment to being more environmentally friendly, and they’re encouraging visitors to do the same.

Six of the water stations have been installed along the South Rim at Hermits Rest; the Bright Angel and South Kaibab Trailheads; the Canyon Village and Desert View Marketplaces; and
Grand Canyon, Verkamp’s and Desert View Visitor Centers. An additional three refilling stations have been installed along the North Rim at North Kaibab Trailhead, North Rim Visitor Center, and at the North Rim Backcountry Office. Two of those, the North Kaibab Trailhead and the North Rim Visitor Center are for seasonal use only, while all others provide access year round.

Considering how environmentally unfriendly plastic water bottles are, this is a great move for the Park Service. It is also a fantastic resource for travelers in the Grand Canyon as well. The hot, dry weather often surprises visitors to that park, and there are a high number of evacuations there each year for heat and dehydration related issues. Hopefully a readily available supply of water will help address that issue as well.

Park service dedicates ‘trail of time’ at Grand Canyon

by Kraig Becker on

The National Park Service is hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon today as they dedicate a new trail that has been hundreds of millions of years in the making. The official ceremony will take place at 2:30 PM local time, with an informal hike along the trail taking place between 3:00 and 5:00 PM. The event is part of the park’s celebration of Earth Science Week.

The new path has been dubbed the “Trail of Time” and it is designed to be an interpretive walk that focuses on the amazing geologic processes that are on display in and around the Grand Canyon. The new exhibit follows an existing trail, but incorporates some interesting new elements that help to define the magnitude of the natural forces that are on display to visitors. For instance, there are now brass markers every meter along the route, with each of those markers representing 1 million years of geologic history. Viewing tubes have also been added which help to put into context where certain visible rocks fall along the Earth’s historical timeline.

The Trail of Time can be hiked in two different directions. If visitors start at the Yavapai Geology Museum they can walk backwards in time, slowly approaching the oldest rock in the park, the Elves Canyon gneiss. This ancient formation is more than 1.8 billion years old. On the other hand, hikers who begin at the Verkamp’s Visitor Center will actually move forward in time, approaching the youngest rock in the Grand Canyon the Kaibab Limestone, which is a mere 270 million years old.

The Grand Canyon is one of the best places on Earth to view first hand the impressive geological processes that go on around us on a daily basis. Those processes are so small that their effects can only be seen over the course of millions of years, but in the Canyon, more than a billion years of Earth history is open to examination, giving a all a very humbling glimpse into the powerful forces that are in play on our planet.

For more information on this fun and educational new trail, check out the virtual Trail of Time by clicking here.

[Photo credit: Micahel Quinn of the NPS]

NPCA outlines challenges, opportunities for Grand Canyon

by Kraig Becker on

Grand Canyon National Park is easily one of the most popular and well known destinations in the entire U.S. Each year, more than 4.5 million visitors make the journey to visit the park and take part in some of the outdoor adventures it has to offer, including whitewater rafting, hiking, camping, and more. The Canyon is considered one of the great natural wonders of the world, and the spectacular scenery that is the hallmark of the place, is practically unmatched anywhere else on the planet.

With more than 1.2 million acres of land inside the park boundaries, managing and protecting its considerable resources can be an overwhelming challenge. It was with that in mind that earlier this week the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) released its “State of the Park” report that outlines the challenges and opportunities facing the Grand Canyon in the years ahead. That report identifies such threats as mining and air pollution as potential problems, while citing the opportunity for restoring and protecting the natural habitats of native plant and animal species as an area where improvements can be made.

This new report points to a number of external threats that are obstacles to the future health of the Grand Canyon and its surrounding environments. Amongst those threats are air pollution from cities as far away as 100 miles which will have an impact on scenic vistas and possibly the health of visitors. Noise pollution has also become an issue, as the airspace above the canyon is often crowded with traffic with both commercial and scenic flights crossing over head. Perhaps the greatest of these external threats however, is ongoing mining activities in the lands adjacent to the park. Those activities could result in the contamination of both the environment and the watershed in the region, having a detrimental effect that could take decades to reverse.
Not surprisingly, the park is also facing severe financial shortfalls in its operating budget. While this is a common story in these troubled economic times, the NPCA’s report states that the Grand Canyon needs an additional $6.2 million in annual funding just to support the basic day-to-day operations of the park. While that is a large number of course, it pales in comparison to the $300 million in park maintenance that has been backlogged for lack of funds to address the issues.

As a response to their findings, the NPCA is recommending a number of changes to help preserve the park for future generations. For instance, they believe that changes to the flow of the river would help prevent erosion and promote the return of natural resources, including plant and animal life, to the canyon. They also recommend giving the Park Service the authority to manage the airspace above the park, restricting the number of flights that pass over head in an attempt to keep certain areas quiet. Perhaps most important of all, the report requests an act of Congress to permanently protect sensitive lands around the park from all future mining activities.

The national parks have been called “America’s best idea” and the Grand Canyon is chief amongst them. As one of the crown jewels in the entire system, it deserves to be protected and managed for future travelers to enjoy, which is exactly what the NPCA hopes to ensure with this report and its recommendations. There are significant threats to the park’s environment, but by identifying those challenges now and preparing to meet them head on, the Grand Canyon can remain one of the top adventure destinations in the entire world.

To read a summary of the NPCA’s report click here. For the complete 82-page report click here.

[Photo credit: David Jolley via WikiMedia]