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NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 11, 2008         

Contacts: Stacey Hamburg, Sierra Club - Grand Canyon Chapter (928) 774-6514

Sierra Club Statement on 100 Year Anniversary of Grand Canyon National Monument

Today marks the 100 year anniversary of the establishment of the Grand Canyon National Monument.  In his desire to protect this great natural wonder, Theodore Roosevelt presented a vital vision of conservation to the nation. In 1907 he told Congress, "The conservation of our natural resources and their proper use constitute the fundamental problem which underlies almost every other problem of our national life." He understood all too well that federal protection would be necessary to prevent overzealous acquisition, use and development of these wild lands.

I want you to ask you to do one thing in connection with it in your own interest and in the interest of the country--to keep this great wonder of nature as it now is... We have gotten past the stage, my fellow citizens, when we are to be pardoned if we simply treat any part of our country as something to be skinned for two or three years for the use of the present generation.  Whether it is the forest, the water, the scenery... handle it so that your children's children will get the benefit of it.

Roosevelt was asking the nation to put aside personal and commercial interests and to moderate use and consumption for the greater good of future generations and our natural legacy. These words ring as true today as they did 100 years ago. After numerous attempts, Congress finally established Grand Canyon as a National Park in 1919. Today such protected lands are more important than ever as our National Parks are some of the last best examples of intact ecosystems in North America.

Roosevelt thought there should be no manmade structure on the rim of the canyon saying, 'I hope you will not have a building of any kind... to mar the wonderful grandeur, the sublimity, the loneliness and beauty of the canyon.  Leave it as it is.'  The federal government has not heeded this advice and today there is still significant development in and around the park that impairs park resources. Traffic congestion on the roads and on the river; air tours that disturb the natural quiet; and development on the rim and as far away as Flagstaff depletes water from the canyon's seeps and springs.  Although Park lands still face significant threats, the National Monument and subsequent National Park status have provided an essential level of protection for the last 100 years - but we can do more to protect this amazing national treasure.

Today we are asking the Park Service and the Bush Administration to embrace Roosevelt's vision and to reaffirm its commitment to restoration and protection of our natural heritage.  We hope the Park Service will, as promised, protect the river ecosystem from overuse and from the impacts of Glen Canyon Dam; substantially restore natural quiet to the canyon for those seeking peace and revitalization in our wild places; and continue efforts to restore ิthe wonderful grandeur, the sublimity, the loneliness and beauty of the canyon' as Roosevelt found it one hundred years ago." 

Theodore Roosevelt's environmental legacy includes the establishment of five national parks, eighteen national monuments and one hundred and fifty national forests.

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