Statements by National Parks Conservation Association and Grand Canyon Trust on Leaders' Visits to Grand Canyon National Park Today
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PRESS RELEASE
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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | |
| Date: | August 21, 2009 |
| Contact: | Kathleen O'Neil, NPCA Media Relations 202-419-3717, koneil@npca.org Roger Clark, Grand Canyon Trust 928-890-7515, rclark@grandcanyontrust.org |
Statements by National Parks Conservation Association and Grand Canyon Trust on Leaders' Visits to Grand Canyon National Park Today
NPCA and Grand Canyon Trust Urge Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Senators John McCain and Mark Udall and NPS Director-Nominee Jon Jarvis to Protect the Park
Statement by David Nimkin, Southwest Regional Director, NPCA:
"I am hopeful that Sec. Salazar, Senators McCain and Udall, and NPS Director-nominee Jarvis will agree to confront some extraordinary threats facing this iconic landscape. These leaders should resolve to manage the Colorado River at Glen Canyon Dam through real adaptive management that is informed by a decade of scientific findings, and regulate water releases to protect the river’s animals and plants and their habitats.
"I urge them to overcome a 20-year failure to restore natural quiet to this expansive landscape, where the sound of aircraft engines dampens the experiences of millions of visitors each year. The public also needs their support of permanent legislation to restrict uranium mining just outside the park’s boundaries – activities which will have profound impacts on the health of the park and the quality of the Colorado River downstream.
"The Grand Canyon is one of our nation’s most special places. I hope that these leaders can help forge agreements that will protect the park and the millions of people who visit it each year."
Statement by Roger Clark, program director for the uranium issue at Grand Canyon Trust:
"Secretary Salazar's temporary withdrawal of nearby lands is a good first step in protecting the Grand Canyon region from further industrialization by uranium mining. We now need leaders in the Senate to sponsor the Grand Canyon Watersheds Protection Act. We urge Senators McCain and Mark Udall to provide that bipartisan leadership."
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