GCC offers educational programming, products, and services to help visitors and community members find a lasting connection with their public lands.
Glen Canyon Conservancy (GCC) partners with public lands in northern Arizona and southern Utah to create learning opportunities, enhance visitor experience, and inspire stewardship. Founded in 1986 as Glen Canyon Natural History Association, GCC offers educational programming, products, and services to help visitors and community members find a lasting connection with their public lands.
GCC is the official cooperating partner for the public lands of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area-Lake Powell, Rainbow Bridge National Monument, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. GCC’s goal is to provide support to these wild, public spaces through funding and implementation of projects, many related to recreation impacts, educational opportunities and hands-on experiences for the community. Proceeds go back to benefit public land improvements through the organization’s Aid to Park program. GCC has given nearly $800,000 to the program since 2015.
GCC supports public spaces that encompass over 9 million acres in northern Arizona and southern Utah. The area is wild, rugged backcountry terrain with deep, red sandstone gorges encompassing one of the most remote areas in the lower 48. The southern boundary runs contiguous to lands of the Navajo Nation for almost 500 miles. The Colorado Plateau desert region is characterized by expansive areas of exposed and uplifted rocks that have been carved by the Colorado River and tributaries.
Lake Powell, formed by the Glen Canyon Dam, is the best known and most visited feature at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Rainbow Bridge is located within this protected area to preserve an exceptionally stunning natural bridge spanning over 275 feet that is sacred to Indigenous tribes of Hopi, Kaibab Paiute, Navajo, San Juan Southern Paiute, Pueblo of Zuni, and Ute Mountain Ute (White Mesa Band).
The area is wild, rugged backcountry terrain with deep, red sandstone gorges encompassing one of the most remote areas in the lower 48.
Millions of other visitors will now be able to experience the beauty of these students’ efforts for many years to come.
In 2020 alongside the National Park Service, GCC supported a project to restore visitor impacts along the trail to the iconic Horseshoe Bend by engaging up to 100 local youth, many from Indigenous tribes, in a complete restoration project. Youth were able to experience native seed collection, greenhouse-based native plant propagation, and horticultural practices to grow materials for restoration - all of these actions leading up to planting and cultivation at Horseshoe Bend.
So far, students have grown 200 cactus from cuttings and 150 yucca from seed, and prior to COVID-19, nearly 40 students were able to conduct two field trips to Horseshoe Bend planting 160 plants on one acre of damaged land. Millions of other visitors will now be able to experience the beauty of these students’ efforts for many years to come.
0 Comments