HECHO spoke with Morgan Moore of Phoenix, Arizona to learn about her personal connection to the Grand Canyon, her favorite memories there, and why she believes the Grand Canyon should be protected from uranium mining.

HECHO: What is your personal connection to the Grand Canyon?

Morgan Moore (MM): My personal connection to the Grand Canyon is rooted both in its place, as well as the people that connect me to it. I grew up in Arizona. I was born and raised here, so I have been to the Grand Canyon plenty of times, mostly with family. I have gone there since I was a toddler. My parents took me, even though my dad was afraid of falling from it…….

Guest Blog, Grand CanyonadminAugust 15, 2020#MyGrandCanyonStory, Grand Canyon, Uranium Mining, ArizonaComment

#MyGrandCanyonStory | Juliana Huereña

HECHO spoke with Juliana Huereña of Phoenix, Arizona to learn about her personal connection to the Grand Canyon, her favorite memories there, and why she believes the Grand Canyon should be protected from uranium mining.

HECHO: What is your personal connection to the Grand Canyon?

Juliana Huereña (JH): So, what is my connection to the Grand Canyon? It is that it was in my backyard and so I was able to take advantage of the wilderness and the opportunities that the Grand Canyon has offered. The beauty of it, the Majestics of it, all of it….

Guest Blog, Grand CanyonadminAugust 12, 2020#MyGrandCanyonStory, Grand Canyon, Uranium Mining, ArizonaComment

#MyGrandCanyonStory | Mark Cardenas

HECHO spoke with Advisory Board member Mark Cardenas of Arizona to learn about his personal connection to the Grand Canyon, his favorite memories there, and why he believes the Grand Canyon should be protected from uranium mining.

HECHO: What is your personal connection to the Grand Canyon?

Mark Cardenas (MC): My personal connection to the Grand Canyon -- that was where, you know, growing up you would always go on the weekends, to the parks and to go hiking in the mountains, because that was what we could afford. I remember one of the biggest trips that we got to go on was a road trip to the Grand Canyon. I was probably like six or seven years old. was really little, and it was just so amazing that one, we got out of the city and two, there's this huge place that, you know, when you go into the parking lot there's license plates from all around the country…

Guest Blog, Grand CanyonadminAugust 10, 2020#MyGrandCanyonStory, Grand Canyon, Uranium Mining, Arizona, Mark Cardenas, Advisory BoardComment

#MyGrandCanyonStory | Steve Peru

HECHO spoke with Steve Peru of Flagstaff, Arizona to learn about his personal connection to the Grand Canyon, his favorite memories there, and why he believes the Grand Canyon should be protected from uranium mining.

HECHO: What is your personal connection to the Grand Canyon?

Steve Peru (SP): My personal connection to the Grand Canyon started, and I don't know when it was that our parents took us to the Grand Canyon, but I was probably older than grade school, middle school years. It's probably more exciting to the parent, at the time, than it is to the child. At the same time, given the fact that our parents didn't always have a lot of resources to make that investment of time and money to take the family to the Grand Canyon, it must have been very special to our parents….

Guest Blog, Grand CanyonadminAugust 8, 2020#MyGrandCanyonStory, Grand Canyon, Uranium Mining, ArizonaComment

#MyGrandCanyonStory | Mesa City Councilmember David Luna

HECHO spoke with Mesa City Councilmember David Luna to learn about his personal connection to the Grand Canyon, his favorite memories there, and why he believes the Grand Canyon should be protected from uranium mining.

HECHO: What is your personal connection to the Grand Canyon?

David Luna (DL): My personal connection to the Grand Canyon begins with the fact that I'm a native of Arizona, which gives me that personal connection to one of the seven wonders of the world. I’ve had the opportunity to take visitors, relatives, and my grandkids to the Grand Canyon so they could see its majesty, its wonder, its uniqueness, the way one should experience it – in person. The Grand Canyon is something that we truly celebrate here in Arizona.

Guest Blog, Grand Canyon, HCLCadminAugust 5, 2020#MyGrandCanyonStory, Grand Canyon, Uranium Mining, Arizona, David LunaComment

#MyGrandCanyonStory | Rebecca Chavez-Houck

Rebecca Chavez-Houck (RCH): So, in reflecting on my experiences and my personal connection to the Grand Canyon, I looked at it through some of the different phases of my life. My first recollection of having visited the Grand Canyon was when my husband and I took our daughter on a trip there. I believe that I was expecting our second child and it was during the off season. It is kind of interesting how, when we think about our experiences in the outdoors and we think about going to different, amazing places, incredible places like the Grand Canyon, the experiences kind of fall together….

#MyGrandCanyonStory | Michael Lerner

HECHO spoke with Michael Lerner of New York, New York to learn about his personal connection to the Grand Canyon, his favorite memories there, and why he believes the Grand Canyon should be protected from uranium mining.

HECHO: What is your personal connection to the Grand Canyon?

Michel Lerner (ML): My personal connection to the Grand Canyon is that I've had the privilege and the honor to be there three times as an adult. Once as a kid, but I was honestly too young to really appreciate it. As an adult, I went on a visit to some family friends in Arizona. I'm from New York City so it's not, by any means, nearby but they suggested going there and I wasn't really aware that you could just drive up and get into the best of it without privileges or paying a lot of expensive fares or permits. So, this family friend suggested staying over at Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon…..

Guest Blog, Grand CanyonadminJuly 27, 2020#MyGrandCanyonStory, Grand Canyon, Uranium Mining, ArizonaComment

Press Release: The Great American Outdoors Act Passes the House of Representatives

With strong bipartisan backing, the Great American Outdoors Act today passed the House of Representatives and is one step closer to becoming law.

The landmark legislation fully funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which will address the maintenance backlog in our national parks and public lands, as well as allocating funding to parks and habitat projects.

HECHO commends the members of the U.S. House of Representatives who have come together to protect our nation’s state and local parks, trails, recreation facilities and public lands, fortifying our connection to our nation's diverse landscapes.

#MyGrandCanyonStory | Feliz Baca

HECHO spoke with Feliz Baca of Albuquerque, New Mexico to learn about her personal connection to the Grand Canyon, her favorite memories there, and why she believes the Grand Canyon should be protected from uranium mining.

HECHO: What is your personal connection to the Grand Canyon?

Feliz Baca (FB): My personal connection to the Grand Canyon is that I was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but split my time between Arizona and New Mexico growing up. Half my life consisted of living in Northern Arizona, in Flagstaff, taking trips to the Grand Canyon with my family. I didn't start exploring the canyon as much until I got a little bit older and went away from the state because, when you're from Arizona, you don't take as much time to truly enjoy the beauty and everything that it has to offer…..

Guest Blog, Grand CanyonadminJuly 20, 2020#MyGrandCanyonStory, Grand Canyon, Uranium Mining, ArizonaComment

Event Recap: Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting and the Outdoors (HECHO) Hosts Roundtable Discussion for Full Conservation Funding of Great American Outdoors Act with Senator Tom Udall’s Office

HECHO, in partnership with ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.), hosted a virtual roundtable with community leaders and small businesses to discuss the Senate passage of the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), and the ways in which the legislation will benefit New Mexico.

Panelists included Senator Udall, HECHO Executive Director, Camilla Simon, HECHO Board Member and Chairman-Elect of the National Wildlife Federation’s Board of Directors, Kent Salazar, Enchanted Circle Trails Association representative, Carl Colonias, Southern NM Trails Alliance representative, Matt Mason, Santa Fe City Councilor, Renee Villarreal, and Roswell City Councilor, Judy Stubbs.

adminJuly 15, 2020Event Recap, Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)Comment

Statement: Trump Administration Weakens Key Standards under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

July 15, 2020 – As the country grapples with COVID-19, the Trump Administration announced a new final rule for the NEPA, the law that requires federal agencies to review and diagnose environmental, economic, social, or health impacts of all federal projects before construction begins. HECHO Executive Director Camilla Simon released the following statement:

Press Releases/StatementsGuest UserJuly 15, 2020Statement, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)Comment

#MyGrandCanyonStory | Whitney Walker

HECHO spoke with Whitney Walker of Maricopa County, Arizona to learn about her personal connection to the Grand Canyon, her favorite memories there, and why she believes the Grand Canyon should be protected from uranium mining.

HECHO: What is your personal connection to the Grand Canyon?

Whitney Walker (WW): My personal connection to the Grand Canyon happened when I relocated here from Virginia. I was all of 23 years old and the first person in my family to not only graduate from college, but the first one to be accepted into law school. I drove across the country by myself, leaving my family 3000 miles behind. I felt brave, but alone. During my first semester, I connected with the group of folks in my section that shared a similar experience. We took a trip up to the Grand Canyon right after our midterms during fall break. That visit was such an amazing and confirming moment where I felt that I could do anything I put my mind to…..

Guest Blog, Grand CanyonGuest UserJuly 13, 2020#MyGrandCanyonStory, Grand Canyon, Uranium Mining, ArizonaComment

#MyGrandCanyonStory | Patrice Horstman

HECHO spoke with Patrice Horstman on her connection to the Grand Canyon, and why she believes it deserves protection and advocacy.

Patrice Horstman (PH): I moved to Flagstaff in 1972 to go to school in Northern Arizona University, and like many, I fell in love with the San Francisco peaks and the Ponderosa Pine Forest. Having the Canyon as a neighbor has allowed me an up close and personal relationship with it. I've been able to spend over four decades exploring and hiking its trails, river running on the Colorado river through its red walls, and spending literally countless hours on the rim. The Grand Canyon is also an economic engine for us here in Northern Arizona. It has over 6 million visitors that visits the Canyon annually, which brings hundreds of millions of tourists dollars here to Arizona and has produced tens of thousands of jobs.

Guest Blog, Grand CanyonadminJuly 6, 2020#MyGrandCanyonStory, Grand Canyon, Uranium Mining, ArizonaComment

Event Recap: Sharing Personal Connections Through Letters to the Editor

Community members across the nation joined HECHO on Wednesday to participate in the Advocacy Training Series to learn about Letters to the Editor (LTE), and why they are an essential advocacy tool in having our voices heard on issues from racial inequity to the protection of our public lands. Speakers included the HECHO team, Elvia Diaz, Editor of La Voz Arizona, and Frank Moraga, journalist, publisher, and editor of AmigosNAZ.

#MyGrandCanyonStory | Elizabeth Archuleta

#MyGrandCanyonStory | Coconino County Supervisor, Elizabeth Archuleta

HECHO founding member and Coconino County Supervisor, Elizabeth Archuleta sat down with us to talk about why advocating for the Grand Canyon is important for her.

Guest Blog, Grand CanyonadminJune 29, 2020#MyGrandCanyonStory, Grand Canyon, Uranium Mining, Arizona, Liz ArchuletaComment

Press Release: HECHO Celebrates Senate Passage of the Great American Outdoors Act

June 17, 2020 -- Today, HECHO is celebrating alongside countless others the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) by the U.S. Senate. An act of bipartisanship (73-25) marks a major milestone for full and consistent funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which protects and increases access to public lands and national parks, and addresses the significant maintenance backlog in our national parks.

Blog: Hope, Leadership, and Humanity During the Covid-19 Pandemic

For some, COVID-19 has changed our daily lives and how we interact with each other. For others, COVID-19 has made the impacts of existing societal, economic, and health disparities even worse. The truth is that we must navigate the unique challenges brought about during these uncertain and unprecedented times, and come out of this pandemic with a greater sense of how we are all connected.

As we hear stories about how community leaders are responding to the pandemic in thoughtful ways, we are hopeful that we will emerge from this in a better place. But that takes leadership and an understanding of our humanity. As an example, in Santa Fe County, NM, Commissioner Henry Roybal recognized the economic impact that solid waste disposal fees were having on some residents after seeing trash being dumped on the land. In response, he led a county effort to suspend solid waste disposal fees during the pandemic to reduce barriers for appropriate trash disposal.

adminJune 17, 2020Advisory Board, Henry Roybal, Evi Steyer, Mark Cardenas, Donald Valdez, Liz Archuleta, Lynn Cordova, Rebecca Chavez-HouckComment

#MyGrandCanyonStory | Nikki Julien

HECHO spoke with Nikki Julien, Outreach Director for the Arizona Wildlife Federation to learn about her favorite memory at the Grand Canyon, and why she believes uranium mining poses a dangerous threat to the National Park.

HECHO: What is your personal connection to the grand Canyon?

Nikki Julien (NJ): My personal connection to the Grand Canyon started the first time I visited, I was probably about five, six years old. My family had moved to Arizona and my parents, of course, put my brother in boy scouts. They had a boy scout trip to go down to Havasupai Village and we all hiked all the way down and back up again. While I was there, I actually learned to swim in that beautiful blue, green water. I learned how to swim in Mooney Falls. I was just a kid at the time, so I didn’t think much about it until after I realized how major it actually was. In the education field and nature writing field, and nature advocacy field, one of the first questions that is asked at almost any conference, is about your connection to the land. When that is asked, I get to say that I learned to swim at Mooney Falls at Havasupai Village which is an amazing, amazing experience. Not many six year olds can make that trip down and back out again. In 2014, I was able to helicopter down into the village and that was remarkable.

Statement: In Solidarity Against Racism

We grieve the loss of George Floyd. His treatment by the police was inhumane, and the egregious abuse he suffered in police custody killed him. His death is a stark wakeup call that there is much work to do in the ongoing fight against racism and the battle for justice. We are part of a collective struggle, and stand in solidarity with the movements taking place across the nation bringing attention to the injustice our Black community members experience.

Press Releases/StatementsCamilla SimonJune 8, 2020Statement, JEDIComment

Event Recap: May 27, 2020 Digital Briefing and Advocacy Training to Protect the Grand Canyon

Advocates for the Grand Canyon came together on Wednesday for a digital briefing and advocacy training about the threat of uranium mining at the Grand Canyon. Community members joined the call from across the nation, sharing why protecting the national park is important to them.

HECHO presenters Camilla Simon and Elizabeth Archuleta discussed recent recommendations released by the Nuclear Fuels Working Group supporting opening up public lands near the Grand Canyon for uranium mining. They also informed advocates about a proposal to permanently protect the public lands around the Grand Canyon, introduced by Rep. Raul Grijalva and passed by the House in March 2020 called the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act.

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