#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.
We had a picnic there and we saw these huge blackbirds, so we saw like wildlife that didn't exist in the city. So it was just like this totally new thing. It was just so cool to be able to experience at that age.
HECHO: Why do you believe that the Grand Canyon should be protected?
MC: In the subsequent years that I've returned to the Grand Canyon, I've flown over it, and it's hard to explain. You have to see it yourself, just how big it is, and the colors. And especially when you get to see the sunset on the Grand Canyon... you want people to experience that and you want everyone in the world at least be able to see it once and you have to preserve it.
How would it be if you went to go see a sunset at the Grand Canyon and there is this, equipment blocking your way? It wouldn't be as incredible to see it undisturbed, as it is now. It would be diminished.
HECHO: Why do you advocate for the Grand Canyon?
MC: I would say we should advocate for special places like the Grand Canyon because there's less and less of them nowadays. The ones that we have, we have to hold onto. Obviously we have to balance our need for rare metals and things, but there's places that are just so important that we have to set aside. And, you know, the Grand Canyon is known not only in the Southwest, but around the entire world.
HECHO: What are your plans for your next visit?
MC: My wife has been wanting to go because she's never been. I want her to experience the same joy that I felt the first time I was there. It’s like I said earlier, you can see it in photos, you can see it in a magazine, but seeing it in person is so moving.
After you see it, then everything that everyone has told you about why the Grand Canyon, should be protected, will make sense. I want to take my family there, my neices and nephews, so that they can see it for themselves and realize why it’s so important to advocate for.
HECHO: What tips would you share for people visiting?
MC: I would say bring a picnic lunch. It's always nice to have your own lunch and, definitely consider spending a day there by camping. It’s great to get out of the city, and experience it.
HECHO: What are your thoughts about the administration’s policy aiming to open up the Grand Canyon watershed for uranium mining?
MC: The administration's proposed policy change is terrible. There are vice documentaries about what uranium mining has done to the Navajo Nation, and how they can't even use the water underneath them. Just think about the people who rely on the Colorado river downstream, like in Vegas, Phoenix, and Tucson, and are we going to start getting uranium laced water? People are going to experience serious health impacts because of that, and millions of people are going to be at risk.
HECHO: Could you complete the following sentence: Protecting the Grand Canyon watershed from uranium mining is personal to me because...
MC: Protecting the Grand Canyon from uranium mining is personal to me because it's a marvel that is known throughout the world, that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. You have to have it around in order for the next generation to be able to experience it.
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