#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.
HECHO: What is your personal connection to the Grand Canyon?
Elizabeth Archuleta (EA): I am a fourth-generation resident of Flagstaff, Arizona, and Coconino County, where the Grand Canyon is located. My home is 75 miles from the Grand Canyon.
My family is a Hispanic pioneer family and five generations of my family have lived here. I’ve heard stories about the Grand Canyon since I was a child, and my family’s love for the Grand Canyon has been passed on to me. We have a very strong history and connection to the Canyon. When I think of my home State, I think of the Grand Canyon. To me, Arizona and the Grand Canyon are one and the same.
We are the Grand Canyon state and that’s something I'm very proud of. My connection to the Grand Canyon is a familial and cultural connection.
HECHO: Why do you believe that the Grand Canyon should be protected?
EA: I believe that Grand Canyon should be protected because of its history. The fact that it's a natural wonder of the United States and of the world.
It's awesome to think when I go visit the Grand Canyon, that I could be stepping in the same areas that my great, great grandmother and ancestors did. When I go to the viewing points and I look at the Grand Canyon, I think about how my generations of my family have those same vistas and have experienced the beauty of the Canyon. The Grand Canyon should be protected because it's a natural wonder and it is home to the Colorado River, which provides water for millions of people.
Every generation should have the ability to experience it in the way that I experienced it, and in the way my ancestors experienced it.
HECHO: Why do you advocate for the Grand Canyon?
I advocate for the Grand Canyon on a number of different levels and for a number of different reasons. First and foremost, because Arizona is my home. The Grand Canyon is literally at my back door 75 miles away. It's the first place I take my family when they come from other states to visit.
It’s a place many generations of my family enjoyed and got to visit and to see. That familial history and connection through my ancestors is very important to me. That's why I advocate for it on a very personal level.
On a professional level, I'm a member of the Coconino County Board of Supervisors. The Grand Canyon National Park is within Coconino County. We understand its economic importance to our community, through the tourism that the Grand Canyon attracts. It is our primary economic base. Because of the Grand Canyon, over 12,000 jobs are created in Coconino County.
We also know that millions of dollars are generated for our local economy, not only from the Grand Canyon, but from associated businesses related to the Grand Canyon.
HECHO: What is something that you most look forward to about being able to visit the Grand Canyon again?
EA: Well, what I look forward to when I visit the Grand Canyon is just to have that moment of peace and tranquillity. When you go to the Grand Canyon in the early morning, there aren’t as many tourists and I like to just sit on a rock and just look at the changing light against the Canyon walls.
I like to hear the animals and the birds and even just the sound of the wind blowing through the Canyon. One of my most vivid memories visiting the Grand Canyon is when I visited during the fall. I was able to take a helicopter ride and see the fall leaves and the changing colors. I also saw wild horses running on one of the mesas of the Canyon. I was in awe – it was like a scene out of a movie.
I’ve also had the privilege of visiting with the Havasupai people and seeing Havasupai Falls. I was also fortunate to go on a seven-day river rafting trip through the Grand Canyon and that was amazing.
Every experience I’ve had at the Grand Canyon is something I will never forget. There’s just such a sense wonder when I visit the Grand Canyon.
I always look forward to going to the Grand Canyon and taking people there. I often say that the Grand Canyon is the crown jewel of the national park system. And when I go to the canyon, I just experience its majesty. I’m thankful to God for creating such an amazing natural wonder. I really want my son and every generation of my family to be able to experience that moment of peace and solitude, and amazement and wonder when they visit the Grand Canyon.
HECHO: What tips would you share for people that will be visiting next or who have never visited before?
EA: The tips that I would share with people who've never visited the Grand Canon before or wish to visit it again, would be if you have the opportunity, definitely do a river rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. It’s an incredible experience and you learn so much about history, geology and river rapids of the canyon from the river guides. Of course, hiking the Canyon is an incredible experience – but you need to be prepared with the proper shoes, clothing, food and water. Too many people think they can just take “a little walk” on a trail in their sandals or flipflops and that is when they get hurt or need to be rescued. There is no such thing as “a little walk” in the Canyon.
Aside from that I think anybody who can go to the Grand Canyon, even if they have only a couple of hours to visit, should do that. There are several viewing areas and places to sit and just be. There are places to stay at the Canyon and the El Tovar Lodge at the South Rim is historic and beautiful. My number one tip is: Visit all of the different viewing areas – but make sure to take at least 10 minutes to sit, to listen to nature, take in the vistas and just be.
HECHO: What are your thoughts about the administration's policy aiming to open up the Grand Canyon for uranium mining?
EA: Some places are just too special to disturb. And the Grand Canyon is one of them.
We don't need to mine uranium at the Grand Canyon. There are many other places that are more appropriate for uranium mining that are not the crown jewel of the America’s national park system. We don't need to subject the Grand Canyon to uranium mining. We don't need to subject the Colorado River to uranium mining and risk contaminating our water source.
The history of uranium mining in Coconino County is that there are several uranium mines that have been abandoned for decades and never remediated to this day.
We certainly don’t need to put the canyon at risk. We want the Grand Canyon to be a place for future generations to be able to enjoy and to be able to experience.
HECHO: Complete the following sentence: protecting the grand Canyon watershed from uranium mining is personal to me because...
EA: Protecting the Grand Canyon from uranium mining is personal to me because of my ancestral, familial, and cultural connection to the Grand Canyon. I want to preserve that history and that love for the Grand Canyon for future generations.