Successes Through the Years
Since 1985, the Grand Canyon Trust has worked diligently to protect the Grand Canyon and the Colorado Plateau. Our results speak for themselves.
We’re a leading voice for conservation
Some of our greatest successes through the years have helped protect land, water, and clean air across the Grand Canyon region and greater Colorado Plateau.
From banning uranium mining around the Grand Canyon, to advocating for Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni national monuments, to supporting Native American-led initiatives that protect ancestral lands, we put our hearts into everything we do. Take a look at some of what we’ve accomplished, working hand in hand with communities over the years.
We work hard and we get results
Our annual impact report shares successes from across the Colorado Plateau. See what we’ve been up to.
The Grand Canyon Trust Impact Report 2023 highlights our work to designate a national monument around the Grand Canyon, support Native entrepreneurs, and more. Read the report › Download your copy ›
The Grand Canyon Trust Impact Report 2022 highlights our work to safeguard the Grand Canyon, protect national monuments, preserve water resources, and more. Read the report › Download a copy of the report ›
The Grand Canyon Trust Impact Report 2021 highlights a suite of opportunities to work toward better, stronger, and more durable protections for public lands around the Grand Canyon and across the Colorado Plateau. Read the report › Download a copy of the report ›
“We’re succeeding not because we’re brilliant, but because we have been dogged and persistent and always there. We assemble facts and make the case.”
Ed Norton
First President, Grand Canyon Trust
A look back at our major accomplishments since 1985
Good work takes time. Here’s a look at some of our successes through the years.
We helped pass the National Parks Overflights Act, reining in air traffic over the Grand Canyon and lessening noise pollution in the canyon.
We negotiated sulfur dioxide controls on Navajo Generating Station, the largest source of air pollution in the Grand Canyon region.
We provided key leadership in efforts to pass the Grand Canyon Protection Act, which changed the operation of Glen Canyon Dam to better protect natural and cultural resources downstream.
With others, we led the campaign to designate Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
We helped draft the Arches National Park Expansion Act, which added over 3,000 acres to the park.
We spearheaded the removal of 16 million tons of uranium tailings poisoning the Colorado River near Moab, Utah.
We purchased Kane and Two-Mile Ranches (now known collectively as North Rim Ranches) to restore over 800,000 acres of public lands on the Grand Canyon’s north rim.
With others, we helped launch the Four Forests Restoration Initiative, the country’s largest forest restoration project, to protect 2.4 million acres of national forest land from catastrophic wildfire.
We successfully campaigned for a 20-year ban on new uranium mines on 1 million acres of public lands around Grand Canyon National Park.
We provided key support to the tribally led campaign that culminated in the designation of Bears Ears National Monument.
We provided key support to Save the Confluence, a group of Navajo families that successfully defeated a proposed tramway that would have shuttled up to 10,000 tourists a day from the rim of the Grand Canyon to the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado rivers.
We helped Change Labs, a Native entrepreneurship business incubator born at the Grand Canyon Trust, transition into an independent Native-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
With partners, and over the course of four years, we supported the tribally led effort to restore Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante national monuments.
We provided key support to the tribally led campaign that led to the designation of Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.
“The Grand Canyon Trust takes a balanced approach to conservation. The Trust’s measured, strategic, and commonsense approach has resulted in better protections for the Grand Canyon, the Colorado River, and the Colorado Plateau. It’s one of the very best conservation groups around.”
Mark Udall
Former U.S. senator, Colorado
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