JACKSON, Wyo. — On Wednesday evening, three panelists discussed the fate of water in Glen Canyon and Lake Powell, and what lessons can be gleaned for the Snake River corridor’s future.
The panel was part of a film screening event put on by the Glen Canyon Institute (GCI) at Center for the Arts. Produced in part by Good Intentions Paving Co., What the River Knows tells the story of the ecosystem’s reemergence in Glen Canyon as Lake Powell’s water levels continue to drop. The screening was co-hosted by Snake River Fund, Protect Our Water Jackson Hole and Jackson Wild. The panel included GCI Executive Director Eric Balken, Teton County Commissioner and Founder of the Sonoran Institute Luther Propst, and Owner of Rendezvous River Sports and Jackson Hole Kayak School Aaron Pruzan.
“The hydrology is very bad, I’m sure you’ve all read in the newspaper,” Balken said of Lake Powell, kicking off the panel discussion. “About two weeks ago, the combined storage of [lakes] Mead and Powell dropped to its lowest level since the construction of Glen Canyon Dam began in the 1950s.”
While Balken is acutely aware of the issues stemming from low water supply and continued dependence on Colorado River water, his efforts are focused on breaching Glen Canyon Dam and draining Lake Powell. His research has led him to the conclusion that in doing so, river health and water conservation could rebound. After a stretch of drought and low-water years, the river corridor in Glen Canyon began to recover into an ecosystem that had been underwater for over 40 years. The film depicts the return of native species, reformation of old river rapids, and the fight by recreationists and environmentalists to reach new audiences with their message and stories.
The panelists’ discussions related to economic diversity, growth, conservation, other protected canyon areas in the Mountain West, and the idea of dam-free rivers. Pruzan and Balken explained in different ways the importance of recreational river experiences in the fight for free-flowing rivers. Pruzan told the story of an organization in the Balkans that traveled to Jackson to learn about the Snake River Basin and the local success in river protection through wild and scenic designations.
“The conclusion we mainly came to at that time was, if you want your rivers protected, you need a vibrant river community on the water,” Pruzan said.
Balken said that beaver dams popped up all throughout the canyon and side canyons, hundreds of feet under the former surface of Lake Powell. In other spots in the basin, organizations spend thousands of dollars to coax beavers back to their natural habitats, and in Glen Canyon, the beavers returned on their own. “Every time you do trips with other stakeholders, there’s always this aha moment where they’re like, ‘Wait, how long has this been out of the reservoir?’ And I say, ‘Six years.’ Then, they’re like, ‘This is restored, it’s already back.'”
Propst, who spent time doing work in the Colorado River Basin in Mexico, said he wants a Colorado River that flows into the Gulf of California rather than one that “whimpers out in a lettuce field in the Mexicali Valley.” Growing opposition of data centers across the political spectrum gives him hope. The panelists agreed on the critical need to designate a portion of river water that cannot be sold for consumption, and instead has only the purpose of maintaining river health.
“Just 40 years ago, people thought the Colorado River system was just fine,” Propst said. “We feel that way now about the Snake. And obviously, it depends on what happens during the winters, but it doesn’t take a lot of deep thinking to realize the Snake is next. … It’s going to face the same limitations that the Colorado’s seeing, and that’s not just conjecture, that’s the way it’s going to work as this planet continues to warm. … We should look at the Colorado not as different, but as a harbinger.”
