#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.
HECHO: Why do you believe that the Grand Canyon should be protected?
DL: The Grand Canyon needs to be protected because we want to make sure that our children and our grandchildren can enjoy the Grand Canyon. Future generations should be able to take in the beauty and the majesty that only the Grand Canyon provides. So, we want to ensure that we continue to protect its natural beauty and what it represents to the state and to the country. It's essential that we continue to offer as much protection as possible to this wonderful piece of nature that we have here, only in Arizona.
HECHO: Why do you advocate for the Grand Canyon?
DL: I've had a number of great experiences relative to the Grand Canyon. I remember when I took my children when they were toddlers and I wanted them to see the Grand Canyon. It's funny, my oldest one said, "Look, dad, it's a big hole in the ground." But that's very common among children, and now that they’re older, they've learned to appreciate that memory. What was really cool about our experience is we took my granddaughter to the Grand Canyon around the same age that my daughter made the joke. She had an opportunity to see the Grand Canyon as well, and to really enjoy its majesty and its beauty (and laugh as we recalled our prior visit). So, there is a prime example how we are passing that legacy from my daughter to her daughter, and hopefully she will do the same to her children. That's why it's important that we preserve the Grand Canyon for future generations, as well as enjoying what it provides for the state.
HECHO: What are your thoughts about the administration’s policy aiming to open up the Grand Canyon Watershed for uranium mining?
DL: The notion that the Grand Canyon may be open for uranium mining is a little distressing for me simply because we don't want to contaminate that natural beauty. My fear is that once you begin to mine in the Grand Canyon, you are going to destroy its natural beauty, and we don't want to do that. Again, we want to make sure that we preserve the Grand Canyon for generations to come. Having that kind of activity endangers the environment and endangers the Grand Canyon. So, we certainly don't want to promote or have any of those kinds of activities, those explorations in the Grand Canyon. We want to make sure that we preserve it as it is now.
HECHO: Why do you advocate for the Grand Canyon?
DL: I think it's important for me as a City Council Member to advocate for the Grand Canyon,
because it is the state's natural beauty that we need to make sure we continue to cherish throughout my lifetime, throughout the lifetime of my children and the lifetime of my grandchildren. We want to make sure that we preserve it as is in it’s entirety. We want to make sure that we continue to protect it because this is something that we are very fortunate to have here in our state of Arizona.
HECHO: What are your plans for your next visit?
DL: I think what I hope most of all, once a vaccine is developed for Covid, is that we are able to bring more people to come into the area to explore, to hike, to take up the beautiful peace that it is. It's a wonderful piece of our land and we want to make sure that we can share with everyone throughout the world and as well as the United States. Even in Arizona, I know there are some people that have never even been to the Grand Canyon and they are lifelong Arizona residents. To me, that's a little disappointing because it isn't that big of a drive and the trip is extremely enjoyable. Make the entire journey a celebration, enjoying what Arizona has to offer along the way. Everyone needs to understand why it's important that we preserve the Grand Canyon, but also to enjoy its natural beauty.
HECHO: What tips would you share for people visiting?
DL: It's a great tourist attractor, it brings a lot of people to the state. So, we want to make sure that we continue to promote what the Grand Canyon has to offer. The tips that I would give anyone that's interested in visiting the Grand Canyon is that it is a deep crevasse, it's a valley, it's a canyon...you got to make sure you don't get too close to the edge because you could fall. For those that love to take pictures, they need to bring their cameras or bring their cell phones because at different parts of the day, they're going to see different colors and different shadows and different lighting. So, spend some time there, go in the morning, go in the afternoon and go in the evening. You also might consider going in different seasons because of winter. It offers some beautiful, beautiful pictures. You can see some of the canyon valleys with snow caps and then you really feel and enjoy the coldness because you are in such a high elevation. During the summer, it gets a little warm, especially if you go down the canyon, but if you're outside of the canyon, you can certainly explore the natural beauty and what it has to offer.
HECHO: Could you complete the following sentence: Protecting the Grand Canyon watershed from uranium mining is personal to me because...
DL: Protecting the Grand Canyon watershed from uranium mining is personal to me because protecting the Grand Canyon and its watershed is paramount in order for future generations to enjoy its natural beauty without being destroyed by mining, which could dramatically affect what the Grand Canyon provides currently.
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