#MyGrandCanyonStory | Morgan Moore

HECHO spoke with Morgan Moore of Phoenix, Arizona to learn about her personal connection to the Grand Canyon, her favorite memories there, and why she believes the Grand Canyon should be protected from uranium mining.  

HECHO: What is your personal connection to the Grand Canyon?  

Morgan Moore (MM): My personal connection to the Grand Canyon is rooted both in its place, as well as the people that connect me to it. I grew up in Arizona. I was born and raised here, so I have been to the Grand Canyon plenty of times, mostly with family. I have gone there since I was a toddler. My parents took me, even though my dad was afraid of falling from it. I have gone to it during school field trips, as well as a family trips, especially with my dad later on in my life. When my dad got remarried, I was in college, and we held the ceremony on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. So, I have had so many interactions with it, yet, it seems like I have hardly been to it and I hardly know it.  

HECHO: Why do you believe that the Grand Canyon should be protected?  

MM: Primarily, I believe the Grand Canyon should be protected because everything should be protected. The Grand Canyon is, and all of the landscapes and habitats and the people that are within and around, are intrinsically important. They're intrinsically crucial to our world. It's not just for the sake of enjoyment. I love to be able to share the views with people, whether they're driving up from Phoenix or flying in from China. I love for people to be able to see that, forever. Even if there were no tourists, then it should still intrinsically have a right to exist. Beyond that, there are a lot of people who have lived in and around the Grand Canyon and still do, for centuries. To ensure that those people can keep their home is also intrinsically important. I couldn't imagine losing my home and having that ripped away from me. For all of the Native American and other indigenous communities that have been tied to the Grand Canyon for eons, their right to have it exist in a healthy state, in a protected state, is more important than my personal enjoyment of it.  

HECHO: Why do you advocate for the Grand Canyon?  

MM: I advocate for the Grand Canyon because I happen to be an advocate. It's difficult for me not to advocate for things that I care about and I have to lead by example. If I don't do it, I can't rely on other people to do that. I can't rely on anyone except for myself to advocate for the Grand Canyon. Or the birds in it, the habitat in it, the people within it. I can only control my own actions, so if I want it to be protected, then this is the only thing I can do.  

HECHO: What are your plans for your next visit?  

MM: My plans for my next visit are not fully fleshed out yet. I have always enjoyed going with my family, whether that's my mom or my dad. I was talking with my dad the other day because he has hiked the whole thing by himself, and I have never been in the shape to confidently believe I could do that. So, my I dream, even if it's not the next time I visit, is that I could hike it with my dad in the future.  

HECHO: What tips would you share for people visiting?  

MM: The tips that I would share for people visiting would be, first and foremost, to learn as much as you can about the canyon before, during and after your visit. Which includes, historically and present day, the people that consider the Grand Canyon their home. So, all of the indigenous communities that live within and around the Grand Canyon. It's very important to learn about those communities, as well as their histories and their stories and their narratives, from them. Also, how the Grand Canyon has been changed and used and exploited over the last couple centuries by, primarily, the American government. Then also, because I'm a total bird fanatic, to learn about all the birds and wildlife and flora and fauna that live within the Grand Canyon. There's not just California Condors, although that is a super cool part of it. It's such an abundant landscape and it's one thing to see it, but it's another thing entirely to learn about it… with the knowledge that you're never going to know even like a fraction of everything about the Grand Canyon and that's what makes it so exciting to visit. The last time that I went, there was actually a forest fire nearby. The whole canyon was flooded [with smoke], you couldn't see much, but walking around the top of the rim, there are these Swifts, which are in the same family as swallows. They would fly by you like really, really close. I don't even know how fast they go, it's somewhere between 50-80 miles per hour or something. They are so fast and you think that they're going to just like slit your throat if they fly fast enough and close enough to you and they're all over the canyon and it's terrifying, but also really exhilarating to see stuff like that.  

HECHO: What are your thoughts about the administration’s policy aiming to open up the Grand Canyon watershed for uranium mining?  

MM: In regards to the administration's policy aiming to open up the Grand Canyon watershed for uranium mining, I am in any way, shape or form opposed to that. I definitely don't understand all of it. I can't say that I understand all the inner workings of the administration or why it decides to do the things that it does. I believe that in the larger realm of things, we need to look away from these forms of exploitation and extractive policies and think about how, we as a democracy, as our own government can form restorative policies that can benefit people and the environment and our economy. Uranium mining happens to benefit none of those things. It's not economically sound, it's not good for the people around and in the Grand Canyon, and it's not good for the environment of the Grand Canyon. It's not good for the flora or the fauna or our water. I can't understand the reasoning behind it. Despite that, I can't support it. I don't know if it's something that could really be understood when you support people and the environment and the economy. It seems very senseless to me.  

HECHO: Could you complete the following sentence: Protecting the Grand Canyon watershed from uranium mining is personal to me because...  

MM: Protecting the Grand Canyon watershed from uranium mining is personal to me because it impacts a community and an environment that I am connected to, and it impacts the water that I am connected to. We often forget about water in all of this and where water comes from. There are certain decisions like this, that are irreversible. Even if I'm not living right on top of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, water flows everywhere and the things within it disperse. I mean that both metaphorically and literally. To think that something so permanent could simply exist in an isolated bubble and the folks that don't live in the area are not affected -- that's just a false way of thinking. It's personal to me because it's personal to everyone. Whether they believe it or not, it is going to impact everyone.  

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