#MyGrandCanyonStory | Patrice Horstman
HECHO spoke with Patrice Horstman on her connection to the Grand Canyon, and why she believes it deserves protection and advocacy.
Patrice Horstman (PH): I moved to Flagstaff in 1972 to go to school in Northern Arizona University, and like many, I fell in love with the San Francisco peaks and the Ponderosa Pine Forest. Having the Canyon as a neighbor has allowed me an up close and personal relationship with it. I've been able to spend over four decades exploring and hiking its trails, river running on the Colorado river through its red walls, and spending literally countless hours on the rim. The Grand Canyon is also an economic engine for us here in Northern Arizona. It has over 6 million visitors that visits the Canyon annually, which brings hundreds of millions of tourists dollars here to Arizona and has produced tens of thousands of jobs.
So when you think of it, it's really a no brainer that we should preserve and protect this true world wonder. It is important to preserve it and protect it for our children, our children's children, and their children. It is certainly a place that is beyond compare. It's beyond description and it's a place that must be seen.
HECHO: what is your personal connection to the grand Canyon?
PH: My personal connection to the Grand Canyon is that it is literally just down the street from where I live here in Flagstaff, Arizona. I've been able to spend many decades in the Canyon, on the rim of the Canyon, and river running through the Grand Canyon. I have a very close and personal connection with it.
HECHO: Why do you believe that the grand Canyon should be protected?
PH: It’s one of the natural wonders of the world, there is nothing like it anywhere. It has great scientific and geological significance, not to mention its beauty. It presents an incredible and awe inspiring experience for anybody that travels there.
HECHO: Why do you advocate for the Grand Canyon on a personal level?
PH: I advocate for the Grand Canyon because it is one of the true wonders of the world. It is a very fragile place that’s existed for hundreds of millions of years. It is home to the Havasupai and Hualapai tribes and has deep cultural and spiritual significance to 9 other Native American tribes. The Colorado River is also a source of water for the west. It needs to be preserved and protected on pretty much every level.
HECHO: What are your thoughts about the administration's policy aiming to open up the grand Canyon for uranium mining?
PH: I have very strong feelings about opening up the Grand Canyon for uranium mining. It is inappropriate for uranium mining to take place on or near the Grand Canyon. It has left a history of health threats such as cancer for the people who live on or near the Grand Canyon, including our Native American neighbors.
HECHO: What do you most look forward to about being in the Grand Canyon?
PH: Everything. I have a river trip that is planned for the fall of 2021, which I'm certainly hoping that I will be able to enjoy and another trip down the Colorado River through the big ditch. I travel to the Grand Canyon on a regular basis, sometimes to have dinner, sometimes to watch a full moon rise, sometimes just to be there. So I am certainly looking forward to quiet time at the rim of the Canyon as well.
HECHO: What tips would you share for first time visitors?
PH: You can't miss the Grand Canyon. Keep your eyes, your mind, and your heart open because you will be wowed.
HECHO: Complete the following sentence: Protecting the grand Canyon from uranium mining is personal to me because….
PH: protecting the grand Canyon from uranium mining is personal to me because there is no other place like it in the world. We owe it to ourselves and our future generations to make sure that we have preserved and protected this most special and beautiful place.