Taylor Walters - April 10, 2026: Glen Canyon (Outside Reading Entry)

An article by Craig Childs about Glen Canyon and Lake Powell was shared with us and I wanted to write about it here because I've thought about it since reading it. Lake Powell was created when Glen Canyon Dam flooded 186 miles of river canyon, and it's now drastically below capacity due to drought, climate change, and a century old water compact that massively overestimated how much water was actually available. What surprised me the most was how cottonwoods, willows, and springs were coming back as the water receded (things that were only known from old pictures!) as well as an entire ecosystem reviving itself with almost no human help. One researcher literally hugged a 50 foot cottonwood growing where there used to be nothing but water! However, the dam is starving the Grand Canyon of sediment it needs, warmer water is helping non-native fish outcompete native species, and Indigenous nations whose sacred sites were flooded are stilling fighting for water rights they were promised a century ago. Navajo guides who grew up on the lake feel torn between wanting the natural canyon back and need the water security that the reservoir provides. I think that this connects to what we've discussed in class about water as a so called "public resource".

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