Howdy Friends of the Glen,

Thanks to all of you for your interest in Glen Canyon and the support you offer GCI. During our end-of-year membership renewal drive, we have been blessed with a fantastic response and a steady stream of membership renewal letters. For those of you who haven’t gotten around to renewing your GCI membership to show your support for a healthy Colorado River and a restored Glen Canyon, I have great news! You can now renew online with any major credit card on our new secure server. It’s a piece of cake; just go to: http://www.glencanyon.org/join/renew.php . Our online store is also available now , so it is easier than ever to buy Glen Canyon related items.

Our field trips program for 2005 is proving to be in high demand with a number of our spring trips either full or very close to full. If you want to come see Glen Canyon with us this year, please make your reservation soon while space is still available! Check our website to see what is available: http://www.glencanyon.org/gcift/index.php or email Jason Shumaker. We’d also like to announce a 2006 Grand Canyon Dory Trip with Jeri Ledbetter. The trip will run in April of next year and will be just under three weeks long. Don’t wait to sign up for this trip either- available slots will surely be snatched up quickly. See more information below.

We are pleased to announce the Glen Canyon Youth Scholarship Fund: a new program started with the support of long-time GCI member and friend, Jerry Dixon, this special scholarship creates a unique opportunity for youth to come with us to explore and learn about Glen Canyon. Scholarships cover GCI Field Trip tuition for participating students ages 12-20. If you want to contribute directly to this fund to help send deserving youth on one of GCI’s education-oriented field trips, please contact Jason @ 801.363.4450. For those youth interested in applying for a scholarship, please send us a photo of yourself and a letter explaining why you want to experience Glen Canyon and what you hope to get out of the trip. Scholarships will be awarded as funds are donated to provide them.

There have been a number of interesting articles during the past month, including a nice feature story in the Salt Lake City Weekly. See newslinks below. Also keep your eyes open for a great Glen Canyon feature in the March issue of National Geographic Adventure due out in mid-February. For those interested and able to attend, there will be a panel on Glen Canyon at Weber State University on February 9th that GCI will participate in. See more info below under events. And finally, please consider the GCI wishlist below; these are items that would be very helpful for the institute as we continue to work for a restored and protected Glen Canyon. Please grant one of our wishes if you can.

Thanks for your support and please remember to spread the word about Glen Canyon’s remarkable comeback.

Cheers,

Christopher Peterson
Executive Director

***********************
Wish list:

We need a 4-stroke motor: GCI recently received the generous donation of a boat for our Field Trips program to lead clean-ups and other boat accessed trips into the Glen’s side canyons. It is currently equipped with a 2-stroke 90 hp motor, and we would like to make it more environmentally friendly with a more efficient 4-stroke. Please contact Chris Peterson at 801-363-4450 for more details if you would like to make a contribution toward the cost of an $8000 motor.

To view other GCI Wish List items, visit http://www.glencanyon.org/join/wishlist.php

*******************
Events:

GCI Board of Trustees president Rich Ingebretsen will be discussing the future of Glen Canyon and the Colorado River with Barry Wirth from the Bureau of Reclamation and students from Weber State University in Ogden, UT on Wed. Feb.9th at 12pm. For more information call the Weber State Honors department at 435-626-7591.

*******************************
2006 GCI Grand Canyon Dory Trip

Join Glen Canyon Institute and former Executive Director Jeri Ledbetter for an amazing Dory experience-of-a-lifetime in the Grand Canyon. The Colorado River through Grand Canyon - the ultimate river trip - offers the longest stretch of roadless river in the lower 48 and is noted for magnificent scenery, exciting whitewater, and amazing side hikes. There's simply no other place like it on the planet. We'll be traveling the full length of the Canyon, from Lees Ferry to Lake Mead reservoir.
Along the way you will learn about the natural and cultural history of the canyon, as well as the geology and ecology while floating down the river and exploring the beautiful side canyons. Grand Canyon veteran Jeri Ledbetter will provide insight into Glen Canyon Dam’s impacts on the delicate ecosystem of the Colorado River.
This is an intimate, leisurely, unbroken trip, launching on April 2 (This date and length are tentative, pending final NPS approval) from Lee's Ferry, Arizona. We will have a maximum of eighteen participants, plus nine support crew. The crew is made up of highly experienced guides who have been rowing dories through Grand Canyon for many years. We're going in early April, when the desert is in bloom, campfires are legal, the weather is cool enough for hiking, and the summer crowds have not yet arrived.
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about the diverse desert southwest and explore the hidden coves and glens of the Grand. Space is going quickly, so reserve your spot now. Contact Jason @ 801.363.4450.

No previous experience is necessary.
Price: $3990 (an additional $500 contribution is suggested)
Deposit: $500 to hold space
Final payment due by December 15, 2005
April 2-23 (22 days)

************************************
GCI Field Trips- Reserve your spot now for 2005 trips!

Our scheduled backpacking and boat cleanup trips are filling up fast so get your reservations in as soon as possible! Check our website to see what is available: http://www.glencanyon.org/gcift/index.php or email Jason Shumaker at jason@glencanyon.org

******************
NewsLinks:

Do or Dry
Salt Lake City Weekly
New studies on climate and a dwindling economy for those dependent on reservoir that's quickly drying up may mean a new life for Glen Canyon.
http://www.slweekly.com/editorial/2005/feat_2005-01-13.cfm

One wet winter shouldn’t lull concerns about drought
Headwaters News
Colorado's recent wet spell is some cause for celebration, but a more prudent and long-term vision would plan for more drought coming. Paul Larmer, Writers on the Range; Jan. 20
http://www.headwatersnews.org/writersLarmer012005.html

Warm-weather woes
Aspen Times
Climate predictions are for warmer winters with less snowpack in Colorado.
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20050125/NEWS/101250007

Written in the Rings
High Country News
The study of tree rings opens a window into the West's distant past, and
warns us that the region's future may be dangerously hot and dry
http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=15219

A crisis brews on the Colorado
High Country News
As the Colorado River Basin enters a sixth year of drought, the Interior
Department orders seven states to start coordinating their management of the
dwindling water supply.
http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=15222

Glen Canyon Reborn?
Best Friends Magazine
Mother Nature may be taking the debate into her own hands, draining the lake and restoring Glen Canyon to reveal new options for the future.
http://www.bestfriends.org/allthegoodnews/magazine/BFMJan05.pdf