Grand Staircase Escalante Partners
Honor the past and safeguard the future of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument through science, conservation, and education.
Work with Us
Work with Us
What we Do
Our Focus
Grand Staircase Escalante Partners is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) founded in 2004 to protect and preserve Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
We are committed to:
- Promoting science, conservation, and education on the Monument.
- Increasing public awareness and understanding of the Monument.
- Providing resources to support the Monument’s scientific, interpretive and educational programs.
- Expanding our membership so we represent a diverse constituency that supports the Monument.
For Science
This natural area remains a frontier, a quality that greatly enhances Grand Staircase’s value for scientific study and presents unique opportunities for geologists, paleontologists, archaeologists, historians, and biologists.
For History
The Monument is home to countless Native American cultural sites, western pioneer history, and the greatest diversity of dinosaur fossils found anywhere on Earth. Since time immemorial, Native American people have inhabited, crossed, lived on, and been stewards of the lands that make up what we now know as Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
The following Tribes have deep connections to the Grand Staircase-Escalante region:
Science
Expanding knowledge and understanding of the natural wonders, biodiversity, and unique ecosystems with which this landscape is endowed by participating in scientific inquiry and historical investigation, as well as advocating for the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in land management decision-making.
Conservation
Ensuring Grand Staircase-Escalante’s culture, ecology, history, recreation, and science are recognized, sustained, and enhanced. Work on the ground with organizations, government agencies, and volunteers to repair and restore the Escalante River watershed, as well as prevent and mitigate damage at cultural and ecological sites.
Education
Providing in-person and virtual learning environments in which people can engage with Monument topics, and practice critical thinking, as well as exchange ideas, and learn from one another, thereby fostering the connection and understanding needed to support the Monument’s long term well-being and respect ancestral lands.
For All
Grand Staircase Escalante Partners is committed to fostering an equitable and inclusive environment in our workplace and across the Monument. We recognize the complex and difficult histories that have shaped American public lands, from dispossession of Native lands and forced removal of indigenous communities to create public lands and parks, to the ongoing exclusion of people of color from conservation and preservation movements.
We acknowledge that the area known as Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and its surrounding areas are the ancestral land and historical territory of the Hopi, Zuni, Dine/Navajo, San Juan Southern Paiute, Kaibab Paiute, Ute, Ute Mountain Ute, Jemez Pueblo, and Acoma nations.
We are on a journey to transform our work–to foster diversity through equitable actions that create a just and inclusive environment, within and beyond our organization. Learn more about how we are integrating justice, equity, and inclusion into our work.
Volunteer Opportunities
Join us in the field or online.
Support
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Latest News
July 2024 Newsletter
This summer we welcomed partners from the Hopi Tribe to connect to the land and learn about careers options in natural resource management.
Stock Options
Three new developments in the livestock industry are changing the face of grazing on public lands.
GSEP Statement on the Public Lands Rule Announcement
Escalante, Utah – On April 18, 2024, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced the release of the final Public Lands Rule, which establishes a “... framework to ensure healthy landscapes, abundant wildlife habitat, clean water, and balanced decision-making on our...
Grand Staircase Symposium will bring science and art to southern Utah
The third annual Symposium on the Ways of Understanding and Protecting Land and Water Resources in the Grand Staircase-Escalante Region, to be held March 21-23, 2024, will feature an exciting lineup of talks, field trips, workshops, and evening programs that promises...
The Only Constant is Change
Walking through a still and silent canyon, bounded by towering cliffs bordered by ancient rockfall, nothing moves, and everything within your gaze seems timeless and unchanging. Of course, this is all an illusion. More accurately, your eyes are only capturing a few...
Will the tug-of-war over Utah’s canyon country ever end?
The canyon country along the Colorado River and its tributaries shelters an incredible array of beloved national parks and monuments, wild rivers and protected wilderness areas. These public lands are also the stage for chronic conflict, a drama in which...
