We are excited to announce an exciting new project that is now officially underway: the creation of the new Grand Staircase Escalante Partners Science and Monitoring Plan for the Monument. This project is a critical component of our efforts to honor the past and safeguard the future of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by advocating for science, sound monitoring, and adaptive management practices.
We can only effectively protect the ecosystems and resources in Grand Staircase if we know what exists and understand how it fits into the big picture. We need to know more, but first we need to understand what we have learned. This is why we are embarking on our journey to develop a new Science and Monitoring Plan for GSENM.
Once complete, our Science and Monitoring Plan will provide a path forward for our work as we seek to restore the Monument boundaries and capture all the years of research and learning that took place after the Monument was established.
The first step is to interview the scientists, biologists, botanists, paleontologists, and other specialists who have been engaged with the Monument since its proclamation. And it includes reaching out to the Tribes connected to Grand Staircase to obtain valuable Indigenous science left out of land management decisions. It will document the Monument’s unique plant and animal species, cultural resources, and opportunities for scientific research, climate mitigation and adaptation, and paleontology. Importantly, it will propose a more holistic vision for the Monument that incorporates Indigenous knowledge and fosters more Tribal input into land management policies.
This plan will inform our organization’s research projects, conservation efforts, advocacy, relationships with indigenous communities, and education programs for youth and adults. And our hope is that it will continue to provide valuable knowledge for future Resource Management Plans.
This bold and visionary project promises to deliver the kind of science and monitoring that GSENM needs and deserves. You can support this project and help us bring this vision to life by making a donation. With your help, we can usher in a new era and better future for the Monument.
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