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<br />THB NBwYORK TIl'4BS; TUBSD~ NOVBMBBR 2, 2004
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<br />Stealing a, Lak~,
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<br />Dtought Reveals a Buried Treasure
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<br />ration and It Is obvlousthat ~yd1iring ~~ '
<br />tlvely w~ years Is It possible to add water ~
<br />.' The s1ruggleS.over 'G~en .canyon ~ the
<br />CJ1:her dams on the Colorado RiVer &bove the
<br />Grand Canyon ",re am~ the.battles'that
<br />led to the National Envltonmental Policy
<br />Act, the Endangered Species Act and clean
<br />air and water .legislation. Among these sue-. .
<br />cesses, the dam. w~ a'defeat that bas. not,
<br />been for~otten. In 1981 the'radlcaI environ- .
<br />mental group Earth FIrSt I UDfur~"a:'300- :'
<br />foot-long sheet of plastic shaped like-. a crack
<br />down the dam's face. '.. '.~.. .
<br />Now, Dr. Richard' mgebre~~~tpBys,~ .
<br />clan and founder of the Glen eanydQ Instt~ '. ' '.
<br />tute In Salt Lake City, a gi-o\lPdedi~ to..'
<br />draining Lake Powell :and restoq Glen\.
<br />Canyon to its natural state, SaYS" ''The .
<br />drought Is a godsend Now Is the. Ch.~ce for
<br />us to have the national debateWI'dlcln't
<br />have 40 years ago. With the .lake sO'low, pea:.
<br />pie can see what was lost,.the life cycles~ the
<br />ecosystem. There Is a powerful beauty here
<br />tbatcanchaDge~ple'smindsL~ .....
<br />The ch8Qges are stunning.. When ..ltWas' .
<br />full five years ago, the lake hAd:250 SQuare .
<br />miles of flat water and thousands of mUes of~'. .
<br />fractal shoreline.' Each year, two .and;a;hli1f.
<br />million people came to enjoyv.lM:atfunswtth.
<br />boating, sw~& .flsblng~' The, lake was;
<br />rimmed by;.'a; starkly beautffullandscape;.,
<br />rilmmaketsshot moVies like "Planetoftbe . . . . .
<br />~pes" arid ''TheGreatest Story Ew;r Tol~'!:. '. chris Peterson, ~ecutive .~ of the Glen Qmyon m;mtute,' wa.IkS along, the Escalante River in the ~ought-stricken canyon. A .
<br />TochJy the lake Is down 129. ~eet, back tq.:. '"former-water lirie is visible along the rock walL The cUo.ught has uncovered spots that were underwater for mo~ ~ 30 years.
<br />~e size It was in 1~70, covering 131 square . .... . ..... . '. . . , . ',. , . .
<br />!Illies. .Canyon walls are plastered with a' '.. There Is verY little hum~ glll'b~e in the
<br />:balky white bathtub ring of caI~ium car- . . . shin-deep river that runs throup the.' old
<br />)Onate 10 storle$ high, where the water once ArlrWal' precip.itation: .. ,lake bed. On. a recent explo~tion, bqters
<br />~eached. Towering benches of silt line the . in two climate saw only a pl~c bucket and.a bottle. 'The
<br />'ormer lake bed. This year 1.8 million visl- districts .. , air smells sweet:. Clear. springs flow ,out' of
<br />newly exposed rock. The river bo~om IS ~e
<br />consistency. of confectioner's sugar, a very
<br />soft. silt. that is prone to form pockets .of
<br />quicks8Dd. As attractive as the exposed can-
<br />yon Is, hiking there can be .challenglng. ~t is
<br />alrea,dy possible to explore small s.lde can-
<br />,yons. ! . .
<br />,Scramb1llig up and into one of. these grot-
<br />~ Is to enter a world of haunting.~ty:
<br />. Out on. the river, the air Is bot and dry: Sud-
<br />denly . the world tUrns cool, dark, quiet
<br />Sheer and curved walls of red, orange and
<br />ocher-colored rock hold banging gardens of
<br />maldenQalr ferns. There are datura oft.en
<br />. ' painted by Georgia O'Keeffe, along with or-
<br />chid!!, scarlet monkey flowers and. cave.
<br />prtm'rose, ..' . . .'
<br />One rec.ent visitor. Alvin Colville, a re- . .
<br />tired rancher from Del Norte, Colo., first
<br />'. came to Glen Canyon in 1962 wben he was
<br />.,31. "These side canyons are what called me
<br />back," he said, I:wiStlng a pack onto his back. ..
<br />''They're small, cozy, quiet, magnificent. In
<br />many places you could toucb both walls. The.
<br />sky was allttle blue=;lot up above.". .
<br />RECREAnON ~ Harry Garabedian and Betsey McNaught-
<br />.'1bilN8WYarkTime8.' I!Jl of Deering, N.H., were also on the E,sca-,
<br />.' . '.'.', .: lante River recently on Ii week1~bJking
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<br />.blaClt ~rt: v&rnlsb; ~d MusIC Temple, aac;tecfwa,a.ijuge SJN?nge f;'.3f}'; . triP.., "It's beautlfulto watcb ,!he fUll..muon
<br />. lclthmnna r.b .. .. . k ' . . bolUlCe IlPPv:er the cliff tqps,. Mr,.Gm:abe-: .
<br />- ,~~~~ ,!!.~~~ ., ,rv9 . . " e d!~Q ~d,B~ftbe lakeshor~ ~~$.wb:ness to
<br />,.,note ff!' one seconCl and Stull" .,>r,'.. es'"o . CkIy, '. d:.J1J~rt re.cen.. t.'.v~. aJ:.s.... .,.~very roc~,: ~'. .0.1.1.. tunl,. " . ov.e.r ~.'
<br />lu!ar It ~1ii:iHhg l1:secon. - ds. iater. t..... ~ 01' 1'l
<br />CanyonS that wo~d be exposed Include ';}~;.there!f~t!lig1~e ieave~iseaiib .. .. . ~=~1t:f::~~.~~om e years this w~
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<br />Dungeon, . Labyrln~.:: >~azI,.. Iceberg, ;,~,"th nutrients. Seeds that fallgerm1~. Mr. Peterson sald there was one side can-
<br />Mold, Last Chance, Mystery Rock, Hidden' ;: JUUe. quickly ~ the shade. Insects, amphibf- yon farther downstream that he Could bard-
<br />. Passqe, 1\vI1ight and Lost Eden. .. ans' and birds co~e back followed. bY.fa- . Iy wait. to visit on foot. The size ofl:Wo foot-
<br />Already sOme f~. are back, Inclui:l- dents, raccoons, deer ~d.p~~e~., . ., . . . ball. fields, overh.ung, with glowing ,orange
<br />lng, a stretch ofi~PE!rJaJ. rapids and a Na- Glen Canyon bas ~Called a ~ Eden, . .andred roCk, Cathedral Canyon Is perbaps
<br />tlve American S(U:CQp~tluitoric.:e held, a largely '~aiJse ~e~ndl~ons are '~rfect ., the most famous lost featUre In Glen Can-
<br />mummy,.now stored Jp'aDearbymuseum. for ~e. The side canyons. with. (leep sb8.d~ ". }OD. ToE~ward Abbey It was grander than ,
<br />But the sIde C;8I;IYc)riS are~e.reat miracles . and sculp~grottoes, were always, th~... . all ijie cathedrals In .Europe. It.was a place
<br />of Glen Canyon, saictCbris. Peterson, execu-: ecological pump. for. much. of the lIf~ in the: . where be expected t9 see "a raiIibow colored
<br />Uve director of tlie'91eri ~yon . ~te . Grand Canyon and ~yond,Dr. Wegner sald./ :, qOrona of blazJn~ light, pure.splrlt,pui'e be-
<br />who started revisiting ,the EScalante River. Last' spring Mr. Petel'S!Jn and his col- . . lng, plife ~mbodied IDtelllgenCe, about to.
<br />at Coyote C;:reek In 1999, 'Fhat .year the lake .' leagues began . leading ~small groups down ~Peak my name," .
<br />was down only a short diStance; he said, but . the Escalante, R:\ver tel ~. th~,_~ecovery Five year$ ago It was under 140 feet or-wa-
<br />a riot of plants bad sprurig:W life overnlgbt.. flrsthand.~. tan,'. trekkers. can walk. :15.' ter; now. just 18.~t year it bad a waterfall
<br />Dr. David Wegner, aneJq)ert on Canyon' . miles d9Wniiver,.b~foot,marvellng attb~ five feet .high..This summer. a monsoon
<br />ecology an~ ,the pr~iilent of Ecosystem sights, sounds and snJe.lls. "'_ . .;:', : \. ' .j:leared, out sUt so that the waterfall Is now
<br />Manaaemellt' 'Iote~lmal in' Durango, . To everyone'ssurprlse,.,the bathtub riii( . 20 feet high. If It Is.spe~g Mr. Abbey's..
<br />~ explained why; First, most. side can- II! dlSappeariDg rapidly. Summer tnonsooiiS ,. ': . Dame it Is whispering now, but If the wa~r .
<br />,... are made of pOroUs N~ra)Q, Sl;i:ndstonct.. . are washing It away. . '" .', '., ., . keens receding it mAV annn ...... ",,^,'~R_" .
<br />
<br />Continued From First Science page-"
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<br />Elundreds of miles of
<br />;ide canyons may
<br />~merge into sunlight.
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<br />I)rs are t"xpected.
<br />"Ibe late js still beauUfu1," said Char
<br />~ au iDfOl'lDation officer for the Glen
<br />:anyoo NalioDal RecreaUon Area in Page,
<br />.riz. '"People can see more features than
<br />vel' WiIb the water low."
<br />Paul Ostapuk. a spokesman for Friends of
<br />Be Powell in Page, said: "Droughts are a
<br />epIar pan 01 ~ Colorado River. The lake
<br />raws dowu aDd it fills up again." In the '
<br />leA"u,,_. be said, familles can sUll get to-'
<br />I!'!ber' mille lake for a wonderful time.. .
<br />Ia twO )aI"S. depeoding on the weather,
<br />Ue PuweII caaId reac:b what hydrologists
<br />1II iDaalW'Il:' pool. _nil\g the water stored
<br />I me late wm DlJl produce enough flow to, .
<br />!IIenIe~. .! CUlcpower..'A~J~J:,t!ic);,
<br />'fer IbM. __ aUldrop 8DOtberl20feet..
<br />AI ... ~~__ 01 the' of'.
<br />.. -. -..:1 ' ~ ' . . ,., .... .
<br />.,.- ~... '. ~ -- .' .~, .~~'>:'
<br />ill ... ll~-' ,V-. ~.~ _" '
<br />--';. _....-e~ C!fteriDI_~tin-
<br />:r-~""C-~~~reds' ates of
<br />Ie ~".. A.....-. Do SUDligbt of-.
<br />... daDce to .see what
<br />IRa . -r- ....1IIe 'Colorado
<br />, ..... ~ ... "
<br />....~.1fPilI7 PVwD pnMded
<br />~~~ GI feaDan:s like
<br />. ..... ... L ljr. saad duDes
<br />....... ......, .all veils of
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<br />COLORADO .
<br />DISTRiCT 2
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