hose who love it call it "The Canyon"—the canyon—as if there were no other such topographical feature on the earth's face... Meanwhile, there it is, in my own backyard, waiting for me all these millions of years—the Canyon. I am tempted to write "my Canyon," so possessive can that place make me feel. But the Canyon is not mine, nor anyone's; the Canyon belongs to all—and to no one. The Canyon belongs to itself, to the world, to God, for whatever those grand abstractions are worth. And so far as the term "possession" has meaning, it would be more accurate to say that the Canyon possesses us. Those who love it are possessed by it. We belong to the Canyon, having known it a little and loved it too much, as indeed all those who love the land, who love the earth, belong to it and consign themselves to it and finally return to it.

Edward Abbey

   One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds. An ecologist must either harden his shell and make believe that the consequences of science are none of his business, or he must be the doctor who sees the marks of death in a community that believes itself well and does not want to be told otherwise.

Aldo Leopold
The Round River—A Parable, 1953

   A sparkling waterfall cascades from the rim of a peaceful canyon,
and splashes into a topaz pool,
terraced with smooth walls of travertine.
A border of monkeyflower, maidenhair ferns,
infant toads, and poison ivy rings the pool,
And then quickly dissipates into the barren beauty of the desert.
This is the Grand Canyon.

Travis Winn

  America is a great story and there is a river on every page. Let's remember that and dedicate ourselves to the great work of restoring these rivers to health.

Charles Kuralt