On April 28th, 2026, GCI’s Zanna Stutz was invited to present at an webinar event co-hosted by Oregonians for Wild Utah, Washington Friends of Wild Utah, and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. The presentation covered the complex hydrology and interstate politics now surrounding Lake Powell and the resulting rebirth of long submerged ecosystems in Glen Canyon.

The webinar recording is now available on the OFWU web site. Click here to view.

The recording is 62 minutes. It begins with an update from Jenny Holmes from SUWA on pending Congressional action threatening the scientifically based, well vetted management plan for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Zanna’s presentation on Glen Canyon is from minute 13-48:10, followed by Q+A from the audience.

A Story of Shifting Hydrology, Failing Infrastructure, and Ecological Restoration

In 1963, the massive Glen Canyon Dam blocked the Colorado River to create the reservoir known as Lake Powell. This action drowned the heart of the Colorado Plateau, ancestral Indigenous homelands, and what many consider to be “America’s Lost National Park.” Over the last 25 years, climate change and over-consumption have caused the reservoir’s levels to plummet. The dam was not designed to function at these low levels, and this condition now presents a serious risk to water delivery for downstream users and ecosystems, including those within the Grand Canyon. And yet, as Lake Powell recedes, cultural resources, unique geologic formations, and native wildlife communities have reemerged in Glen Canyon.

In the midst of the Colorado River’s ongoing water management crisis, Glen Canyon stands as a beacon of hope, presenting the opportunity to protect and restore one of the planet’s most stunning landscapes.