Zion Natural History Association Menbership Newsletter

Zion Horizons Fall 2010

In This Issue
Zion's Art Tradition
Condors of Zion
Autumn Color and Photo Tips
Understanding Zion's Bighorn
Jill's Quill
INFORMATION
Adopt-a-Bighorn Fan
Zion Adopt-a-Bighorn in Scotland
   For his birthday David Milne of Edinburgh, Scotland received a Zion Adopt-a-Bighorn from his wife Sophie. In the photo above David treats 'Angel' to a breathtaking view of Kinloch Rannoch. Thank you David and Sophie for your support! 
 
Generous donors from around the world have already made a difference in Zion by adopting one of our 'oh so squeezable' plush bighorns. You now have the choice of 2 different plush bighorn or a great ball cap with the head of a bighorn on the front and the words 'Adopt-a-Bighorn' embroidered on the back.
   Contributions to this worthy program provide funding for studies to help park experts understand how to protect this wonderful animal.
   We would love to show more pictures of our bighorns with their new families. Email your photos to: [email protected].
    It would be great to see where our adopted bighorns are living now.
    Follow this link to support the Zion National Park Adopt-a-Bighorn program.
 

Great Travel Package on Bidding For Good
 
    ZNHA and our sister parks on the Colorado Plateau have put together a 'Plateau Palooza' getaway package which is up for auction beginning October 1, 2010. For more information about this auction item as well as other packages to benefit public lands partners click here
 
   A portion of the proceeds will directly benefit Peaks, Plateaus and Canyons which is our consortium of Colorado Plateau associations responsible for our membership publication Sojourns. These funds would be very beneficial in continuing the publication of this beautiful publication.
 Zion membership publication Sojourns
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

An Interesting Article About  Pipe Spring National Monument 

Often overlooked, Pipe Spring has an interesting history and is a worthwhile destination. Click here for in interesting article by Margo Bartlett Pasek for the Las Vegas Review Journal. Then stop by for a visit!
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Zion's Art Tradition Continues
By Lyman Hafen
Executive Director
                 Art was at the forefront in establishing the national park idea
Artist Thomas Moran
Thomas Moran
more than a century ago, and it was a key factor in the subsequent creation of the National Park Service in 1916.  Today, art continues to play a vital role in how we understand, enjoy and preserve these treasured places.  Here in Zion we have recognized and celebrated art as an important part of the story we tell.  During the first week in November art will reign supreme as more than 20 of the world's finest landscape artists will be in the canyon painting on location from the same vantage points where the legendary artist Thomas Moran first sketched in Zion.
                Moran's work did much to open the eyes of the nation to the beauty and majesty of places like Zion Canyon.  In July of 1873, he visited Zion while traveling with John Wesley Powell.  During his short stay in the canyon Moran completed a number of sketches and studies of the landscape.  The drawings inspired him to create illustrations and paintings of Zion throughout his life, and those works, in turn, inspired citizens and lawmakers to set aside the canyon as a national monument in 1909, and raise its status to national park in 1919.  Moran's work, along with that of countless other historic painters and contemporary artists, continues to inspire people all over the world to appreciate, preserve, and visit Zion National Park today.
                The Zion National Park Foundation will host the second annual "In the Footsteps of Thomas Moran Plein Air Art Invitational," November 1-5.  Celebrating Thomas Moran's place in the history of Zion National Park, the event brings together more than 20 of the country's finest landscape artists to paint in the places Moran first sketched in Zion Canyon.  The artists will lodge in the town of Springdale, as guests of the Foundation and will paint plein air (on location) throughout the week at the same vantage points where Moran first made his Zion sketches.  Lucky visitors in the park that week will have the unique opportunity to witness these great artists at work.
                An exhibit of samples of the artists' studio work will hang in the Zion Human History Museum from October 13 to November 29.  On November 1, the invited artists arrive in the canyon and paint through Friday, November 5.  Site maps will be available for visitors indicating where they can view the artists at work.  At noon on Friday, November 5, a "quick draw" event will be held on the patio of the Zion Human History Museum, beneath the Temple and Towers of the Virgin.  An auction of the quick-draw pieces will follow.
                On the evening of November 5, the Zion Nature Center will be converted into an art gallery as some 80 to 100 paintings produced during the week will be hung for a sale to invited collectors.  The wet paint sale continues to the general public on Saturday and Sunday, November 6-7, at the Nature Center.
                Proceeds from the event go to the Zion National Park Foundation.
First Snow on Zion
 Artist Nancy Denzler
Artist Nancy Denzler-Oil-First Snow Zion ll
                Frederick Dellenbaugh was one of the first Anglo artists to visit Zion Canyon.  As a member of John Wesley Powell's second Colorado River expedition, Dellenbaugh saw Zion for the first time in 1872, and claimed it was a rival in beauty and grandeur to even the Yosemite, the Yellowstone, and perhaps the Grand Canyon.  When Thomas Moran came in the summer of 1873, he regarded Zion as the most interesting and beautiful region he had ever seen.
                Today's Dellenbaughs and Morans continue the tradition of interpreting Zion Canyon to the world through their art and helping people understand how important it is that such treasures be preserved for future generations. 
 
Condo in Zion National Park
Nature Notes
Produced by Zion National Park's Division of Interpretation
 
The Condors Are Coming
By Caitlin Ceci
      On Monday mornings my job is easy. So easy, in fact, I don't have to say anything at all. As an interpretive park ranger, I bend
over backwards, jump around, tell stories, do practically anything to help visitors connect to Zion every day. On Monday mornings, however, something different happens. The game changes. I give a ranger-led program called "Canvas of Cliffs." This involves standing at Big Bend with a spotting scope helping visitors visually tour the vertical world. This may mean peering at hikers tackling the Angels Landing route, or rock climbers
scaling the canyon walls, but some curious seekers come for something more. Some arrive hoping to glimpse the rarest bird in North America: the California condor. One Monday morning I was stationed out at "Canvas." As the sun climbed over Cable Mountain and began to heat the air around me, I could almost feel the warm columns of air (thermals) starting to rise. Craning my neck to scan the horizon over 1,000 feet above me, I saw a huge shape crest the cliff walls, casting a massive shadow on Angels
Landing. It spiraled around and upward with a steady deliberation, coasting so close it appeared to almost scrape the wall. "Is that a condor?" a bright-eyed, gray-haired woman gasped. "Yes, ma'am," I told her. As she turned to embrace her son, I saw the tears in her eyes. "I've been waiting my whole life to see this bird," she said. (Read the full story-click here.)
 Autumn in Zion National Park 
 Photograph by Michael Plyler
The Colors of Fall Are In Our Future
by Michael Plyler
Director Zion Canyon Field Institute Director 
 
     It's that time of year when we can all look forward to the leaves changing hues. For those of you of the photographic persuasion ZCFI is offering our annual Fall Foliage Photography workshop on October 23 and 24. This year's class has been shortened from three days to two as a result of ongoing road construction on Zion's east side. Nonetheless, the color in Clear Creek on the east side should be prime during this time frame.
 
The following is a section by section look at the expected peak of color in each section of the Park. 
 
Kolob Terrace and Lava Point area: Second and third weeks of September.
 
East Side of Zion Tunnel: October 10 through October 25 peaking about halfway between those two dates.
 
Kolob Canyons and the maples in the main canyon the last ten days or so of October.
 
Along the river and in the Southwest Desert areas of the Park the cottonwoods go well into almost mid-November depending on the conditions from one year to the next.
 
Remember that the days are shorter now so you need to get in place for your sunset shots by 7 pm at the latest. Likewise you can sleep in just a little longer before you drag yourself out of your sleeping bag for first light.
 
Here's another tip when shooting in "open shade." For dinosaurs like myself who still use film, throw an 81a or 81b filter to remove the bluish cast that occurs in these conditions. If you shoot digital, go into your custom white balance settings and dial in a number above 6,000 degrees Kelvin. The convenience of digital allows you to judge instantly the success of manipulation of your white balance. If 6,500 Kelvin doesn't do it, just keep turning that dial.
 
This is perhaps the best time to be in Zion. If you want some more photographic tutoring sign up for ZCFI's Fall Foliage class. You won't be sorry. But hurry, there's only 5 spaces left. 
ZION CANYON FIELD INSTITUTE UPCOMING EVENTS
10/8 Rim to Floor
10/9 The Illustrated Journal
10/14 Thursday Trek
10/18-19 Archaeology Service Project
10/20 Wednesday Naturalist Walk
10/20-22 Fall Foliage Photography
10/30-31 Grand Staircase Geology
 
11/3 Wednewday Naturalist Walk
11/4 Thursday Trek
11/6 Virgin River Wilderness and Beaver Dam Mountains
11/8 Plein Air Painting
11/12 Zion Geology
 
12/ 2 Thursday Trek
12/10-11 Winter Photography
 
ZION NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION UPCOMING EVENTS
11/1-4/2010, Footsteps of Thomas Moran: Plein Air Artist Invitational at Zion National Park 2010
 
02/12/2010, Foundation Fundraiser-"Evening With the Superintendent"
 
Zion National Park Superintendent Jock WhitworthEvening with the Superintendent Fundraising Dinner, February 12
  
                Zion National Park Foundation's "Evening With the Superintendent" fundraising dinner will be held February 12, at the Zion Nature Center.
                This traditional event gives Zion National Park supporters the opportunity to gather for an evening of good food, joyful conversation, entertainment, and a chance to interact with the park superintendent, Jock Whitworth.  This year's event will also include a silent auction featuring Zion-related items such as original art, fine photography, lodging, and many one-of-kind items to help raise funds for the Foundation.
                The featured theme for this year's dinner will be the Foundation's Youth Education Initiative.  Every dollar raised will be matched by a federal grant designed to augment Zion National Park's youth outreach program to schools, and help bring more school children into the park.
                More information on this new campaign will be forthcoming.
                Call the ZNHA office at 435-772-3264 for more information or to have your name added to the invitation list.        
 
Zion National Park Bighorn Sheep
Photograph by Sarah Sells
    
Resourse Management Team
Works to Understand Zion's Bighorn
By Claire Crow
Zion National Park Wildlife Program Manager
 
    This summer, we collected some bighorn sheep pellet samples for DNA analysis. The genetic variation of Zion bighorns is a concern because the herd descended from only 12 individuals, and in the early years of the reintroduction the population underwent a few radical declines before establishing. This was a pilot sampling effort to test the feasibility of getting genetic information by collecting scats. Because bighorn sheep habitat tends to be quite rugged, we collected only from a few sites that were easy to access. This year's rainstorms limited our sample size. There is some "pickiness" to the sampling procedure: the pellets must be fresh, but not rained upon, because the bighorn's genetic material is mostly on the exterior of the scat. Once the samples have been analyzed, we will know whether or not we succeeded in getting enough fresh samples from different individuals to make the effort worth extending into a larger project. We also collected a tissue sample from a bighorn that was found dead in the park - that will also be genetically analyzed.
    The park road underwent major rehabilitation on the east side this year, including in the areas where bighorn sheep are most frequently seen. Bighorns were reported frequenting the area in spite of the activity. The road work is scheduled for completion in October.
    In order to really know the status of Zion's bighorn herd, and to understand the best way to manage the herd, we need to do a telemetry study using satellites to track the locations of a portion of the population. Since that would require handling the bighorns, in order to attach transmitting collars, we would also be able to draw blood samples for genetic and health analysis. Everything we learn about our bighorn herd is a building block toward the ideal of truly understanding their needs. It is your support, through the Adopt-a-Bighorn program, that has supported our collection of initial data, and that allows us to progress toward reaching this larger goal. 

From Jill's Quill:
 
Bighorn Fashionista's Showing Off
 
If you haven't visited the park during the past couple of months a trip up to the East Side would definitely be worth your while if you would enjoy seeing our resident bighorn sheep that have been delighting visitors over the past month. Reports and photos from visitors at the ZNHA bookstore are that the bighorn sheep love to 'pose' for pictures, making sure to turn their heads and show off their full curl and agility to scamper up the rocky cliff faces much to the delight of anyone willing to notice. Zion has long been home to bighorn, for they were well-depicted in prehistoric petroglyphs. However, combined stresses from human settlement led to their extinction in Zion in the 1950's. During the 1970's twelve bighorn were brought to Zion in an effort to re-establish the population, and despite the odds they have prospered and the population is now estimated to be over 150 individuals.   In a move to preserve and protect a healthy Zion ecosystem for the bighorn you can help by joining the Adopt-a-Bighorn program. While visiting the Zion Natural History Association bookstore, ask a sales associate for more information and an enrollment form to make a donation and adopt your plush bighorn immediately or join on our web site at www.zionpark.org.  The Adopt-a-Bighorn program is a cooperative program of Zion National Park and the Zion National Park Foundation.

Jill Burt
Retail Manager, ZNHA

ZNHA Store Managers Jill Burt and Barb Kippen

     Retail Manager Jill Burt (left) and Assistant Store Manager Barb Kippen (right) are pictured at the Zion Adopt-a-Bighorn display in the visitor center. Hopeful bighorn stand ready to be adopted by lucky (and generous) visitors. There are now three choices when you adopt for yourself or for a gift. The first plush, named Fern (pictured at left and at the bottom) is known for being exceptionally cuddly. While the second choice, named Crawford (pictured second from left and at top) is a little more anatomically correct. A baseball cap with the head of a bighorn embroidered on the front and the text 'Adopt-a-Bighorn Zion National Park' is stitched on the back would be the third choice. 
    When you adopt a Zion bighorn, the funds you donate go directly to a fund for the benefit of the herd in Zion. The park wildlife managers are trying to understand why previous herds disappeared and to find ways to protect the current herd.
    We hope you will consider contributing to this worthy cause for yourself or as a great gift. Call us at 800-635-3959 or at 435-772-3264 and we would be happy to help.
Greetings!  

           As autumn approaches, our thoughts often turn to things that we are grateful for. Such was the case for me yesterday as I took a break from my busy desk to take a walk down the employee road and onto the Pa'rus trail. The morning had been spent researching an article for a future newsletter about some preservation work being done on the Cable Mountain draw works. My heart was touched by a paragraph in the ZNHA publication, The Outstanding Wonder: Zion Canyon's Cable Mountain Draw Works, describing the 'heart-felt desire' of 97 year old J. L. Crawford that the history of the Draw Works be preserved. The preservation of Zion's history, beauty and natural and cultural resources have been J. L.'s life's work. As I looked around I pondered, what would be the view on my walk if so many people, past and present, hadn't worked so hard to preserve Zion National Park?
            Every article in this newsletter in some way speaks to the 'preservation of Zion' topic. We hope you will enjoy reading this issue. Thank you so very much for your support of Zion National Park. It should make you feel good that, like J. L. Crawford, the preservation of Zion is a little part of your life's work, too.
            May you have a wonderful fall season.                                 
 
                                           Best wishes,
 
                                           Tracy Jones
                                           Operations Specialist
                                           Zion Natural History Association