What is Happening in Glen Canyon? A Story of Shifting Hydrology, Failing Infrastructure, and Ecological Restoration
Join with us to hear from Zanna Stutz about the complex hydrology and interstate politics now surrounding Lake Powell and the resulting rebirth of long submerged ecosystems in Glen Canyon. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Zanna now works with the Utah-based organization, Glen Canyon Institute (GCI).
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.
Growing up in Portland, Zanna Stutz always loved spending time outside with family and friends. This passion led her to work as a whitewater rafting guide in Colorado and Oregon and later as a ski patroller and river restoration technician in Utah. Zanna graduated from Dartmouth College where she studied geography, public policy, and Spanish. She also conducted research focused on how the understanding of climate change influences the environmental politics and conflicts surrounding controversial dams. Now serving as program director at GCI, Zanna leads projects related to outreach, education, and field work.
Glen Canyon Institute is a science-based nonprofit dedicated to the restoration of Glen Canyon and a free-flowing Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. GCI is committed to:
- advocating for science-based public policy to protect environmental and cultural resources,
- facilitating research to inform management policies and better understand dynamic canyon processes, and
- educating the public and decision makers about the need to restore Glen Canyon.
Please register below and join us to learn about the evolving state of Glen Canyon and what you can do to help.
Tuesday, April 28, 2026, 7:00 PDT via Zoom
This event is co-sponsored by Oregonians for Wild Utah, Washington Friends of Wild Utah, and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA).
Photo credits: Dawn Kish, Zanna Stutz (Glen Canyon Institute), Will Buckley & Diego Riley (What the River Knows), and Elliot Ross