Grand Canyon National Park
Key Messages – Week of February 15, 2021
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This week’s numbers at a glance:
- The average number of new cases per day in Arizona is 2,246, down from 2,963 on average per day last week.
- As of Thursday, the total number of cases in the 86023 zip code since the pandemic began is 174. This number represents cases inside and outside the park.
- There are no reported new cases in the park this week and no reported cases in which the individuals are isolating.
- Since the pandemic began, we’ve had 42 total positive COVID-19 cases in the park. To date, and as reported, none of the positive cases resulted from interaction with park visitors.
- More detailed statistics are available on the Coconino County COVID-19 Dashboard.
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Navajo Nation Stay-at-Home Order Continues Through March 1
- The Navajo Nation extended its stay-at-home order on the entire reservation through at least the end of the month.
- Grand Canyon has no restrictions for park residents to come or go between the park and the Navajo Nation.
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Reminder:
If you test positive or become ill, please report your situation to your supervisor and our NPS Public Health Consultant immediately.
This is to ensure proper public health protocols are followed, and that any exposure to the virus is minimized. For employees who need to quarantine because of COVID exposure, talk to your supervisor about options for leave categories if you can’t telework.
- Craig Ungerecht, U.S. Public Health Service, Mobile: (202) 641-0051, Email: craig_ungerecht@nps.gov. (Don Hoeschele is on leave through 2/22)
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This Week’s COVID-19 Vaccine Update
All individuals in the 1A and 1B groups are now eligible to be vaccinated in Coconino County. The county has begun vaccinations of additional populations within 1B, including those related to various occupational categories and adults with high risk medical conditions living in shelters or other congregate living settings.
The clinic has updated their vaccine request to the county based on the additional 1B populations, and we expect to see vaccine supply at the clinic increasing in the near future. If you are in the 1B category and haven’t been contacted by the Clinic yet, Clinic staff should be contacting you soon to set up an appointment.
Because the vaccine is in short supply, please reply promptly when the Clinic contacts you to schedule your vaccination to ensure you get an appointment. If you are not yet eligible for the vaccine, keep an eye on the county website and be ready to sign up for a vaccination appointment when you can and work with your private health care provider. We’ve seen progress in vaccine administration.
- In the US so far, over 55 million vaccination doses have been administered.
- In Arizona, over 1.1 million doses have been administered,
- Coconino County has seen over 35,000 doses administered,
- And on the Navajo Nation, over 82,000 doses have been administered.
It’s critical that we all continue to follow CDC guidelines to prevent spread of COVID-19, such as wearing masks, washing hands frequently, and maintaining distance from others until after the vaccine has been administered to a majority of the population.
Please, get the vaccine when it is available to you in order to protect yourself, your family and loved ones, and our community.
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COVID-19 Testing Details
- The Grand Canyon Clinic has hours for COVID testing on Wednesdays from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. If you need a test outside of this hour, you need an order from your health care provider saying a test is warranted.
- In Flagstaff, COVID testing is available at Coconino Community College at 2800 South Lone Tree Road, and the NAU Fieldhouse at 1050 Knoles Drive.
- Testing is also available at other locations in Flagstaff, including:
- Walgreens on 4th Street
- NextCare Urgent Care
- The Veterans Affairs Clinic
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Masks Save Lives!
In the coming months you might see these new signs as part of the messaging campaign for the new federal mask regulations. Masks not only protect you but also your loved ones and the Grand Canyon community from the spread of COVID-19.
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Messages and Grand Canyon News
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Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Update
-Superintendent, Ed Keable
As many of you know, this subject is important to me. I want to highlight some of the work I’ve been doing related to this topic. We all should think about, and take stock of, what we are doing every day to address these issues and recognize our own unconscious biases.
I’ve intentionally communicated to all employees about Equity, Diversity and Inclusion principles and issues through: all employee email, Canyon Connections, Grand Canyon’s senior executive team (PSET), supervisor meetings, and with individuals.
I have asked all Grand Canyon Executive Team members to identify what they are doing personally to further equity, diversity and inclusion. I have started regular meetings with our Native American employees to work with them to identify their concerns and address them, including about bias they have experienced so we can address it.
Some of these examples are:
- Reversing the policy prohibiting employees from traveling to American Indian reservations last year when the reservations were identified as COVID hot spots
- Restoring leave for Native American employees based on that practice, for those employees that were incorrectly required to use leave when they returned to a reservation
- Fighting to expand hiring capacity for Native American employees
- Engaging with our Regional and Washington offices to gain use of the contiguous hiring authority that allows for direct hire of employees who live near the park, and who rely on the park for jobs. I am advocating for an expansion of contiguous hiring authority to the full boundaries of affiliated tribal reservations, and for direct-hire statutory authority for all parks and public lands to allow for direct hires from affiliated tribal communities.
- Developing a proposal to WASO and DOI for affiliated tribal members to have greater access to GRCA, including free access.
- Raising the alarm with Region, WASO, and DOI that the new hiring procedures introduced this year may be detrimental to hiring from rural areas. WASO is working to identify solutions.
- Working with the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Civil Rights Director and GCC leadership to extend the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Pledge to GCC, which would be the first non-Federal entity to take it.
I’d like to challenge all of you to ask yourselves what you are doing to address equity, diversity and inclusion in both your work and home lives?
As you ask yourself this question, if there is anything you need from me to achieve your commitments to the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion, please let me know how I can help.
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NEW South Rim District Report
In the interest of improving information-sharing and transparency within our community, South Rim Patrol has made available a bi-monthly South Rim District Report. These summaries provide access to information on significant incidents occurring within the Grand Canyon Village’s South Rim response area.
Significant incidents may include: traffic offenses, arrests, assault and disorderly conduct offenses, DUI offenses, motor vehicle crashes, and natural resource offenses. For privacy purposes, no personally identifying information will be included within these summaries. The first two issues can be viewed in the links below.
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Transcanyon Water Pipeline Update
This week, park staff began repairing a leak in the Transcanyon Pipeline (TCP) at Phantom Ranch. As part of this repair, the TCP is be turned off and trail closures will be in place to allow crews to fix the existing pipeline. The project is expected to continue through Thursday, February 18. Repair operations will last each day from approximately 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Phantom Ranch will have water conservation measures in place that will last the duration of the project.
Thank you to the repair crews who are working diligently on these repairs. We truly appreciate your tireless efforts to keep the pipeline running. This work is often difficult and sometimes dangerous. This crew deserves all of our gratitude for what they do to ensure we have a steady supply of water.
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Spring 2021 Shuttle Bus Updates
The spring shuttle bus schedule will be in place from March 1-May 28, 2021.
Key Updates:
1) The Hermits Rest Route (Red Route) and the Kaibab Rim Route Eastbound (Orange Route) will be operating:
- Both routes will start at 4:30 a.m. and run until one hour after sunset
- During peak times, headways on the Hermits Rest Route will be every 5-10 minutes and headways on the Kaibab Rim Route Eastbound will be every 8-10 minutes; the headways will be every 30 minutes before sunrise and right after sunset.
2) The Hikers’ Express Bus will operate and will only run directly from the Backcountry Office to the South Kaibab Trailhead (like in the autumn). Here are the times for the express bus:
- March and April – 6, 7 and 8 a.m.
- May – 5, 6 and 7 a.m.
3) The Village Route (Blue Route) will not operate for the spring
4) The Kaibab Rim Route Westbound will not operate for the spring
5) The Tusayan Route (Purple Route) will not operate for the spring
Shuttle bus service will be focused on the areas where people cannot drive their personal vehicles. Since capacity will be reduced on each bus (one quarter of the normal passenger capacity), the park is operating more buses on these two routes to better meet visitor demand. There will be more buses on the Hermits Rest Route and Kaibab Rim Route Eastbound than in a normal year. For example, in a normal spring, there would be nine buses on Hermit Road during peak times. This spring, there will be 15 buses on Hermit Road during peak times of the day.
All of the current COVID-19 mitigation measures will remain in place for the spring. These measures include the following:
- Shuttle capacity is limited to 15 passengers;
- Face masks/coverings are required in line and on the bus; passengers must have their own face masks/coverings;
- Hand sanitizer will be available for use;
- Passengers must follow all CDC and public health physical distancing guidelines while in line and on the bus; sidewalk decals, tape, and signage have been installed at bus stops to promote physical distancing; and
- Buses will undergo daily cleaning according to CDC and public health guidance.
Visitors should expect significant wait times to board a bus during busier times of the day. Commercial Services is working with Public Affairs, Interpretation, and the Center for Creative Media on messaging for visitors.
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Grand Canyon’s Creative Media Team wants to hear from you!
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NPS Employees – Call for Submissions!
Arrowhead and Shoulders Above Awards
Any staff member can nominate another employee, or a workgroup of up to five employees. Nominations should be for exceptional performance or contributions to the park in one of the following categories, within the past six months:
- Environmental Sustainability
- Teamwork Across the Park
- Safety
- Creativity and Innovation
- Functional Leadership
- Efficiency
- Resource Stewardship
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Current Operational Updates
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Desert View Accessibility
- The East entrance gate remains closed to incoming or outgoing visitation.
- Desert View is currently accessible to visitors. Areas include the parking lot, paved trails, and the overlook.
- All facilities remain closed, including all facilities operated by NPS, Grand Canyon Conservancy, and Delaware North.
- There are no gas services at Desert View, so if you travel that way make sure you have enough fuel.
- Tusayan Ruins remains closed.
- Park residents are allowed to continue to come and go through the secured gate outside of the entrance stations. If there is an issue with the combination lock at the gate, please contact dispatch immediately.
The following park closures remain in place:
- East Entrance gate
- Desert View services
- All residential areas
- South Rim Visitor Center and Headquarters
- South Rim Backcountry Information Center
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Have questions for our weekly employee, stakeholder, or community calls?
Please fill out the form below and help us get your questions answered.
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