Weekly Call Updates

For the next two weeks, all employee calls as well as stakeholder/community calls will be canceled in observance of the holidays.

We will start the New Year with a new weekly call format beginning on January 11, 2023. There will be just one call each week, on Wednesday at 11 a.m. for both NPS employees and community members. 

Wednesday all employee and community call from the Superintendent’s Office:

TIME: 11 a.m. Arizona Time 

CALL IN: 877-491-6221  

PARTICIPANT CODE: 7074828# 

If you would like a calendar invite sent by email with this information, please email the public affairs office at grca_public_affairs@nps.gov.

Have a happy and safe holiday season!

-Grand Canyon Office of Communications

Additionally, all building entrances should have signs stating that masks are optional and to practice physical distancing.

Total new COVID cases in Arizona for the week of December 15 – 22, was 8,281, which is a decrease of 3,269 cases from the previous week. For the seven-day rolling average, the state is averaging 1,183 cases per day. There were no new COVID-19 cases reported in the park this week. 

As a reminder, be sure to promptly report any illness, to include possible COVID-19 symptoms, COVID exposure, or a positive COVID test to your supervisor and our Public Health Consultant, Ronan King. Ronan can be reached at: 202-891-8599 or Ronan_King@nps.gov.

Now through January 4, 2023, please include Grand Canyon’s Manager of Employee and Organizational Development, AJ Lapre in the contacts. AJ can be reached at 928-707-3485 or aj_lapre@nps.gov. AJ will respond to all reports and provide information on reporting of possible COVID-19 symptoms, COVID exposure, or a positive COVID tests.  

NPS attends annual Colorado River Water Users Association (CRWUA) meeting

During the week of December 12, more than 1,000 water users from across the Colorado River basin came together for the annual meeting of CRWUA.  Among the group were four sole representatives of the National Park Service (NPS).

Superintendent Ed Keable and park staff Jan Balsom and Elyssa Shalla, and Colorado River Coordinator Rob Billerbeck, represented the NPS and the seven units of the NPS that contain the Colorado River, from Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park to Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The tagline for the meeting, “Challenges and Opportunities” underscores the severity of the millennial drought, climate change, aridification of the west and fundamental imbalance of the availability of water and demand.

Since the signing of the Colorado River compact in 1922, the river has been overallocated, with more use than the river can sustain.  Session speakers reaffirmed this imbalance, and all spoke of the need to develop equitable solutions, recognizing the situation will get worse, not better. Resources at risk in the NPS units range from recreational opportunities to the clear and present danger presented by non-native invasive fish (like the smallmouth bass) overtaking the native aquatic ecosystem of Federally threatened fish (like the humpback chub) and the significant adverse impact that would have on Indigenous tribal cultures. No solutions were offered and water managers across the 7 basin states (Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona, Nevada, California) all acknowledged the need to come together with collective solutions.

Leadership Spotlight!

Deputy Fee Manager, Andrew Regopoulos

I grew in in the East Bay of the SF Bay Area. I loved where I grew up because it was diverse in a diversity of ways. You had the Silicon Valley types mixing with artsy folks and the blue-collar folks mixing with the organic and vegan crowds which were all made up of people from every kind of background all getting to eat so many different types of awesome foods! It was really cool to experience so many different types of folks and points of view.

After high school I bounced a bit trying to be a rockstar and then I found myself working in Yosemite as a seasonal at the Arch Rock Entrance. I then made perm through the Pathways Student Intern Program and became the Lead there. After that I became a supervisor at Cabrillo National Monument, then Everglades and Dry Tortugas, served some time at Crater Lake and have been at the wonderful Grand Canyon for 2 months.

How long have you worked at GRCA?

The fastest 2 months of my life! It has seriously flown by.

What have you enjoyed the most about working at GRCA so far?

The folks I’ve met so far have been great. The frontline fee staff here are top notch. Sometimes I go to visit the entrance or campground for an hour and I’m there for 3 and I get way behind on work because I just like connecting with those folks. They make supporting them easy. John Venn and I realized we share music tastes, and it was hard not to turn the meeting into talking about our favorite bands. LOL. I get to work with Rod Rieman who I’ve known for several years, and we spend a ton of time laughing and coming up with ideas. With Lionel Reliford I must be careful because he gets it done. I come up with a crazy idea and he knows how to put it together and make it work.  Also, my boss rules. It’s just as simple as that.

Great people all around! I’m sorry couldn’t list you all!

What’s your favorite winter activity or sport?

I’m from California and we watch winter on TV so I don’t really have a favorite winter activity. Maybe it’s time I develop some?

Canyon Community Yoga is looking for your feedback!

Canyon Community Yoga is hoping for feedback from the community to best serve you. There is a survey to get feedback on the best times for yoga class and what types of yoga the community wants.

Please visit linktr.ee/canyoncommunityyoga, scan the QR code on the attached flyer, or email canyoncommunityyoga@gmail.com to take the survey, get on our mailing list, or with any questions.